Coffee shop and thousands of pages of books

In the middle of the bustling city, in Yen Bai ward, Lao Cai province, there is a small coffee shop named Oil Lamp Coffee. Stepping through the simple wooden door, people seem to be separated from the noisy traffic, enjoying a space with warm yellow lights and soft music. Where the smell of roasted coffee blends with the scent of old paper. This place is special because it contains thousands of old book pages, still valuable over time.

Passing through a room filled with nostalgic objects such as sewing machines, oil lamps, old tables and chairs... is a space with thousands of books neatly arranged. On wooden shelves reaching the ceiling, thousands of books have mostly torn covers, frayed spines, and yellowed pages, but each book contains a story of a time.

Mr. Dam Huu Huy, owner of Oil Lamp Coffee shared:

“More than a ton of these books originally belonged to a collector. When his family moved to Saigon, they sent them to me. Some of them were published from 1960, 1962 to 1970. They are extremely valuable because books published before 1975 are extremely rare, and many times, even with money, you cannot buy them.”

More specifically, all the books have the collector's signature and the author's inscription, time and place of collection. Many worn and torn books are carefully sewn or taped back together by the collector. Mr. Huy continued: Keeping books is not difficult, just need a dry, non-humid space to avoid termites. And most importantly, keep it with love. Because for me, collecting is not for business, but to preserve a part of life's memories.

Sitting in the corner of the shop, Mr. Tran Quang Huy, a regular customer, turned the pages of old books and said slowly: “This feeling is hard to describe. Drinking coffee while reading precious books that are decades old. It makes me feel like time is passing more slowly. The pressures and hustle and bustle of life seem to disappear.”

“Precious things need to be cherished, so I don’t advertise or introduce much about this corner of the shop. Because I don’t want noise to disturb the space. The shop doesn’t have too many customers, almost each has its own group, everyone respects the quiet and style of the shop” – Mr. Huu Huy added.

Oil Lamp Cafe is not as noisy as other entertainment establishments, nor does it rush to follow the trend. Here, there is only coffee, people who like quiet, nostalgia and pages of books stained with time. A place for people to find peace, to let memories be awakened through the aroma of coffee and thousands of pages of books.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/quan-ca-phe-va-hang-ngan-trang-sach-post879236.html