I never really saw myself doing this, but out of nowhere I started thinking, “It would be really nice to have old books on the shelf.” Perhaps the idea comes from my affinity for vintage or old-world aesthetics.

Our fireplace has a shelf on top, and it was filled with nativity figurines during Christmas. Now that the holiday is over, I wanted to replace it with something charming and something meaningful. The vintage lamps were already there, and I thought old books would really go well with those lamps.

During a Christmas gathering at my in-laws’ house, I saw these really old books stacked in their basement. I asked my mother-in-law if she was thinking of giving them away. She said she would ask her husband first because those books belong to his family. She opened the books and showed me the names on the first pages, and they did belong to my father-in-law’s family. He reviewed the old books and told me some stories behind them. One of the books, Robinson Crusoe, was the very first book he ever read. Mind you, my father-in-law has read so many books—hundreds, if not thousands—in his life (he’s 85 years old). He’s an avid reader of fiction books. Their basement shelves are filled with an overwhelming amount of novels from different authors.

I brought the old books back home, and as I opened each one of them, the dust, the musky smell, and the faint aroma of something that’s been tucked away for decades welcomed me. As I flipped through the pages, it made me feel as if I went back in time. Nostalgia came upon me, reminiscing the time when they were published, even though I was born in the mid-80s. The books were at least a hundred years old.

I found myself surprised by the idea of sitting down in a cozy nook next to a window, getting lost reading these books, taking my sweet time—perhaps drinking tea and living that picture-perfect “slow living” life. I think this was the first time I truly started having an interest in reading books not out of necessity or wanting to learn something, but out of pleasure. And I’m not just interested in books. I’m interested specifically in old vintage books.