I love second hand book stores. The charity book stores in the UK are excellent, and when I used to live in another part of London there was an excellent Red Cross shop on the high street about 20 minutes walk away. Tom and I used to spend most Sundays going there, to "the Muppet show", as he called it, because the people who used to run it were...well, a cast of surreal characters, let's put it that way! But it was an excellent bookshop, you never knew what treasures you might unearth.
One of the things I love about second hand books is the history in them. Whose shelves did they sit on, who read them, where might they have gone to get to this moment with me holding them in my hands....there was sometimes a clue or two, sometimes nothing at all. Sometimes the donors to the bookshop left bookmarks in the pages. And not just your usual bookmarks - a business card from another country, a movie stub or bus ticket, and once a card that must have been sent with a bunch of flowers, saying that they hoped the recipient was "feeling better about life". I wonder what on earth happened there?!
I especially love finding books that have unusual thought provoking inscriptions. Whenever I was given a book as a child, the giver always wrote in it. My grandfather always gave me books, and seeing his handwriting in them, when he has been gone for sixteen years and my memories of him are fleeting, is wonderful. It is a legacy of sorts.
About two years ago, in my Red Cross bookshop, I found this copy of Franny and Zooey:
And inside:
I bought it for the inscription!
So, who were Caitlin and (her) Salinger, I wonder?! Were they lovers, or just friends? It was given on Valentine's Day too. How did it end up in the Red Cross bookshop? Did they have a falling out, wherein she was determined to rid herself of anything the man had ever touched, anything that had a memory of him attached.....or was it just not her cup of tea and she was in a charitable mood one day?
Who knows!
But it's going in a book.
Have you ever found something really cool in a second hand store?
Ooh, that inscription really is the stuff of interestingness!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read your book about it!
FYI -- Blogger gave me a lot of trouble when I tried to comment under my Google/Blogger username. I'm not sure if that's an issue with your blog or them, but just wanted to give you the heads up!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! I loved reading it, especially because I am also a fan of old books and bookshops as well as old notes, letters, and diaries.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting thing to find.... the best thing is, we'll never know! These things just disperse into the world, into a new pair of hands, and gain a new story. I don't think I've ever found anything more exciting than a shopping list and a few old receipts in books. Funny though how, in these little details, lives differ so much. A shopping list of foods I wouldn't want to eat, and a receipt for something I wouldn't have bought.
ReplyDeleteI love Franny and Zooey, so that's a great find , inscription or not.
oh i love book inscriptions!
ReplyDeleteI found a first edition Jane Austen's little known work: 'Love & Friendships'. Got it for £20.
Secondhand books are fantastic. As if the story in the book isn't enough, you know have the story of the books journey to you to cherish.
ReplyDeleteJai
I haven't found anything interesting in second hand books, but in library books I find receipts with a list of other books the person check out. So I usually check them out too.
ReplyDeleteI much prefer second hand books to new...the tattier the better!
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There was a signed first edition of Siegfried Sassoon in a charity bookshop in Oxford that I found. Price tag? £ 8oo!
ReplyDeleteClearly,charity begins at home!
Gosh, there's so much romance attached to secondhand books. How intriguing!
ReplyDeleteBetherann, I managed to click through to your blog, so not sure what happened there! Let me know if you have any more trouble :)
ReplyDeleteTotalfeckineejit, it's true, sometimes the prices can be a bit exorbitant! But sometimes you can get some real bargains...I picked up a brand new copy of David Thompson's Thai cookbook, which retails for about $90 back in Australia, for £6 ($10 AUD at the moment) which has to this day been my one big charity shop bargain!!
Thank you everyone for your lovely comments - glad to see others enjoying the romance of second hand books too :) xx
Wow, that is a cool find :) I am actually hitting up the used book store tomorrow, hoping they have a yoga section :)
ReplyDeleteI've got a contest going on my blog at the mo, feel free to check it out!
http://callahyoga.blogspot.com/2010/07/ultima-giveaway.html
Namaste :)
I've discovered so many new writers I wouldn't have known about by looking in second hand shops. For instance, this summer, Tobias Wolff. And if you like Salinger, you'll like him.
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