This book tells an interesting story about the owner of a neighborhood secondhand bookstore who read Ivan Illich’s books and applied this philosopher’s insights to his life and the business of running the bookstore. He relates some interesting anecdotes from what he experienced in his 11 years of running the bookstore as well as some interesting interviews that he conducted with Japanese experts in the secondhand bookstore business.

The author was employed at an IT company before opening the bookstore, and had to work day and night with little time for himself. The lack of a work-life balance led to extreme weight increase and debilitating stress, eventually leaving him bed-ridden. After a nervous breakdown, he happened to encounter Ivan Illich’s books and realized the importance of “everyday life”. Without leaving the country and by taking on the management of a secondhand bookstore, the author strives to make a rhythm of his own everyday life, mulling over how to avoid being dominated by the capitalist system. 

In a time when running an ordinary bookstore is already hard enough, concerned people ask the author about how he keeps a secondhand bookstore going and how he manages to survive. He also often hears that he is very courageous in quitting his good job. Some advise him to register the bookstore as a “social enterprise” to receive a government subsidy, some offer unsolicited lectures on what he should do with his time, and some, for example, insist on receiving a higher purchase price for their popular poetry book, considering it a rare, precious tome, and so on. From these anecdotes, readers can imagine the difficulties of running a secondhand bookstore, which from the outside might seem peaceful and relaxed. 

The author, however, enjoys doing what he does. Although buying used books is not easy, he feels pleased and satisfied when he finds a rare valuable book. He muses over how to live independently through running a bookstore and does not hesitate to share joy with people. He even keeps his shop open late and invites insomniacs to come by. This book contains interesting and amusing anecdotes accumulated during the 11 years of running the bookstore. In reading them, readers will feel empathy for the author’s memories of joy and sorrow.