Ed's Editions BooksI have been listening to Author Pat Conroy's "My Reading Life" while on recent weekend trips. This past weekend, while driving back from the mountains, his words struck a cord. He described walking into The Old New York Book Shop in Atlanta, Ga., and suddenly realizing that never before had he desired material items. Yet, his yearning to select books off the shelves at the Shop, purchase them, and take them home was overwhelming. The Old New York Book Shop became his hang out for many years, until it eventually closed down. I can relate - completely. I am still in mourning that The Happy Bookseller in Forest Acres closed down a few years ago. My happiest days were spent riding my bicycle up to the shop and spending hours reading book jackets, taking in the smell of the books, choosing just the right ones, and then having some of them gift wrapped for friends or family. Ed's Editions, on Meeting Street in West Columbia - just over the Gervais Street Bridge - is a dying breed. Every corner of this old book shop is stuffed with bound treasures. I can lose myself completely in this environment. I am a an archaeologist in an Egyptian tomb. Drop me off for the day! The new books stores don't do it for me; give me a real book store, with wooden shelves, hardwood floors, sofas and chairs scattered about, and a (real) cat lounging in the window. Give me first editions, or books that are lovingly used and written in. When my grandmother died a few years ago, I was told I could take what I wanted from her home. I found a first edition, tattered copy of Gone with the Wind. Even though the binding is practically thread bare, it is my prized possession. I pray that there will always be "real" books and "real" bookstores. Sadly, I fear that both will one day be extinct. However, while we still do have a "real" bookstore with "real" books in it, consider visiting Ed's Edition and relishing in the experience. Conroy, whose love for books is evident in "My Reading Life," shares: "Books are living things, and their task lies in their vows of silence. If you do them the favor of understanding them, of taking in their portions of grief and wisdom, then they settle down in contented residence in your heart."
Where have all the books gone too? I ask my niece what she wanted for Christmas.... she told me she wanted a fancy digital game. I paused and then replied, "about a book, a book that tells stories?" She gave me a puzzled look and then replied, "no I want a game." Granted she is only 8 and easily distracted; however, I can help think that the lack of books that I used read when I was young some are the key that help little minds build focus.
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