Thank you for reminding me of some of my favorite book “encounters”. I gave a workshop in France, and at the conclusion I went to the nearby “antique book village” of Montolieu. (sp?) I spent a reckless amount of money there, and was then faced with the cold facts that I would have to somehow transport these books back home to the US. Well. My colleague gave me a wise look – “Well, you may have gotten some bargains, but oh dear, just THINK of what you are going to pay in Overweight Luggage.” Tsk tsk. Overweight luggage!? — I had never given it any thought. I edited my personal belongings – underwear, hair curlers, pajamas, and packed my big suitcase with the books. It was like an anvil. Dead weight. But when I got to Toulouse Airport, they slapped an orange tag on it that read “HEAVY”, and checked it through. No Overweight Luggage fee. The book gods smiled on me that day. I still have all those wonderful books from France (I put a purple sticker inside each one, to remind me ) and I have never regretted my purchases. (and I kept the orange tag, too!)