Having worked in bookstores and libraries for many years and having loved books for even more years, it was with great delight that I came across an essay Kristy Logan wrote for The Millions about her overflowing collection of unread books. Like Logan, I too am guilty of stockpiling far more books than I will be able to read in any reasonable amount of time. There is something thrilling about browsing little out of the way used bookstores, looking for hidden treasure. Like most book lovers I’ve got my list in hand of hard to find books that I’m hunting for, but the real joy of these visits is the unexpected finds I inevitably come across. On my most recent forays into Evanston and Chicago’s used book emporiums I did not come away with any of the titles from my list, but along the way I discovered a historical account of vampires in colonial New England, a collection of Ogden Nash poetry, and a book of x-rays from the Smithsonian of unusual fish and other deep sea creatures. I would have never thought to look for these books, but once I picked them up I knew that I had to take them home with me. Continue reading “The Joys of Reading (and Not)”
The Joys of Reading (and Not)
May 24, 2010