Used Treasures

Wandering past this book store in Puerto Morelos, Mexico last month, reminded me of my love of used bookstores….(mmm Alma Libre Libros….free soul books….what a lovely name….)

To wander through the shelves in these usually quite spaces – not bombarded with special displays or marketing, or the “top ten” – one has to have patience and perhaps a direction, a mission…or maybe not?

I’ve done it both ways: searched for favorite authors or titles or just wandered through various sections: art, fiction, design. I usually always find treasures: Vintage floral arrangement books, a beautiful old copy of Miracle on 34th Street, a collection of short stories by Somerset Maugham, with an inscription from 1949 written in beautiful indigo ink… It gets my imagination going: who did this book belong to? What was life like then?

A few favorites, south of the border, where I used to hang out a fair bit: Henderson’s in Bellingham, Easton’s in Mt. Vernon and the granddaddy of them all: the wonderful city of books known as Powell’s in Portland (both new and used together… this should be on all readers bucket lists to visit). What a wonderful way to spend a cold rainy day.  And what a great way to recycle.