Dear Readers,
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
― Haruki Murakami
I am one of those people that loves the smell of an old book, almost as much as some people like fresh-cut grass or the smell of the crisp beer store freezer room.
Do you like free uncommon (unpopular) books? Whenever I am in the area, I stop by Second Editions Book Store at the Ottawa Public Library Nepean (Centrepointe Drive) branch. The store has a free bin by the cashier that is always full of interesting gems.
On friday I grabbed two free books, the first 60 Famous Houses of Charleston, South Carolina and the second, Markings by Dag Hammarskjöld.
The first book is a post courier booklet, has a newspaper feel and features amazing photos and stories about houses. It was written in the early 70’s, has black & white pages as well as a whole lot of character.
The second is a 1963 publication in which I am still trying to understand. It appears to be a spiritual diary and has a ton of honest words written within it. One page I found interesting said:
Towards New Shores – ?
At every moment you choose yourself. But do you choose your self? Body and soul contain a thousand possibilities out of which you can build many I’s. But in only one of them is there a congruence of the elector and the elected. Only one- which you will never find unless you have excluded all those superficial and fleeting possibilities of being and doing with which you toy, out of curiosity or wonder or greed, and which hinder you from casting anchor in the experience of the mystery of life, and the consciousness of the talent entrusted to you which is your I.
All this to say never underestimate the beauty of used books.
*I have returned to writing today after spending the past month or so studying hard and really spending some “one on one” time with antiques. I cannot wait to share everything I have learned with you (and seen) real soon.
pieceandquiet.ca 