Literary foraging - bring a shovel.

 AH HA!  

This past Saturday I found Bookman's Corner OPEN!

I went in...

It said no camera's allowed...

but there was no way anyone

would see me take a few snaps.

W H O A

Piles....and PILES 

of books.
Thus, I began my search to find exactly what I forgot I was looking for.

WARNING: If OCD stay away.
Somehow, the mystery in the overwhelming disorganization

caused quite a stir in me.

I wasn't sure where to begin...

so, I just wandered.

I let myself get lost looking.

Picking up random books...

listening to conversations...

watching people...

I loved it here.

The 'locator tabs' were hand-made...
the owner's attempt at applying some sort of structure to the chaos.

And the smell...just like I had imagined.

I wouldn't come here looking for something specific...you will never find it.

I walked away with four books for $6!
I replaced Catcher in the Rye as I gave my copy to Vee.
I've been wanting to read Sharp Objects every since I couldn't put down Gone Girl!  Score!
The proprietor told me as he picked up Steinbeck, promise me you will throw this book away once you've finished reading it.  In fact, he tossed the book behind him in a pile and laughed.  I'd be doing you a favor, you know.  Then he said, okay, I can't charge you more than a $1.
 Still want it?
 I can already tell I may not get through it...what is with the classics?
Ah...my fav...Oscar Wilde...couldn't pass it up. 
I'll tell you something, this place deserves a special trip.
I can't wait to bring Steinbeck back.
*heehee*

It was about closing time when I left.

I walked outside and saw this station wagon.

You're thinking what I'm thinking...aren't you?

Seems to me, the guy who owns the book store,

probably owns this car.

Rare...Medium...Well Done

Bookman's Corner...a hidden (no understatement) gem in Lincoln Park.

I've walked by this...book store? many times.

It has never been open...at least when I have passed by.

I'm dying to go in.

I'm intrigued by this place.

It's hard to see...but the books...are just haphazardly tossed throughout the store.

Buried...one on top of the other.
I've peered inside...stacks of books, papers, stuff...everywhere.

I must get in there.

I'm pretty certain he isn't using the Dewey Decimal System...

in fact, there seems to be no system in place at all.

But, can you imagine the smell of all the old books?

What hidden treasures await?

If you know me, I love the hunt of a really good deal.

I'm anxious to peruse and find some hidden coffee table book or
some dusty copy of the next classic on my list.

A chaotic mess...

but it looks like a fantastic place to kill some time this Saturday or Sunday 

while the rain comes down...

So, I'll grab my Indiana Jones hat and make my way inside there this weekend...

I'll let you know what turns up.

CLOSED. 

Damn.

Do you judge a book by its cover?

I'll be the first to admit...sometimes I do.  

How can you help it?  

Especially, when you stumble across a few classics in this watercolor edition.  

What an eerily intoxicating story the cover alone tells.  

What gothic romance awaits? 

What secrets lurk in the castles above?

And so began...

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 

My friend Diane shared one night, that this book, of ALL books, was her favorite.  

I thought to myself...rightfully so...it is deemed one of the greatest works of English Fiction.

I couldn't wait to read it after she raved about it. 

I mean, how many books come along that you just looove?  

I mean..love so much...they are deemed a favorite!  

I only have a few...and they aren't trending as 'classics.'

Have you read this?  

All, 453 pages? 

I guess you either know the plot or not.  

In a nutshell,  it's basically an against-all-odds sort of love story.

This Jane character...wow, what a strong moral compass...dealt a tough hand of cards. 

Yet, what I loved most about her, was her strong sense of self, independence and her spirit.

Dealt a bad hand, or not...the cruelty she endured during her childhood, in my opinion, helped develop her independent nature.

She yields more to women of today than back in the day.  

Where we knew that era to prove women submissive, no voice...no dreams...Jane, was quite the opposite.  

A woman, definitely ahead of her time...and I liked that about her.

I'll be honest, I found myself, at times, drifting off...you know...a couple of pages later catching my thoughts and having to rope them back in.  

If you pick this up, you have to be in the frame of mind to read.  Absorb.  Take it in.  

Is it worth the read...or do you rent the movie?  

I guess it's up to you.  

I'm plowing through the classics...it's on the bucket list. 

In fact, my mantra of late...

I.must.read.the.classics.

What's next you ask?  

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte...the sister writes...stay tuned.