July Greetings from Bookshop Santa Cruz

It's inevitable that when summer comes around, discussions about books start to be framed with the idea of books as light, throw-away objects.

Beach reads are synonymous with dog-eared paperbacks found in vacation homes and passed through the hands of dozens of readers before they happen to cross your path. Literature should be light, airy, and most of all, entertaining--just as the summer days before us feel. 

Having just spent some of my summer going through a home move, my summer has focused on books in an opposite sense. For yet another time in my life, I spent hours packing up box after box after box of books that I've accumulated. Although I was able to produce dozens of bags of clothing and toys and household goods to donate, I only managed to donate one box of books to Bookshop's used book counter.

This stemmed from my emotional connection to each and every tome and my unwillingness to leave any behind. It is worth it to hold on to all of them as they are the most clear representation of my identity and are the focal point of what makes a house a home for me.

What I found interesting is that these precious books come in every form imaginable--from signed first edition hardcovers of authors who visited the store to dog-eared used paperbacks I bought in college and read on a beach while backpacking through a third world country. The format of the book didn't matter, just that I had a connection to it. Books remind us places, of times in our lives, of people and experiences we've had. More importantly, they remind us of the emotion we felt as we read them and the places they transported us to along the way.

As we find ourselves in the heart of summer, I hope that we are still having these deeper connections to our books, regardless of the genre of literature or the way the book got in your hand.

I encourage you to hold onto that well worn paperback--if only it reminds you of a beach you visited the next time you open it and sand falls from the creases in the pages onto your living room floor. Books, after all, not only carry stories and ideas, they carry memories and emotions--and that is why they are so powerful.

Happy summer reading!
Casey Coonerty Protti
Owner
Bookshop Santa Cruz