Museum Books and More
I was looking at one of the photos I took at the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, when it crossed my mind to try and find copies of the books in their little library. Perhaps, I thought, all the old books will have entered public domain, and be readily available to those of us who are interested in history and have a slight budget.
Well, not quite. Oh, some may be in public domain, but not all are available free. I've compiled a list of the titles, which are linked to the ebooks I found. I'll make a note if it's free. I will also include a list of related books I found while looking, because as you know, going down the rabbit hole of book shopping means you always come up with more than you bargained for!
The other place Mom took me to look at books was more accessible... as in, I bought enough to need to ship a box to myself rather than try to carry them in the checked suitcase.
Books &... What?
In Chiloquin, OR, a tiny town which looks like it is losing it's hold on life, you can find a shop tucked under the tall pines. If it has a name, it's not evident. The sign says Fine Books &... which makes me wonder and what? There are on one side the sort of antiques and vintage kitsch that you might expect in a rummagy store. In one room, there are boxes and boxes of music on vinyl discs, if you can imagine such a thing in this newfangled age.
Shelves and shelves of books!
But the bulk of the store is books. I was warned by my grandmother before we went in that it's not heated, and the lights are kept off unless he actually has a customer. Also, he is lonely and chatty and if we want to browse, we'll have to take turns decoying him off with conversation while the others look. It was fun. I rather threw him for a loop with my requests, I think. "Do you have mythology? No, not Greek and Roman, I don't need more of that. I am really interested in Haida or Tlingit tales of Raven..." and then, "Where would I find Spillane? Yes, Mickey Spillane."
Then Mom wanted to know which of the rather large collection of SFF in the shop I'd recommend to her, she stopped reading it a while back as it was all despair and gloom and gray goo (sound familiar?) so I had a good time poring over the shelves with her and finding possibilities. I did learn that she loved the Pern books, and Andre Norton, and I did not know that about her! So she wound up with a little stack.
Hopefully I will get to go back soon. And if your route sometime takes you near Chiloquin, this store is worth tracking down.
