As far back as I can remember, I’ve loved and collected old books, especially those for children.

The gorgeous covers. The thick paper, sometimes with foxing (age-related browning). The scent of old binding. The faded inscriptions in elegant cursive writing.

Yes, I’m a bibliophile and openly admit it!

While all books are passports to different worlds, old books are that and so much more.

Books I’ve inherited from family members were often given to them as school prizes, or presents for birthdays, Christmas and other special occasions.

For long out-of-print second-hand books I’ve found in specialist shops, online and at library and community sales, I wonder about the people who owned and read them before me.

All these books are part of my life, and both personal and family history. They sit on shelves in my home, taken out when I need a comfort read or now, as an author myself, occasionally as a reference for a book I’m working on.

While collecting old books is in part about nostalgia, there’s also the thrill of browsing second-hand bookshops and thrift stores/charity shops. I never know when I might find a hidden gem or title I didn’t know I needed.

Even more exciting is finding a vintage book signed by the author. I’ve come across several of these in the past few months, and I may have squealed a bit at the moment of discovery!

I do read e-books, a lot of them, and my Kindle is especially useful for new releases or when I’m on holiday.

However, the books that bring me the most joy are the old ones on my physical shelves, collected throughout my life and holding parts of my past.

My latest find? This beautiful, illustrated 1943 edition of Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, a children’s book by Rachel Field.

Hitty was recommended in “Vintage Chapter Books for Children,” a lovely Facebook group I belong to. So, when I spotted this copy in Toronto last month, I couldn’t resist.

Books and book collecting are also about community and sharing favourite reads with like-minded readers.

And as a lifelong bookworm, it’s a community I cherish.