Today was the used book sale at the Richmond Memorial Library (the hometown library) and it was a Very Good Day there for me today – five orange stickers and a dark blue, which means that I got to leave with three hardcover and three soft-cover books for the beyond-a-bargain price of $2.75. Yup, less than fifty cents per book. One of the books was already on my to-buy list and two were by authors I have recently discovered and now love.

I love used book sales and used book sections of bookstores. Of course I love the discounts – as a rabid book-buying addict, I love it when I can buy vast quantities of books guilt-free and only have to spend modest amounts of money. But I love the treasure aspect even more. Previously-owned books are special treats – you never know what you may find inside (see last week’s post for the joy of discovering notes or underlinings; it is always fascinating to me to see what other people like/find noteworthy about a book). In addition to commentary, I have found bookmarks, business cards, interesting inscriptions, receipts, and even cash (although that was a library book, not a book-sale book – I was young, maybe eleven, when I found $3 in The World According to Garp at the same hometown library that hosted today’s book sale; I turned it in to the librarian who held it for two weeks to see if anyone called asking about it and when no one did, I got to keep it) inside the pages of books.
Continue reading Five Orange Stickers and a Dark Blue!