Sanctuary

Where I live, we have a thrift store called Deseret Industries. It is part of a bigger chain, like Goodwill, but Deseret is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The books at their stores consist of many that are published by Deseret Book Company in Salt Lake City.

When we stopped there yesterday, I looked through the spiritual section of books, which is rather large, and was only there two minutes before I found five books with inscriptions.

I was going to make a different post today, but the inscription in this particular book is so wonderful, I just couldn't wait to share it. Hopefully the background of where the book was found will help with the inscription.

 

 

Inscription reads: "Aug. 18, 1997. Dear Myrna, I don't know where to begin to express to you my love and appreciation. You have been so very helpful with all Hispanic sisters. You've always been there when they needed you. I want to thank you for serving as my counselor. You've done a great job. I'll really miss you. But I'm excited about the exciting times ahead of you. Enjoy each minute. Thank you also for asking me to participate in Mary's memorial service. That was a great honor for me. Please always keep in touch. May our Heavenly father keep you safe. Love Sheryl"

Buy the Book New: Sanctuary

Forgotten Moments - The International Library of Poetry

My husband found this book at our favorite thrift store while I was on the other end of the book section. When we got home, I looked through the books and two of them, this one and my post for tomorrow, came from the same book owner. Hilda, as she is known, liked to write in her books.

The cool thing about this book is that Hilda has a poem published in it and she wrote the page number on the inside cover.

Her poem is entitled, "From the Garden of Eden a Prayer".

Hilda was especially good at marking dates and details in her books. I wonder why this book is lonesome then?

 

  

  

  

  

Inscription #1 reads: "From the library of: Raymond & Hilda Cohrs. Gresham, Oregon. Sat. 11-4-2000"

Inscription #2 reads: "Page 30 - poem. Also p. 248 & 268.

The Nature of Inscriptions

My mom has always been one to write book inscriptions, which always struck me as funny, because she is not a reader and I've never considered her a book lover. She will read books, but only to learn information...never just for the pure joy of reading a book.

I on the other hand, love certain books so much, that when I think about them, I feel almost giddy and weightless. I could go on and on about trips to the library when I was little and getting lost in the stacks, sitting on the floor of the library while the smell of the musty books erased every thought in my head until I was free. I think in my life, I've only ever wrote one book inscription.

It seems such a personal thing to do, writing an inscription. More than just giving someone a greeting card with words of sentiment and a signature scrawl, writing a book inscription is adding to the heft of the book and the author's intentions. Whatever the writer of the book meant to say is doubled when we inscribe a book...because we add a whole new dimension to the story.

Whatever someone's intentions are when giving a book as a gift, I hope the first one is, "I thought of you when I read/saw/heard about this book". Adding an inscription is one of the most personal ways to give someone an even more intimate gift. What says more about a person than their personal tastes in movies, television, music and books? Hopefully the book wasn't just some last minute grab in the clearance piles at Barnes & Noble. I am adding too much sentiment and emotion into this, but I would like to believe that giving a book is a loving gesture and writing an inscription is just as loving.

I supposed it's why I post books with inscriptions...I don't want these treasures to be forgotten. Perhaps the recipient has long forgotten the book, but I won't.

Following Your Path

This is by far my favorite inscription in a book yet. It is so personal and meaningful and heartfelt. It's also a little sad because even though the inscription is poignant, the book was never used as it was meant to be.

This particular book is a workbook with exercises to help someone discover things they might not have known about themselves. Not one of the exercises in the book was ever done.

 

 

Inscription #1 reads, "Judith B...(unable to decipher last name). 10/90.

Inscription #2 reads, "To Peggy - For knowledge, love and courage on your important path - Love & companionship, Judy"

The Ten Laws of Lasting Love

This is another self-help book, marketed to couples who want to revitalize their love for each other.

What's so interesting about this inscription is the person to whom it is inscribed...Mom.

What made "Georgie" decide to give her (I'm assuming it is a her) mother a book about renewing love? Were her parents in a rut? Was her father dead or her parents divorced and her mom in a new relationship?

That's the magic of inscriptions. I never know what the meaning is behind it and I always have to make up my own story.

 

 

Inscriptions reads, "To Mom. Happy Mother's Day 1993. Love, Georgie"

These Years of Promise

This was an Easter gift. It seems like such a nice gift to give. A book reminiscent of Anne of Green Gables or Little House on the Prairie, this book is in a series called "Ann of the Prairie". I loved series books about young girls and their families set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when I was young.

I hope Danilla, to whom this book is inscribed, enjoyed it.

 

Inscription reads: "Easter 1989. To Danilla with lots of love!"

Buy the Book New: These Years of Promise (Ann of the Prairie, Vol. 3)

Julie and Romeo Get Lucky

This book is inscribed by the author with a very personal message. It wasn't so long ago that this was given, just four years, so it was a quick turn-around for this book to end up in the thrift store.

Maybe Jane, the recipient, never received this book and that's why it is a Lonesome Book now.

I also always wonder about books that sit on the shelves all lonely and bare, without their dust covers. How does anybody know what kind of book this is supposed to be? Maybe we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but people are going to anyway and how does a person know the general direction a book will take them without a cover? I looked up the cover of this book and it is covered with flowers and the tagline, "Sometimes a pair of hearts beats everything". Ah, a romance! The most underrated of all books; the genre that is mocked and ridiculed but ultimately brings joy to countless people the world round. Fortunately, romance will always have a place on someone's bookshelf.

 

 

Inscription reads: "July 24, 2005. For Jane, We all love Bill and are looking forward to meeting you! Jeanne Ray"

Buy the Book New: Julie and Romeo Get Lucky

Three things that make a good book inscription

What makes a good book inscription? As far as I can tell it is at least these three things:

1. It is personalized. 
This seems obvious, but name names. To and from and the date are required. The occassion that the book was given is also important if it was given as a gift for a birthday or holiday. Ultimately, you would like the recipient, ten years from now, to know who gave them this thoughtful gift, when it was given, and for what it was given. This is tightly linked to the next point. A "Happy Birthday" seems impersonal and flat.

2. It is contextual.
The inscription is connected to the content of the book somehow, though it need not be explicit. Obviously, an outsider will not have your shared knowledge with the recipient, but a "Got you a book" inscription just isn't enough. "I thought you could use this" is the most sparse inscription, and needs a lot of shared knowledge and experience between you and the recipient to put it in context.

3. It was written without thought that someone other than the book recipient will see it.
In other words, you shouldn't edit your inscription with other people in mind. Another way to put this is to be earnest and unabashed. The book inscription is between you and the recipient. So what if someone else sees it. So what if that someone is a future boyfriend or girlfriend after you have broken up. Give books and their inscriptions like they will last forever.

Perhaps with these three things in mind when writing a book inscription to your spouse, a relative, a lover, a BFF, or whomever, the book is guaranteed a long and fruitful life on the recipient's bookshelf. It will become a container for warm memories and the thoughtful gesture of a deeply personal inscription.

Perhaps that book will not be castaway, adrift in some thrift store or sitting on a rickety folding table at some garage sale waiting for another person to cherish its content, wondering who this person was who would abandon such a lovely inscription.