This month, we're starting a new series of posts in which EPL staff members describe why he or she loves one of the physical books that lives here in the library. To start, I've chosen one of our many copies of Persuasion by Jane Austen. I will admit I'm not really a fan of the work, but this little book makes me smile every single time someone checks it out. It is far and away my single favorite book in the library.
This particular copy was added to our collection in 1991, but the book itself is much older. Because we have other Austen works with a similar format, I think this was part of a set added all at once (there is no publication date inside). The floral printed cardboard cover is very worn, the edges rounded from decades of handling, and the pages have aged to a mellow ivory color. The type is vanishingly small - only teens can read it with ease. In spite of heavy use, the little tome is holding together quite well, although the binding is far from tight. This is a tiny book, smaller than the typical paperback and it just seems so... precious.
Each time this copy crosses the circulation desk and someone new takes it home, I am reminded of the wonderfulness of libraries. Here is tangible evidence of a book passing from one hand to the next over multiple decades. I hope this book makes the rounds for a few decades more.
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