I changed my ways of getting books…a bit.
As a child, I loved fresh books. The new book smell was intoxicating. I liked the idea of owning something that no one else had owned before. It was mine.
But since I got to college, money and gifts hadn’t come as much as they used to. I searched around until I found a cheaper way to get books: the smaller price on Amazon from third party buyers. I upgraded from that to ThriftBooks soon after that.
These books had given me wonderful surprises. One used psychology book dropped Egyptian money. But the latest book was the most interesting.
I recently bought Humans of New York. It had small tags everywhere. Humans of New York is a Facebook blog where Brandon takes pictures of people in New York and tells their story. His blog got so famous that he has a Facebook series, gets paid to travel across the world, and has two books now.
But his book came with these small pink tags. These tags—left by a stranger—point toward their favorite stories. As I read the book to understand humans more, I felt as if I was reading to understand this stranger more too.
We had different tastes for sure. The stranger loved stories with two lovers showcasing their happiness more; I loved the stories of people overcoming different adversities more.
I found another surprise the further I went. It seemed as if the stranger also printed off more photos as seen in the photo to the right.
It was an experience I couldn’t have from any new book. I still enjoy getting new books though. Just a part of me opened up more to the thrift books life now.
How about you? Do you buy thrift books?
Robin LeeAnn 
I started getting second-hand books through Amazon out of necessity: to save money and to get out-of-print books, but there is also an aesthetic side to it. These are books that have character, and that sort of carry a story of their own.
And indeed, one finds annotations and strange extras inside.
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That’s so true!
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