After reading Oldenburg’s piece, I had a few questions. First, Oldenburg claims that a third place is where one has no duties to uphold – but is that really true? At cafes and pubs, as a customer one is expected to purchase at least one item. In addition, he says that it is easy for everyone to have a conversation with anyone in a third place. However, in cafes and pubs, it is not easy to make conversation with those other than the people that you came with.
My own personal “third place” is a Korean bookstore near my house. It is almost always empty, but it has a large collection of books and a very comfortable sofa that you can sit in while you read books. I have been going there since I was very little, and it planted in my heart a love for books. The owner of the bookstore does not urge you to buy a book nor does he follow you around, making book suggestions. The bookstore is a comfortable place where I can just sit, relax, take some books out and read them on the sofa. The bookstore does not discriminate against its customers either – it has books of every genre, from photography to religion, and of all reading levels – from children’s books to anthologies.
