Used Books

Why are so many used book store owners malcontents?

We have a used book store a few blocks from where we now live in Hamilton, so of course, I am there as often as possible. Not really as often as possible... the guy only opens it on weekends really. But, I am there each and every Saturday.

The first week I bought a ten-volume encyclopedia from 1908 entitled Women in all Ages and Nations. It is a product of its age- quite a bit of philology, names, dates, everything well organized, a bit racialist in that it's about "nations" and their characters, a bit chauvanistic, and ultimately clinging to a strong belief that we can scientifically predict human nature- something that seems a bit ominous after the fascist and communist attempts to do so.

The second week I bought a 1787 copy of Black Ivory by R.M.Ballantyne- an abolitionist adventure novel set among the slavers of East Africa. So far, so good.

This week I bought The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffmann- a great work of social anthropology from the 1950s. Also a much-needed item for my dissertation.

The thing is, the place is filled with great books, but it's a mess! Stacks of books lean against the wall, trash everywhere, and if you want to look at a book, you run the risk of burrying yourself in old paperbacks. The stacks actually fell on me three times today! If the fire department came to inspect this place, they would begin crying.

Add to that, the fact that the guy who owns the place has "interesting" views on everyone who comes in and it seems hardly worth going there at all. He hates the local kids who come to shop there because he thinks they're "hip-hoppers". But, he also hates the book collectors who come down from Toronto and refuses to sell to them. He also has problems with "multiculturalism" which he feels is ruining Canada. So, I'm one of the few customers who comes in and stays for any length of time.

In a way, I feel bad for him. Literature is becoming a dead market. Most of his customers are shocked when he asks for a decent price for these books- how could they be valuable? They're just old books! Three customers left today because he asked that they pay what the books are honestly worth. He doesn't have a computer, so he can't sell on Ebay, and he doesn't even have a phone. It's like he's stranded on an island of paper, waiting for some sort of rescue. There's something endearing about the old man and his paperback fortress against the winds of change. I helped straighten up an aisle for him today, and honestly wondered if I was doing the right thing.