Scent Notes: Two vanillas, chai tea, sticky benzoin resin, white amber, and many, many old books.

You’re walking back from the library, two tote bags full to bursting in your hands. Yes, it might look extreme, but you had holds come in and you’re not NOT going to wander for an hour or three throughout the rest of the library since you have to go there anyway. It only makes sense. Everyone greeted you by name when you walked in, and they held a few books back for you when you left as you had maxed out your at-a-time limit. But that’s okay; you’ll be back next week to return several books and pick up a dozen or so more. What’s better, in life, than a good drink and a great book? To you, almost nothing. You read and write for a living, casting spells with your fingertips pounding furiously onto your laptop. Every minute spent away from writing is spent reading: in the morning, with a cup of strong coffee; in the afternoon with a tall glass of water; in the evening with anything from beer to whiskey to a champagne cocktail. You’ve read more books in the past year than your own mother has read in her entire life. When in doubt, you pull down a book and use the ancient art of bibliomancy to tell your future. That’s how you make a side hustle as well, inviting friends and strangers into your home to talk books and pulling the ones that call to you off the shelf, picking a page, and reading to them what they need to hear. 10/10 it’s spot-on. Books just call to you. Every room in your house (bathroom included) has at least one shelf of books. In your bedroom and living room there’s five large bookshelves apiece. Someday, you will have a grand library. For now, your Ikea bookshelves will be double-stacked and every available surface will also contain multitudes … of books. 

You’re already thinking about which books to start tonight when you walk past a little free library a few blocks from your apartment. You swiftly search the contents and take half the books, making a mental note to restock on your trip back to the library in a few days. You now have a tote bag in one hand, a bag slung over the opposite shoulder, and several books in both hands. The power of all those words starts flowing through your body; you feel strong and capable. If you hurry home just a little faster, you can finish at least one book before bed. 

Finally, you reach your building’s door. You had to skip two other free libraries on the way home, but you’ll get them next time. You see several packages, knowing that they are even more books. Oh, well. The more books to read and pull from, the better. You’ll take your handfuls upstairs, drop them off, and come back down for these new arrivals after you start a fresh French press. You have several potential client emails to answer and some writing to do. But soon enough, it will be time to do the best thing in the world: read.

Scent Notes: Two vanillas, chai tea, sticky benzoin resin, white amber, and many, many old books.