Have you ever though about what happens to something when it’s the last of its kind? Sure, we know about animals going extinct and certain products no longer being available, like a favorite candy you had when you were a kid. But what about books? It’s an interesting question raised by the novella I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land by Connie Willis. 

Protagonist Jim is shopping around a book (based on his blog) that argues the disappearance of things is good because progress deems it necessary and there’s no reason to be nostalgic over anything. After bombing a radio interview trying to argue that tangible print books are becoming unnecessary, he’s caught in a rainstorm and takes shelter in an old used bookstore. But there’s more to the shop than meets the eye.

When he discovers a secret door that leads to a seemingly unending library of books he’s never heard of categorized by means of disposal (like fire, flood, marker damage, store closing), he begins to recognize the importance of remembering that which has been lost. It’s not until leaving the shop that he slowly begins to realize it wasn’t simply a repository for obscure titles – it was a graveyard for books that are no longer in existence. And, of course, when he tries to find the bookstore again, it isn’t there.

Traveller is a really engaging read with a surprising amount of suspense for the type of story it’s telling – definitely a recommendation for anyone who loves books in general. And, as it’s a novella, it’s a quick read too. But it does raise questions about leaving the tangible behind for convenience and what else we lose along the way.