Old Books

 

"Old Books"

It's a sign drawing me from afar. Calling me from miles and miles away. It's an invitation to browse shelves upon shelves, and who knows what is to be found? I proclaim, a delightful discovery of various treasures inside a building that has this sign in front of it. 

Places like this are very few and far between around here. Only in a bigger city does it exist, so a jaunt out of town adventure is required.

On a beautiful Spring day, starting off with a sweet 56 degrees and a pale blue sky, the adventure to an old bookshop begins. Coffee is picked up on the way. Traffic is heavy, but moving. I sense that everyone is heading to the beach on such a day as this. The feeling of people taking their Spring Break rises with every car that piles onto the highway. I take a different direction (per usual) - into the curious depths, meandering rooms, and cramped spaces of this old bookshop. 

Happy as a little child I am whilst browsing bookshops. I love the feeling of the unknown - that I could stumble upon a great treasure with any momentary glance. And I did. Four lovely old treasures in fact. Old books indeed. I "barter" with the owner at his invitation, who is clearly enjoying every minute of his retired life running that bookshop and talking with people all day, and I come out with a Chesterton, Coleridge, Kipling, and Oxford University Press Collection of English Verse. The newest book in my little stack is from 1932.

The wind picks up after the morning wears on, bringing a warming air highlighted by the heat of the sun. Browsing books really conjures up an appetite, so a good place to eat is the next stop. And I head out with a smile on my face and lovely books in my arms.