The bookmarks - never have enough of them and to some of them I am actually quite attached.
(Its one of the pleasures of holding the real book in hands instead of simply reading it trough electronic device - subject for another essay?)
Recently one old bookmark felt out of some pages - it instantly reminded me of the bookshop where I got it years ago. Bravely I went on to sail between Texas and Mexico, completely unaware where exactly I am going and what will I find there - honestly, in my mind Texas was all about desert, cactus and cowboys so I did not even know about the sea between Texas and Mexico. I had a hand luggage full of books to read, "just in case" because lots of times during my travels there were no bookshops to be found anywhere. So I found myself in Galveston,Texas that turned out to be cute little holiday spot with reconstructed historical center and some nice little shops, restaurants and museums all in a walking distance on "Strand District" - yes,it was all very commercial but quaint and sweet. Not only that I found the spots to drink coffee and write my diary,but I also browsed trough antique shops, found a privately owned little shops that had goodies from all over the world (even "Domaćica" cookies from my own country!) and to my biggest surprise there were a few bookshops. The nicest one was called "Midsummer Books" and I loved it - it was fairly small, cosy,comfortable and the books selection was very interesting. The guy working in there (the owner?) was always very helpful and friendly, in fact I could order some titles from him and get it next time I sailed in the port. I even asked him can we order some music CDs and he did it for me. At that time I was very interested in pop music of 1960s so for some reason I wanted to get recently released CD box compilation of girl-groups and it came in a ridiculous package (like a hat box!) that I had to carry on my ship embarrassed,it looked like something for Jacquie Kennedy.
Contrary to my expectations, I learned to enjoy Galveston,its charming little corners and of course "my" bookshop. That it why I was horrified to hear about Hurricane Ike that had devastated and completely destroyed the whole area in 2008. I knew that everything was flooded and lots of people had died,but deep in my heart I hoped that by some miracle "Midsummer Books" was saved. Intrigued with my new-found old bookmark friend, I checked it on the internet - unfortunately "Midsummer Books" was one of the Ike's victims and along with all those nice shops and restaurants it got hit with 8 feet of muddy water so everything inside was completely destroyed - books, furniture, computer, everything is gone. The owner Tim Thompson decided to close the door - owning a bookshop is more a labour of love than making big bucks and in situation like this, he did what was best for him. I am truly sad to hear about this.
Another bookshop I loved was in Juneau,Alaska. I remember it because it was called "Rainy Day Books" and I thought it was the cutest name for a bookshop. Century ago it was the town full of gold miners, saloons and prostitutes (in fact, the book I bought there was called "Good time girls" and it was about ladies who came right after gold miners in search of career) . "Rainy Day Books" in on sale now as its owners decided to retire, who knows what will happen to it now. Someone said jokingly how funny it is that today Juneau has three bookshops and not one single whorehouse - well, the times are changing. If I have what I don't have, I could easily imagine buying "Rainy Day Books" and living happily and quietly as a bookshop owner in Alaska.
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