On Used Bookstores and Quality of Life
On Friday evening I packed up a picnic of cold tuna macaroni salad and watermelon and boarded an evening train bound for Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley. We arrived in the dark and drank cold glasses of vinho verde before falling asleep. But in the morning, we awoke to a a town filled with red brick buildings and ringed by green mountains in the distance. We ate breakfast outside in the sprawling garden of a restaurant where they roast their own coffee beans and sell peanut butter chocolate chip cookies the size of your head. From there, we visited the kind of huge, creaky used bookstore that can only exist off rural highways, and here we get to the first point I want to make: of course I had to buy the book you see here the moment I saw it, even if it hadn’t cost $1.50. Please note the sentence at the top of the cover.
I got a little carried away at this book store, snatching up an M.F.K. Fisher book I didn’t have, a Joan Didion novel I’ve long wanted to read, and a cookbook that caused a staggering library fine the last time it was in my hot little hands. Sebastian found me a heavy anthology of personal essays. As the shopkeeper rang me up, he paused at that one. “Is this one free or $1?” As I might have mentioned, I love used bookstores.
We returned to home base for rosé and cold celery stalks smeared with pimento cheese. Everyone retreated into their books for a quiet hour or two. Later, we drove a few miles on empty back roads lined with coneflowers to reach a swimming pool tucked next to river. Here, a surly teenager served ice cold canned sodas and greasy hamburgers.
How delightfully far it all felt from New York! On the Sunday drive back to the train station, my damp swimsuit tucked back inside my suitcase, we got to talking about quality of life. How that can mean walking five minutes to your office and having the things you love––swimming holes, bookstores, bibimbap, and really, really good iced coffee––easily accessible. New York has everything anyone could ever want. But to get to those things, we have to travel; even my best friend lives over an hour away by subway.
Some day, perhaps, I’ll settle in that kind of perfect place where indie craft fairs and ethnic food are enveloped by a wide natural world teeming with trails for hiking and clear lakes for swimming. (Any leads on places that match this description, by the way?) Until then, my new goal is to focus on the living the charmed life at hand. That means sprucing up the apartment I actually live in (instead of dreaming about moving), climbing in bed with an old novel, its brittle, brown pages and that wonderful old book smell, lulled to sleep with the story of what happens when a group of Bohemians face up to love.
Christine S.: If someone clues you into that “perfect place” you mention, let me know…:) In the meantime, I’m with you…sprucing up the place, hitting those great sales that can only be found through luck and thrift, and savoring the moments we are able to steal away to our “ideal”. Happy Summer, Sarah!1 year ago
Love this, Christine: “those great sales that can only be found through luck and thrift.” Happy summer to you!1 year ago
Anne: Summertime + mini-vacations + old books and dreams of old-fashioned times = bliss.
Again, again, love Fisher, Didion, McCarthy. The book club we could have….1 year ago
Gwen: That place sounds an awful lot like Portland (OR, not ME) to me.1 year ago
BethP: Hmm… Burlington, VT, maybe? Or Boulder, CO! Most of this post makes me dearly regert my decision to stay put in the city until August. But I had a nice weekend full of “the charmed life at hand,” with movies in my cool air-conditioned bedroom, ripe raspberries from my landlord’s backyard (I always thought it was just full of weeds… who knew?), and plenty of really good iced coffee. So I am actually, surprisingly, looking forward to the string of lovely staycation-in-Brooklyn weekends that’s stretching out before me.1 year ago
aimee: Did you happen to go to Rao’s? If so that is the best coffee to be had!1 year ago
Anne, Yeah, that pretty much does sound like the best book club ever.
Have you read Mary Cantwell? If not, she’s definitely one to add to the list.
Gwen, Oh yeah, it’s all about Portland, isn’t it?
BethP, I am rediscovering my love of raspberries and think your weekend sounds pretty divine.
Aimee, Next time! Though in Amherst I did go on a wacky trip back in time in Newberry Comics where I seriously considered buying a used copy of Little Earthquakes, which was the soundtrack of my entire 6th grade year.1 year ago
Alicia Kachmar: Were you in Northampton????1 year ago
Alva: I honestly think this is the absolute best post you have ever done! Thanks so much for sharing doll!1 year ago
Alicia Kachmar: ps-PITTSBURGH You can go berry-picking, hiking, biking, to indie craft fairs, have amazing coffee and pastries, picnic in one of the many parks, go to used book stories etc. etc all in the city! Just sayin’!1 year ago
Alicia, Yes m’am! Got an iced mocha at the Haymarket and everything! Also, I have harbored a sort of secret interest in Pittsburgh for awhile now. I think it’s time to come explore!
Alva, Really? I’m so surprised to hear you say that! I wonder what it is you liked so much about this…1 year ago
Diane @ InMyOwnStyle: Your weekend sounded delighful. Used bookstores and libraries are my favorite place to browse. They are getting harder to find. as so many in my area have closed.
I am looking forward to hearing if you liked A Charmed Life. It looks like a fun book.1 year ago
Christine: Gwen is right! Portland, OR fits the criteria.:)1 year ago
Christine S.: You were in Amherst? We are going on college visits with my daughter to both Burlington, VT, and Amherst, Mass., in a few weeks! Can’t wait!!!1 year ago
tea_austen: This is so lovely, and something I think about. Have you ever watched Dan Barber’s talk on Foie Gras? Ever since then I’ve been thinking what the “conditions of my greatest happiness” are and where I might best find them: big city? small town? someplace in between? They are different for everyone (thank goodness). I’m still looking.
Of course, there is the opposite camp of “bloom where you’re planted.” Maybe there is no perfect place, it’s about making a life that’s perfect for you wherever you are.
But yes, it’s all about Portland. Going there this weekend! I’ve got a huge crush on that town.1 year ago
Becky: Two things:
1. I too LOVE the smell of old books. Delicious!
2. Over an hour away by subway to your best friend??? I am so sheltered; must visit NYC as this statement was shocking to me. Would love to know what it is really like in the city!
Great post!!1 year ago
Erin: I love this post. I love your aesthetic and the things you rhapsodize about. It seems to me you already have the best of both worlds. But, if you did leave NYC, I would think you would need to be near a large-ish city in order not to feel deprived of the cultural offerings to which you have become accustomed. The trade-off would be easier access to the hills, rivers, mountains, countryside that are so heavenly in the summer and, to some extent, charming in the winter.1 year ago
Alicia Kachmar: Do I win a prize for guessing correctly?? I went to Smith College…so I just knew!!! Hehe. I spent money I didn’t have in used bookstores there…love!
Come to Pittsburgh…I’m living there now…wouldn’t it be funny to meet in Pgh??1 year ago
Allyn: Yay! We moved from NYC to Easthampton last year – it’s great here in the Pioneer Valley! What book store did you go to??1 year ago
Aline: Madison/Wisconsin! Not as stylish as some other cities but cheaper and it is a really beautiful, little town.
Also – New Orleans. Not as small and has been hit with so many disasters but what a wonderful place. I lived in Amsterdam for many years and New Orleans reminded me so much of it.1 year ago
Suzy: That’s not carried away! Or maybe I am just out of control because I bought 10 used books today. (And I already own more than 1000 books–probably 2000.) Unfortunately, none of mine cost a mere dollar. (But they were all half-off, so I couldn’t resist.)
I too adore the smell of books. New, old, extra gluey–doesn’t matter. I’m always sniffing them and my husband makes fun of me.
I think one’s idea of quality of life is ever-changing just as we are ever-changing. The grass is always greener though, unfortunately. And while there is a lot to be said for convenience, you can adapt to anything. I live in the sticks and have to drive 30 minutes to get a latte, but I have learned to appreciate what my eensy little town has to offer in comparison.
I also loved this post. Classic Sarah.1 year ago
Christine H.: Living the charmed life at hand…this is the sentiment that has been on the tip of my tongue but I couldn’t quite voice until now. I’ve felt like this since coming back home from my summer vacation. If I search out museums whilst visiting other cities, how is it I’ve never been to a museum in Austin? This is a situation I plan to rectify very soon. Thanks for this post, Sarah!1 year ago
Avril: Loved your post Sarah! Great timing too. Im in the middle of a work slump…and Im trying to stay as positive as I can to ensure I’ve not torn off every last strand of my nearly salt-and-pepper hair. But this post seriously made me wanna whip up a picnic basket of my own & take off. Unfortunately one has no such luck as one’s better half is more than swamped at work which is eating into our weekends. To conclude, I will plan a picnic at home
complete with basket, rug & other essentials. Yea, the charmed life, here and how 
1 year ago
Sara Rose: Perhaps as a birthday present to myself, I should go to our used book store! It is that time of year. I now crave 50 cent books and watermelon.1 year ago
Donna: I just love the cover of that book, and don’t you wonder WHO decided to put that sentence at the top??
Donna1 year ago
Sheree: I enjoyed reading this post. I know you live on the East coast but if you ever get a chance to visit Solvang, CA, you should. You would love it!
http://www.solvangusa.com/1 year ago
Kate (Southern Belle Simple): Love your blog….the words always manage to transport me to a sweeter time! Keep it up lady!1 year ago
Erin: 3rd vote for Portland, OR. I love it here….1 year ago
annabelle: i envy your lovely life, dappled with train rides and late night wine! thank you for sharing tales of your own bohemian life
1 year ago
annabelle, oh, don’t be envious. this is just one dimension of the weekend: the delightful part! like any weekend, it had other, less wonderful sides, too.
1 year ago
lisa strawberry: I adore this post. You make a glowing, beautiful, arty and literary life sound completely accessible and yet still unique and personal. Your journal is a safe haven of beauty for me. Thank you.1 year ago
Anne: Madison, WI. And even smaller, surrounding areas like Spring Green, WI or (smaller yet) Viroqua, WI.1 year ago
Lien: Lovely post! I’ll take your lead and spruce up our apartment too. We’ve spent the last year looking for a house to buy and all I can think of how I can’t wait to move out but our apartment isn’t that bad. New sheets and quilt cover will be the place to start!1 year ago
Kristine: I think you are living a charmed life! You really seem to know how to appreciate the beautiful little things that really matter and are special. I can smell the magical musty smell of an old book right now! Yum. Thanks for another inspiring and lovely post!1 year ago
molly: Yes, yes and YES! As a former used bookstore mgr, there is nothign NOTHING like a great used trove. Cheers, and happy summer, Molly1 year ago
Ginger: I’m reluctantly admiting that Monterey, CA might be just your sort of place. I say reluctantly because I was rather (ashamedly) determined not to like my new home. I’m a Southern girl, and the thought of being so far away from friends and family made me sad.
It still does, but the charms of this town are winning me over… imagine perfect weather all year round with old fashioned festivals complete with barbershop quartets, parades, food, rides right up next to farmer’s markets galore (somethink like 70% of America’s produce is grown in the salad bowl that is Salinas, next town over) next to the cutest Victorian houses you’ll ever see next to those classic California split level 70′s homes next to more local theaters per capita than I think I’ve ever experienced (it’s not Broadway, but sometimes those local productions are just the most captivating) next to several universities that make their home here (I’ve always found where there are institutions of higher learning, there is culture — students demand and often create it) next to mountains, next to wealth (Pebble Beach never gets old for celebrity surprises), next to simplicity next to a rich literary tradition (Steinbeck, Robert Jefferson Tors, Robert Louis Stevenson) next to lakes next to big cities (San Francisco is only about 120 miles away)… next to the Pacific Ocean (the Atlantic will always have my love, but the rocky crags and massive waves now have my whole heart).
Do come and visit us sometime soon. It really is fantastic. I hate to say it, but Monterey, CA might be just what you’re looking for.
(And if you’re set on visiting that cooler neighbor up north, Portland, it’s just a short plane ride away, or a gorgeous car drive up the coast.)1 year ago
Rachael: Were you at the book mill in montague? Next to the lady killigrew? Best used bookstore in the valley. Where was this pool? Also, thanks for ‘Dear Nora’.1 year ago
I love the book mill! For this trip, though, we were at a place called Grey Matter. The pool was at the Northampton Country Club, which is the most chillaxed “country club” I’ve ever been to. Just my speed.1 year ago
Lesley: Sigh. You’ve pretty much described my perfect weekend. I’m craving that old book smell right now… wish I had a vintage paperback I could dip into. I’ll have to settle for the computer screen.
1 year ago
Lesley: Also: Props to you for buying the bohemian book! I always see books like that and want to buy them, and then my rational side talks me out of it. (“Are you *really* going to read this? What are you going to do when you’re done with it? You don’t have any room!”) Next time I’m buying the book that catches my fancy, impulse-buy be damned.1 year ago