Better Read Than Dead Bookstore Novels & Stories

"You are the 'Rot' in the library. You must be 'Excised' so that the Great Record can remain pure." Audrey stood on the bridge of her half-faded ship, her eyes burning with a silver-and-gold fire. "The library is 'Dead', Librarian. A book that is never read is just a stack of paper. A world that never changes is just a tomb. We didn't come to excise you. We came to 'Open-the-Windows'."

Greta and Gabby made their way to Page Turner’s Bookstore just down the street from the Blue Moon Inn. Once inside the warmth of the large shop, Greta was surprised to see a bright modern shop, which included not only a metaphysical section, but my children’s section, too. With soft upbeat music playing in the background, it didn’t take long to find the shopkeeper chatting away to a rather wild looking dog by a fireplace.

At least, that's how I imagined things would go. I didn't waste another second and listed the bookstore online, then waited patiently. Sebastian is the least of my problems right now, and I wanted to forget all about him and focus on what is more important. Sebastian will remain as nothing but a bad memory in my heart. ~-~ I sit behind the cash register, feeling depressed. I keep checking the listing every few hours to see if someone had made an offer for the bookstore, but there was no luck. Who would want a small, rundown bookstore that hardly had any customers? Any smart businessman wouldn't bother investing in it. And if they do happen to buy it, they'll probably want to tear it down and

A bell jingles when I walk into a book store called “Jinx’s Magic Shop” and my nose is immediately assaulted by the smell of stale books mixed in with a lemon-scented air freshener. Moving away when someone tries to exit the store, I look around and admire the place. It looks pretty causal, with lines of shelves surrounding every corner of the left side of the room and comfortable sofas on the other. The crowd in the store is pretty small, with only a few settled down as they quietly read, and situated in the middle is a large desk occupied by a young brunette with glasses. There’s a computer on the desk and its surrounded by a lot of books heaped upon one another, she raises her head and sm

she raised an electric zapper up and rolled her eyes "For 'security reasons' he said. Big whup" Olive struggled against the throng of people in front of the closed bookstore "Yeah, you should. There's been crazy killings and disappearances these past few days. Nothing is too much security" Maddie shushed her friend as an old, rotund man came to the front of the store "Okay, people" He yelled above the noise of the mob "The store would be open soon. Now, the books in here are limited editions, and they are going for half their usual price. But only for an hour. Now I want you all to go in in an orderly fashion. No pushing or shoving around. No fighting and please, no destruction of our proper

should have felt a bit of relief, yet the emptiness of the bookstore wrecked me to even think the strangeness that I wouldn't anymore to set-aside. “Mom said that once a bookstore's empty...” My lips parted and my breath heavy to clearly reminded to how mom spoke so seriously, “It means that something's wrong with the world, and the people who once filled it and bustling there must have taste the cruel fate of a pitiful ends.”

He walked, rushing to welcome his first potential customers. “Welcome to the red rose bookstore!” he greeted kindly. He politely invited his first customer, who turned out to be an old woman with a teenage girl around the age of seventeen. “Is there anything I can help you with,” he offered with a kind smile. The old lady in eccentric clothes looked at Addy intensely. Her wrinkled hand pointed at the teenage woman on her right side.

Alex became red in the face and scratched his nape as he trailed behind me, when the book assistant silenced him with a ‘‘Ssshhh’’ command, because some people were reading silently at the far corner. ‘‘No need…’’ I whispered, waving my hand. ‘‘I’ve been to this place before…’’ This bookstore wasn’t that big and not crowded. There’s actually another one down the street which was so much bigger and looked like the headquarters, while this one was most likely a branch office for the bookstore. But I liked it here more. I tapped my finger on my chin, looking up at the titles of the biography books that were arranged alphabetically on the upper shelf.

I stopped at the library door and smiled to myself. ‘Books are better than people. Books don’t hate on you for something you didn’t do.’ I pushed the door open and breathed in the wonderful smell of books. ‘Paradise.’ I strolled to the shelves and scanned through the books, reading their names off their spines. ‘It seems Dante wasn’t joking when he said half of his library was filled horrors.’ A book caught my eye, and I pulled it from the others. “Bone and Souls by B. Brian.” I read the name aloud and skimmed through the description behind it. “This seems interesting.”

The words slipped softly from my mouth. Then, like a passing breeze, I disappeared. A broken cry echoed through the living room. The world was beautiful. If I get another life... I hope it has a happier ending.