I have to admit that it's a bit sad to let go of my books. Some I had way back in college as part of required reading in my English classes. Most of them, though, I bought with my hard earned money when I started working.
Books. They're the equivalent of retail therapy to me. Some girls buy clothes, others shoes, but me I buy books to make me feel better. Sometimes, I'm even hesitant to buy new clothes. But if I find a book I like, I'll buy it, I wouldn't even think twice. So, yeah, it's hard to part with all the stories I've read and related to all these past years. Of course, there are books I would never sell like Anansi Boys, Cunnigham's The Hours, my Harry Potter series, my Ian Rankin collection. Those will stay put. I plan to pass it on to my sons and daughters in thenear future.
But then again, there's a silver lining (aside from earning a little extra). To be honest, I don't get much out of selling them anyway. I just wanted to clear out some shelf space at first. Sorry, I digress. The silver lining: whenever a customer (customer talaga? hahahaha) says "Thank you" and you see that they're really happy with the books - like they've found a long lost friend.
I have been meeting up with buyers and it has been an interesting experience so far. Especially for an anti-social, introvert like moi. Last Friday I met this mom who studied Lit during her undergrad years. She's older than my mom who's in her late 40s. We've chatted a bit and I learned that she works as a call center representative to support her child and she claimed, good-naturedly, to be the oldest rep in her department. She loves reading; she bought Murakami, Vonnegut, and Garcia Marquez from me. I told her to please explain Kafka on the Shore to me when she's done reading it. I have never been a fan of Murakami and I won't pretend that I understand half of the time what he was trying to say in the novel.
Somehow, meeting different people - book lovers like me, nonetheless - leaves me smiling. And when you feel that there's a connection between you and this complete stranger through your shared interest in books, that's, well, priceless.
Books. They're the equivalent of retail therapy to me. Some girls buy clothes, others shoes, but me I buy books to make me feel better. Sometimes, I'm even hesitant to buy new clothes. But if I find a book I like, I'll buy it, I wouldn't even think twice. So, yeah, it's hard to part with all the stories I've read and related to all these past years. Of course, there are books I would never sell like Anansi Boys, Cunnigham's The Hours, my Harry Potter series, my Ian Rankin collection. Those will stay put. I plan to pass it on to my sons and daughters in the
But then again, there's a silver lining (aside from earning a little extra). To be honest, I don't get much out of selling them anyway. I just wanted to clear out some shelf space at first. Sorry, I digress. The silver lining: whenever a customer (customer talaga? hahahaha) says "Thank you" and you see that they're really happy with the books - like they've found a long lost friend.
I have been meeting up with buyers and it has been an interesting experience so far. Especially for an anti-social, introvert like moi. Last Friday I met this mom who studied Lit during her undergrad years. She's older than my mom who's in her late 40s. We've chatted a bit and I learned that she works as a call center representative to support her child and she claimed, good-naturedly, to be the oldest rep in her department. She loves reading; she bought Murakami, Vonnegut, and Garcia Marquez from me. I told her to please explain Kafka on the Shore to me when she's done reading it. I have never been a fan of Murakami and I won't pretend that I understand half of the time what he was trying to say in the novel.
Somehow, meeting different people - book lovers like me, nonetheless - leaves me smiling. And when you feel that there's a connection between you and this complete stranger through your shared interest in books, that's, well, priceless.
Doesn't it feel wonderful to meet people who have the same passion in reading as you do? And don't you find it comforting to know that your pre-loved tomes have found new homes? Of course, there are certain titles one cannot part from. For me, its my Umberto Eco collection. Given, that finding his works is already a difficult task to begin with.
ReplyDeleteCheerio! :)