“Good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one.”
The day is overcast and really damp with a cool breeze. The forecast is for rain later today. I won’t mind. It seems all this grayness should have a reason to stay around.
Today is big city day, Hyannis in these parts, and I saved all my Hyannis errands for one trip though I usually hope for a sunny day as the roads are clearer and people have other diversions. My list is four stores long with the bookstore last as sort of a reward for the other mundane stops.
When I was a kid, the library was where we mostly went for books. My town had no real bookstore, but it did have a bookcase in the back of the Children’s Corner, a clothing store. The bookcase was narrow but tall, floor to ceiling, and filled with Whitman books for 49 cents and Bobbsey Twin books, a bit more expensive. I used to take my half dollar and walk up town to the store where I’d be hard-pressed to choose one book from so many. The Whitman books were hard cover with colorful spines, and I could find the latest in my favorite series, an adventure based on a television program or a classic like Heidi or Treasure Island. I bought Trixie Belden and Donna Parker, Zorro and Roy Rogers.
I had a bookcase in my bedroom, my own little library, and I loved all those books, but as time went on, the books got packed away, replaced by other books, and I forgot about them. When I moved into my own house, my mother brought down those books she still had of mine. There were several she had kept in boxes and brought with her when the family moved. The books were the worst for time and wear. Pages were brittle and yellow, and many of the covers were no longer attached. The spines too had separated, bent downward so the titles were difficult to read. I didn’t care. I was thrilled to have my old friends back with me. I bought a bookcase just for them. It was one of the first pieces of furniture in my bedroom. My books were back where they belonged.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: book stores, whitman books
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
June 3, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I can´t remember any book store close to where I lived, but we had several in the city area. I was know as the only kid like reading in my neighbourhood so I inherited books from older kids when they were finished with them 🙂
Otherwise it was the library books came from. But I could also walk down there, sit all day and read through books forgetting everything else in the world 🙂
It´s been sunny and warm all day, but not as warm as I thought this morning. The wind turned cold and kept the temperatures at a nice level.
Have a great day now!
Christer.
June 3, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Christer,
It wasn’t really a bookstore, just a bookcase. I would have loved to inherit books as well.
In the summer, the library always felt cool even though it wasn’t air-conditioned.
The sun never appeared today, cloudy and misty all day.
June 3, 2010 at 3:41 pm
AI love that quote!
June 3, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Cuidado,
I read a few quotes then read this one then read several more. I went back to this one.
June 3, 2010 at 6:09 pm
We didn’t have book stores growing up either but couldn’t wait to get a Library Card. Books bought at Christmas were passed around so for the $9.95 price back then, four to six adults could read the same book. I remember reading three books at the same time because of passing them and having to wait till it was my turn again. If you finished reading for the night, it went to the next person chosen by a short straw vote. Then once done, everyone knew what the book route was and respected everyone’s time reading it. We didn’t do that with Library books because you could go get the book yourself.
June 3, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Z&Me,
I remember being excited about my library card. My mother had to sign for it then I got my card.
My mother used to claim buying me a book for Christmas was a waste as I read it too quickly, but she never complained when it went to her next.
June 3, 2010 at 9:43 pm
That photo..Brattle Book Store, a very short walk from the Commons. Buy a sandwich, buy a beer, buy a used book: lunch in the park
June 3, 2010 at 9:57 pm
J,
This is the info with that picture:
“The alley between Brattle and Cornhill, sometime in the late 1950s. The Brattle Bookstore had yet
to make it’s first of many moves around the (Scolley) Square to avoid the wrecking ball.”