Wayne Gooderham has spent the best part of a decade collecting hand-written inscriptions found inside second-hand bookss. Ranging from the awkward scratchings of adolescent infatuation to the resentful recriminations of love affairs gone awry, each and every scribble and scrawl told a different story.

Wayne has selected the very best examples from his collection and will be displaying these in a special exhibition in the Café at Foyles, Charring Cross Road - a must for bibliophiles, book lovers and anyone who appreciates the magic and the inimitable objectness of the physical book. It's hard to imagine in a hundred years time - if there are book shops at all - they'll be exhibiting Kindles in the same way.

For those unable to attend the exhibition or looking to whet their appetite, The Quietus offers up a gallery of ten of these uniquely interesting inscriptions and their parent books - the full range of which are available on Wayne's blog.

The Secret History of Second Hand Books runs from 30th November to 13th December in The Café at Foyles, First Floor, Charing Cross Road

Winner Take Nothing
NASSAU JAN 27 1988

A present, from me to me!!! The message? Its [sic] nice when you just don’t give a damn.

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