Remember Bookstores? | Everyday is a Story - Shannon Cason's Homemade

Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: Shannon Cason's Homemade

Episode: "Remember Bookstores? | Everyday is a Story"

Host: Shannon Cason
Release Date: June 27, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Shannon Cason takes listeners on an evocative trip down memory lane as he reflects on the role bookstores have played in his life. Set within the backdrop of his weekly “Mom’s Day” errands, the episode explores nostalgia, creativity, and the enduring power of imagination found in places like Barnes and Noble. Through intimate storytelling, Cason connects personal history, aspirations, and the bittersweet evolution of reading habits in the digital age.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Weekly Mom’s Day Routines & the Bookstore Ritual

Shannon recounts his tradition of “Mom’s Day,” where he takes his mother out for errands, which always includes a stop at Starbucks and, significantly, the bookstore.
- “Yesterday was my mom's day... One spot that she loves to go and that she's always loved to go all of my life is the bookstore.” [00:29]
Reentering the Barnes and Noble after a long absence immediately evokes deep familiarity and comfort.
- “As soon as I walk in, it felt like a well known, familiar place. I'm in a space that I've spent a lot of time reading, studying, dreaming.” [01:04]

2. Magazines, Nostalgia, and Changing Habits

Shannon reminisces about spending hours at the magazine racks, noting how digital convenience has changed the pace and nature of reading.
- “I haven't bought a magazine since forever. All the articles and news that I could ever look at, I have in the phone in my pocket.” [01:23]
- “I sat on those hard benches... with the magazine like, ah, this isn't as efficient as it could be.” [02:12]
He humorously references men’s magazines (King, Smooth, Maxim) and the experience of leisurely browsing, contrasting it with present-day “thumb scrolling.”
- “All the guys, hours of staring.” [01:49]

3. Bookstore as a Source of Inspiration (and Envy)

Walking through the aisles and seeing bestsellers stirs both creative motivation and honest feelings of envy.
- “Inspiration can turn to envy if you wait too long.” [03:23]
- “...looking at those bestsellers and new releases is like a wanting and not having... I wish it were me. That's the feeling. You ever feel like that?” [03:42]
Cason spotlights the allure of book displays, even when he knows nothing about the showcased titles or authors.
- “It was compelling. The way the setup was makes me want to figure out what it is and I wish it were me.” [04:11]

4. Family Memories & Creative Roots

His mother’s love of bookstores influenced his own, nurturing a habit of reading and book-buying.
- “She's the one who first brought me to these places. Bookstores and libraries let me buy at least one book. Anytime we would go, I could buy at least one book and probably a magazine...” [05:04]
Early reading—especially crime thrillers by Elmore Leonard, Walter Mosley, Ed McBain—helped shape his imagination and storytelling.
- “They were like movies in my mind today became movies on the big screen. But I can say that I had read it before I saw the movie.” [05:29]
Shannon shares a plot of a crime story he once wrote, featuring two small-time hustlers who accidentally kidnap a baby during a stroller theft.
- “It's thrilling, it's funny, it's good dialogue. No one in the book is really that bad or that good. Everybody is real people...an accidental kidnapping.” [06:10]

5. Bookstores, Imagination, and the Next Chapter

Even purchasing a magazine becomes an act of connection, as he buys Time magazine for his uncle.
- “I did buy one magazine...LeBron James on the cover for the hundred Most Influential...I bought it for my uncle. He asked for that magazine.” [07:00]
Cason reflects on the deeper meaning of bookstores—as places that kindle the imagination and promise new beginnings.
- “Bookstores are about imagination for me. And imagination doesn't expire unless you kill it.” [07:23]
- “Bookstores remind me...that the next chapter is always just waiting to be started. You just gotta start.” [07:35]

Memorable Quotes

“Inspiration can turn to envy if you wait too long.”
—Shannon Cason [03:23]
“Imagination doesn't expire unless you kill it.”
—Shannon Cason [07:23]
“Bookstores remind me, or remind us, that the next chapter is always just waiting to be started.”
—Shannon Cason [07:35]
“When's the last time you've wandered through a bookstore, grabbed a stack of magazines or sat down with a book that you might buy, grabbed a cup of coffee or pastry and just hung out for a long stay at the bookstore? What's your story?”
—Shannon Cason [07:48]

Notable Moments and Timestamps

00:29 — The start of “Mom’s Day” tradition; the importance of shared errands with his mother.
01:04 — Entering Barnes and Noble, nostalgia hits.
01:23–02:12 — The evolution from paper magazines to digital reading; loss of leisurely browsing.
03:23–03:42 — Honest reflection on envy and the desire to be where the best-selling authors are.
05:29–06:10 — Shannon’s storytelling roots; sharing his own crime fiction.
07:23–07:35 — Closing thoughts on bookstores, imagination, and starting anew.

Tone & Language

Shannon speaks with warmth, honesty, and a storyteller’s cadence. The episode blends humor, self-reflection, and gentle encouragement, inviting listeners to both reminisce and engage with their own creativity.

Takeaway

Shannon Cason’s “Remember Bookstores?” conjures the particular magic of bookshops as spaces of inspiration, memory, and possibility. More than a nostalgic look backward, it’s a gentle reminder to start the “next chapter”—in storytelling, in creativity, or simply in living—with the same sense of wonder found between the shelves.

Loading summary

Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
I forgot how much of my life was lived inside of bookstores. Every day is a story. I'm Shannon Cason. Make sure you like, comment and subscribe. Yesterday was my mom's day, not her birthday. This is just every week I have a Mom's Day when I pick up my mom and take her on whatever errands she needs or wants to do. And it's mostly once. TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Burlington, Macy's, cvs, Starbucks is always Starbucks. We spend a lot of time in Starbucks, which is all right to me. This is a joy for me to take my mom on her weekly errands. And one spot that she loves to go and that she's always loved to go all of my life is the bookstore. So we started this Mom Day at the Barnes and Noble on the hill. Detroit people, especially in down river, we all know the hill. And I hadn't been to Barnes and Noble in a long time. I hadn't been there in a while. But as soon as I walk in, it felt like a well known, familiar place. I'm in a space that I've spent a lot of time reading, studying, dreaming. First I went to the magazine racks. I haven't bought a magazine since forever. All the articles and news that I could ever look at, I have in the phone in my pocket. And I remember that I used to stare at the pictures in these magazines for the longest. The cars, the houses, style, like men's suits and different clothes. The women, I like women's style too. Speaking of women, there was the King magazine. Smooth. You remember smooth. Maxim, Everybody knew about Maxim. All the guys, hours of staring. And I sat on those hard benches that they have by the side of the magazine racks and I grabbed a few magazines and I skimped a few. And my mom sat next to me with her stack of magazines and she skimped her on too, and almost felt like I was wasting time because I could skim so much faster with my thumb on my phone. That's what we've come to. I'm sitting there with the magazine like, ah, this isn't. This isn't as efficient as it could be walking around the Barnes and Noble. There's the cafe, they got Starbucks cups and Starbucks coffee and those big carrots. And there's people sitting around on the chairs, little wooden chairs that they have in that area. They're reading their books and magazines with their coffee and pastry or, or water bottle. You know the place, I know this place. I walked around the aisles. Literature and fiction, mysteries and Thrillers, sci fi and fantasy romance. I never really hang out in that area. Biographies and memoirs. I love memoirs. Of course, obviously history, business and self improvement cookbooks. All of us. There a lot of books in this building are the reason that I'm even doing a podcast now. I'm inspired by the books that I've read in bookstores and looking at the bestsellers in the middle. They had the best sellers and the new releases and it gave me the feeling and I'm going to be honest. Every Day is a Story is about emotional honesty. It gave me the feeling of envy a little bit. Inspiration can turn to envy if you wait too long. And looking at those bestsellers and new releases is like a wanting and not having a book. Ideas and stories and ink on pages and the big marketing push that the publishers do. Touring the stores throughout the country, signing books. It all seems so cool. But it's not my life. And if I be honest, that was the feeling that I was feeling. I'm looking at the book table is a guy, I don't even know who he is. I don't know if it's even a he. You get Su Yukitsu. I have no idea about this book series, but I'm looking at it and it's, it strange buildings, strange houses, strange pictures. And I'm looking at the setup and it's just so cool just sitting there right in the front of the store for me to buy or read. And I think I'll look the author up and see who that is. Because it's just, it was, it was compelling. The way the setup was makes me want to figure out what it is and I wish it were me. That's the feeling. You ever feel like that? Of course you have. I'm, I'm just sharing. But you lying if you say you haven't. You see what I'm doing there? You're lying if you, if you're saying you have it. But I caught up with my mom in the bookstore and she was in the self improvement section. She was looking at her books and she's the one who first brought me to these places. Bookstores and libraries let me buy at least one book. Anytime we would go, I could buy at least one book and probably a magazine and I, you know, try to get a smooth magazine. I like the crime thrillers. I bought a lot of crime thrillers. I, I Elmore Leonard, Walter Mosley, Ed McBain, Richard Stark. They're fun to read. They were like movies in my mind today became movies on the big screen. But I can say that I had read it before I saw the movie. And I read those books and I write my own little short crime stories. I even wrote a longer crime story about these two tennis shoe hustlers, small time hustlers. And they had a bright idea. They lived in Chicago, bright idea to steal expensive strollers on the north side and then resell them on Craigslist until they stole an expensive stroller outside of one of the cafes and it had a baby in it. Then a full police chase happens. And when you follow the story, you're following the thieves, you're following the parents who lost the baby and. And you following the police who are searching for the baby. And it's thrilling, it's funny, it's good dialogue. No one in the book is really that bad or that good. It's just everybody is real people in there caught in this crazy circumstance of an accidental kidnapping. And it's somewhere in the tub in the basement here somewhere. Or it's on a folder on my computer too. I'm gonna. I'm gonna read a little bit of it later. I'll read it and see if it's any good. But the bookstore is full of dreams and imagination. I did buy one magazine. I bought the Time magazine is out now with LeBron James on the COVID And it's an article for like the hundred Most Influential, Influential 100 Most Influential People in sports. And I bought it for my uncle. He asked for that magazine. My uncle loves the bookstores too. The moment of meaning for me is bookstores are about imagination for me. And imagination doesn't expire unless you kill it. You know you're gonna kill it. And bookstores remind me, or remind us that the next chapter is always just waiting to be started. You just gotta start. The next chapter is right there. But what about you? When's the last time you've wandered through a bookstore, grabbed a stack of magazines or sat down with a book that you might buy, grabbed a cup of coffee or pastry and just hung out for a long stay at the bookstore? What's your story?