Dear Somerset

So as I've mentioned in a previous blog post, I recently found my old OneDrive from middle school. Among the collection of random stories and assignments, I found an old persuasive essay more like a pleading letter) to Somerset mall. For context, as the chaotic yet lonely middle schooler I was, bookstores were my haven. Sitting for hours on the floor in a corner in the kid's section, I could read novel after novel as the hours passed, not even noticing the sun disappearing beneath the horizon. Back to my point, the three-page long essay was written, begging the mall to open a bookstore, more specifically a Barnes and Nobles. Apparently, I, with no license, thought the twenty-minute drive to the closest one was the only reason my mom would not take me every time I had a free moment. To conclude the story, I’m sure you all know that there is no Barnes and Nobles at Somerset (quite disappointing to my current self as well), but I did receive a $20 gift card to the mall as a reward for my attempts. 

This obsession with bookstores was rekindled when reading Three Girls. The home for knowledge, bookstores attract everyone from high schoolers who need an excuse to study with their friends to senior citizens browsing the old vinyls in the back to little girls who got in trouble for reading during class (the last one would be me). Not only do they attract everyone, but the environment that one provides is unmatched. The overwhelming scent of unopened covers mixed with the coffee scents in the corner and the faint aroma of a grandma’s perfume offers comfort from the treacherous obstacles of the world, whether it be a thunderstorm outside or an escape from reality.  

The Strand, one of the most famous bookstores in New York City appears in countless TV shows, movies, and stories. As I was reading the Three Girls, I opened up my google document of my hopeful New York itinerary for the unconfirmed future and added the Strand. The bookstores brought those girls together, offering them a home where they were free to be themselves, adventures of following Marilyn Monroe and first kisses. 

So after all that, let’s write a new letter. 

Dear Somerset Mall, 

If the many winded tangents in this blog post don’t convince you of the power which a bookstore holds, then maybe you should read the Three Girls, and hopefully, you will be able to fulfill my middle school dreams and provide me a home of no other. 

Love,

Your dedicated customer, Parvathi Nagappala