On Browsing by Jason Guriel is part of the Field Notes collection published by Biblioasis. Field Notes are long-form essays packaged into beautiful, slim volumes.
On Browsing is a nostalgic look at how teens and adults used to spend their lazy weekend afternoons: browsing the bookstore, video store, record store, or just wandering the mall. The dying art of “just browsing” may be scoffed at by teens, and even most adults, today. But Guriel makes a good case for the serendipity we have lost in the slow, meandering pursuit of our next book, film, record or neat purchase. Digitization of culture and the relentless scrolling through algorithmic selections means we miss the hidden gems.
There are obvious advantages to online ordering and expediting your Starbucks order via the app. But I do miss window shopping, having my eye on something, just looking, seeing what’s out there … and having a person vs. a bot curate my selection and ask questions before making a recommendation. When everything is personalized to me, I miss what hearing and seeing what someone else loves.
I’m glad that events like the East Van Culture Crawl exist. I love going to Upstart & Crow to see what books they are fawning over. And I miss the lazy Saturdays wandering along Commercial Dr. to get coffee, check out the record store, wander through the magazine shops and then settle into whatever find was uncovered. Those purchases have memories attached to them, making the experience much richer than downloading a song or ebook or pre-ordering my chai latte. So yes, Jason Guriel, I’m with you on the walk down memory lane. Those were the days.