There is nothing quite like it really.
A quiet, lazy Sunday wandering through a quaint, out of the way, not franchise type, local bookstore. You find it by accident.
It has books that are some of the owner's favorites or it is a theme bookstore that has all kinds of surprises waiting you.
Boulder has a few such surprises. Manhattan Beach, Big Sur and Sanibel do too. Not big stores. But filled with books that should not be overlooked, no matter the age. Kind of like people that should not be overlooked no matter the age.
Finding one such store and a book there is like finding an old friend you can't wait to share a coffee with for breakfast or a cold beer or glass of wine for dinner.
These books, no matter how many years ago written, still have a lesson to teach, a story to tell, an adventure to share…kind of like a "years ago" friend who ,also, still has a lesson to teach, a story to tell, an adventure to share.
It was in one such bookstore in Manhattan Beach that I came across Alan Watts' book…The Book. The subtitle is " On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are."
Enough said.
It has stayed with me ever since.
Is there such a book that you found in some local, quaint bookstore that stays with you.
The Book. We all have such a Book that we need to leave for our children to pick up and read one day. The lesson we want to teach, a story we want to tell, an adventure we want to share.
It is an Ageless Experment.