Monday, July 14, 2008

Expanding My Library for Next to Nothing!!

Serena took me and The Girl to her local library in Montgomery County, Md., for a big book sale on Saturday. I really wasn't expecting much, given that my library two counties over tends to sell only romance novels with Fabio on the cover, movie novelizations, and self-help books from 1970. But Serena showed me a copy of Ann Patchett's Bel Canto that she scored for 50 cents, so I was hoping the sale would exceed my expectations. I came prepared with a canvas bag just in case, and it was a good thing I did!

The sale started at 9 am, and it already was crowded when we arrived at 9:15. It reminded me of Filene's Basement in Boston, except with men. People were lugging around cardboard boxes filled with books, and one woman kept popping up and saying that whatever book you had your hand on was the one she wanted. And the man who checked out ahead of me said he chose titles he thought he'd be able to resell. At 50 cents per paperback and $1.00 per hardcover (25 cents per paperback and 50 cents per hardcover in the children's section), it was a bookworm's paradise!

Here's what I snagged for just $8.50:

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank

The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett

Good Grief by Lolly Winston

Baby Proof by Emily Giffin

The Doctor's House by Ann Beattie

Multiple Choice by Claire Cook

July's People/My Son's Story/Jump and Other Stories by Nadine Gordimer

And for those of you interested in children's books, The Girl also made out like a bandit. For $3.50, she snapped up:

The Official Pokemon Handbook by Maria S. Barbo (her favorite find of the day, of course!)

The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Shark Encounter by Nancy E. Krulik

Disney's Aladdin adapted by Don Ferguson

Little Women (illustrated version) by Louisa May Alcott

SpongeBob Squarepants: Drive Thru by Erica David

The Baby-Sitter's Club #26: Claudia and the Sad Good-bye by Ann M. Martin (I loved this series as a kid!)

Ramona the Pest by Beverly Clearly (one of my all-time favorite authors!)

The Berenstain Bear Scouts and the Terrible Talking Termite by Stan & Jan Berenstain

SpongeBob Squarepants: Sandy's Rocket by Steven Banks

The library is having another book sale in September. I'll bring two bags next time to be on the safe side!!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It may be worth a road trip from NJ for this sale!!

PS I tagged you.

Serena said...

I think this was a great sale and can't wait until Sept.

Anna said...

Hopefully the September sale will rock just as hard!

nbbaker: Thanks for the tag! I've never been tagged before! I'm playing catch up now, but I'll see what I can do!

Corinne said...

That is amazing!!! My parents live in G-town, MD, so I may have to make my way over there :)

Anna said...

If you're in the area, it'd definitely be worth it! But now that I've said how great the sale is, it'll stink next time.