You open the door and hear the chime of the bell announcing your arrival.  They are all waiting for you; pining for your attention.  Will you look their way, or will you be dazzled by another?  Silent, they plead for you to "pick me, pick me."  You walk down the aisles looking left then right as a dry, musty scent greets you like an old friend.  There is comfort in that smell and you know you are at your home away from home.   So many to choose from; how will you make your selection?  Do you want one to whisk you away to a far off land?  Or do you want one that needs your help in solving a crime?  Maybe you are searching for a long lost love and are hoping to be reunited once more. Regardless of your reason, you have entered into a realm unlike any other....The Book Store of previously owned books.  I abhor calling these places "Used Book Stores" because it just sounds like someone or something being tossed away, unwanted and alone or even worse...traded in for a newer model.   But do we know the real reasons why people relinquish ownership of these treasures?  No one can say really. 

I like to think that maybe people wanted to share, with others, the joy they received when picking up a good book to read.  Or maybe they had to leave the country in a hurry and couldn't take their vast collection with them; fanciful, I know, but if you think about it, there's a story behind every book in this kind of store. 

With the new technology allowing for millions of books in the palm of your hand; although convenient, it seems a bit impersonal to me.  Call me old fashioned, or not with the times, but opening a book, touching  the pages, smelling the mustiness and taking in each word page by page...nothing compares to the feeling of happiness received when I take home one of these gifts.