Reading books is a good way to deepen your knowledge about aromatherapy. There are plenty of good articles and research published online that you can easily access for free, however, if you want to learn topics in aromatherapy in a more organized way or see concepts discussed in a more depth way, then buying a good book written by a knowledgeable and well-experienced aromatherapist is highly recommended. Reading these books is like finding the teachings of a seasoned aromatherapy mentor. Plus, you can find their details that are worth knowing but you can’t find them elsewhere on the internet. Though you can search for much knowledge on the world wide web, I still believe that there is some information that you can’t find there. Hence buying thoroughly researched and carefully written aromatherapy books is good.
If you like to buy aromatherapy books without being too burdened by the cost, you can opt for second-hand books. I think this is practical and here are my reasons why:
1. Budget-friendly
For people who have a limited budget, buying books could be a struggle. Hence, some would rather not buy books at all and just rely on free and readily available details they can find elsewhere. There’s nothing wrong here, sometimes you can find good tips from this strategy. However, the only problem with this one is that the details you found and have been absorbing and learning are unreliable.
Even if you are really on a tight budget, there is still a way to read aromatherapy books without buying a book. If there’s a public library near your home or town then why not visit it? Some libraries are bigger than others. If you can visit a bigger library then chances are they also have Aromatherapy or any essential oil books. Another good way to find books without spending is to ask around. Maybe some of your friends or relatives have aromatherapy books that they can willingly lend to you. If you were able to successfully borrow some books, I suggest that you make sure you give them a token of appreciation so they would know and feel how grateful you are to them )
If you have some spare money to buy books but have to consider your budget then you can go to second-hand bookstores. This is what I usually do. By the time I wrote this post, I am jobless, and I can’t easily buy new materials to study. Suffice it to say I can but I don’t want to because I have to be thrifty and a wise spender. Hence, I need to think of ways to find and buy good books at a discounted price. The best place to find this kind of book is to go to second-hand bookstores. It is helpful to remember though that even if some books are second-hand, you may realize that some of them are not so cheap. But don’t be disheartened. Be patient in finding and waiting for those essential books. You will eventually find some books that are good but budget-friendly by repeatedly visiting second-hand bookstores and patiently looking at the different shelves of the bookstore.
2. Rare aromatherapy books
Some brand new aromatherapy books can be easily found in different bookstores, however, it’s also nice to have rare aromatherapy books. There’s something special about rare books. I find informative essential oil rare books more valuable.
Grab it while you can…
Since some books you can find in second-hand book stores are hard to find, I suggest, that if they are really good then buy them while you can. Here’s a narrative about my personal experience that taught me a lesson about buying aromatherapy books from second-hand bookstores.
I seldom see an aromatherapy book in second-hand bookstores, but when I see one, I like to buy it. It all started when I was in a second-hand bookstore and found a big hardbound book about essential oils. I did not buy it at that time because I was saving money. I wanted to follow my budget and was thinking of just buying it on my next payday. But within that whole week, I was thinking about it. After a week, I went back to that bookstore to buy it. But.. I couldn’t find it anymore. It was no longer on the book rack and the sales lady seemed not to remember the book at all when I asked her about it. At that time I knew I had lost the book forever I knew that it was either already been bought by someone, was sent to another branch, or was kept in the storage area for inventory. Since then, I thought that if I find another book about essential oils again I’d buy it. Hence whenever I see one, I almost always buy it. But of course that still depends on the content and who’s the author of the book)
3. Ownership history
I like second-hand books because they seemed to have some sort of history about ownership. I like books that smell nostalgic. It’s a plus factor if I’ve seen messages on the first or back page of the book. I also like reading the notes of the first owner of the book. I have this tendency to try to figure out the meaning of the marks noted on the pages by the first owner of the book. I also enjoy reading the underlined sentences. Through those underlined or marked paragraphs I somehow get an idea or get to imagine the personality or the background of the first owner. By seeing the sentences they underlined, I get to know what resonated the most with them. Most of the time they also resonate with me, and usually, they are the most important detail or tip to remember from that book.
4. Passed on aromatherapy wisdom
Reading aromatherapy books and other herbal and natural therapy books with some notes on them is such a delight to me. While reading them, I feel like the first owner has passed on to me their healing arts wisdom. It feels like I discover a part of their healing concepts.
It’s fascinating to think that maybe the essential oil book was previously owned by a student, an enthusiast, or an aromatherapy expert and is now owned or being read by another essential oil enthusiast. I get excited by the thought. that the book was written by an aromatherapist, read by an aromatherapist, and passed on to a new learner of aromatherapy.
I know that there are a lot of good Aromatherapy books out there that you can’t find in second-hand bookstores but through other brick-and-mortar bookstores or e-commerce websites. I think it’s interesting to have them too. It’s just that I feel it’s more special if I bought my essential oil books from book sales or books for less and other second-hand book stores because the books there have some sort of history plus notes. Hence, I feel they are special yet practical because they are more economical.
Widen your horizon 💋❤
Oil Therapy 