"Any Old Books"

That's the name of the British bookshop that mailed me a copy of "Everybody's Pepys: The Diary of Samuel Pepys, 1660 - 1669." I have been interested in that series of diaries for a bunch of years, but haven't ever come across a readable copy. There are, I believe, eight or ten volumes in Mr. Pepys diaries.... a total of over one million words from start to finish. Surely, there must be a recognized abridged edition? (Which is what I had been searching for.)

Lo and behold..... yes there was, and I found it on the Internet, for sale from that very bookstore. The book arrived today, along with their invoice and a bookmark, giving their street address. It goes without saying that if we ever visit England, "Any Old Books" will have to be on our itinerary. This entire transaction reminds me of one of my all-time favorite books: "84, Charing Cross Road," in which the author befriends the employees of a London bookshop because they have been finding out-of-print books for her. The author (Helene Hanff) lived in NYC at the time (1949), and books were shipped across the Atlantic for her by the owner of Marks & Company Books-- whose address was 84, Charing Cross Road. Hollywood made a movie of the book, starring Anne Bancroft.... it was one of the few movies that actually followed the true story.

So here I am, with my 1963 edition of "Samuel Pepys Diary" and it is indeed a beautiful copy.... red cloth cover, gold gilt lettering, complete with a dust-cover filled with illustrations (as is the book) by Ernest H. Shepard. On the front and back end-papers of the book, there are maps of London, as it was in the 1600s. The book is in excellent condition, and was so securely wrapped for its journey across the ocean that only a nuclear explosion could have wrinkled its pages. (And let's not put that thought out into the universe, please.)

My very first book from a British bookshop. I don't know why I'm so excited about that, but I am. Most likely because of Miss Hanff's books, all of which I own, all of which I've read more than half a dozen times. Her love of British publishing houses was legend, and I can see why. This edition of Pepys Diary is such a handsome volume, very compact in its size, without being so small that the print can blind you, and without being so large that more trees than necessary were felled to print it.

One of these days, this book will go up in our third floor library.... my husband has been talking about that recently. When we first saw this house, my plan for the third floor was to turn that un-used space into a beautiful library. My husband said this house had more than enough rooms without adding one more. But the room is already here... we just have to give it a purpose! The previous owners used the third floor for storage... holiday items and bits and pieces of decorative items and furniture. I didn't want a third floor storage room..... my vision was a third floor library. Library! With a capital L.

And there we were last week, driving into nearby Caldwell, and my husband asked me if I had any thoughts about using the third floor as a reading room... and wouldn't it be a good idea for him and W (the handyman) to turn that space into a library.... (Isn't that what I said over a year ago?)

YES! YES! -- That was more or less my reply to my husband's question about the third floor. So.... when the outside painting is done..... when my husband and W have whittled down the to-do list somewhat, they will take a look-see upstairs on the third floor and see just what they will need to do to turn that wonderful space into an amazing library. And amazing it will be.... there are two stained glass windows up on the third floor, and I can picture bookshelves all around the perimeter of that large room, with comfy cozy chairs, and just the right lamps... and all of my books..... and my husband's books. I've already suggested that we each take half of the room's shelves, and that we each arrange our own books to our own liking. After all, I cannot have Samuel Pepys sitting on the same shelf with a computer data-mining textbook.