The Second Hand Book, located at 908 Spring Garden Street, is located in the same building as Recycles Bike Shop, The tiny store is quickly becoming known, now only for the well-curated selection of books, but also for the creative pop- up events that bring together people who love words and books. Julie– owner, curator, book-acquirer, and creative-genius behind the shop– does such a fabulous job of building community. Sunday evening, Julie held a pop-up event, Beautiful Book Exhibit, to share books from her personal collection. There were about 30 books on display; some with beautiful illustrations, some had moveable, interactive parts, some opened to create 3-dimensional scenes.

The above book, The Little Webster, published in 1957 by Barnes and Noble was one of our favorites. It only measures 1 1/2′ by 2″. As you can see, it fits in the palm of your hand. The interesting thing about this pop up show was that it was for sharing only. None of the books from Julie’s special collection could be purchased. All the attendees stood around looking through the vintage books, sharing our favorite illustrations with each other, and reveling in how much we appreciated these books. Strangers were talking to each other over books! Here’s to sharing books with each other, and keeping alive the act of reading physical copies of books. Thank you Julie for thinking up all of these creative events.

Head to 908 Spring Garden Street and buy a book!. The store is usually open mid-day Wed.-Sat.