The Regular at the Used Bookstore
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in English, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Marisol notices the same quiet man in the same chair every Sunday at the used bookstore and finally asks him what he is reading.
Marisol visits the used bookstore on the corner every Sunday afternoon. She likes the smell of old paper and the quiet shelves. A man always sits in the same green chair.
He reads there every Sunday too, always at the same time. Marisol never says anything to him. She just nods and picks a book nearby.
One Sunday, the green chair is empty when Marisol arrives. She feels a small, strange disappointment.
She looks around the store. She finds him near the poetry section instead. He holds a thick book with a torn cover. Marisol walks over to see the title.
"Sorry," she says. "I don't mean to bother you." "What book is that?" she asks.
The man looks up, surprised but friendly. "It's an old book about sailing ships," he says. "My grandfather gave it to me."
"That sounds interesting," Marisol says. "I always see you in that green chair." The man smiles.
"I'm Xander," he says. "And yes, that chair is my favorite spot."
"I'm Marisol," she says. "I sit two shelves over, by the maps." They both laugh, surprised they never talked before.
"Maybe we can stop being strangers," Xander says. "I like that idea," Marisol says.
They sit down together near the poetry section. Marisol asks about the sailing book, and Xander begins to explain.
