I was recently shopping at crossword and found posters saying "wear the old coat/hat and buy the new book"
It led me to wonder, the days I used to shop for books from second hand book shops.
One of the lovable things about being able to shop in an old book shop is simply what i call the treasure hunt. Unlike LF bookstores like landmark, crossword, odyssey etc where books are arranged by categories, labels and ISBN no.s that help me quickly identify what i want or would inevitably take me to my most favourite category by default, old book shops are haphazard and random. With no order, no categories to lead me to anything that i normally would, i tend to browse more and explore more types of books from recipes (which i never have) to what not. And more often than not I end up seeing something so interesting in a genre i otherwise wouldn't have ventured into. And so the treasure hunt begins....
price: of all the advantages, the price is the most tangilble one, considering I spend a lot of time browsing (which I do enjoy, and don't pay for)
the character: I think books have a character that they develop over ages when more people read them, mark them, rip them. They tell a story beyond their pages. I love the dog ears and brownish-yellow pages to crumbling pages. all of it.
the surprise: besides the story they carry and the character, most often some end up with little leaves, wrappers, notes, cash, dead bugs...et al. you name it. i have been surprised to see what all you can find inside an old book.
dates: most have the original owners name/ gifters name & date. it leaves me a lot to wonder about the person who read this book, how they looked, what they did for a living (some even leave their qualifications embedded), where they lived and virtually a mini bio data. In this case "the older the date, the better"
the aroma: i love the smell of books, old or new. as the gum, binding and paper ages with increasing acidity and a host of other masalas which may have spilt over the book. a book develops an aroma that is omnipresent in all libraries and old book shops alike. i love it.
Though i do buy at crosswords & landmarks of the world., old book shops have a special place, coz they tell a story beyond their pages, so i may not always buy the new book or print.
image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/untums/533118282/
