Old books

Greetings,

I love old books. I love the look, touch, and smell of an aged book.

The appearance of a paperback sitting on a shelf for years…. Signs of aging and discoloration from cover to cover.

The way the delicate paper feels as you turn each page…. with signs of aging along each edge.

And oh the smell… (I’m one of those weird smellers) there is a smell of an old book… not a stinky old smell, but a rugged earthy smell. The smell of merging smells… of paper and ink and binding glue. Oh there is nothing better to read than an aged copy of your favorite book.

Harry and I are popping over to Turkey for a few days next week… so I searched our bookcase shelves for the travel books on Turkey.

Most of our books have been in storage back in Atlanta for the last 2 years. I chose not to pack and ship them…. I thought maybe the trek over would mildew and damage them. But I did send a few…

Most people do not keep travel books past their vacations. Or only buy the books of the year of their vacation…. I do occasionally buy up-to-date travel books, but I never toss them out afterwards. And if I am in an old used bookstore… the first shelves I peruse are in the travel section. I have some old travel books where the countries no longer exist or have a different name. I love that…. To see the world change and you still have a small piece of the old.

I also have an old globe…. where the USSR is still together and several African countries have there former name. And get this…. Germany is still separated by East and West. It’s not that old, but I am fascinated by it.

So back to our home shelves… I found a 1961 book on Turkey…. with a pull out map.





I am sure the information is a little dated... and I do have a DK 2008 Turkey backup. I have been comparing the two all week.... amazing the differences.



Blessings to those who enjoy aging,

Kristie