Books With A Life: Second-Hand Books!

BOOKS. I've got so much love for them. Countless cozy afternoons I've spent in bookshops, wandering around without any pressure or sense of time. I could shop for books every single day, but as much as I love new copies, I've got a special place in my literary-heart for second-hand books. There is just something about them that charms me. Maybe it's the life they have had already or the yellowing pages; I adore them even more than spaghetti and I luuuurve the spaghetti.

Here's a little pile of second-hand books I've bought in the last year or so. I like the search for secondhand books. This kind of shopping is not like normal catalogue shopping: it's not the ordinary that's on the shelves. You have to hunt for the pearl. Sometimes you find beautiful picture books, or incredibly odd ones that you'd never come across in normal bookstores. A lot of times you can find books with autographs in them. Quite a surprise if the book is from one of your favourite authors! (Patti Smith: I will look for you, I will find you.)

A week ago I was shopping in my local bookstore where they store their second-hand books in the cellar. I was nosing around the war books when I came across this gorgeous picture book with photos of Amsterdam during WWII. One of my best friends is living in Amsterdam and is really fascinated by war stories. She's even an intern at the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam in order to learn even more about the matters. So, when I had the book in my hands I knew I had to buy it for her. I'll give it to her on her birthday in May and I'm sure she'll love it. That's a thing with second-hand books too: it gives me the feeling it has to be passed on to keep it alive.

I often find books with little messages in them, probably the books had been gifts before. One books about motherhood reads on the first page: 

"To Johanna. Just a little something to make you laugh when you get five minutes to yourself, Philip X X X X X."

It makes me wonder. Was Johanna Philip's wife? Are they still married? Philip seems like a nice dude. I love these little messages. How did this book end up for 50 p on a sunday market? Didn't Johanna like it? I would never give the book away if there was a hand-written message in there for me. Look at this one on the right: it's written in a second-hand Looking for Alaska by John Green. Lieke, a friend of mine gave it to me as a gift when I went abroad for some months. I love it dearly, and I'm sure I'll never give the book away. 

I often buy my second-hand books at thift stores, or second-hand sections in book shops. The books are most of the time dead cheap and I dig bargains. I also like to google English bookstores whenever I go on vacation. Almost every bigger city has their own English bookshops that are often selling second-hand books too. This way every trip becomes a teeny tiny treasure hunt.