Book Lookin’
A whirlwind roadtrip to North Carolina this last weekend with friends (photos here) took me to a used bookstore in Chapel Hill that was a delight, with tall stacks of old books piled high to the ceiling. There were even cats walking around, and lying next to the cash register.
I have been looking, of course, for novels related to the courses I am taking, and others from the eighteenth- and nineteenth centuries. In that regard, I found thousands of different volumes that qualified. But, as I may have written before, I have become fond of a few different series of books put out by Oxford World’s Classics, Norton Critical Editions and Penguin Classics. This shop had many of those. I found, alas, many of them full of highlighting and notes in margins, which I simply cannot abide. I certainly have no qualms about owning something used, but it’s distracting to see what previous readers felt was important, and which I may not feel is significant. But I did find pristine copies of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and Brontë’s Jane Eyre for $3.99 apiece. I was distressed that the expired parking meter ended my visit before I could browse the poetry and children’s section. I would have loved to pick up some Milton and Donne, and a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
So, now inspired by this great old store, I hope to visit more like it.
Filed under: Literature and Books, Travel on September 2nd, 2008
The Penguin Classics and Modern Library are my favorites. Barnes and Noble used to have those tiny red $5 classics –they didn’t look great on a bookshelf but they were great for reading.
And no, there is no point in buying used paperback classics.