A customer's note in a book I fixed made my whole week

I was working on a repair for a regular, an old copy of 'The Hobbit' that had seen better days. The spine was gone and a few pages were loose. When I got it, there was a small note tucked inside from the owner's kid, saying 'Dad's favorite, please fix it good.' I did a full reback with some dark green cloth and got the pages in tight. When I gave it back, the guy just held it for a minute, then said, 'You gave it a second life. My son wrote that note ten years ago.' It happened right in my shop in Boise, and it wasn't about the money at all. It just hit me how much these objects mean to people. Has anyone else had a small note or mark in a book make a job feel really special?

3 comments

3 Comments

graydavis1mo ago

Always thought book repair was just about the craft, but maybe it's more about the stories.

blair5971mo ago

Ever find a grocery list tucked in a cookbook? I had a beat-up copy of Joy of Cooking come in, and someone's handwritten "Mom's meatloaf" note was folded in the gravy section. I made sure to keep it right there when I re-glued the page. It's those little bits of someone's life that stick with you.

mila_harris29d ago

Honestly that's the thing right? Its like books collect these little time capsules from strangers. I find them everywhere now that I'm looking. Like last week I was cleaning out an old toolbox at a garage sale and found a receipt from 1987 for a pair of work boots. Someone had written "first job money" on the back in pencil. It's not just books, it's everything around us holding onto these tiny pieces of people's lives that we just walk past. Makes you wonder how many stories are sitting in plain sight that nobody ever stops to notice.