Books tell stories. So do the people that read them. And the beauty of those stories is that they can be told over and over again and shared with the world. Giving us all a chance to escape, be uplifted, be inspired, and capture our imagination.
Books can carry our tears, our laughter, or precious memories which can take shape in the form of a bookmark used to stop the story, and hold it in place until we meet again.
After last week, a reader named Melvyn knows that firsthand. He found something special in the pages that belonged to someone years ago—a sonogram dated from 1999. So he posted to Facebook to see about finding the original owner:
Since it came from a book in our inventory, we did some investigation ourselves. After looking into the order, we were able to discover the amazing journey that this sonogram took inside the book that it fell out of. Here is a summary of its voyage, after a little detective work on our part:
- November 2013: We received the book from a client in Northern Pennsylvania (USA).
- It was then shipped to and processed at our distribution center in Mishawaka, IN. At this point, we determined that we could not inventory and sell the book due to market demand.
- As part of a pilot program and in an effort to give this book its best shot at a second-life, the book was transferred to our distribution center in Dunfermline, Scotland to be listed for sale through our European marketplaces.
- In April 2015, Melvyn purchased the book from Better World Books on Amazon. It was shipped to him, and the rest is history.
What interesting things have you found in a used book? Did you feel a connection with the previous owner? Let us know in the comments. When you handle as many pre0owned books as we do, you’ll see all kinds of things, including foundational political documents, and even a personal note from one of the most influential people of the 20th century.
