Used Memories

Used books are great, sometimes even better than new books. One reason is that, once in a while, you'll find a book with a story to tell beyond what is printed. Perhaps there is a name written inside. Perhaps there is a message from the person who gave the book to its original owner. Whenever I find something like that, it makes me wonder about the person who owned the book previously, what they thought about the book, what they got out of it, and how it made its journey to my bookshelf.

I just started reading George Orwell's Animal Farm, and it appears to be an edition from the mid-eighties. It looks much older and it's not in good condition. I believe I bought it at a used book sale that our library holds every year.

Take a look at what I found on the inside cover:

(click to see it larger)

It appears to be the former property of the American School in London. It had many previous owners, judging from all the crossed-out names. I'm thinking these were students who loaned the book from the school's library. Christine Wojie's name is written several times.

I think this is very cool! If you recognize your name here, please leave me a comment or email and tell me more about the story behind this book!