The headlines are grim, the news blasting uncomfortable information in every direction. Your social media feeds are filled with arguments about the legitimacy of scientific findings, the efficacy of vaccines, and whether or not the government is overstepping its authority. Your kid was sent home for quarantine after being exposed to a COVID-positive classmate. Each day holds its own uncertainties, worries, questions, and fears.

It's safe to say that this is no one's finest hour.

But somehow, in the midst of it all, there is joy to be found. It's in the little things mostly—a whiff of the coming fall in the air, a memorable meal, a family game night, the discovery of a new favorite show.

And books. Always, always books.

There is power in books, in the act of reading both as a pastime and as a passion. Stephen King called books "a uniquely portable magic," nodding to their ability to transport the reader to that glorious land of Anywhere But Here, in just the time it takes to find your place on the page.

"Stories have given me a place in which to lose myself. They have allowed me to remember. They have allowed me to forget. They have allowed me to imagine different endings and better possible worlds." —Roxane Gay

It's this brilliant form of escapism that beckons when life gets overwhelming or reality too harsh. To be able to step away from the things that are stressing you out and into a world that holds its own diversions—fictional ones, harmless ones—is a marvelous gift.

Think of Books-A-Million as your key to this world's escape hatch. Through it, you'll find grand adventures, epic love stories, fantasy realms filled with magic and mystery ... anything you can imagine, and plenty that you can't.

Next time the world gets to be too loud, too complicated, too distracting or overwhelming, open a book and escape for a while. It's excellent medicine—no needles required.