JLS (jlsjlsjls) wrote,
JLS
jlsjlsjls

My kind of secondhand book store

Midtown Scholar, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I just received my long-wanted copy of Jonathan Miller's "On Reflection" from them (via Alibris) ... packaged as if it were fine china, and with a 10% off coupon (for online ordering) along with the usual Alibris discount coupon. Book looks as if it has never been opened ... the only exception to pristine newness is some dark smudging on the white dustjacket, but it's the kind of smudging that occurs when a light-coloured book has been shelved against a dark-coloured one for a while, rather than being actual "dirt" ... no big deal as far as I'm concerned (and nary a trace of the musty smell one often gets from a secondhand book, which means their storage is well-ventilated). It's always good to know that a particular seller looks after their stock, and that their inventory isn't made up of coffee table books and Harlequin romances. :p Am extra-delighted because this is one of those books I've been kicking myself for not buying during its brief print run (it was published to accompany the National Gallery's "Mirror Image" exhibition in 1998) ... as well as covering the history of mirrors and reflections in art, it features several odd pieces that require a mirror to view properly ... distorted paintings that can only be seen properly if a reflective cylinder is placed in the middle, combinations of skewed paintings and mirrors in boxes which are viewed through a peephole to form a coherent picture, etc. Plus Dr. Miller's own excellent text. :-)

Am now harassing brain to try to remember other highbrow wishlist titles ... wonder what Midtown stocks in the way of palaeontology ... or forensics ... or anthropology ...
Tags: reading
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