If old books could talk

I struggled this week to get through a Jonathan Kellerman novel, Evidence, that I picked up cheap at the Border's GOOB sale a couple months ago. I usually like Kellerman, but this one was a slogfest.

So to cleanse the palate I went back to someone who never disappoints, Mark Twain. I pulled out an old 1902 copy of A Double Barrelled Detective Story picked up years back at a used book store.

It was especially timely, even given its copyright date, because it features Sherlock Holmes, who is all the rage in the movie theaters now.

I love Twain's story, but I also love the exquisite layout they used in old books. And as an added bonus, about halfway through the book, I turned the page and some old newspaper clippings from 1944 fell out. They were about World War II.

The inside cover has the signature of Olga Schroesser, who apparently owned the book at one time. The book's spine is gone, though the pages are still held together and the cover and back cover are in good condition. It's interesting to me to think not only of the story inside the book, but the story of the book. I bet it's a good one too.