Libraries and Bookstores

In the middle of a serious cold snap, I decided to go to the library.

This was not something I planned. My day started with a run at a snow-hardened track, Tim Hortons, and then a return home to clean up, write in my journal and rest.

But there was a bit of a problem...

The cold.

I have told my students in one particular class to stay out of the cold. Now, for a Canadian, this can seem quite silly. But, as someone born here who has experienced every sort of weather this country can throw at a citizen, the wind-chill seemed very extreme (-50 Celsius by Friday evening). Even with central heating, my hands and feet rebelled against Hydro Quebec's offering. So, I went out...back to the library and my old habits.

I managed to finish some marking and then looked around. I had not been back to the Grand Bibliothéque in Montréal in over four months. Being stuck with too many books and a new semester of different contracts and colleges meant that I had to keep the trips out brief and to the point. The library just did not matter.

Or maybe it always did.

I browsed around and found a bio that I had been looking at online (I won't go into too many details here, but I will say that Ms. Deirdre Bair is one of our great talents). So, I am reading this book...and then passing by the small boutique on the main floor...that held several used book dealers.

Now, this always struck me as rather odd. The sellers are part of a group called Les Bouquinistes. They used to sell out in the alley adjacent to the library, and now, they were brought indoor...and I did buy a cheap paperback that I had been looking for and had not found.

But I wondered about this.

Why one book from a library, but the other from a vendor? There must have been some reason, or set of reasons, for my choice.

So, let's see if I did have some sort of guide settled in the back of mind as I shopped and browsed.

1. Can you find the book at the library?

Usually, this is a simple issue. A lot of the most recent novels and books that I have wanted to read are on long lists of reserved books that I may have to wait for almost an entire year for a bestseller. It can be easy to get hooked up with the classics and some of the more esoteric material that I enjoy reading.

2. Is there a book box in your neighbourhood?

One little discovery I have made is the growth of book boxes in neighbourhoods where I never expected to find them. This includes the neighbourhood I used to live in, my hometown, and some of the private neighbourhoods I am continuing to discover in my new space. It is impossible for me to ignore the wonderful change in our methods of sharing books.

3. Is there a secondhand goods shop in your neighbourhood?

In Quebec, there is competition with the Salvation Army stores called Renaissance, a rather wonderful way of taking that term and applying it to used items, such as clothes, music and books. Some of the most interesting novels and texts I have read in the last five years have come from a crowded and sometimes musty space.

4. Are there several good secondhand bookstores in your hometown?

It is because of a secondhand bookstore in my hometown that I decided to read 'Lord of the Rings'. If not for that little shop - Mike's World of Books (missed and mourned) - I would have been stuck on 'The Hobbit' without being able to make the leap into the trilogy (the first section - 'The Fellowship of the Ring' - was not available in any of the major chain stores). I mention this moment that arrived in my teen years because it seems to have affected my behaviour to the present day. To live in a city where such spaces exist is often a great test of where I will spend my time and money.

5. And...do you have space and a willingness to crowd your home with the books you cannot dream of giving away?

This may be the hardest question to settle above all others.

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You can find more poems, stories, and articles by Kendall Defoe on my Vocal profile. I complain, argue, provoke and create...just like everybody else.

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