November 10, 2009

i have acquired a new obsession that is vintage books. used book stores, thrift shops, ebay and library sales are my new favorite places. i laugh when admitting, my heart started racing with anticipation as i arrived at my first library book sale the other day. which quickly turned into racing with anxiety as i entered and learned that 1. these things are crazy packed with people, get there EARLY! 2. refer to #1 and then realize this is VERY difficult to do with babe in tow! 3. refer to #1 and then realize choices decline very rapidly. 4. refer to #1 and then realize you need to be familiar with the titles and authors you wish to find. with thousands and thousands of books to go through it can get quite overwhelming. there is an art to this madness. people bring large carts and fill them to overflowing. people are yelling out titles up for grabs and others are claiming them from across the room and running to retrieve them. it is quite the scene. with lessons learned from my first attempt at a library book sale, i was happy to walk away with a bagful of beautiful vintage books all for one dollar. i have also acquired lovely vintage books from ebay, used book stores and thrift shops, but considering the price... nothing beats the library book sale. i am so excited about our new reading adventures. although we already have many, many books at home; we have just begun to delve into quality, classical literature. the heidi book pictured above is for me. i am sad to admit i have never read it. there is something so charming about picking up a book that has been around for over fifty years, reading it, turning it's worn pages and entering another world along with so many others before me. why is it that today's people, myself included, have abandoned the life that books have to offer? why do we find more contentment in turning on the television or computer? i want to change that in my life. i encourage you to consider challenging yourself as well. go gather a book. a classic book. not a modern day romance or a how to... a classic. dive into it's pages. let your children enjoy great works as well. happy reading.

4 comments:

Grammy said...

oh my goodness ... I've seen that
Heidi book before, somewhere in
the family ... not sure if Grandma
has(d) it, or if it was at Nana's,
but I'm certain we had it in the
family at one time!!! Enjoy, my
sweet!

Grammy said...

...I should have added, Pastor
Rick's sermon last week had a part
about how much time we spend watching TV (he gave the number of
hours you would waste in a lifetime, and it was, like, 9 years
of your life!)and he encouraged
everyone to READ MORE!!!

Johnna said...

I love your post Jennifer! What great finds:) And a stack of Beatrix Potter!

Greta said...

Have you read Heidi yet? It is one of my all time favorite books. I have probably read it 10 times, the first time before I was 10.
I totally know what you mean about the used book sale. I went to one last friday and my heart was racing when I saw the tables of books. It has become a bit of an obsession.
You scored some great finds!