MY LIBRARY IS ALIVE!

Lately it seems to me that my library has become a living, breathing thing. A monster really.  You see, earlier in the spring I did a major clean up; I'm talking serious culling.  I got rid of so many books it was a little terrifying.  Books I would never read again, and books I didn't like.  And then there were the books that at one point I thought I would read, but then my reading tastes abruptly shifted and I realized they weren't the kinds of books I wanted anymore.  That's sort of what I mean by my library being alive.  It seemed like all of a sudden, my books decided they weren't for me.  It felt like a totally unconscious decision.

And that's the other thing that makes me think my library is its own sentient being.  In the midst of this purging, I had started bringing home books that I never would have dreamed of reading.  Except now I couldn't wait to get my hands on them.  Non-fiction, books in translation, short stories, graphic novels- all stuff that would not have been in my house a year ago.  And sometimes I look around at these piles of books with no small amount of surprise, and wonder how the heck all these strange books got here? My library has a mind of its own.

I guess all of this is to tell you that during the culling and the subsequent rebirth of my library, I have unloaded tons of books at Third Place.  All good books, but just stuff I'm not interested in anymore.  And that's the beauty of used books; buy them, read them (or in my case, don't read them), sell them back, and buy all new books with the credit.

And this weekend is the perfect time to give your library a face lift because it's the Used Book Sale!  40% off all used books at both stores!  Come buy some used books, maybe even some of my old books.  Give your library a rebirth, but be careful, it might take on a life of its own.

Just a reminder, the Lake Forest Park store will continue to buy used books during the sale.  However, the Ravenna location will not be buying books again until Monday.  Heads up!

FREE BOOKMARKS!

We love your used books! Especially when you forget to take your bookmarks out before you sell them to us. The number of bookmarks we have rescued is astounding. And probably much, much less than the number of bookmarks we have passed on to the new purchaser of your old used book. We've seen it all. Here's a quick list of some of the more popular bookmarks.

• money (usually foreign currency)
• postcards
• actually fancy bookmarks
• receipts
• old photos (photo booth photos are my favorite!)
• plane tickets
• playing cards
• origami
• bookmarks from other bookstores (those are especially fun...just to see how far the book has traveled)

At Ravenna, we've started a collection of these old and forgotten page-keepers. You'll find them in a basket on the used book counter. And you're more than welcome to take one home. Help these bookmarks fulfill their bookmark destiny.

And don't forget our used book sale coming up. 40% off all used books. November 9th and 10th. Both locations

Unread & Dusty

Spring approaches... or is that just wishful thinking on my part?  Well, spring will arrive someday, and with it, spring cleaning.  Cleaning our homes, our lives, our bookshelves.  If you are tackling a bookshelf this year, I offer you the following story:

I've been working in bookstores over ten years now.  And the past couple of years have been at Third Place Books.  I started at the Lake Forest Park store, took some time off to become a full-time student, and am now at Ravenna Third Place Books as a part-time, bookseller extraordinaire.  I joke that I work at the bookstore to support my habit.  And it is a habit, sometimes as burdensome as other, more destructive habits.  Customers often ask if we ever leave with any money left in our paychecks...and sometimes they aren't far off.

I envy people like Wendy, who posted last year about her small, but meaningful book collection.  I wish that I had that kind of discipline.  But there is something about books as objects and intentions; I just want to surround myself with them.  It's comforting to think of all the words just waiting for me tucked between those covers.  And then again, sometimes it's not so comforting.  Sometimes those unread words weigh heavy on me.  How do I reconcile my desire to own books, and my increasing need to live a simple, more streamlined life?

Upon returning from my break from bookselling, I noticed how much my reading habits had changed.  Spending less time in a bookstore meant I was buying fewer books, and when I returned and began to stock up again, it was clear that there was a difference in the books I was interested in.  My bookshelves were now laden with unread books that I no longer had any intention of reading.  I felt guilty and wasteful.  And it was with a heavy heart that I boxed up those books and brought them in to sell back to the store as used books.

But then a funny thing happened a few days later.  A customer came up to purchase a used book and by chance, it was one of my old books.  I mentioned that the book had been mine and his face lit up.  He said, "I have been looking for this book for years!"  All this time he had been looking for the very book that was wasting away on my bookshelf at home.  Unread and unloved just waiting for the right reader who could truly appreciate it.  How many other books in my house were destined for the same fate?

I know this was a lesson in not buying what I don't need, but I also choose to see it as a lesson in letting go when it's time to let go.  Once upon a time, that book meant something to me. I really, truly meant to read that book.  But then circumstances changed, life got busy, and I became a different person and a different reader.  I will never stop buying books, the comfort they give me read, unread, or passed on is too important.  But I'm also going to work on letting go of those books I no longer intend to read, and maybe letting go a little sooner.

I buy fewer books now, even so, I am sure to eventually purchase one that will begin to gather dust, its spine uncracked, its pages unread. But rather than let that book molder away on my shelf, I will set it free.  Free to fulfill its book destiny with someone else who can give it a good home and the attention that all books deserve...and besides, selling books means store credit!

-Erin B.

Jello Phone

One of the great things about used books, besides the price, is the history.  With any luck, you've picked out a used book that's been read and loved by it's previous owner; maybe you're sharing a favorite book with a complete stranger, and you don't even know it!

Well, we love buying your used books because of all of the great things we find tucked inside and forgotten about in those books.  You can't even imagine how many bookmarks we've collected.  We have countless photos, loads and loads of postcards.  Sometimes we'll stumble upon a heartfelt note, or drawing.  You can see a lot of these treasures hanging on the walls around the used book counters in both of our stores.  Here is one of my favorites from the Ravenna store; a poem, handwritten in pencil on a scrap of paper.  We're not sure if it was copied from somewhere, but the scratch-outs seem to indicate the artistic process of the unknown poet.

J-e-l-l-o Phone

I do not want a telephone,

I'd rather have a Jello-phone.

Instead of button pushing behaviors,

We'd dial by licking yummy flavors.

So, if my number were 9-8-9...

My flavor would then be lime-grape-lime.

And you know how a hot phone on your ear leaves a welt,

Well, the jello-phone you see, it would just melt.

Or if you drop it on the floor,

It'll bounce right back where it was before.

And instead of a ring when you get a call,

It jiggles and wiggles right off of the wall.

And if you find telemarketers pernicious

just hang up and eat it...it's delicious.