In Praise of Used Books and Used Bookstores
I just spent some money I really shouldn't have because I made the mistake of walking into one of Bellingham's many used bookstores...this one, Eclipse Books, in Fairhaven. A two-story, jumbled mass of books, barely sorted by category, with stacks on the floor because all the shelf space is filled to over-flowing. Hours can be spent just scanning the shelves and stacks...I know, for I've spent hours doing just that. I've been looking for a couple of specific titles to no avail, but I almost never leave without finding a treasure. Today's find is Scaling: Why Is Animal Size So Important, a Cambridge University press paperback on a topic that I've found fascinating ever since I discovered the Area/Volume relationship explained why there are no spiders that could eat Cleveland (though some may wish there were). It was a mere $7, marked down from $9.95...such a steal!
Earlier I had purchased House by Tracy Kidder, and I'm almost through it as I write, perhaps 30 pages to go. This was a find at Village Books, also in Fairhaven, VB is a truly marvelous place, owned and operated by a couple who have created a village within a village...a community of ideas, populated by an eclectic group of folks who are just "good folk"...friendly and intellectually curious. House has an emotional connection to me...my Dad was a carpenter, and, like those in the book, an idiosyncratic individual. We were never close, and I bear the scars of a difficult relationship with him even now. But, also like those carpenters in the book, he was a craftsman, a home-builder, with a ingrained sense of what a good bit of carpentry must be...square corners, straight cuts, minimal waste, things done right. Reading the book took me back to several summers working with him on new homes and in remodeling some very old properties. I confess. I do not have the talent for woodworking, though I do like the smell of new wood being cut, and the sense of accomplishment that comes from the framing of a new home...so much change in just the course of a day. But most of all, I remember my Dad's insistence on doing things right...and his willingness to return to a job that had been finished to correct a problem...many times one that was not of his doing. His work ethic was one of the things I reminded him of in a letter as he lay dying in Florida, since I couldn't get there to say the words to him directly. He taught me the worth of craftsmanship, and I've admired it ever since. Perhaps the word does not apply to my former profession, teaching, where I became a story-teller more than a builder. I did try to tell good stories, though, and some of my former students have told me that they had enjoyed them and remember them. Maybe that's a different kind of craftsmanship.
Book reviews are generally reserved for the newest publications. House was published in 1985. Yet I think the story it tells is as ageless as house-building itself. Here in B'ham, I drive past homes built well a over a century ago, by men (mostly, though that is changing a bit now) who took pride in their work...and it shows. And I can drive past homes build just a few years ago, and I can imagine the same kinds of conversations took place amidst the sawdust and wood scraps as those described in the book. And I don't doubt that the folks who built a thousand years ago were much the same. Surely, the architects and builders of the pyramids, the temples in Central America, and the castles of Europe struggled each day with stubborn materials, incomplete or incorrect drawings, missed deadlines and concerned owners, just like those this book lets us witness in New England a few years ago. If you stumble upon a copy...pick it up and enjoy a good story well told.
Earlier I had purchased House by Tracy Kidder, and I'm almost through it as I write, perhaps 30 pages to go. This was a find at Village Books, also in Fairhaven, VB is a truly marvelous place, owned and operated by a couple who have created a village within a village...a community of ideas, populated by an eclectic group of folks who are just "good folk"...friendly and intellectually curious. House has an emotional connection to me...my Dad was a carpenter, and, like those in the book, an idiosyncratic individual. We were never close, and I bear the scars of a difficult relationship with him even now. But, also like those carpenters in the book, he was a craftsman, a home-builder, with a ingrained sense of what a good bit of carpentry must be...square corners, straight cuts, minimal waste, things done right. Reading the book took me back to several summers working with him on new homes and in remodeling some very old properties. I confess. I do not have the talent for woodworking, though I do like the smell of new wood being cut, and the sense of accomplishment that comes from the framing of a new home...so much change in just the course of a day. But most of all, I remember my Dad's insistence on doing things right...and his willingness to return to a job that had been finished to correct a problem...many times one that was not of his doing. His work ethic was one of the things I reminded him of in a letter as he lay dying in Florida, since I couldn't get there to say the words to him directly. He taught me the worth of craftsmanship, and I've admired it ever since. Perhaps the word does not apply to my former profession, teaching, where I became a story-teller more than a builder. I did try to tell good stories, though, and some of my former students have told me that they had enjoyed them and remember them. Maybe that's a different kind of craftsmanship.
Book reviews are generally reserved for the newest publications. House was published in 1985. Yet I think the story it tells is as ageless as house-building itself. Here in B'ham, I drive past homes built well a over a century ago, by men (mostly, though that is changing a bit now) who took pride in their work...and it shows. And I can drive past homes build just a few years ago, and I can imagine the same kinds of conversations took place amidst the sawdust and wood scraps as those described in the book. And I don't doubt that the folks who built a thousand years ago were much the same. Surely, the architects and builders of the pyramids, the temples in Central America, and the castles of Europe struggled each day with stubborn materials, incomplete or incorrect drawings, missed deadlines and concerned owners, just like those this book lets us witness in New England a few years ago. If you stumble upon a copy...pick it up and enjoy a good story well told.
A beautiful mix of review and reminiscence. Thanks, Dr. E!
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