84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff- 97 pages
Book Blurb:
It all began with a letter inquiring about second-hand books, written by Helene Hanff in New York, and posted to a bookshop at 84, Charing Cross Road in London. As Helene’s sarcastic and witty letters are responded to by the stodgy and proper Frank Doel of 84, Charing Cross Road, a relationship blossoms into a warm and charming long-distance friendship lasting many years.
My Review: 5 stars
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This book is a must read for any book lover or letter writer or BOTH. A quick, witty, autobiography of an unusual and beautiful friendship that stemmed from the love of books. It will remind Kindle, Nook and iPad readers to occasionally turn them off, open a book, smell the paper and feel the texture. Must read.
Quotes I liked:
It looks too new and pristine ever to have been read by anyone else, but it as been: it keeps falling open at the most delightful places as the ghost of its former owner points me to things I’ve never read before.”
– “I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages someone long gone has called my attention to.”
– “If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me? I owe it so much.”
– “Have you got De Tocqueville’s Journey to America? Somebody borrowed mine and never gave it back. Why is it that people who wouldn’t dream of stealing anything else think it’s perfectly all right to steal books?”
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