In the grand scheme of things, can we really say 21 books is going overboard? Can we really say I bought too many? I am going to answer no. Yesterday I went to a book sale that was selling books discarded from five branches of libraries. For the excellent price of $4.50 I got to fill a bag, the rules were even if it was overflowing it did not matter, and with some excellent Tetris and skilful packing, I got 21 books into a canvas bag and came out rather happy.
I gathered up my 21 books in just over half an hour which is excellent on my half, and it was a great book sale because not only were all the books on the tables and not half on the floor in boxes, but all the books were out ready to go. None of this we’ll unpack some later as the tables empty, or unpack it on a later date if the event is a few days long. No. It was all there, ready to go. I got there as the doors opened because you need to be there early to grab the best books.
The collection varies depending on different books sales. The ones thrown by libraries are different than those put on my second hand book shops that have a lot of donated books in their collections. Library book sales are different because not only do the books have stickers and labels on them (which annoyingly can cover author names and you will have to live with a spine sticker forever on your shelf), but you find a lot of interesting things being sold. Now that I understand the system of weeding out books from library collections to put up for sale, it is curious to notice what books have been discarded. Typically the rule is if a book has not been borrowed in 18 months, or is a few years old, and the rules do vary, but looking through the library books it’s interesting to see some titles and think, ‘Really? Why are you scrapping that?’ The other downside is less chance of finding old gems. The last book sale I went to a few months ago I was able to add to my BSC and Enid Blyton collection as people threw out their old books. But I grabbed some great YA novels this time round, and a lot of books I grabbed because they looked interesting or I wanted to read more by the author. So many chances taken with this recent bunch too so I look forward to reading them and discovering if they are good as they sound.
I promised I’d share so here is the full list of books I bought yesterday.
The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta
Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier
The Wings of Kitty St Clair by James Aldridge
Lonesome Howl by Steven Herrick
Chasing Charlie Duskin by Cath Crowley
The Book from Baden Dark by James Moloney
Boys of Blood and Bone by David Metzenthen
Lost Property by James Moloney
The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld
Rasco and the Rats of Nimh by Jane Leslie Conly
Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories by Washington Irving
One Foot Wrong by Sophie Laguna
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale
Some of these I really cannot wait to start reading. With all the books I bought this year (and it is a ridiculous amount) I am all ready for a great reading year ahead of me! And I can feel less guilty because a lot were super bargains so that justifies everything, right?
Lost in a Good Book 
Dec 04, 2014 @ 11:42:37
Looks like you snagged some good books!! Also congrats on fitting 21 books into a bag!!
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