Books Enough to Satisfy Me

Did you know the first book was printed in Oxford in 1478?

Blackwell Books

Oxford University Press

Bodleian Library Shop

I know you all have been anxiously awaiting my musing about the books of Oxford. Well, wait no longer. I could muse about books forever, but that would probably not fare well with most people. It was like a tiny bit of heaven for me, to put it simply. When you think about the form of communication we have, in writing and then the mass publishing, it really is incredible. This is part of the reason I love Oxford so much. I would never run out of good books to read because the town has countless bookstores to explore. I need books like I need to breathe.

I could have spent all day in Blackwell Books. This store, on Broad Street, was across the street from the Bodleian Library and was 5 floors of books! I started in the basement, which is where the above photos were taken. This one-room basement, called the Norrington Room, is the largest one-room of books in all of Europe! As you can see, I found an armful of books just down there. Then, I traveled to the other floors and found many more. Being that all my favorite authors are British, they had all the books I can never find in the States!

The Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. The bookstore on High Street is 3 or 4 floors of books, but all I needed was the "Oxford World Classics" section, where, again, I could find books by my favorite authors that are so hard to find here.

Along with the Bodleian Library shop, there was an exhibit for the King James Bible. This year is the 400 year anniversary of the KJB, the authorized translation into English, and the Bodleian took the opportunity to display not only one of the few surviving original King James Bibles printed in 1611, but also many other precious Bibles from as far back as 1000 AD.

I had to tear myself away from these bookstores, mainly because I had to figure out a way to carry all the books I wanted to purchase on the plane with me. Believe me, I would have purchased more than I did if I didn't have to carry them on a plane. As I handed over my British Pound Sterling Notes to pay for my books, I saw that my money was getting low. I wasn't bothered. I thought of the quote that always makes me smile:

When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes. -Erasmus