“The Covers Are Too Far Apart!”
I love to visit bookstores. Like my wife loves good chocolate, I love good bookstores.
I walk in the door and my pulse quickens, my fingers twitch, and my eyes flicker like I’ve had ten Italian espressos. This is especially true of used book stores where X marks the spot for hidden treasure just waiting to be discovered.
X definitely marks the spot in one of my favorite places in the world: the tiny village of Redu, Belgium (population 400), known as the first “Book Village” of Europe and not far from our home of many years. Yes, an entire – and entirely charming – old world village of book stores, new and used. Stores with the usual new book displays and even more stores with books in boxes, stacked up high, one on top of another.
I love bookstores because I love books. Just ask my wife and daughters who have helped me pack, load, unload and unpack five thousand books in over twenty moves between three nations, nine states or provinces and twenty cities.
All of that said, I still have to ask: have you noticed just how many books are out there? Not just the good and great ones, but the long forgotten and the newly forgettable? The list of titles is staggering.
Walking the aisles and perusing the shelves of bookstores I am overwhelmed at the sheer numbers of subjects and titles available. Sometimes I feel like Charlie Brown in his Christmas Show at that moment when he walks onto the Christmas tree lot, surveys aaaaalllllll of the different trees, tree styles, and tree materials, and sighs in wonder, “Fantastic!”
It all calls to mind a quote by political and social prophet George Orwell:
“One does not say that a book ‘ought not to have been published’ merely because it is a bad book. After all, acres of rubbish are printed daily and no one bothers.”
And there is Flannery O’Connor:
“Everywhere I go, I’m asked if I think the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them. There’s many a best seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.”
Finally, there is Ambrose Bierce:
“The covers of this book are too far apart.”
Sadly, all of this can be said of the “Christian” book market where today the market, not the message, seems to drive what is published: “if it’ll sell, put it on the shelf.”
This is especially true in the “Christian Ministry” genre. As I read books for my coaching ministry I am often, shall I say, “underwhelmed” at the numbers of marketing books disguised as Christian ministry texts, books whose covers claim “Christian” but whose contents proclaim the celebrity author and the magic elixir he is selling.
Too often, the books are written to make us marvel at the greatness of the author rather than the glory of the Lord Jesus. Too rarely do these kinds of books reference Scripture and even less do they reverence the Lord of Scripture.
… “Who’s the ‘hot’ pastor or preacher of the moment?”
… “What is the latest technique guaranteed to draw a crowd?”
… “What book, conference, seminar, class, teacher, cohort, ministry, group, or blog do I just have to know, quote, copy, follow, emulate, imitate, replicate, duplicate and impersonate if I want my ministry to be hip, cool, current, relevant, thoughtful, powerful, and successful?”
Books like these come and they go. Like the rising and the setting of the sun, they have their moment of glory before they disappear on the horizon, buried by the simple turning of the earth and time. Nothing timeless within their covers, they simply fade away.
This is why C.S. Lewis wrote,
“It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”
An old one. A classic. One that has stood the test of time because its heart, its mind, its essence are not of this transitory moment, but are transcendent – they are timeless. They are substance over style, principle over pragmatism, the wisdom and glory of Jesus over the wittiness and glibness of the writer.
Allan Bloom, in his classic, “The Closing of the American Mind,” wrote,
“The failure to read good books both enfeebles the vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency – the belief that the here and now is all there is.
Henry David Thoreau wrote,
“Read the best books first or you may not have a chance to read them at all.”
May book lovers like you and me continue to tremble with excitement as we enter bookstores. May our eyes continue to sparkle as they scan the shelves and stacks. But may they pass over the sweets and go to the meats, the “haute cuisines” of soul sustenance that have fed followers of Jesus for years, even generations. Here’s to the classics.
Bon appétit.
To help you in your search for classics, here’s a list of my favorite physical location USED book stores, each one well worth a visit.
Hyde Brothers, Fort Wayne, IN
A good, old-fashioned, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling collection of books – two floors’ worth, calling to you to make a day of it.
Half-Price Books – Anywhere
By last count, I’ve visited 22 of their 120 stores and I love them all, but my favorite HPBs are their West Lane Ave and Bethel Road locations in Columbus, OH
Bright Light Books, Oveido (Orlando), FL
A great collection of Christian books (primarily Calvinist) with two great features: First, a sliding discount – the longer a book is on the shelf, the greater the discount; Second, a clearance center where all the books are $5 and under.
A. Parker’s Books – Sarasota, FL
Lots of books and lots of southern style. A relaxing day of treasure hunting.
Alabama Booksmith, Birmingham, AL
Amazing collections in history. Some of my greatest treasures come from this store.
The Village Bookshop – Columbus, OH
Located in an old converted church on the far north side of Columbus, TVB has a great collection of books, and all in excellent great condition. No “acceptables” here. All high quality.
Local Flea Markets & Second Hand Shops (Non-book stores)
I have found some of my greatest treasures, and at the greatest prices, at local flea markets and second hand shops from Michigan City, IN to Myrtle Beach, SC
Special Mention: The Book Loft of German Village – Columbus, OH
NOT a used bookstore, but also NOT to be missed.
Located in historic German Village in Columbus, shopping for books is unique in this classic old house – room after room and treasures on top of treasures.
After you shop, walk over to Schmidt’s for an unbelievable German meal. A perfect day.
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“In the early years when I was becoming a pastor, I needed a pastor.”
Eugene H. Peterson, The Pastor: A Memoir
