Visited a used bookstore in Portland and saw a whole shelf of books with club notes inside

Christopher Rivera · 2026-03-23T12:35:06.98067+00:00

I was at Powell's Books last month and checked the fiction section. I pulled out at least 15 books where the previous owner had left their book club notes tucked in the pages. One copy of 'The Overstory' had a full typed list of 12 discussion questions. It made me think about how these notes travel and if they change how the next person reads the book. Has anyone else bought a used book and found notes from a past reader's club meeting?

miles8256mo ago

That Powell's find makes me wonder if we're all in one big accidental book club.

10

webb.derek6mo ago

Found a cookbook once with angry notes in the margins about the previous owner's husband hating cilantro. Honestly, those notes were more entertaining than the recipes. It definitely adds a weird extra layer to the whole reading experience.

8

davis.ivan5mo ago

My copy of "The Shipping News" had a grocery list as a bookmark. I kept it in there while I read, made the whole thing feel oddly domestic.

1