Saturday, February 5, 2011

Another Reason to Love Used Books

I buy used books because they're cheap. Given the choice between one new hardcover and three slightly mangled paperbacks, I will choose the paperbacks.

But sometimes, used books contain more than monetary rewards.

Like this.


In case you can't tell what this is, I'll show you the back.


Yep. That's Anne Rice's house. And this postcard is from the quaint days when fan clubs used to advertise through the mail. I think I found this in my copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude, but I'm not sure. I've been moving it around. Postcards are the perfect size for marking trade paperbacks.

In my much highlighted copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God, I discovered these gems, reminiscent of an early xkcd



"Like the Breakfast Club... except without the high school... and with more ARMIES." I really wish I knew what that was about.

(P.S. Click the images to see larger versions.)

7 comments:

  1. Mysterious treasures to muse over...

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Breakfast Club" is a 1980's movie directed by John Hughes, of 5 kids spending Sat AM in high school detention.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_Club

    Of course, there are good reasons that your folks didn't have you watch it as a high schooler. ;-) VERY PG-13.

    --Beth S.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the lost notes and doodles I find in old books...and I also love that I've rediscovered your blog. I wish I was as motivated to write about all my literary musings as you are!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beth: I bet that is exactly why I didn't see _The Breakfast Club_ when I was growing up. Though now I'm less curious about the movie reference than I am about bizarre comparison. ("With more ARMIES?" my mind keeps muttering.)

    Dara: I found your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Finding things like that in used books is part of the fun. I find things like that when I'm buying old records in thrift stores too. the're like windows into the lives of the previous owners. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I used to work in a bookstore and I now hoard used books if they look interesting and are free or cheap...most of which I will probably never get around to reading. Still, I can be tad obsessive-compulsive, so it seems worth collecting such things. I need some bookshelves, though.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Also, I can't stand to throw away really old things (no matter how worthless) if they seem like they might have some sort of historical value. Even though most probably don't.

    ReplyDelete