The Attic of Poor Richard’s Books
On my recent trip to Kentucky, my father and I stopped in at his sister’s bookstore in Frankfort. My aunt Elizabeth and her children were the exotic part of the family in my mind as I grew up: they lived far away, in a world filled with books and blue grass and wide open spaces. I hardly knew them.
It’s only been in recent years that the cousins on my father’s side have begun to seek each other out and form bonds of friendship. It’s as if we picked up old books that were there, waiting to be discovered, and found a world within them.
I could get lost in my aunt’s bookstore, and I very nearly did. The bottom level is like many other book shops, filled with new titles laid out to catch your eye. But upstairs are where the real gems lie waiting for owners.
Books long forgotten line the shelves. They hide in shadows. Sometimes only a cover peeks out from beneath another book. You catch a flash of bright blue or a shimmer of gold. These books tell stories beyond the ones written in them: old owners names can be found on the first page, inscriptions are written on the inside front cover, notes have been jotted here and there in margins. You can feel the ghosts circle around you, whispering ever so softly as you move from one volume to the next.
I think we both need to find a bookstore to get lost in this week…
I love books too! Jake only let me bring 5 of my books to Toronto with me…and that stack of 5 has grown into 20…oops….
Oh my gosh! I need to go there! I have never wanted to go to Kentucky until now. How magical.
You should visit Kentucky! It’s beautiful here!
You had me lost there in that bookshop too Brandi! You’re a good storyteller!
that place looks amazing. i’m so jealous because there aren’t that many bookstores around where i live.
xoxo, Oleah
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Your aunt is the owner? I haven’t been there since…I don’t know, sometime before my aunt moved from Frankfort to Louisville, so more than ten years ago. I loved it. I need to go back. It’s not even forty-five minutes away. Amazing.
These are my favourite kinds of bookshops! The kind you can get immediately lost in and spend hours pouring over the shelves. It’s sad they’re a bit of a dying breed these days.
a bookstore is the best kind of place to get lost… xoxo
Can I tell you how jealous I am that you’re related to someone who owns such a lovely bookstore?
what a magical place! i love bookstores with all of my being. if I was in this place, i might never leave…..