Where have your used books been?

Have you ever wondered about the life & travels of the books purchased at a used book store? I purchased a hardcover copy of Travels With a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson. I love his books & hadn't heard of this one. So, this immaculate book with a beautiful woodcut on the cover, turns out to have been published in Hungary & sold in Germany, although it is in the original English. I wonder- how did this beautiful little book (only 258 pages & includes An Inland Voyage about canoeing in Belgium & France) end up in a used book store in Virginia, USA? What sights did it see? How many homes did it wander through? Was it ever actually read?

I bought my daughter a copy of The Story of my Life by Farah Ahmedi. The cover is cheesy, but the description on the flap really caught my attention. I won't review it here, but suffice it to say, this girl (age 18) has really been through the wringer. Yet this book proves the triumph of the spirit & immense fortitude humanity has even under the most horrific circumstances. Luckily for me, my daughter is reading two other books right now- aside from school work- & wants to read this later. So I've taken to schlepping it around with me. IMO, it's worth a look if you like memoirs or want an inside glimpse of Afghanistan form a teenager's POV. FYI, this book is aimed at teens & is a quick read.