I have taken to buying used books. In the past, I never really felt the need to buy books, as new books are expensive, and I always just borrowed them from other people or from libraries. Makes sense to not spend money, right? Especially since most books are only ever read once anyway. I never even looked at the book sections of my favourite thrift stores. But more recently I have discovered the pleasure of buying second hand books. I have begun to love searching through the shelves of books for titles and authors I know or have heard about. Today at Value Village I found a book that I read a few years ago, for which I have been keeping an eye out, but had not yet come across it until today. It made me very happy. I also picked up a couple other books that I have not read, but by authors whose writing I love. I can't wait to dig into them. And there's something lovely about buying used books. Sometimes they contain traces of previous owners and readers. At first it would bother me to discover marks and writing in a book I just bought. But now I like it. I like finding phone numbers scrawled inside the back cover. The previous owner's name scratched out on the first page. Pages folded over, sentences underlined, a bookmark forgotten. Now the books are mine. I can add them to my (currently non-existent) bookshelf. I am building my collection. I can re-read my favourites. I can lend them to other people who I know will enjoy them. Oh how I love to read a good book.