Book Store. Paper. Ink. Books.

[kyra_ojosverdes]

Chuck and I went out this evening. We spent some time at the Book Exchange (must get credit there so I can buy more books), then had dinner at Hong Kong Chef (seafood, soy sauce, and assorted other high-iodine treats). Book stores smell wonderful, but used book stores smell heavenly. The "new" smell is gone, and all you get is books. The scent of all those pages, especially the paperbacks, accumulates and forms something divine.

You know it's time to check out and leave when the pile of books reaches your chin.

I bought:

• The Source by James Michener. I've read this before, and LOVED it. I want to read it again.


• Needful Things by Stephen King. I haven't read any King in a while, and this looks good.


• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. My therapist of three years kept recommending this book over and over again.


• An Unquiet Mind: A memoir of moods and madness by Kay Redfield Jamison. Reading about other people's experiences with mental illness helps me deal with my own.


• Unholy Ghost: writers on depression edited by Nell Casey. See above.


• A God Who Looks Like Me: discovering a woman-affirming spirituality by Patricia Lynn Reilly. The ol' spirituality took one hell of a beating on and after September 11 2001, and has not recovered. Its heart may be beating, but it hasn't really even regained consciousness. We'll see if this book helps any.


• A bunch of little "field guide" type books (bats, fossils, bugs, bugs, bugs, butterflies) for the kids, and one for me, on trees. I put four of the books away for kid birthdays, and gave two to the kids today. They're happy.

Comments

mmmmmmmm

[mindscat.livejournal.com]

i love the smell of old books. now i am jonesing for a used book store.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh

[shmuelisms.livejournal.com]

All of the used-book stores I visit is a hour away, and involve parking in the center of town (ouch) and I'm broke.

Recently I felt I needed a treat and went and picked out a NEW Terry Pratchett Discworld book. Only to discover 5 pages into the book that I already HAVE it :-( I forgot to take a receipt, and didn't have time to go back the next day (or week). This camper is not happy :-( I'll try to sell it to some local friends though.

[thorne1966.livejournal.com]

I SO agree with you about used bookstores... i could traipse around in them for hours and just soak up the atmosphere.

When i lived in Charlotte, i became completely spoiled by them... i had a roughly-1000 volume personal library i had built from those shops (ranging from used copies of Stephen King and Anne Rice to estate-sale acquisitions like my 120 yr old illustrated copy of Paradise Lost) Alas, i lost all of them when I lost the contents of my house in Jan. 1999 (long story that i won't go into here... *sighs*)

Unfortunately, there's only one or 2 up here, but we do venture in when time and money allow. The last things that we got at "The Bookshelf" were Brandy's AD&D 3rd Edition Player's Guide, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual... a big paper-board book called I Can Name 100 Trucks for Brendan, and an armload of John Grisham's for me ! I'm about to finish the last one today.