There’s a magical bookstore not far from my house.

It’s in a strip mall, near a Bare Bones Workwear store, a laundromat, some vacant shop spaces, a Chinese restaurant. I stopped there today on my way home. I have been making an effort to fit more “treats” into my daily life, things that make me happy, that don’t cost a lot, and that leave me feeling lighter and content. Just a few minutes in this magical bookstore  always brightens my day. Even better? It supports the Humane Society, is staffed entirely by volunteers, and most everything in the store costs  $1.00.

Only $1.00!

What is not to love about that?

Whenever I visit, I almost always find a book or two that is exactly what I need. Sometimes, I don’t know that it’s what I need until I see it. The books have a way of popping out at me. I spy them, realize what they are, and then say, “Well, there you are. I didn’t know. Thank you.”

I’ve found books that address a specific problem, a sadness, a hurt. Sometimes, I’ll buy one that I’ve already read and own, but it’s so good that I’ll get another copy to share with a friend or to take to our town’s Little Free Library, a wooden box that sits up the road across from the post office and our small general store.  I am certain that the Little Free Library acts as a magical book store for people up here. You never know what you will find. I recently made “Arnabit ma’li,” or fried cauliflower, out of an Egyptian cookbook that I discovered there.  It was so good!

Sometimes, the Little Free Library gets too full.  I think that the good citizens of our town occasionally embark on decluttering projects and don’t know where to take the books that they don’t love anymore, so they happily squish them into the Little Free Library box. About once a week, after I check my mail, I’ll peer into the box and give the books some attention. Sometimes they need to be straightened, put the right direction again. Sometimes, the collection needs to be downsized. If the door to the Library won’t shut, or if there are so many books that there are bags sitting outside on the ground, then it’s time to remove a few. I’ve been known to cull books that are moldy or torn, or things that I’m pretty sure no one would ever read  (ancient camera and computer manuals, for example). Books that are in good shape but that have been there for a long time and don’t appear to be moving anytime soon? I gather these up and donate them to the Magic Bookstore.

Here’s what I found at today’s trip to the Magic Bookstore: Bob Goff’s book “Everybody Always.” I just love that guy! Rob Bell’s “Love Wins,” which sort of says it all .”Tattoos on the Heart,” by Jesuit priest Father Greg Boyle. Also, a Martha Beck book that I had  been thinking about buying, and a brand new copy of a book by poet John O’Donohue called “Beauty: the Invisible Embrace”.

Here’s a random line from that one:

“When courage comes alive, imprisoning walls become frontiers of new possibility, difficulty becomes invitation and the heart comes into a new rhythm of trust and sureness.” Virtually every line of O’Donohue’s work, if you’ve never read it, is packed  like that. I think this is one that I will savor for a long time.

Lastly, I found “Coaching the Artist Within,” the kind of book that encourages you to sit down and  write something, even if you think you have finally, undoubtedly, run out of anything worthwhile to say.

All of this for less than $10!  It was nice to tell them to keep the change after the tax got added on, something I could never afford to do at a traditional bookstore.

Books have always been my friends and teachers. I was an avid reader growing up and majored in literature in college. I confess, though, that I’ve gotten out of the habit of reading everyday. Luckily, that’s something I can change. So far this year, I’ve read everyday, mostly due to the fact that I joined the “21 minutes a day in 2021” reading challenge, created by Gretchen Rubin, who hosts one of my favorite podcasts, “Happier with Gretchen Rubin.” I printed an accountability sheet from her website and am happily filling in the squares for each day I read. You can see it and print your own here: https://gretchenrubin.com/resources/.   It’s not to late to start this daily reading habit. Just 21 minutes a day is so doable. It’s making me very happy.  And my trip to the Magical Bookstore has made sure that I have plenty of books to fill my time. If you need something to read in your 21 minutes a day, why not head up to Auburn and visit the Humane Society Bookstore? Its website is here: https://animalplace.com/volunteer/used-book-store/ That’s it’s official name, but now you know it’s other name, too: the Magical Bookstore: where you might find just what you need, even if you don’t know exactly what that is.