Giving Used Books A New Life
I felt the eclectic, cool vibe at {open} from the moment I walked in. The front foyer holds a collection of old communication items: typewriters (really old, the kind where the keys jammed together if you typed too fast), a dial phone (I explained to Kelsey that phone numbers with zeros were irritating because you had to wait for the dial to go all the way back to zero), real record players, and cameras that weigh more than the modern laptop. The space opens up into bookshelves full of used books with a music section in the back and artwork along the walls.
I spent quite awhile wandering through the shelves because they were inviting. I talked with one of the owners, Shea Gauer, about his book buying philosophy and the books on the shelves are chosen for their subject matter and their aesthetic appeal (the rest are donated to a thrift store). It works, the look of the bookshelves pulled me in, I wanted to examine every spine on the shelf. My idea of a good used bookstore is one where I trip on books that surprise me. Some books are more appealing when they’re a little worn. For me, it was an Old Modern Library edition of The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams. If I saw the same book on my grandmother’s shelves, I wonder if I would be as interested in it? Probably not, but that’s the beauty of a used bookstore, they make old things appealing again. {open} has beautiful complete sets of books including Winston Churchill’s works, Balzac’s writings, and O.Henry’s stories. There is children’s section with original Nancy Drew and Bobsey Twins books. Unfortunately, my kids are still in the new and flashy stage, worn cozy books aren’t quite as appealing to them, yet.
{open} also recycles old books in a unique way giving then a new life. When Shea finds a book with a nice cover and maybe an interesting illustration but really no sellling appeal onesoever, he cuts off the front and back cover, the title page, maybe a few other pages, adds blank sheets, binds them all together and the resulting journal is truly unique. We bought one, but I think I’ll drop back there for some fun Christmas gifts.
Music the Old Fashioned Way
As I wandered through the shelves, a young couple was deciding which record albums to buy. Not CDs, the real 33 rpm record albums. {open} has Read the rest of this entry »
gone to the Queen Mary, we chose to poke around some bookstores. One gem we found was 
Claire
Kim
