I love books. Books, books, books. I love how they smell. I love how they can take you away into another world or stand you still to reexamine your life. Perhaps I love them too much, they have overflowed out of my bookshelves and begun build themselves into towers along the walls of my bedroom. I especially love antique books of 1900 and before. I've been collecting for a while now and every 1st Thursday of the month I make my way to McDowell's Emporium (one of my favorite places on the planet) to see their new selection. As I enter the small house the keeper asks if I would like to see the "Bargain Basement." She tells me that she hadn't planned to open it today because it's so nasty outside, but since I'm a regular she'll take me down. When we reach the basement I make a bee-line for the antique section. I run my fingers down the bindings and take in the smell of leather and years seeping out of the pages. I make my selections: Oliver Goldsmith: A Biography by Washington Irving (1851), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Alice Loos (1925), Masterpieces of Eloquence (18**), and Memoirs of a Physician: A Historical Romance by Alexandre Dumas (1893). All were purchased for a mere 50 cents apiece. Beautiful.

Thursday, June 02, 2005 | 10:53 PM | LINK |