If you desire a notable collection, but have not the funds (ooh me, me!) you salivate at the idea of a bevy of cheap books in one convenient location. For this, my friends, let me suggest the Library Book Sale. An untapped gold mine of bargains and treasures, I keep a list on my fridge of local sales to scout out.
In the Cleveland area, you can usually find one almost every weekend, or at least once a month, with books ranging from 25 cents to one dollar. Not only do you get the fiscal joy of making off with as many books as you can carry for less than 10 bucks, you also get the satisfaction of rooting through boxes for authors you dig, and the subsequent snobbery affirmation when you place your finds on the check-out table next to the woman buying Danielle Steel and know that you are the superior being.
Things to watch out for:
1. Friends of the Library Preview Sales:
If you're obsessed with getting first choice at the pickings, you can join the Friends, who usually have a preview sale a couple hours, or even a day, before the public. Don't do this the first time you scout out a library. Some libraries have better selections than others and/or better prices, so make sure you like the one you visited before shelling out the fee. It's usually very nominal (I joined Macedonia's for 5 bucks) but at 50 cents a book, that's another 10 books you could buy with that money...
2. Take cash:
Some libraries accept checks, but nearly none accept credit cards. Keep a twenty in your back pocket, just in case.
3. Bring something to carry them in:
Some sales provide baskets or brown bags to place your selections in while you shop, but I nearly always run out of arm room and end up scooting boxes around with my feet. It may also help to bring a friend, for extra arm space. (Note: when bringing a friend, choose one with different literary tastes, so as not to come to blows over that one perfect find.)
4. Don't convince yourself to buy a book in poor condition:
Countless times I've found a scraggly-ass book I really wanted and gotten it despite my misgivings, only to find one in pristine condition at the next sale, also for 25 cents. Even for a quarter, it's not a deal if you get to the dramatic climax and it's missing pages 82-93.
Go forth and find many a happy bargain... just not until I've already picked them over, please!
The county names below link to lists of the 2008 local sales. If you're not in the Cleveland area, you can easily do a google search for "(insert your county) library book sale" to find your own fix.
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A house without books is like a room without windows. ~Heinrich Mann
Have you ever started to dig someone, only to discover the only reading material in their house is Maxim, or worse yet, Stephen King? You slowly find that you're no longer picturing them as the father of your future hypothetical children. There go the fantasy nights of lying in bed as he reads you the Fruit poems from D.H. Lawrence's Birds, Beasts and Flowers as foreplay...
