I rarely pass a Barnes and Noble Bookstore without going inside. Somehow I feel good just being there. I suspect it is because I associate bookstores with my father who let me tag along with him whenever he set out on a Saturday to purchase a new volume. Like him I have rather eclectic taste and never know what I might bring home to tuck away in the many nooks and crannies where I store by collection. 

I recently did some culling and filled a number of boxes with books that I read once and felt no compulsion to horde forever. I set aside the ones that appealed to my daughter and took the rest to sell at  Half Price Books. I earned a bit over five dollars which was a glorious coincidence because while I was waiting to learn what my pay out would be I found a book on Roman mythology that was so lovely and only cost five dollars. Of course I took it home.

I tell people that when I traveled with my father my souvenirs were always books. We once went to a store in Hollywood just down the street from the Walk of Fame that was several stories high and crammed with volumes of every kind. It appeared to be a place that had been there for decades and the every cranny smelled like paper and leather. I remember that I had a difficult time deciding what to choose but my father was not in a hurry to leave so I was able to consider all of the dozens of options. I ended up with a beautifully illustrated version of Cinderella and my five year old brother chose a book about tying knots. 

There is a quaint bookseller in New Orleans near the Sr. Louis cathedral. It is off the beaten path in Pirates Alley and has been named for the author William Faulkner who once lived and wrote nearby. It is one of the places that I must visit each time I travel to New Orleans. I somehow feel my father looking over my shoulder when I am there and smiling to know that I too have become enchanted by books. I most recently found a copy of William Faulkner’s first novel that he wrote while living in New Orleans. Soldiers Pay doesn’t not quite reach the level of brilliance that his later works achieved but it demonstrates his incredible ability to weave a tale with descriptions and characters that are spell binding.

I also found a small volume of strange words that have cropped up in the English vernacular over time. It is the kind of fun book that my father would have enjoyed. I can almost envision him laughing at the illustrations and descriptions and taking great delight in finding such a jewel. The best part is that I left that store having spent only a bit more than twenty dollars but feeling as though I had purchased forever treasures.

My greatest joy came from a spectacular find at the New Orleans History Museum on Royal Street. There an entire floor is devoted to the Audubon study of North American birds. Every page of the coffee table book is filled with gorgeous drawings of birds that John Audubon studied and recreated in life-sized watercolors. He spent years observing birds. Sadly he had to kill the birds to be able to accurately draw them which is a bit disconcerting but ultimately his The Birds of America is a treasure trove of beauty and information. 

I seem to find books that I must have wherever I travel. I laugh at the realization of how much my father impressed me with the joy of reading. I remember learning how to teach reading to very young people and the professor commented that when children witness their parents reading regularly they in turn want to learn that skill. I suppose that my father instilled that desire in me just as his father must have instilled it in him. I know for a fact that my grandfather was an avid reader who was still devouring books at the age of one hundred eight. Reading is firmly entrenched in my psyche and my family tree.

Most of the doodads and trinkets sold in souvenir shops end up being tossed aside over time but books are lovely reminders of our travels and the ways that we felt in different places around the world. I am often paying extra on my returns home because my luggage has become overly heavy with the volumes tucked inside. I gladly pay that price to have the ability to recreate my favorite moments by reading books related to them over and over again.

We can now read almost everything that has ever been written online which is wonderful but does not have the visceral appeal of holding a treasured volume in our hands. There is something quite magical about spending an afternoon sipping on a cup of tea while traveling to other worlds through the wonder of a good book. I suppose that I will continue adding to my collection wherever I go.