A while back, I discovered the joys of shopping for used books online. With Amazon z-shops, I can usually find a book in good condition for a decent price, but there's always that pesky $3.99 shipping fee. For certain kinds of books that I can't find elsewhere, I'll gladly pay the shipping and enjoy them coming straight to my door. I've gotten a lot of great books this way.
I also love to peruse used book stores. But, even they can't usually compete with the online used book market. A good price for a book there is usually about half the price you could buy it new. It's also hard to really browse in a big used bookstore. I can zero in on specific books I want to look for, but I get overwhelmed just looking around.
Enter thrift stores. I have been taken loads of old clothes and other items I want to recycle to a non-profit thrift store in the area. Usually I just pull around back and drop the bags off. However, I have taken to looking through the book section several times now. A big bonus--it's small enough that I can look at everything. The inventory is constantly changing. And it's exciting to discover something interesting that I didn't even know I wanted. Prices are usually less that $2. Plus, if I pick up a dud, I can get rid of it and not feel cheated out of any significant amount of money.
What treasures I have found! Right after reading Their Eyes Were Watching God for January book group, I found a pristine copy for 50 cents. I snatched it up. I have found some great collections of feminist writings, an edited book of women's autobiographical writings, and some great novels.
On Saturday, I took the opportunity to drop some bags off by myself--it's become harder to browse with baby Z who likes to throw books from the shelves willy nilly. I spent 20 or so minutes and came away with these titles, all for $8 or so:
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf--hardback, looks like it has hardly been cracked open
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood--an old school paperback copy, perfect for taking on vacation
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig--my mom read this book and loved it and I have been wanting to read something by him for a while now. A brand new hardback.
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner--another one that's been on my list for a while now
From This Day Forward by Cokie and Steve Roberts. Another hardback in perfect condition. Although I have this on paperback on my shelf, I couldn't pass it up. I just need to find someone who can appreciate it.
Magyk--Septimus Heap Volume 1. For MJ.
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. Another one for the kid book shelf.
My to-read shelf is almost completely full though. I've got to stop buying these books! But, they are so alluring with their pretty faces and the unknown stories beneath their covers...
Monday, April 27, 2009
I Have a Problem
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4 comments:
I love finding books at Goodwill-- I'm the same about wanting to know a book is a keeper, but for that cheap, I don't really care. If I don't like it I'll just take it back.
I concur. Thrift stores are where I go to find The Bestsellers of Yesteryear -- books that wealthy people bought one or two years ago, read once, then gave away. Hence, I'm able to pick up The Jane Austen Book Club or somesuch for nuttin'. (Annnnnnnd . . . I didn't like it. Fifty cents well spent!)
My REAL vice, however, is the twice-yearly Salt Lake City Library book sale. Hardbacks are $1! Paperbacks $.50! I almost always get at 40-50 books, which is bad, but I regret nothing!!! Especially when I find a book from 2-3 years ago that I enjoyed, but is likely to go out of print. That's gold, baby.
Wow, Brooke--40 to 50??? Do you read them all? Do you keep them all? That's awesome!
We like the old hardcovers, too. To the point that Jen has taken to removing the dust jackets so they'll have this old feel as they sit on our living room shelves.
A couple of summers ago, I bought a bunch of Halberstam books (still mourning his death at the time), including a second-edition hardcover copy of "The Best and the Brightest." It was even signed on the inside cover (a Christmas gift for someone in like 1973).
About two months ago, I dope-ishly ran off my commuter bus and left it there. D'OH! Desperate to finish it, I bought a cheap paperback version at B&N, but it just wasn't the same.
Fast-forward to about three weeks ago in our local supermarket. They do book drives every so often and you can rummage through what's there by donating a dollar. And sitting on the top shelf? A second-edition copy of "Best and the Brightest"! I very happily snagged it.
Would have been freaky if it was the one I left on the bus, but it wasn't. Though it was signed on the inside cover, again as a Christmas present. (Must have been the thing to do back in the day or something.)
Anyway, I always feel like it's important to have books around the house. It seems to provide a decent influence on the kids.
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