I Have Found the Most Beautiful Book in the World

     My vintage book collection slowly grows larger and larger as I find little treasures through my shopping. At garage sales, the best books are jammed between the bottom seams of a cardboard box. At goodwill, they are covered with discarded Legos, broken zippers, and the accumulation of dust from dozens of attics.

     I don't buy every book I find.

     There has to be a reason, a purpose for why I purchase it. Being vintage or even an antique isn't a big enough reason for me to take it home and place it next to my highly valued Chronicles of Narnia collection or 1860 copy of Samuel Greene's First Lessons in Grammar.

     Sometimes, I find vintage copy of a book I loved as a child. Sometimes, I find a book symbolic to me as a writer like a old dictionary or thesaurus.  These are neat because they show a snapshot of the English language at a certain time in the past.

     But, this book. This one was different.

     I didn't find it in a box. In fact, it was sitting on a table in the middle of a garage sale. Under the mid-morning sun, this book stood out from every other object for sale.

     It was a Reader's Digest classic copy of The World's Best Fairy Tales.

 

 

     Look at the binding. It's been opened, read.

     Look at the illustrations. They beautifully depict the lesser noticed parts of the well-known stories.

     Look at the lettering. It's graceful and gorgeous.

     Look at the thickness of the pages. This book is packed with classic stories that just beg to be cherished.

     Never before have I found a book, held it in my palms, and thought this book is perfect.

     Have you ever found something so special and meaningful? Call me crazy, or call me a writer, either one is good with me.

     ~ Alyson