Inside Second-Hand Books – Always Leave a Gift

I’m a fan of second-hand books. I frequent Goodwill to purchase used books for myself and for friends. Yesterday there was a 50% off sale at one of the Goodwills…so I went and filled up. There’s even a Goodwill Bookstore – all books!

There’s something really special about second-hand books. Firstly, I love the term ‘second-hand’ to begin with! To think that someone else’s hand was holding the book you now hold in yours. To envision where she was reading…what the weather was like…how she turned the pages…how she cared for the story, the characters. I mean, consider how we hold a book. Consider how when we’re nearing the next page, we slip our fingers under the page, in anticipation of the turn. Consider the joy of turning to a new chapter – the relief of less words on the page (!). Consider how we mark the page if we’re into that.I’m a bottom-corner-folder. If there’s a line or paragraph on the page that I adore, I’ll fold the bottom right corner up slightly…so when I revisit the book, I look to those pages for passages that floored me. Books are precious and we treat them that way, don’t we? I’m a spine-cracker, a page-sniffer, an inscription writer.

I love what the pages hold…the energy, the emotions (dried tears, anyone?), crumbs in the center…chocolate fingerprints on an edge…

But a special thing that only happens with purchasing a second-hand book is that sometimes…there are little gifts inside.

Thank you, Charis, for reminding where I got this Women’s Thoughts for Women book – from you! And for sharing that the inscription was to your great-aunt Eleonore. Amazing!

Inscriptions are so vulnerable. So human. Such an entry into the past of the book. Especially when dates are part of the dedication…and the hand-writing…the swoops and swirls…what is held inside ‘From Father’? What is the relationship between Father and Eleonore? A gift on New Year Day…was it a tradition to give a gift on the first day of the year between these two? Oh, the possibilities of story inside the words is incredible…and offers another layer of relationship with the book.

Inside a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer I found an interesting book mark. The top of a sticker pack…perhaps it was a pack of heart stickers? The edges darkened with age…clearly cut with scissors…and not in a straight line. I love the reuseablity of this piece of cardboard. And what is: The Salesman…O’Connor? It is another book! The Salesman by Joseph O’Connor! Incredible…two books in one!

This book belonged to Mary Rovers…and she either read the book or received it or both on July, 2009. The book was released on May 5, 2009…Did Mary like reading new books? Was this a gifted book? Did she purchase it herself? Does Mary love to read? Making a note about another book on her self-made bookmark? Again…the layers of added story in a second-hand book is incredible.

The book is The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo, and inside, this photo.

Who are these people? Do they enjoy champagne? Are they siblings? A married couple? Lovers? Friends? Who uses a photo as a bookmark? Who forgets it in the book? Was this book donated after a death and no one looked inside? My mind reels and reels and writes and writes!

I wonder…what if the next time we gave a book away, we included a little gift for the next reader? What would you leave inside?

Second-hand books hold the mysteries of their previous readers. Sometimes, we get the gift of a clue…a crumb, a name, a date, a bookmark. This is something that makes reading second-hand books so extraordinary! Also, I might add – what incredible writing prompts these little treasures are…

Write a story about Mary Rovers on July 1st, 2009. She’s just purchased The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society novel…

Eleonor just received the gift of a book of women’s writing from her father. Write the dialogue exchanged between as he gifts her the book…

I’ve found so many treasures inside second hand books…from photos to library cards to receipts…what kinds of gems have you found in second-hand books?