Book Exchange

As you know, I do quite a bit of reading.  The books that I have read are starting to pile up.  What to do with them all?  

Some of them I could take with me on my next trip back to Ohio.  I have a friend and former colleague who is also an avid reader.  We always used to exchange books that we had read.  (In fact, I still have a few books that she had given me sitting on my bookshelf here in Mexico City.)

There are some bookstores here that buy used books.  However, when they saw that most of my books were in English, they were not very interested.

Last year, on one of my long walks, I passed an unusual little café with the equally unusual name of "Mi Vida en Bici" (My Life on a Bike).  

I addition to selling hot and cold beverages, pastries and light meals, they sell an eclectic variety of gifts.  According to some reviews I read, they sell bicycles, but those must be in the back.  They also have shelves lined with used books.  While you are seated at a table sipping a coffee, you can read one of the books.  Or, if you bring in some books to add to their collection, you can take some home.

So, last week, that is what I did.  I put four of the books that I had read into a shopping bag and walked about forty minutes to "Mi Vida en Bici".  I gave the books to the young lady in charge, and she was delighted to receive them even though three of the four were in English.

After walking that distance, I figured that I could depart from my diet.  I ordered a hot chocolate and a carrot muffin.  (Both were very good.)  I perused the book shelves and found one of them to be filled with books in English.  I picked up one of the paperbacks and started reading it while I had my snack.  It was an historical novel by Wilbur Smith, a South African novelist.  Years ago I had read a couple of his books that are set in ancient Egypt.  This one takes place in the 1600s during the English-Dutch Wars.  (I never knew that England and the Netherlands had been at war.)  The book seemed interesting, so I asked if I could take it home.  "Of course," she answered.  So, I headed back to the apartment, with a much lighter bag, and a book to add to my own bookshelf.