Published Patch May 20, 2011
(Author's note: Photo is not of me, but of an avid reader, Paula, who is running the shop's book club! She reads all the time!)
It's embarrassing, really. For a person who LOVES books, and has written her own, I rarely can complete reading one. I buy them all the time. They are stacked by my bed, a pile three feet high.
I have a collection of late 1800's gardening books, art books and decorating books. I buy books at the thrift store that catch my eye, many of those are charming children's books. I can't pass up a book that has a dog on the cover!
So, maybe, I am a COLLECTOR, rather than a READER!
Does it really matter in the long run? I am doing my best to keep the book industry thriving, by purchasing current books, and saving a bit of history with my antique ones.
The book world is rapidly changing. Do you think books that you hold in your hand will finally be replaced by e-books, Kindle, Nook? I find that so sad. It is nice to have the convenience of downloading a book to a small device you can carry with you. But, you can carry a book with you, too. It would be a shame to live only with today's book technology and miss the pleasure a hardcover book gives to the senses.
Books have always held a fascination for me. I love to touch them, hold them, and flip through their pages, carefully taking in typeset, layout, and illustrations. Vintage books, such as those in my gardening collection, amaze me with their beauty. Today's gardening books are stunning with their exquisite color photographs, but, until you've seen a Victorian chromolithograph, or a hand-colored plate, with its depth of color, you don't know the true beauty of the word "illustration."
Don't get me wrong, I buy new gardening books for their photographs, as well as the vintage/antique ones. I am smitten with modern illustrated books. I love them all, but there is a special feeling when you hold a book that has been around longer than you have.
I love the history of vintage books and like to imagine who enjoyed them. I am especially excited if someone has written in the book; their name, their good wishes, if the book was a present for a friend, and the date the book was "claimed" for self, or "given" as a gift.
I recently bought a book on Ebay, "Garden and Hedgerow" with color plates by Lucy Burton. The book is, of course, a gardening book, first published in 1939 in London. The book came to me from England. It was an exciting moment to hold the small package, with its interesting stamps, from a country I like to dream about, and, for just a moment, let the anticipation of my new "old" purchase, that had traveled so far from home, fill me with wonder. My pleasure was escalated when the previous owner had signed her name in the book with the date 1941. Maybe there have been other owners, but I know in 1941, Ms Kenyon held this book!
This Friday, my shop, , will hold its first official book club meeting. One of my customers, Paula Hadley Alston, suggested it would be fun to start a book club. This is her baby really, although it will be held at the shop. We are officially on "Meet-Up" and you can meet our coordinator, Paula, on her book club page. If you'd like to join the group, our first meeting is this Friday at 7 PM. We will pick what books to read in the future.
Maybe this will give me a chance to finally finish a book! Or, maybe it will be a great social time where I can make new friends. Knowing me, it will be an excuse to head to a bookshop to buy something that catches my attention and excites my imagination! More for my pile by the bed!
The other day I ran into looking for directions. I plan to go back this week to check out the amazing selection of books that went from room, to room, to room. This delightful shop is on 29, not far from Old Town. It might be the perfect spot to find a book for our club! Read about the Book Nook on . For shameless self-promotion, come by , for a great selection of children's books, books by local authors that have held book signings at the shop, and some cool "chick" books.
Whatever your reading passion, remember to support your local independent bookseller! Modern technology is great, but there is a pleasure in holding a real book that cannot be replaced by a "device"!
Notes
The Little Shop Of Arts And Antiques is now an official drop off location for Books For Heroes a non-profit group started by George Scott of Peerless Books in Alpharetta to send books to our soldiers in Iraq and Afganistan. Leave your books at the shop or a tax-deductible donation made out to Books For Heroes. A box of books can be shipped to a APO address for $13.00. We will get books to George for shipping.
(Author's note: Photo is not of me, but of an avid reader, Paula, who is running the shop's book club! She reads all the time!)
It's embarrassing, really. For a person who LOVES books, and has written her own, I rarely can complete reading one. I buy them all the time. They are stacked by my bed, a pile three feet high.
I have a collection of late 1800's gardening books, art books and decorating books. I buy books at the thrift store that catch my eye, many of those are charming children's books. I can't pass up a book that has a dog on the cover!
So, maybe, I am a COLLECTOR, rather than a READER!
Does it really matter in the long run? I am doing my best to keep the book industry thriving, by purchasing current books, and saving a bit of history with my antique ones.
The book world is rapidly changing. Do you think books that you hold in your hand will finally be replaced by e-books, Kindle, Nook? I find that so sad. It is nice to have the convenience of downloading a book to a small device you can carry with you. But, you can carry a book with you, too. It would be a shame to live only with today's book technology and miss the pleasure a hardcover book gives to the senses.
Books have always held a fascination for me. I love to touch them, hold them, and flip through their pages, carefully taking in typeset, layout, and illustrations. Vintage books, such as those in my gardening collection, amaze me with their beauty. Today's gardening books are stunning with their exquisite color photographs, but, until you've seen a Victorian chromolithograph, or a hand-colored plate, with its depth of color, you don't know the true beauty of the word "illustration."
Don't get me wrong, I buy new gardening books for their photographs, as well as the vintage/antique ones. I am smitten with modern illustrated books. I love them all, but there is a special feeling when you hold a book that has been around longer than you have.
I love the history of vintage books and like to imagine who enjoyed them. I am especially excited if someone has written in the book; their name, their good wishes, if the book was a present for a friend, and the date the book was "claimed" for self, or "given" as a gift.
I recently bought a book on Ebay, "Garden and Hedgerow" with color plates by Lucy Burton. The book is, of course, a gardening book, first published in 1939 in London. The book came to me from England. It was an exciting moment to hold the small package, with its interesting stamps, from a country I like to dream about, and, for just a moment, let the anticipation of my new "old" purchase, that had traveled so far from home, fill me with wonder. My pleasure was escalated when the previous owner had signed her name in the book with the date 1941. Maybe there have been other owners, but I know in 1941, Ms Kenyon held this book!
This Friday, my shop, , will hold its first official book club meeting. One of my customers, Paula Hadley Alston, suggested it would be fun to start a book club. This is her baby really, although it will be held at the shop. We are officially on "Meet-Up" and you can meet our coordinator, Paula, on her book club page. If you'd like to join the group, our first meeting is this Friday at 7 PM. We will pick what books to read in the future.
Maybe this will give me a chance to finally finish a book! Or, maybe it will be a great social time where I can make new friends. Knowing me, it will be an excuse to head to a bookshop to buy something that catches my attention and excites my imagination! More for my pile by the bed!
The other day I ran into looking for directions. I plan to go back this week to check out the amazing selection of books that went from room, to room, to room. This delightful shop is on 29, not far from Old Town. It might be the perfect spot to find a book for our club! Read about the Book Nook on . For shameless self-promotion, come by , for a great selection of children's books, books by local authors that have held book signings at the shop, and some cool "chick" books.
Whatever your reading passion, remember to support your local independent bookseller! Modern technology is great, but there is a pleasure in holding a real book that cannot be replaced by a "device"!
Notes
The Little Shop Of Arts And Antiques is now an official drop off location for Books For Heroes a non-profit group started by George Scott of Peerless Books in Alpharetta to send books to our soldiers in Iraq and Afganistan. Leave your books at the shop or a tax-deductible donation made out to Books For Heroes. A box of books can be shipped to a APO address for $13.00. We will get books to George for shipping.
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