Saturday, December 29, 2018

A Kind Note Found In a Book I Bought

I like to buy used books and always appreciate if there is some clue in them to a previous owner. I bought Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis at the near by Goodwill used book store. A blogger mentioned this book and then I read that Amis is compared as a comic writer to my favorite comedic author, P.G. Wodehouse so I grabbed the book. Not out of someone's hands, ha ha.
Isn't this note kind? "Geoff, Thanks for all you do. It's been a stressful year, so I hope you can unwind a bit with Lucky Jim and start the New Year on a happy note. To 2011. Mike."

Below is the snowman on the cover of the note.

Have you found intriguing inscriptions in used books you have bought?

26 comments:

Betsy said...

What a great note! My Bible has handwritten notes from each of my children which only adds to it’s value to me. I have several author signed books too. Happy New Year!
Blessings,
Betsy

Dee said...

My son bought me a book about antique fire trucks. It had an inscription in the front wishing the giftee a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Uncle Chuck. P.S. "Don't let Buddy see this book".

LOL Makes your wonder why Buddy can't see the book. Maybe he would TAKE IT???? The inscription made the book even better for me.

Glad you had a happy inscription in YOUR book too.

Happy New Year and here's to many more fun books in 2019.

acorn hollow said...

I work at a used book store you would never believe what we find!
Cathy

Buttercup said...

Not in years, but I was wildly intrigued in the inscriptions I found in books I bought when I was in junior high school. Those were my first used books and it was so exciting to begin to accumulate my own collection. I wondered who the past owners were.
Wishes for a very happy and healthy new year!

Henny Penny said...

I love finding things like that. I was having a yard sale once and had a box of old books there. A lady picked up one of the books and flipped through it and out fell an old valentine. I mean a very old valentine, that a guy had written to his girlfriend. It was one of the sweet little valentines that you sign on the back. The lady said she would love to have it, if I didn't mind so I gave it to her. After all, I would have never known it was in there if she hadn't found it. But I sure wanted to keep it.

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

I've found recipes in old cookbooks before, Teresa. This is a kind note and one that made me smile. ♥

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

Terra, I'm so sorry I called you Teresa! I don't know why, but I just thought about the error. Sorry. ♥

kath001 said...

I like shopping used book also, and notes/inscriptions are a bonus find. :)

Blondie's Journal said...

How interesting! I find notes and lists from years past stuck in my own books! And once my son found a letter stuck in a bottle on the street in Chicago. It was an anonymous tip about someone who had committed a murder. He turned it over to the police and an arrest was made!! Only in my life!

Jane

Cro Magnon said...

No, but I recently found my daughter's letter to Santa Claus (aged about 5) inside a very old Indian recipe book.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Not that I can remember - but how kind the one you found was - I hope it cheered up the recipient.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I'm always so pleased to find a note or scrap of paper in a book! Love that note...makes you wonder, doesn't it? Hugs!

Debra said...

Oh! I love finding any kind of notes in books or clues to the previous owner---and you found such a lovely one! Thanks for sharing it with us .... Blessings, Debra

Jennifer said...

I bought an old copy of My Antonia and the inside page says:

To Grandma, I love you anyway! Angie, December 25, 1993.

I suppose she meant to write "always" instead of "anyway" haha. :)

Fun60 said...

I have never found one but as I buy a number of books from charity shops I am going to search for notes!

Linda said...

That was such a sweet note!
I’m laughing as my eye just noticed what Jennifer wrote!
That’s what my mother tells me......I love you ANYWAY!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I once found a $10.00 bill in a used book. How did that slip by someone? I like when used books have pencil notes as well but, oddly, I don't write in my books.

Ryoma Sakamoto.Japan said...

Hello! !
Today 31st is New Year's Eve in Japan.
New Year’s Eve is called “Oomisoka” in Japanese.
We eat soba noodles called “toshikoshi soba” (year-crossing soba) to wish for a long lasting life. On New Year’s Eve, soba noodle shops are crowded with many people from morning till night.
Also, a major house cleaning is done by the whole family. This major house cleaning is thought as a ritual to give a pleasant welcome to God on New Year’s Day.
At night time, many people get together at countdown events.Others stay at home and watch television programs. The most well known one is the “Kouhaku Utagassen”, an annual singing contest.
At Buddhist temples, huge bells are hit 108 times during midnight to get rid of all evil desires.
Ryoma.

Cynthia said...

I’ve found a few notes written in books but never anything very interesting. And i find shopping lists in library books quite often. Must be a very common and handy object to grab for a bookmark!

Jeanie said...

I love this. A lot. I will sometimes see inscriptions or maybe a note but nothing so sweet as this. What a good find. I think Geoff was a lucky fellow to have a good friend like Mike.

Anonymous said...

That's so sweet to find a note like that in a book. I never read Amis, but hearing he's akin to Wodehouse (who I LOVE), I feel like I should.

Eggs In My Pocket said...

How wonderful! Yes, I collect old cookbooks and love to find where a substitution was made for a recipe or if the recipe was considered good.
Wishing you a blessed and happy New Year!

Granny Marigold said...

What fun to read your post and all the comments that were left here. I've found inscriptions in used books but nothing terribly interesting.
Happy New Year to you and your family!!

Elaine said...

That was a really nice find. I have found a few things - a postcard, a train ticket, occasionally a shopping list or a cutting from an old newspaper, but I really love the handwritten inscriptions and the pencil notes in margins, just as I like books which have obviously lived a life before I bought them. Three cheers for books!

Lark said...

I found a Valentine once which was kind of fun. Made me wonder of the girl was as careless with her relationship as she was with her Valentine card. ;D

Pamela M. Steiner said...

That is so neat. I love it when I find personal notes or inscriptions in old books. Somehow I feel a kinship with those who have read the book before, and I wonder if they enjoyed it as much as I did, or if they cried or laughed or sighed on the same pages. That is so wonderful. Thank you for sharing it with us.