When was the last time you sat down with a book — a physical book, not words on a computer — and just read for fun? If you are like me, it takes some serious brainpower to recall the answer to that question.

This is all the more depressing, considering the fact that I used to spend hours just browsing in bookstores at home — as one of those people who spent their childhood reading ridiculous amounts of books instead of normal childhood activities like, say, mastering Super Mario, the loss of bookstore experiences has hit me hard. And I’m not the only one.

It is easy for Cornellians to forget that books can be found somewhere other than the libraries on campus and Amazon. I was discussing this problem with Sun Senior Writer Nikhita Parandekar last spring, and she told me about several book stores around Ithaca that I had never even heard of, much less taken the time to explore. And so, a few months ago, she embarked on a project to document all of these options for Daze’s readers. I even accompanied the writer on a couple of her information-gathering adventures — at times it became a small burden on my wallet, because the addiction came back in full force.

In this issue of Daze, coming back after a week off for Fall Break, Parandekar will take you on a special kind of tour through the Ithaca area; each bookstore’s story draws you in, just like the pages of a good book. Now is the perfect time to rekindle an interest in books of any genre, paperback or hardcover, since there are currently a ridiculous amount of them on the shelves of Ithaca’s biannual Friends of the Library Book Sale — this weekend is the second of three weekends this fall when the book sale will be in operation, before it disappears until the spring. Take advantage of this Ithaca tradition before the sale ends.

And as always, get the latest Red Letter Daze news on Facebook or Twitter. Send any questions, comments or suggestions to me at daze-editor@cornellsun.com.

Sit back and enjoy the ride,

Allie Perez