My niece posted on Facebook last night that she had been going through some old books that she needed to get rid of and she came across an old receipt. It was from the mid-’90s, from a grocery store that I believe has since been torn down, and it was for one candy bar. She was quite delighted with this find, and I knew exactly how she felt. It is always interesting to find an old note or slip of paper tucked into a book. If it’s your own note, it can bring back memories of where you were and what you were doing at the time. If it’s in a used or a library book, it provides one small puzzle piece to another person’s life. Who was this person? Where did they live? Are they still alive? Did they have a happy life? What did they think of the book? It’s a little clue to a mystery that will probably never be solved. Isn’t it fun to speculate, though?
Anyway, it made me think about how fun and intriguing it is to come across a little note like that, and it made me decide to write little notes and tuck them away into books, especially ones that I borrow from the library and ones that I donate to them. I might even put some notes into books that we plan on keeping. I sometimes read books over or look for references in them, and it would be fun to come across even my own notes!
I’m not the first person to think of this, of course, nor is my niece. It’s just something that I’ve never done on purpose, and I’m looking forward to it. Maybe I’ll look up some neat quotes that I like. Maybe I’ll write a haiku. Maybe I’ll draw a little picture for the next reader. Maybe I’ll even slip a buck or two in there and leave a note that says, “Have a coffee on me!” What fun! Whatever I do, I hope it will brighten someone’s day. I know it certainly would brighten my day to run across something like that! Even if the librarian happens to find it before it gets reshelved, or the warehouse worker sees it as they go through the donated books, it might make them smile, too. Sometimes little acts of kindness can make a difference if someone is having a bad day. It sure can’t hurt! Of course, I will not write IN the book…just a little note on a separate sheet of paper.
A huge thanks to my niece Michelle for the inspiration. Love you, Niecey!
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A bit of follow-up to my previous entry, in which I wrote about the Duran Duran art book written by Andrew Golub. I was checking my blog visits the other day and saw a significant uptick in the number of visitors. As I checked further, most of them were checking out that particular entry, with multiple visits from Facebook and quite a few from Twitter. I wrote to Andy about it, because I was so pleased that my review got some attention for him. He said that he knew that the band shared it on their Facebook page, and he was very happy about that. I checked, and sure enough, they had shared it there and also on Twitter! They even quoted me from the review. I was absolutely thrilled! And yes, I’m sure it was their publicist who actually saw it and posted it, but I don’t care. My blog post got shared on Duran Duran’s Facebook and Twitter pages! Fangirl was very happy! So to all those Duran Duran fans from all over the world who checked it out, thanks for stopping by! If I knew you were coming, I would have tidied up a bit and maybe even made a cake! And a huge thanks to the band (band’s publicist) for sharing it. It made my day, and I still love you guys! Look at ’em…how is it that they just get better-looking? I bet they have portraits of themselves in their attics.
