Dale Nikkel's Blog

Used book stores have so much romance to them. I’ve got an afternoon off and headed downtown to browse the used book stores and have a coffee. I love the hunt for a good used book. And what’s a treasure for me certainly isn’t for somebody else. No luck today. I never found the right book. But I’ll be back.

It got me thinking about whether book stores will go the way of CDs. I mean, people used to steal CDs from cars and sell them for big money. Now they are like coasters to people. Will books go this way too with all the new technology. I can’t see it. Regardless of what the futurists tell us — do people want to spend their relaxing days staring at a screen? I don’t.

Long live the used book store.

I’m reading Frederick Buechner right now. He tells the story of how his father killed himself and how that affected his whole life. It’s a gripping tale. The book is called “Telling Secrets” and it sure inspires me to explore my own life. He says there is peace at the bottom of our secrets and they must be told — we are our secrets. This is so true, isn’t it? And perhaps why having good friends is so important; someone you can trust with what you really find precious and vulnerable. There’s not too many of those people around these days.

Buechner is so eloquent in his writing. So reflective in his thoughts. He has an amazing ability to self-reflect and tap into the landscape of the heart. This is somehow another lost cause. We dismiss journalling and mining the soul as ‘navel-gazing’ but really it’s discovering who we are so we can better liver our lives.

I’m on the train heading for Toronto this morning. The sun is peaking out over Guelph. I love these little Ontario towns. What I love more is that I’m not on the 401 with bumper to bumper traffic. The guy across the aisle is swigging alcohol from a flask. It’s 7:15 a.m.