Long Classic Books Novels & Stories

I watched her as she expertly logged the books and placed it on the cart by the section it should be placed on. “It’s The Night of the Holy Grail.” August halted in the middle of turning over an old copy of Don Quixote. I knew that would get her attention. In the weeks I’ve known August, there is nothing she loves more than everything classic and medieval. She quickly flickered her eyes on me before returning to her work.

In the far corner is a sink and a crude-looking toilet. Hooks line one of the walls, all empty. The air smells like rust and dust. But then, something catches my eye. A shelf near the back, almost hidden in shadow. Not plastic packages this time. Books. Old ones. Their spines are worn, leather cracked. Some have gold filigree. Others are thick and bound in cloth. I move closer, squinting to read the faded titles. “Lineage of Power.” “The Lost Coronation.” “Treaties of the First Blood.”

The four of them watch as I slit ancient tape and the box sags and falls apart. ***** JAMES Books. What's new? She's consistent... 'Principles of Geology' by Charles Lyell - well-thumbed, 'The Merchant of Venice', 'Marvels of Pond Life' by Henry Slack - very dog-eared... The list goes on and the only thing any of the texts have in common is that they all look well-used. A second-hand bookstore would describe them as slightly foxed, but it looks as though the bears, the boars and the badgers have been at them too.

The air was rich with the scent of aged paper and leather, a comforting contrast to the acrid smoke that haunted the streets outside. I moved slowly through towering shelves, fingertips skimming the spines of long-forgotten volumes. Titles embossed in faded gold hinted at lost wisdom: Histories of the Old World, Chronicles of Unity, Legends of the Phoenix. The last caught my attention—a striking cover depicting a phoenix rising from a blaze, wings spread wide.

Still the rain didn't look like stopping anytime soon so she thought she'd look around, maybe she could find a cheap copy of one of the classics she liked. Tara dropped this idea as she began to wander between the shelves, the books all seemed very odd. Those which she could read the titles of were things like 'The Occult Magick of the Amazon', 'Guide to the Dark Dimension', 'John Dee's Rituals', 'Demon Summoning' and 'Aleistar Crowley's Full Works'. Tara thought she'd heard of the last guy, some sort of mystic from before the Second World War. However the odd books didn't disturb half as much as the things which were dotted around the book shelves. All manner of weird items such as wands, a

Closing the book in his hand with a loud thud, he handed it over to me, motioning me to take it from his grip. "Here." I reached out for the slightly bulky book in his hand. In my attempt to reach it, our fingers brushed lightly. I felt something and I jolted back, taking the book along with me. The look on his face confirmed he'd felt it too. Thank goodness I'd taken the book with me. I wasn't looking forward to feel whatever that was again. He cleared his throat before going on. " Since you don't have a favorite genre, these are the classics." His hands found their way into his pockets. "You're bound to find one that you like.'

Forster. The second shelf held old pulp novels from the thirties and forties. When he was fourteen years old his great grandmother, recognizing a hungry reader, started giving him one novel a month. They bore such outlandish titles as The House of Darkness, The Tree that Screamed, The Strangler Fig, The Devil’s Mansion, Crimson Ice, The Undying Monster and Heads, You Lose. He’d consumed those books one after the other, a new junkie mainlining his first fix. Grandma White promised him when she passed, he could have them all. Those books were older than any of the others in his office.

Mom supported me, not because she understood, but because she loved me and wanted me to be happy. I stood up and walked around the library, feeling a little restless. They had all of the classics, and some of them looked as though they were expensive copies. Other authors that I regularly read, such as James Patterson and Dean Koontz were on the shelves. They even had some of my female favorites, such as Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner and Heather Graham Pozzessere. Then I wondered down to another section where I found some more provocative books. They had a lot of erotica books. One huge volume stood out: The Kama Sutra.

Crazy, isn't it? But I know why these books are pretty expensive. It's not just some normal book you can buy in bookstores worldwide. These are rare books you can only find in this shop. Some were ancient. The old grumpy man, Fernando, said, “It's a book about the annual coming of age.” My brows furrowed. “Coming of age? What's that?”

"I love getting lost in stories, exploring new worlds and meeting new characters." Claire's smile grew wider. "What's your favorite book?" I thought for a moment, trying to narrow it down. "I have a few," I said finally. "I love 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Jane Eyre', and 'Wuthering Heights'." Claire's eyes lit up. "Those are all classics," she said. "I love them too. Have you read any of the Bronte sisters' other works?"