Book heaven!

The new Barnes & Noble opened on Wednesday -- up to this point, the nearest large bookstore was in Anchorage, an 8-hour drive away. Orion and I took a look on the way home yesterday. While I'm delighted to finally have one here, it's strangely disconcerting to walk from frozen Fairbanks into a store that looks and smells *exactly* like any Barnes & Noble anywhere ... much as with walking into Home Depot when I first moved up here, I kept having to remind myself that yes, this *is* still Fairbanks even if all my senses are telling me I'm somewhere else. The B&N is located in a brand-new strip mall that also features an Old Navy, a game store (where we picked up some used DVDs also) and other very "Lower 48" looking businesses.