Picked the battered paperback over the new hardcover at a used shop in Austin

Found two copies of the same crime novel. One was beat up, coffee stained, spine cracked. The other was pristine. Grabbed the junk one. Read it in 3 days. The stains matched the gritty story. Felt more real. Now I check the condition first. Anyone else go for the worn copies on purpose?

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stellabennett14d ago

The coffee stains and cracked spine tell a story before you even open the book. I once found a copy of a James Lee Burke novel at a flea market that had a pressed wildflower stuck between the pages, like someone had been reading it outside. Kept it right there, didn't pull it out. That book had probably been read under a tree in the summer, maybe with iced tea nearby. The clean copy just felt like a library book, all business. Sometimes the worn ones feel like they've already lived a little, and that makes the reading part easier.