After my marathon last week, I have no plans to go to book sales this weekend, since I have family and friend activities scheduled. Had I the time, I might have checked out sales in Windsor Locks (their sale actually started on Oct. 17 but runs through the week), Cheshire, and Somers, but maybe next year.
I am, however, doing something worthy of including here, as I deemed that the blog should include "other literary exploits"--going to readings/book signings. As a collector of signed books, my fondness for these events has rivaled my passion for used-book sales, although I confess that my attendance has dropped off within the past few years, mostly due to the need for child care and the general laziness which seems to come with my aging. However, I'm actually finding a free slate this week, so I hope to be at all three events--to wit:
Thursday, Oct. 22 - Multi-poet reading at Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, in celebration of the release of the anthology Visiting Wallace: Poems Inspired by the Life and Work of Wallace Stevens. This event takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Crystal Room in Mercy Hall, and it's spearheaded by the anthology's editors, Dennis Barone and Jim Finnegan. These guys used to be in charge of one of the best poetry open mikes in the area--an annual benefit for an anti-hunger organization. Sadly, that hasn't happened for several years now, but I'm glad to see what they've been up to in the meantime. Around ten Connecticut poets are scheduled to read, my favorites being Doug Anderson and Dick Allen.
Friday, Oct. 23 - Junot Diaz reading and discussion of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao at the Hartford Public Library, 6 p.m. Oscar Wao is this year's "One Book for Greater Hartford." I read it some months ago for my book club, and although no one else liked it quite as well as I did, I liked it enough to want to hear it read aloud, as it has a unique "English/Spanish/Nerdish" voice. (Diaz actually described it as such in an interview.)
Saturday, Oct. 24 - Reading by Wally Lamb from his novel, The Hour I First Believed, with a storytelling appearance by Raouf Mama. Wally Lamb is a sweetheart of a guy who once publicly announced my former fiance with a female pronoun (OK, he has an unusual name) but still deserves the good fortune that has fallen upon him via Oprah. Moreover, he's doing this reading as a charity event to help establish a endowed scholarship at Eastern Connecticut State University in honor of Sandy Taylor, another sweetheart of a guy who established Curbstone Press in Willimantic. The reading is at 7:30 p.m. at Shafer Hall at ECSU, $10 for adults and $5 for students.
I probably won't review these events but am happy to let folks know they're out there. I will probably return to book sales in November, and will post an update before I go. Until then, read well!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Oct. 17 - Otis Library
I'm blogging from my husband's new laptop, and I must say it's just dandy. It's so nice to sit in the comfort of the living room to do this, rather than be confined to the creaky old wheely chair in the den.
Today, as promised, was the sale at the Otis Library in Norwich. It started late, for a Saturday sale (10 a.m.) and I left later than I'd planned because a guy from the Geek Squad was at my house fixing our computers, and since I'd forgotten to print out directions at work yesterday, I waited until the Geek was done and I could use our home computer again. (Tried calling the library for directions several times, but only got the answering machine telling me to call during regular library hours--which I was. I know it's probably rare for people to call for directions in this day and age, but it still happens--man your phones, folks, or you may lose customers!) My husband had said earlier, "well, why don't you just drive into Norwich and drive around?" I balked at that, but I'll tell you, I might as well have done just that. Google Maps failed me completely; I still have no idea what the heck happened. I got massively lost, had to ask directions at a gas station and even then had to drive around in circles for a while. The signage in downtown Norwich is abysmal and I believe I stumbled upon the library out of sheer luck. Parked in a metered space next to the building; of course, it wasn't until afterwards that I discovered there was a huge lot behind the building (although I'm still not 100% sure that that lot belonged to the library, so if you don't want to risk getting towed, bring money for the meter).
The sale was in the basement of the library building, which was big and open and had plenty of space (it's a basement, though--do watch out if you're mold-prone). This sale was smart in that it knew how to advertise its supporters--the first sale I've ever seen that acknowledged the wonderful CT Book Sale Finder on a flyer on the wall, and it also gave credit to the group who donated the tables. Another nice touch--every now and then someone circled the room asking the browsers if they needed bags. I, of course, come with my own, as do most serious book-salers, but many folks don't, or they forget, so it's very courteous to offer.
The choices were pretty generous--lots of fiction, with a decent mix of old and new, paperback and hardcover. This library also did the courteous task of sorting very popular authors into their own little sections, so one wouldn't have to wade through huge piles of John Gresham or Stephen King. Large romance section, but one of the smallest sci-fi/fantasy sections I've ever seen at a sale, particularly of this size. Nice big biography section (mostly third-party bios of established figures, rather than personal memoirs). Decent selection of books on religion and history. Not a particularly good selection of books for younger children; much better for older children, again with a pretty good mix of new and recent fiction. Very skimpy CD selection; some DVDs; lots of videotapes--good quality films, and many of them still sealed. If you don't mind videotapes rather than DVDs, this would be a good sale to frequent.
I understand that it's a tedious and often thankless job, but the sorters at this sale might have been a little more careful. I usually only move books if the mistakes are really bad, and I moved a couple at this sale. J. M. Coetzee's The Lives of Animals really doesn't belong in the pets/nature section, and I caught a copy of a rather adult sci-fi novel that definitely didn't belong in the children's section. (Honestly, I would think the over-the-topness of a title like The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse might clue one in that it isn't quite for children, but I suspect the sorter was thrown off by the nursery-rhyme theme of the novel. However, Mother Goose runs a brothel, and it didn't take long for me to discover jokes about prophylactics and sexual prowess. Check closer next time, folks.)
Prices are pretty good--$2 for hardbacks, which is higher than usual, but they make that up by charging only $.25 for most paperbacks). This sale wasn't too crowded, and the checkout process was pretty speedy. They do want you to write your driver's license number on your check, so make sure you have ID. (I realized about halfway through the sale that I felt unusually burdened, especially since I only gathered about a bag's worth of books, and then I realized that I'd brought my pocketbook in, which I don't usually do--much easier to carry just my checkbook and wallet in one of my tote bags. Didn't even used to bring the wallet until I encountered a sale which required a license to write a check.)
I couldn't help but notice one final nifty thing: this sale, like most, is run by a volunteer "Friends of the Library" group--but this particular group, "Friends of Otis Library,' has the best acronym (especially as their sale management proved it to be quite untrue).
The library itself looked nice--I saw a large teen room and genealogy resource room as I peeked through the upstairs door, but by then I just felt tired and wanted to go home, so I didn't manage to go inside and explore further. Had a bit of a challenge, again, finding the highway, but it was a nice day for a drive. This sale runs through Sunday, if anyone feels up to it and has a good map.
Best Finds: Lynda Barry's The Good Times Are Killing Me, Elizabeth Hess's Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human, and Anthony Bourdain's The Nasty Bits. I'm now rather regretting that I didn't buy Hollow Chocolate Bunnies. Oh, well.
Today, as promised, was the sale at the Otis Library in Norwich. It started late, for a Saturday sale (10 a.m.) and I left later than I'd planned because a guy from the Geek Squad was at my house fixing our computers, and since I'd forgotten to print out directions at work yesterday, I waited until the Geek was done and I could use our home computer again. (Tried calling the library for directions several times, but only got the answering machine telling me to call during regular library hours--which I was. I know it's probably rare for people to call for directions in this day and age, but it still happens--man your phones, folks, or you may lose customers!) My husband had said earlier, "well, why don't you just drive into Norwich and drive around?" I balked at that, but I'll tell you, I might as well have done just that. Google Maps failed me completely; I still have no idea what the heck happened. I got massively lost, had to ask directions at a gas station and even then had to drive around in circles for a while. The signage in downtown Norwich is abysmal and I believe I stumbled upon the library out of sheer luck. Parked in a metered space next to the building; of course, it wasn't until afterwards that I discovered there was a huge lot behind the building (although I'm still not 100% sure that that lot belonged to the library, so if you don't want to risk getting towed, bring money for the meter).
The sale was in the basement of the library building, which was big and open and had plenty of space (it's a basement, though--do watch out if you're mold-prone). This sale was smart in that it knew how to advertise its supporters--the first sale I've ever seen that acknowledged the wonderful CT Book Sale Finder on a flyer on the wall, and it also gave credit to the group who donated the tables. Another nice touch--every now and then someone circled the room asking the browsers if they needed bags. I, of course, come with my own, as do most serious book-salers, but many folks don't, or they forget, so it's very courteous to offer.
The choices were pretty generous--lots of fiction, with a decent mix of old and new, paperback and hardcover. This library also did the courteous task of sorting very popular authors into their own little sections, so one wouldn't have to wade through huge piles of John Gresham or Stephen King. Large romance section, but one of the smallest sci-fi/fantasy sections I've ever seen at a sale, particularly of this size. Nice big biography section (mostly third-party bios of established figures, rather than personal memoirs). Decent selection of books on religion and history. Not a particularly good selection of books for younger children; much better for older children, again with a pretty good mix of new and recent fiction. Very skimpy CD selection; some DVDs; lots of videotapes--good quality films, and many of them still sealed. If you don't mind videotapes rather than DVDs, this would be a good sale to frequent.
I understand that it's a tedious and often thankless job, but the sorters at this sale might have been a little more careful. I usually only move books if the mistakes are really bad, and I moved a couple at this sale. J. M. Coetzee's The Lives of Animals really doesn't belong in the pets/nature section, and I caught a copy of a rather adult sci-fi novel that definitely didn't belong in the children's section. (Honestly, I would think the over-the-topness of a title like The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse might clue one in that it isn't quite for children, but I suspect the sorter was thrown off by the nursery-rhyme theme of the novel. However, Mother Goose runs a brothel, and it didn't take long for me to discover jokes about prophylactics and sexual prowess. Check closer next time, folks.)
Prices are pretty good--$2 for hardbacks, which is higher than usual, but they make that up by charging only $.25 for most paperbacks). This sale wasn't too crowded, and the checkout process was pretty speedy. They do want you to write your driver's license number on your check, so make sure you have ID. (I realized about halfway through the sale that I felt unusually burdened, especially since I only gathered about a bag's worth of books, and then I realized that I'd brought my pocketbook in, which I don't usually do--much easier to carry just my checkbook and wallet in one of my tote bags. Didn't even used to bring the wallet until I encountered a sale which required a license to write a check.)
I couldn't help but notice one final nifty thing: this sale, like most, is run by a volunteer "Friends of the Library" group--but this particular group, "Friends of Otis Library,' has the best acronym (especially as their sale management proved it to be quite untrue).
The library itself looked nice--I saw a large teen room and genealogy resource room as I peeked through the upstairs door, but by then I just felt tired and wanted to go home, so I didn't manage to go inside and explore further. Had a bit of a challenge, again, finding the highway, but it was a nice day for a drive. This sale runs through Sunday, if anyone feels up to it and has a good map.
Best Finds: Lynda Barry's The Good Times Are Killing Me, Elizabeth Hess's Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human, and Anthony Bourdain's The Nasty Bits. I'm now rather regretting that I didn't buy Hollow Chocolate Bunnies. Oh, well.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Oct. 15 – Prosser Public Library Sale (Bloomfield)
It’s October. And it’s SNOWING. I am not happy about this at all. I hate snow. I hate driving in it, and I hate being afraid to venture out when there’s snow in the forecast. So, of course, when I heard that snow was in the forecast for early evening last night, my first thought was that I had better not try to make it to the library in Bloomfield for its sale. I decided, however, to give it a shot, because Bloomfield isn’t far from my workplace and I didn’t think the snow would be too much of an impediment. Turns out I was right—I saw a fair bit of snow, but only in the air; it didn’t stick on the road at all, since it was too warm to ice up. No worse than driving in the rain (which I don’t like either but wouldn’t allow to hinder me as readily).
That said, if I had been snowed out of the Bloomfield sale, I don’t think I’d have missed anything tremendous. Even so, I was glad that I made it, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on.
I’m fond of the Bloomfield library—Bloomfield is not a huge town, but its library seems well-cared-for and well-loved. I’ve been there a couple times to borrow books (and will probably always remember it fondly because I found a copy of Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction on its bookcart in the hall, and the newer Mole books, especially, are hard to come by in America!). Thus, the warmth and cleanliness of the community room impressed me as a nice place for a sale. This sale was tidy and organized—unfortunately, however, part of the reason for the tidiness and organization was that the selection wasn’t particularly broad. I got the sense, though, that somebody had really laid everything out carefully and attractively, and that was part of the sale’s overall appeal. (I do protest, however, at some sections that weren’t laid out horizontally but were displayed vertically, in annoying, flimsy bookends that slid when books were taken out and made the rest of the display fall over. Not attractive, and not useful either!)
For the most part, the sale consisted of donated books rather than library discards—with the notable exception of the children’s books, which I’ll get to in a moment. Most ordinary library categories were represented, but generally by only 20 to 30 books each. The cookbook section was nice—seemed like newer and higher-quality books. The fiction choices—which are almost always the heart of any used-book sale—were remarkably slim; mostly hardback, little paperback. (I did indulge in the same Janet Evanovich book I’d bypassed at the Allentown sale, since at Bloomfield it was only $1. I always get a little “Ha!” out of moments like that.) CD selection was OK; video selection was actually very good (high-quality tapes, great condition—if you’re an X-Files fan and don’t mind videotape, this sale had a broad range of episode tapes. (I seriously debated about the two tapes with Darin Morgan episodes, but eventually didn’t want to break up the set; I’ll probably end up getting the show on DVD eventually.)
The real highlight of this sale (or at least it was before I decimated it) was the education section—I snagged five books on lesson planning and classroom management for my teacher-to-be husband that were published within the last decade, in great condition, and probably very useful.
The children’s section was the only one that was almost completely library discards. Many of these books (for both older and younger kids) were classics, and the selection was bigger than most at this sale. At the beginning of my quest for the classroom library, however, I probably would have been less picky about taking library discards; now, I’ve just gotten a little more discriminating and I didn’t choose many. I did end up with some pretty nice donated paperbacks—although the one weird blip in the sale’s display relegated these to two large tubs in the corner of the room, and I couldn’t even be sure they were actually on sale. I asked the sweet elderly ladies who were running the sale, and they weren’t sure, but they found someone fairly quickly to give the right answer.
Prices were standard—exemplary for the children’s paperbacks, though, which were ten cents (lowest I’ve seen anywhere so far)! I left with one bag, quite full (under $10, although upon looking the haul over at home I suspect that the dear ladies undercharged me and I feel vaguely guilty about that). As I left the library, it was just getting dark and the snow was getting underway, and I drove through a lot of blow-snow to get home. I wouldn’t say that this was a sale to risk one’s personal safety—or one’s car—to get to, but it was certainly worth a little effort.
Best Finds: The aforementioned education books, particularly Weaving Through Words and Managing Diverse Classrooms. A copy of Sesyle Joslin’s What Do You Say, Dear? (about manners, but a hoot—I always liked it as a child) and two of Aliki’s books, Manners and Feelings. James Marshall's Merry Christmas, Space Case--a library discard, but one I couldn't pass up (talk to me if you ever want an adaptation for a school or church play, because I've done it!) Prince Paul’s album A Prince Among Thieves (as a De La Soul fan, I’m interested in their friend and mentor, and that’s the great thing about sales like this—you can investigate side interests without a huge investment).
That said, if I had been snowed out of the Bloomfield sale, I don’t think I’d have missed anything tremendous. Even so, I was glad that I made it, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on.
I’m fond of the Bloomfield library—Bloomfield is not a huge town, but its library seems well-cared-for and well-loved. I’ve been there a couple times to borrow books (and will probably always remember it fondly because I found a copy of Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction on its bookcart in the hall, and the newer Mole books, especially, are hard to come by in America!). Thus, the warmth and cleanliness of the community room impressed me as a nice place for a sale. This sale was tidy and organized—unfortunately, however, part of the reason for the tidiness and organization was that the selection wasn’t particularly broad. I got the sense, though, that somebody had really laid everything out carefully and attractively, and that was part of the sale’s overall appeal. (I do protest, however, at some sections that weren’t laid out horizontally but were displayed vertically, in annoying, flimsy bookends that slid when books were taken out and made the rest of the display fall over. Not attractive, and not useful either!)
For the most part, the sale consisted of donated books rather than library discards—with the notable exception of the children’s books, which I’ll get to in a moment. Most ordinary library categories were represented, but generally by only 20 to 30 books each. The cookbook section was nice—seemed like newer and higher-quality books. The fiction choices—which are almost always the heart of any used-book sale—were remarkably slim; mostly hardback, little paperback. (I did indulge in the same Janet Evanovich book I’d bypassed at the Allentown sale, since at Bloomfield it was only $1. I always get a little “Ha!” out of moments like that.) CD selection was OK; video selection was actually very good (high-quality tapes, great condition—if you’re an X-Files fan and don’t mind videotape, this sale had a broad range of episode tapes. (I seriously debated about the two tapes with Darin Morgan episodes, but eventually didn’t want to break up the set; I’ll probably end up getting the show on DVD eventually.)
The real highlight of this sale (or at least it was before I decimated it) was the education section—I snagged five books on lesson planning and classroom management for my teacher-to-be husband that were published within the last decade, in great condition, and probably very useful.
The children’s section was the only one that was almost completely library discards. Many of these books (for both older and younger kids) were classics, and the selection was bigger than most at this sale. At the beginning of my quest for the classroom library, however, I probably would have been less picky about taking library discards; now, I’ve just gotten a little more discriminating and I didn’t choose many. I did end up with some pretty nice donated paperbacks—although the one weird blip in the sale’s display relegated these to two large tubs in the corner of the room, and I couldn’t even be sure they were actually on sale. I asked the sweet elderly ladies who were running the sale, and they weren’t sure, but they found someone fairly quickly to give the right answer.
Prices were standard—exemplary for the children’s paperbacks, though, which were ten cents (lowest I’ve seen anywhere so far)! I left with one bag, quite full (under $10, although upon looking the haul over at home I suspect that the dear ladies undercharged me and I feel vaguely guilty about that). As I left the library, it was just getting dark and the snow was getting underway, and I drove through a lot of blow-snow to get home. I wouldn’t say that this was a sale to risk one’s personal safety—or one’s car—to get to, but it was certainly worth a little effort.
Best Finds: The aforementioned education books, particularly Weaving Through Words and Managing Diverse Classrooms. A copy of Sesyle Joslin’s What Do You Say, Dear? (about manners, but a hoot—I always liked it as a child) and two of Aliki’s books, Manners and Feelings. James Marshall's Merry Christmas, Space Case--a library discard, but one I couldn't pass up (talk to me if you ever want an adaptation for a school or church play, because I've done it!) Prince Paul’s album A Prince Among Thieves (as a De La Soul fan, I’m interested in their friend and mentor, and that’s the great thing about sales like this—you can investigate side interests without a huge investment).
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Oct. 14 - New Britain Library Sale
I arrived at the New Britain Public Library at around 5:15 p.m. for their paid preview, and gave them my five bucks to get in. The lady at the desk seemed a little surprised by this, so I suspect I could have gotten away scot-free; however, I don't usually have problems with giving money to good causes like libraries, so I didn't quibble. This is a good thing, as I honestly don't think it was really worth the paid-preview price. The sale took up a decent-sized community room, but the selection seemed kind of limited, and nothing really stood out. I'd hate to have gotten there later in the week, though, as I suspect I would have been even more disappointed.
One unique feature: CT Book Sale Finder listed this as a "Red Hot Book Sale," and that was meant literally. The "specials" table (i.e., books that cost more than standard book-sale prices of a buck or fifty cents) at the front of the room consisted wholly of books with red covers! Again, nothing spectacular, selection-wise, but I give them points for cleverness. Truth be told, it's often difficult for me to tell exactly how book sale staff determines what counts as a "special" (rarity? condition?)--in fact, I've occasionally seen seemingly identical copies of "specials" on regular tables elsewhere in the same sale! (Mansfield Public Library, I love you dearly, but I'm looking at you here!) New Britain's specials were eye-catching, and reminded me of an art installation that I dearly love, There Is Nothing Wrong in this Whole Wide World. (What I wouldn't give to see an entire book sale like this! Anyone?)
On the older vs. newer-book spectrum that I mentioned in my last post (I have to come up with better names for these terms, since I suspect I'll be using them regularly)--the New Britain sale definitely fell on the older-book side. Some decent recent fiction (although quite a bit of Oprah) but far more older trade paperbacks. Popular authors (e.g., Grisham, Steele, Rita Mae Brown) were sorted out into boxes around the perimeter of the room, which was kind of nice--I'm not one to indulge in much of this stuff, but it makes it easy for folks who do, and clears off the tables as well. Other than fiction, most genres were small (one table, tops). This book sale, unlike any I've seen, had a selection of books in Polish (NB has probably the highest Polish population in the state, so that's no surprise--well, no more than seeing a table full of Polish books in America is, which it just IS!). There was also a surprisingly large and good selection of books by black authors; this section, however, was labeled "Black Americans," which it shouldn't have been, as books by and about African and Caribbean folk were also included (their hearts were in the right place, I suspect). The children's book selection was skimpy and badly displayed (on some occasions, stacked in boxes without the spines pointing upward). CD selection wasn't bad (clearly, someone who liked Prince contributed a good bit)--although it took me a while to be able to get to it, since this poor fellow whose eyes were clearly far worse than mine, even, was bent over the box for a LONG time. The videotape selection was quite broad; I saw a sign in the library that they were getting rid of tapes and going strictly to DVDs, so I suspect that many of the tapes were library discards.
Prices were standard--$1 hardbacks, $.50 paperbacks, DVDs $2 (I didn't buy any CDs so I'm not sure of their prices). I left with one bagful (around $11), and ran into a friend getting off the elevator. I'd mentioned that I was going to the sale in an email earlier in the day, and since she lives in NB, she decided to pop in. I felt a little guilty and warned her about the $5 not really being worth it, but like me she doesn't mind money going to the library--also like me, she doesn't even really mind library fines!
I got good and lost trying to get back to the highway--this has happened to me before in NB, and it was dark out, so I'm wholly to blame. This sale continues through Saturday, although I have to wonder how much they'll really have by then.
Best Finds: A copy of Stewart O'Nan's Last Night at the Lobster, a lovely little book by a Connecticut author. It was a library discard, which I generally like less than an unmarked, donated book--but since the story itself is about the closing down of a Red Lobster IN NEW BRITAIN, having a discarded copy from the New Britain Library felt like beautiful poetic justice. Also, a very nice hardback copy of Ian McEwen's Atonement. A DVD of Revolutionary Road. Some lovely children's picture books in very good condition--particularly Graeme Base's The Eleventh Hour and James Herriot's Moses the Kitten.
One unique feature: CT Book Sale Finder listed this as a "Red Hot Book Sale," and that was meant literally. The "specials" table (i.e., books that cost more than standard book-sale prices of a buck or fifty cents) at the front of the room consisted wholly of books with red covers! Again, nothing spectacular, selection-wise, but I give them points for cleverness. Truth be told, it's often difficult for me to tell exactly how book sale staff determines what counts as a "special" (rarity? condition?)--in fact, I've occasionally seen seemingly identical copies of "specials" on regular tables elsewhere in the same sale! (Mansfield Public Library, I love you dearly, but I'm looking at you here!) New Britain's specials were eye-catching, and reminded me of an art installation that I dearly love, There Is Nothing Wrong in this Whole Wide World. (What I wouldn't give to see an entire book sale like this! Anyone?)
On the older vs. newer-book spectrum that I mentioned in my last post (I have to come up with better names for these terms, since I suspect I'll be using them regularly)--the New Britain sale definitely fell on the older-book side. Some decent recent fiction (although quite a bit of Oprah) but far more older trade paperbacks. Popular authors (e.g., Grisham, Steele, Rita Mae Brown) were sorted out into boxes around the perimeter of the room, which was kind of nice--I'm not one to indulge in much of this stuff, but it makes it easy for folks who do, and clears off the tables as well. Other than fiction, most genres were small (one table, tops). This book sale, unlike any I've seen, had a selection of books in Polish (NB has probably the highest Polish population in the state, so that's no surprise--well, no more than seeing a table full of Polish books in America is, which it just IS!). There was also a surprisingly large and good selection of books by black authors; this section, however, was labeled "Black Americans," which it shouldn't have been, as books by and about African and Caribbean folk were also included (their hearts were in the right place, I suspect). The children's book selection was skimpy and badly displayed (on some occasions, stacked in boxes without the spines pointing upward). CD selection wasn't bad (clearly, someone who liked Prince contributed a good bit)--although it took me a while to be able to get to it, since this poor fellow whose eyes were clearly far worse than mine, even, was bent over the box for a LONG time. The videotape selection was quite broad; I saw a sign in the library that they were getting rid of tapes and going strictly to DVDs, so I suspect that many of the tapes were library discards.
Prices were standard--$1 hardbacks, $.50 paperbacks, DVDs $2 (I didn't buy any CDs so I'm not sure of their prices). I left with one bagful (around $11), and ran into a friend getting off the elevator. I'd mentioned that I was going to the sale in an email earlier in the day, and since she lives in NB, she decided to pop in. I felt a little guilty and warned her about the $5 not really being worth it, but like me she doesn't mind money going to the library--also like me, she doesn't even really mind library fines!
I got good and lost trying to get back to the highway--this has happened to me before in NB, and it was dark out, so I'm wholly to blame. This sale continues through Saturday, although I have to wonder how much they'll really have by then.
Best Finds: A copy of Stewart O'Nan's Last Night at the Lobster, a lovely little book by a Connecticut author. It was a library discard, which I generally like less than an unmarked, donated book--but since the story itself is about the closing down of a Red Lobster IN NEW BRITAIN, having a discarded copy from the New Britain Library felt like beautiful poetic justice. Also, a very nice hardback copy of Ian McEwen's Atonement. A DVD of Revolutionary Road. Some lovely children's picture books in very good condition--particularly Graeme Base's The Eleventh Hour and James Herriot's Moses the Kitten.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Booking Across . . . America?
Well, despite the fact that this blog is titled "Booking Across Connecticut," I'm including an out-of-state book sale, just because I can. As I mentioned in my last post, I was in Easton, Pennsylvania, visiting my sister-in-law and her family, during the Columbus Day Weekend, and the American Association of University Women held their 50th annual book sale in Allentown, PA. When Saturday morning rolled around, my sister-in-law went to a soccer game with her son, and my husband and stepkids were still recovering from our nearly five-hour drive from the night before, so I took our car and my Mapquest directions (that I'd conveniently printed out back in CT, hmmm) and set out on my own.
The ride proved fairly easy, although the sale location itself was a little hidden--I'd say it called for better signage. Turns out that Allentown is the (now former) world headquarters of the Mack Trucking Company, which I hadn't realized when "Mack Street," and the "Mack Pool House" were referenced in the sale ad. Yes, "Pool House." Apparently new this year, this had to be one of the most creative book sale sites I've ever been to: a concrete building that serves as locker room, snack bar, and other indoor space to an outdoor municipal pool.
(Years ago I wrote a poem about a Jacuzzi full of books, based on an offhand remark from a guy I went to grad school with. I just loved the concept, and as I think of it now, I regret slightly that the actual pool itself couldn't be filled with books for the sale--but it was an outdoor pool, and a rainy morning. Wouldn't have worked.)
Anyway, this was advertised as a BIG sale, and a pretty big sale it was. The Pool House consisted of at least seven rooms (or odd-shaped hallway spaces), and pretty much every one of them was in use. I don't know if there were more rooms than the ones I saw--I suspect not, because if they could have spread out more, they should have. The aforementioned odd-shaped hallways, in particular, were not the best browsing conditions--too-tight aisles, with not enough space for folks to wedge past each other comfortably. I gave the end of the fiction section a pass because of this--just couldn't get comfy. (Maybe in the future, save those odd shapes for less popular sections, and move the fiction into its own room?) An amusing factor: what I believe to be cement shower stalls in one of the locker rooms were used as library stalls for a few smaller sections. I was in the women's issues section for a while, which was actually kind of homey because no one besides me could fit in there to look, so I took my sweet time.
I don't know for sure if the damp day exacerbated this, but the combination of pool-house mold and old books did play some havoc on my allergies. I'm usually careful to take my pills before going to a sale, because mold and dust are triggers and they're quite often encountered in these situations, but this one seemed a bit stronger than most.
Something I've started to notice about book sales in general: they often fall into a pretty strong distinction between sales that have a lot of older books (and I'm not talking used-and-rare, but more like lots of trade paperbacks from the 60s and 70s, old hardback library discards, mom and grandma cookbooks, etc.) and sales that have a lot of newer books collected from an active community. Simsbury seemed more like the latter; Manchester, the former. I think I had expected the latter from the AAUW, for some reason--university women, stands to reason you'd get a lot of active readers and a really broad range of books. Didn't really seem that way, and I'm not sure why (the AAUW is aging, maybe? That end of the state is more blue-collar, despite the abundance of colleges?). Anyway, the largest room was definitely that dedicated to old paperbacks, which is seldom my first target to search; also lots of hardback mystery and horror, also not a high priority. Much of the nonfiction also seemed older (although I should give some props to the women's studies section--maybe THAT'S the AAUW influence!). CD and video choice was minimal (lots of classical/instrumental CDs, but not particularly good quality). I do give props to the sorting--most of the fiction sections were roughly alphabetical, which isn't common but is usually appreciated. The children's section was pretty good for school-age readers but a little skimpy for small children, although I did find a few good picks (mostly in the "special"--i.e., more than $1--section). I did like the little kids' book displays--in boxes, on low shelves (boards on bricks?) that were readily accessible to kids but not too hard on adults' creaky knees.
Prices were pretty good. I forewent the most recent Janet Evanovich (guilty pleasure) because it cost $5--I guess I'll just have to keep waiting for it at a library. I bought six books for myself and about ten for the teacher library, and spent under $20, which is satisfactory, especially as the proceeds go to a good cause: scholarships for women returning to college after a hiatus.
Thus endeth my first foray into the rest of the country for used-book sales--maybe more in the future, but for now, I'm ready to get back into Connecticut.
Best Finds: Several cute books of kids' poetry and songs (notably, by Jack Prelutsky, who's becoming my husband's favorite poet for children, possibly even surpassing Silverstein). A nice kids' astronomy book with accompanying CD-ROM (although this one not only lists Pluto as a planet but also lists a couple other tiny "new" planets named Krista and Smiley, which I can only assume got demoted along with Pluto; I suppose it's worth keeping just for curiosity's sake, as I'm kind of sorry that there isn't a planet named Smiley anymore). Good hardback copies of Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison and Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet--I guess autism-spectrum disorders are the theme of the day.
The ride proved fairly easy, although the sale location itself was a little hidden--I'd say it called for better signage. Turns out that Allentown is the (now former) world headquarters of the Mack Trucking Company, which I hadn't realized when "Mack Street," and the "Mack Pool House" were referenced in the sale ad. Yes, "Pool House." Apparently new this year, this had to be one of the most creative book sale sites I've ever been to: a concrete building that serves as locker room, snack bar, and other indoor space to an outdoor municipal pool.
(Years ago I wrote a poem about a Jacuzzi full of books, based on an offhand remark from a guy I went to grad school with. I just loved the concept, and as I think of it now, I regret slightly that the actual pool itself couldn't be filled with books for the sale--but it was an outdoor pool, and a rainy morning. Wouldn't have worked.)
Anyway, this was advertised as a BIG sale, and a pretty big sale it was. The Pool House consisted of at least seven rooms (or odd-shaped hallway spaces), and pretty much every one of them was in use. I don't know if there were more rooms than the ones I saw--I suspect not, because if they could have spread out more, they should have. The aforementioned odd-shaped hallways, in particular, were not the best browsing conditions--too-tight aisles, with not enough space for folks to wedge past each other comfortably. I gave the end of the fiction section a pass because of this--just couldn't get comfy. (Maybe in the future, save those odd shapes for less popular sections, and move the fiction into its own room?) An amusing factor: what I believe to be cement shower stalls in one of the locker rooms were used as library stalls for a few smaller sections. I was in the women's issues section for a while, which was actually kind of homey because no one besides me could fit in there to look, so I took my sweet time.
I don't know for sure if the damp day exacerbated this, but the combination of pool-house mold and old books did play some havoc on my allergies. I'm usually careful to take my pills before going to a sale, because mold and dust are triggers and they're quite often encountered in these situations, but this one seemed a bit stronger than most.
Something I've started to notice about book sales in general: they often fall into a pretty strong distinction between sales that have a lot of older books (and I'm not talking used-and-rare, but more like lots of trade paperbacks from the 60s and 70s, old hardback library discards, mom and grandma cookbooks, etc.) and sales that have a lot of newer books collected from an active community. Simsbury seemed more like the latter; Manchester, the former. I think I had expected the latter from the AAUW, for some reason--university women, stands to reason you'd get a lot of active readers and a really broad range of books. Didn't really seem that way, and I'm not sure why (the AAUW is aging, maybe? That end of the state is more blue-collar, despite the abundance of colleges?). Anyway, the largest room was definitely that dedicated to old paperbacks, which is seldom my first target to search; also lots of hardback mystery and horror, also not a high priority. Much of the nonfiction also seemed older (although I should give some props to the women's studies section--maybe THAT'S the AAUW influence!). CD and video choice was minimal (lots of classical/instrumental CDs, but not particularly good quality). I do give props to the sorting--most of the fiction sections were roughly alphabetical, which isn't common but is usually appreciated. The children's section was pretty good for school-age readers but a little skimpy for small children, although I did find a few good picks (mostly in the "special"--i.e., more than $1--section). I did like the little kids' book displays--in boxes, on low shelves (boards on bricks?) that were readily accessible to kids but not too hard on adults' creaky knees.
Prices were pretty good. I forewent the most recent Janet Evanovich (guilty pleasure) because it cost $5--I guess I'll just have to keep waiting for it at a library. I bought six books for myself and about ten for the teacher library, and spent under $20, which is satisfactory, especially as the proceeds go to a good cause: scholarships for women returning to college after a hiatus.
Thus endeth my first foray into the rest of the country for used-book sales--maybe more in the future, but for now, I'm ready to get back into Connecticut.
Best Finds: Several cute books of kids' poetry and songs (notably, by Jack Prelutsky, who's becoming my husband's favorite poet for children, possibly even surpassing Silverstein). A nice kids' astronomy book with accompanying CD-ROM (although this one not only lists Pluto as a planet but also lists a couple other tiny "new" planets named Krista and Smiley, which I can only assume got demoted along with Pluto; I suppose it's worth keeping just for curiosity's sake, as I'm kind of sorry that there isn't a planet named Smiley anymore). Good hardback copies of Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison and Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet--I guess autism-spectrum disorders are the theme of the day.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Upcoming Week - Oct. 11 - 19
Well, it's been a quiet couple of weeks, but mid-October should see me picking up momentum again. Next week I'm hoping to do something I haven't done before: go to a first-night paid preview of a book sale. (It's only $5, which I'd be happy to donate to a library in any case, and the chance to have first dibs at all those goodies is way too tempting!) This one is at the New Britain Public Library, and I'll be going on Wednesday, Oct. 14 (the sale runs through Saturday). I've been there once or twice before to take out books, but I've never been to one of their sales.
The next night it'll be the Prosser Public Library in Bloomfield--again, a library I've visited for borrowing but never for a sale. I'll be going on Thursday, Oct. 15 (this isn't a paid preview, to my knowledge); again, the sale runs through Saturday.
My Saturday, however, will be dedicated to the Otis Library in Norwich. This one is new to me in all ways--never been there before, so I'm looking forward to the journey. According to Book Sales in Connecticut, this sale includes 25,000 books, so it's a big 'un. The Norwich sale actually starts on Friday, Oct. 16, but I have to work, so I'm stuck with Saturday. It runs through Sunday.
I'm off to Pennsylvania for this weekend. And oh, Lord--just occurred to me that I might check out the Pennsylvania Book Sale Finder, and turns out there's a huge sale (American Association of University Women--50th anniversary, 75,000 books!) in a town about half an hour from my sister-in-law's house! Wonder if I can get myself out there . . .
Stay tuned!
The next night it'll be the Prosser Public Library in Bloomfield--again, a library I've visited for borrowing but never for a sale. I'll be going on Thursday, Oct. 15 (this isn't a paid preview, to my knowledge); again, the sale runs through Saturday.
My Saturday, however, will be dedicated to the Otis Library in Norwich. This one is new to me in all ways--never been there before, so I'm looking forward to the journey. According to Book Sales in Connecticut, this sale includes 25,000 books, so it's a big 'un. The Norwich sale actually starts on Friday, Oct. 16, but I have to work, so I'm stuck with Saturday. It runs through Sunday.
I'm off to Pennsylvania for this weekend. And oh, Lord--just occurred to me that I might check out the Pennsylvania Book Sale Finder, and turns out there's a huge sale (American Association of University Women--50th anniversary, 75,000 books!) in a town about half an hour from my sister-in-law's house! Wonder if I can get myself out there . . .
Stay tuned!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Coming Up - Weekend of Sept. 26
Well, no book sales planned for me in the upcoming weekend, as I have work and family obligations. Had I not, I probably would have tried to get to the Granby Public Library for their sale (never been there), or if I felt like a slightly longer drive, to what sounds like an awesome sale at the Guilford Free Library. Which kind of sucks--I'm supposed to go to Madison with my family next week for an event, and Guilford is not that far a stretch from Madison. Had it been just one more weekend away, I would have tried to put in some time at the Guilford sale.
Ah well. I guess I'll be putting in some time shelving what I got from the last weekend, although I need more shelves first!
Ah well. I guess I'll be putting in some time shelving what I got from the last weekend, although I need more shelves first!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Sept. 19 - Douglas Library Sale (Hebron)
Today's second sale was at the Douglas Library in Hebron. I started going to this library's sales in March and was pleasantly surprised--Hebron seems like a little town, but it's a little town with people who read good fiction and apparently REALLY like their children's books!
There's a fairly large parking lot immediately next to the library building (the library is a bit hidden off the street from Route 66 so keep your eyes open). Although the lot was almost full when I got there around 11:30, I found a place to wedge into. Went in with two tote bags--as it turns out, I should have brought more! Although this library has sales every three months, I've found it to be surprisingly consistent in its quality; apparently re-stocking isn't a big problem. I bought more for myself at this sale than I have at the last three, which mostly skewed toward the classroom library (not that I didn't stock up for that here either!).
The trade paperback section was quite good--this sale does have its own Oprah section, but that's OK. Lots of hardcover fiction here, including a pretty broad literary-fiction section (as opposed to the mystery, thriller, romance, etc., which get their own table). Nonfiction is OK--I don't remember seeing much of a biography section, but maybe I just missed that. Lots of cookbooks and health/diet books. CD selection was surprisingly broad, and I didn't fnd myself remembering a lot of its content from previous sales, other than the ubiquitous Backstreet Boys and O-Town. Lots of videotapes; not many DVDs.
The children's section is freaking awesome. This sale usually has more for older kids than average, and they're displayed in a nice spread on the table. (My one quibble is that these books aren't always very recent, although that seems common to children's book sales--my kids, however, seem to prefer stuff that's been written within the last five or ten years to the more "classic" books from my childhood or before, which are often overrepresented.) The little-kid section was amazingly broad--I've been stocking up the classroom library from this sale, but today seemed particularly good (other teachers cleaning out their classroom libraries and rotating the stock, maybe?). Lots of leveled readers, which I always appreciate, and LOTS of good science and nature books. Most seemed to be in pretty tight cover condition, without a lot of library discards or writing inside (a couple covers have some schmutz which I know I can attack with a damp paper towel or Goo Gone--I picked up a couple collections of Jack Prelutsky's poems with this in mind).
I admit to having to sift through quite a bit of cartoon-character lit this time--if you or your kid are into Dora, Franklin the Turtle, Thomas the Tank Engine or Rugrats, this sale might be up your alley. The staff may want to be a little more careful in their sorting process--at least two copies of Goodnight Bush sneaked into the children's section, which might be a little disturbing to unsuspecting parents/kids (yes, I did buy one of these for my husband, and yes, our kids were a little weirded out by say, the representation of Abu Ghraib--aka the "pile of butts").
Everything at this sale was very cheap--they do charge $1 for the adult trade paperbacks rather than 50 cents, but that didn't bother me. All kids' books are a quarter (hardback and paperback) and CDs are only $1. The cashiers are cheerful and count everything up quickly. They were very forthcoming with additional bags (I needed one!) and information about the library sale schedule. I told them I'll be back in November.
Best Finds: Blue is the Colour by the Beautiful South! (I have a hard enough time finding people who know who this band IS, let alone finding their albums secondhand!) Also, Dar Williams' Mortal City (mostly for my husband). In books for me--Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs. Two new Uncle John's Bathroom Readers--these are a big hit with my family, including my generally-reluctant-to-read stepson. For the classroom library, a great little series of DK kids' books, answering questions about food, colors, nature, etc., and another great little series showing the life cycle of a frog, maple tree, ladybug, etc. This was a GOOD day!
There's a fairly large parking lot immediately next to the library building (the library is a bit hidden off the street from Route 66 so keep your eyes open). Although the lot was almost full when I got there around 11:30, I found a place to wedge into. Went in with two tote bags--as it turns out, I should have brought more! Although this library has sales every three months, I've found it to be surprisingly consistent in its quality; apparently re-stocking isn't a big problem. I bought more for myself at this sale than I have at the last three, which mostly skewed toward the classroom library (not that I didn't stock up for that here either!).
The trade paperback section was quite good--this sale does have its own Oprah section, but that's OK. Lots of hardcover fiction here, including a pretty broad literary-fiction section (as opposed to the mystery, thriller, romance, etc., which get their own table). Nonfiction is OK--I don't remember seeing much of a biography section, but maybe I just missed that. Lots of cookbooks and health/diet books. CD selection was surprisingly broad, and I didn't fnd myself remembering a lot of its content from previous sales, other than the ubiquitous Backstreet Boys and O-Town. Lots of videotapes; not many DVDs.
The children's section is freaking awesome. This sale usually has more for older kids than average, and they're displayed in a nice spread on the table. (My one quibble is that these books aren't always very recent, although that seems common to children's book sales--my kids, however, seem to prefer stuff that's been written within the last five or ten years to the more "classic" books from my childhood or before, which are often overrepresented.) The little-kid section was amazingly broad--I've been stocking up the classroom library from this sale, but today seemed particularly good (other teachers cleaning out their classroom libraries and rotating the stock, maybe?). Lots of leveled readers, which I always appreciate, and LOTS of good science and nature books. Most seemed to be in pretty tight cover condition, without a lot of library discards or writing inside (a couple covers have some schmutz which I know I can attack with a damp paper towel or Goo Gone--I picked up a couple collections of Jack Prelutsky's poems with this in mind).
I admit to having to sift through quite a bit of cartoon-character lit this time--if you or your kid are into Dora, Franklin the Turtle, Thomas the Tank Engine or Rugrats, this sale might be up your alley. The staff may want to be a little more careful in their sorting process--at least two copies of Goodnight Bush sneaked into the children's section, which might be a little disturbing to unsuspecting parents/kids (yes, I did buy one of these for my husband, and yes, our kids were a little weirded out by say, the representation of Abu Ghraib--aka the "pile of butts").
Everything at this sale was very cheap--they do charge $1 for the adult trade paperbacks rather than 50 cents, but that didn't bother me. All kids' books are a quarter (hardback and paperback) and CDs are only $1. The cashiers are cheerful and count everything up quickly. They were very forthcoming with additional bags (I needed one!) and information about the library sale schedule. I told them I'll be back in November.
Best Finds: Blue is the Colour by the Beautiful South! (I have a hard enough time finding people who know who this band IS, let alone finding their albums secondhand!) Also, Dar Williams' Mortal City (mostly for my husband). In books for me--Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs. Two new Uncle John's Bathroom Readers--these are a big hit with my family, including my generally-reluctant-to-read stepson. For the classroom library, a great little series of DK kids' books, answering questions about food, colors, nature, etc., and another great little series showing the life cycle of a frog, maple tree, ladybug, etc. This was a GOOD day!
Sept. 19 - Mary Cheney Library Sale (Manchester)
Got to the sale at Mary Cheney Library at around quarter to ten. Parking at this library is challenging in general--Manchester is my former town, and people were talking about needing a larger library building and more parking before I left five years ago. I'm fond of the building and might be sad to see it go, but the parking is definitely a need. I should have known better to even try driving through the little lot in front of the building, but I did. No spaces there, of course (although there was, front and center, a car with "Just Married" on its rear window. Now that's dedication!). There's a small public parking lot behind Paul's Paint, across the street, which is where I generally park for this sale, and that's where I ended up today. (Make sure you park in the public lot--NOT directly in the small lot behind Paul's, which belongs to him.)
If you want to go to this sale, don't go in the main doors to the library--go in around the side. The sale usually takes up the better part of the large meeting room under the children's section.
I mentioned earlier that I'd wanted to find out if the great CD selection at this library's May sale was just a fluke. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the case. Today--still several boxes of CDs, but a mighty lot of them were CDs that I saw at the last sale. As it was, I picked up two CDs that I'd waffled on the last time, but that was it--didn't seem to be many significant additions. This sale usually has a lot of videotapes and few DVDs.
Children's books were spread out in a large pile on the floor. Again, props for the accessibility to small children, but on occasion that made me wince (small children were walking on them!). Moreover, the lack of boxes made it very difficult to browse in any systematic or tidy way, and my knees couldn't take it for very long. As I've been sorting and shelving last week's haul, I realized again how extraordinarily clean the Simsbury books were--this bunch was not comparable. Lots of library discards, and a lot of other donated books in ratty condition. I ended up with 12 to 15 children's books. I suspect this was like my experience at Glastonbury last week--this library also had a sale in May, at which I bought a whole lot more, and just hadn't hadn't had time to refuel to full capacity.
This sale has a lot of older books and library discards as far as adult fiction goes also. This library was far lighter on the chick lit than the others I've seen lately, for some reason, and not much in the way of Oprah books (not necessarily a bad thing!). Nonfiction in this one is definitely on the lighter side--maybe two tables total, as opposed to three (?) tables of fiction and the mass-market paperbacks laid out on the floor around the room's far wall.
For some reason, this sale opts for a group of young guys (library pages?) to hang out on the sidelines of the sale and fill out forms to carry over to the cashiers' table. This wouldn't be a bad system if it weren't for the fact that there are no tables to unload your bags on--dumping on the floor is kind of awkward. Prices are pretty cheap--kids' books are a quarter, hardbacks and trade paperbacks are a buck and so are CDs. A sign hung from the ceiling behind the cashiers' table that said that the Friends of the Library didn't want to take checks for less than $25 and that ID was needed to write a check. I was, in fact, buying less than $25 worth of stuff, but I didn't say anything about the sign and the cashiers didn't make any objection to my check (a lucky thing, since I didn't have cash). I did, however, have ID (a lesson I've learned in the past--previously, I didn't bring my wallet in with my checkbook because I didn't want to carry it around; at some libraries, this is OK, but at some you get the fish-eye if you try to write a check without your driver's license).
All told, good but not great.
Best Finds: Nice hardback copy of Steve Almond's The Evil B.B. Chow & Other Stories (I'm almost surprised it wasn't signed; Hartford loves Steve Almond and he's been here several times). A collection of pasta recipes, always a great need for my family.
If you want to go to this sale, don't go in the main doors to the library--go in around the side. The sale usually takes up the better part of the large meeting room under the children's section.
I mentioned earlier that I'd wanted to find out if the great CD selection at this library's May sale was just a fluke. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the case. Today--still several boxes of CDs, but a mighty lot of them were CDs that I saw at the last sale. As it was, I picked up two CDs that I'd waffled on the last time, but that was it--didn't seem to be many significant additions. This sale usually has a lot of videotapes and few DVDs.
Children's books were spread out in a large pile on the floor. Again, props for the accessibility to small children, but on occasion that made me wince (small children were walking on them!). Moreover, the lack of boxes made it very difficult to browse in any systematic or tidy way, and my knees couldn't take it for very long. As I've been sorting and shelving last week's haul, I realized again how extraordinarily clean the Simsbury books were--this bunch was not comparable. Lots of library discards, and a lot of other donated books in ratty condition. I ended up with 12 to 15 children's books. I suspect this was like my experience at Glastonbury last week--this library also had a sale in May, at which I bought a whole lot more, and just hadn't hadn't had time to refuel to full capacity.
This sale has a lot of older books and library discards as far as adult fiction goes also. This library was far lighter on the chick lit than the others I've seen lately, for some reason, and not much in the way of Oprah books (not necessarily a bad thing!). Nonfiction in this one is definitely on the lighter side--maybe two tables total, as opposed to three (?) tables of fiction and the mass-market paperbacks laid out on the floor around the room's far wall.
For some reason, this sale opts for a group of young guys (library pages?) to hang out on the sidelines of the sale and fill out forms to carry over to the cashiers' table. This wouldn't be a bad system if it weren't for the fact that there are no tables to unload your bags on--dumping on the floor is kind of awkward. Prices are pretty cheap--kids' books are a quarter, hardbacks and trade paperbacks are a buck and so are CDs. A sign hung from the ceiling behind the cashiers' table that said that the Friends of the Library didn't want to take checks for less than $25 and that ID was needed to write a check. I was, in fact, buying less than $25 worth of stuff, but I didn't say anything about the sign and the cashiers didn't make any objection to my check (a lucky thing, since I didn't have cash). I did, however, have ID (a lesson I've learned in the past--previously, I didn't bring my wallet in with my checkbook because I didn't want to carry it around; at some libraries, this is OK, but at some you get the fish-eye if you try to write a check without your driver's license).
All told, good but not great.
Best Finds: Nice hardback copy of Steve Almond's The Evil B.B. Chow & Other Stories (I'm almost surprised it wasn't signed; Hartford loves Steve Almond and he's been here several times). A collection of pasta recipes, always a great need for my family.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Coming Up This Saturday - Sept. 19
I'll be hitting two book sales this Saturday:
Mary Cheney Library (Manchester) - 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. I'm going to this one to see if the PHENOMENAL CD selection I encountered at their sale back in May was purely a fluke. Seriously, I think I ended up with about 20 CDs from that one--I don't know if they regularly collect such a cool haul or if someone with exactly my taste dumped a whole load at one time.
Douglas Library (Hebron) - 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. This is the third sale at this library that I've gone to this year. Good children's book selection; lots of adult fiction.
Both sales promise about 5,000 books--on the small side, but a good time nonetheless. I'll be reviewing afterwards, so tune in.
Mary Cheney Library (Manchester) - 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. I'm going to this one to see if the PHENOMENAL CD selection I encountered at their sale back in May was purely a fluke. Seriously, I think I ended up with about 20 CDs from that one--I don't know if they regularly collect such a cool haul or if someone with exactly my taste dumped a whole load at one time.
Douglas Library (Hebron) - 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. This is the third sale at this library that I've gone to this year. Good children's book selection; lots of adult fiction.
Both sales promise about 5,000 books--on the small side, but a good time nonetheless. I'll be reviewing afterwards, so tune in.
Sept. 12 - Welles-Turner Memorial Library Sale (Glastonbury)
My second venture last Saturday was to the book sale at the Welles-Turner Memorial Library in Glastonbury. I should state clearly and unequivocally that this entry should not be taken as a canonical review of this library's sales, as I've been before and had much better experiences.
I arrived late--around 1:30 p.m.--partially because I spent the morning at the Simsbury sale and partially because I got stuck in nasty I-84 traffic for about half an hour (rainy-morning accident). The latter led to my arrival in a fairly foul mood. I found a nice parking space in the public lot across the street from the library, where I've previously parked for this sale.
The Glastonbury library sale is typically held outdoors on the lawn of the library. This can be marvelous if it's nice weather, but this particular day was NOT nice weather. Their rain venue is the parking garage at the bank next door to the library, so I headed down there. While doing so, I spotted something I hadn't spotted before: the fact that there's ample parking right behind the library, which negates the need to park where I parked and scuttle across the street (not a fun feat upon a return trip to your car, if laden with books). Therefore--that's something for folks to be aware of: turn into the parking lot between the library and the bank.
The parking garage as a rain venue has the advantages of keeping folks completely dry and providing plenty of room to spread out the book tables; however, the down side is that the lighting in there is abysmal--so, although this may sound a little ridiculous, you may want to bring a small flashlight to aid in quick scanning of titles if you know the rain venue will be in use, particularly if your vision is dimming with age. There was a table of coffee and goodies on the sidelines (I didn't partake of any goodies so am not completely sure if they were complimentary or if this was a bake sale to augment the book sale--either way, it's a nice touch).
This library had another book sale several months ago (my memory is saying May, although I may be a little off). I believe that that's part of the reason that the selection really seemed to suffer this time--just not enough time between sales to "refuel" properly. My own lateness to the sale may also have contributed--it's possible that the books were picked over pretty well before my arrival. The hardcover fiction selection was pretty nice--spanned several tables--but I didn't find anything particularly desirable. Trade paperback fiction was very skimpy; some mass-market stuff for sci-fi, mystery, etc. Most of the genres seemed a little skimpy also--seemed like everyone and his nephew wanted to look at the Humor section so it took me several tries to get there, but when I did it was completely not worth it. The general nonfiction spread was pretty good--lots of political commentary from both sides. CD selection was good in quantity--about six boxes--but didn't particularly suit my taste (lots of movie soundtracks at this one, for some reason, along with the ubiquitous Backstreet Boys). The last sale had a LOT of VHS tapes, many of which carried over to this sale (about three tables worth) and a few DVDs.
The Glastonbury sales use a technique for children's book selling that I'm of two minds about. Cardboard boxes of little kids' books are typically spread out on large tarps on the ground. For direct accessibility to little kids, this display mode is really appealing, and that's something I don't see often at book sales. Most of the time, little ones have to struggle to peer over the edge of tables, and often books for them are displayed in cardboard boxes out of necessity (i.e., their slimness won't support the horizontal line-up that most adult book displays use), creating yet another visual/height barrier. With the box-on-ground method, kids can look for themselves easily. However, in contrast, it's mighty hard on older folks' knees or backs, and I have to wonder how many adults are the ones doing the real browsing and purchasing (either for their own kids or for classroom libraries like mine). This time, the kids' books seemed very picked over (about six boxes still on display, most of which were only half-full). Again, I'm not sure if this resulted from lots of earlier sale-goers or from the short time between sales--last time, I got a TON of children's books from this sale.
I ran into a friend while perusing the children's books (although it took me a minute for who she was to really register, mostly because of the terrible lighting!). She said that I was actually the one responsible for her being there, because I'd mentioned on my Facebook page that the sale was going on. Rather flattering, although I'm not sure she found too much either.
Sale staff were pleasant and attentive, although the one I dealt with didn't know who checks should be made out to. Pricing was pretty standard (DVD prices possibly a little high, at $5 a pop; CDs were $2, and I think all kids' books were 50 cents.) This time I left the sale with only one bag in toto--probably about eight kids' books, a CD and a DVD. That's very low, for me. I'll be back because I know of this sale's reputation, but were I a first-time goer, I may well have been more discouraged.
Best Finds: Innocence Mission's first album, which is rather hard to come by. A nice children's book, Ten Amazing People and How They Changed the World--I'm always interested in multiculturalism and humanitarianism for the classroom library.
I arrived late--around 1:30 p.m.--partially because I spent the morning at the Simsbury sale and partially because I got stuck in nasty I-84 traffic for about half an hour (rainy-morning accident). The latter led to my arrival in a fairly foul mood. I found a nice parking space in the public lot across the street from the library, where I've previously parked for this sale.
The Glastonbury library sale is typically held outdoors on the lawn of the library. This can be marvelous if it's nice weather, but this particular day was NOT nice weather. Their rain venue is the parking garage at the bank next door to the library, so I headed down there. While doing so, I spotted something I hadn't spotted before: the fact that there's ample parking right behind the library, which negates the need to park where I parked and scuttle across the street (not a fun feat upon a return trip to your car, if laden with books). Therefore--that's something for folks to be aware of: turn into the parking lot between the library and the bank.
The parking garage as a rain venue has the advantages of keeping folks completely dry and providing plenty of room to spread out the book tables; however, the down side is that the lighting in there is abysmal--so, although this may sound a little ridiculous, you may want to bring a small flashlight to aid in quick scanning of titles if you know the rain venue will be in use, particularly if your vision is dimming with age. There was a table of coffee and goodies on the sidelines (I didn't partake of any goodies so am not completely sure if they were complimentary or if this was a bake sale to augment the book sale--either way, it's a nice touch).
This library had another book sale several months ago (my memory is saying May, although I may be a little off). I believe that that's part of the reason that the selection really seemed to suffer this time--just not enough time between sales to "refuel" properly. My own lateness to the sale may also have contributed--it's possible that the books were picked over pretty well before my arrival. The hardcover fiction selection was pretty nice--spanned several tables--but I didn't find anything particularly desirable. Trade paperback fiction was very skimpy; some mass-market stuff for sci-fi, mystery, etc. Most of the genres seemed a little skimpy also--seemed like everyone and his nephew wanted to look at the Humor section so it took me several tries to get there, but when I did it was completely not worth it. The general nonfiction spread was pretty good--lots of political commentary from both sides. CD selection was good in quantity--about six boxes--but didn't particularly suit my taste (lots of movie soundtracks at this one, for some reason, along with the ubiquitous Backstreet Boys). The last sale had a LOT of VHS tapes, many of which carried over to this sale (about three tables worth) and a few DVDs.
The Glastonbury sales use a technique for children's book selling that I'm of two minds about. Cardboard boxes of little kids' books are typically spread out on large tarps on the ground. For direct accessibility to little kids, this display mode is really appealing, and that's something I don't see often at book sales. Most of the time, little ones have to struggle to peer over the edge of tables, and often books for them are displayed in cardboard boxes out of necessity (i.e., their slimness won't support the horizontal line-up that most adult book displays use), creating yet another visual/height barrier. With the box-on-ground method, kids can look for themselves easily. However, in contrast, it's mighty hard on older folks' knees or backs, and I have to wonder how many adults are the ones doing the real browsing and purchasing (either for their own kids or for classroom libraries like mine). This time, the kids' books seemed very picked over (about six boxes still on display, most of which were only half-full). Again, I'm not sure if this resulted from lots of earlier sale-goers or from the short time between sales--last time, I got a TON of children's books from this sale.
I ran into a friend while perusing the children's books (although it took me a minute for who she was to really register, mostly because of the terrible lighting!). She said that I was actually the one responsible for her being there, because I'd mentioned on my Facebook page that the sale was going on. Rather flattering, although I'm not sure she found too much either.
Sale staff were pleasant and attentive, although the one I dealt with didn't know who checks should be made out to. Pricing was pretty standard (DVD prices possibly a little high, at $5 a pop; CDs were $2, and I think all kids' books were 50 cents.) This time I left the sale with only one bag in toto--probably about eight kids' books, a CD and a DVD. That's very low, for me. I'll be back because I know of this sale's reputation, but were I a first-time goer, I may well have been more discouraged.
Best Finds: Innocence Mission's first album, which is rather hard to come by. A nice children's book, Ten Amazing People and How They Changed the World--I'm always interested in multiculturalism and humanitarianism for the classroom library.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Sept. 12 - Simsbury Public Library Sale
Today's book-sale run started at the Simsbury Public Library. Simsbury is about an hour's drive from my house, and I've never been to a sale there before, but this was billed as a BIG Sale at booksalefinder.com (75,000 books), so I decided I didn't want to miss it.
This was one of the rare library sales that wasn't actually at the library--it was held in the gym at Simsbury High School. In many ways, this is a plus. Parking was ample, even though some sports matches were also going on at the time. It also affords a lot of room, since the sale itself took over the entire gymnasium and the cashiers were set up in the foyer. This sale had more cashiers than I have EVER seen at a library sale, and they seemed necessary. The sale started at 9 a.m., I got there at 10:30, and when I walked in, the line of people waiting to check out wound through the entire hall, through the gym door and most of the way across the gym. From the number of folks I saw leaving with two or three full bags each, I'd guess that this sale actually did live up to its billing as a BIG sale.
Plenty left for me, though. MAJOR props to the sorting and labeling at this sale--it's not often that the books are actually alphabetized by author as well as divided by genre (well, the trade paperbacks were, at least). The genre signage was clear and easily visible--nice to have the signs on sticks rather than taped to the front of the tables where they're blocked off by browsers.
Side note: It's kind of funny--seems I'm buying fewer books for myself at book sales these days. Partially because my buying tastes and habits have changed over the years (more details on that in future posts) and partially because one of my big projects at present is building a classroom library for my husband. He's currently going to grad school for certification as an elementary ed teacher--preferably, he'll end up with Pre-K or K but his certificate will be good for up to third grade. I have a couple years head start, since he won't finish for a while yet, but I've thrown myself into it and so far have filled three shelves. At any rate, one of my primary book-saleing reasons these days is the classroom library, so my posts will probably be heavy on young children's books. One of my other foci these days is CDs; since I bought a car with a CD player I've been catching up on all the music I've missed over the past decade or so (including repurchasing an awful lot of 80s/90s stuff that I had on tape)--since I discovered library sales are often good for cheap CDs, that's been a big draw.
So. Simsbury's choices. Overall, the spread was pretty high-quality but a little conservative, which is probably appropriate for this town. Trade PB fiction had a wide spread, but (as is getting more and more common these days), I saw a lot of books I already owned or had borrowed from a library, so I only ended up with one novel. Selection was a little heavy on Oprah books and chick-lit, but that's often the breaks. The humor section (another common destination for me these days, largely because I've been into comic strip collections) was pretty good. Lots of cookbooks--I almost bought a vintage one my mother used to have. A separate section held "specially priced" books, which looked mostly as if they fell into the "vintage" or "rare" category (as opposed to some sales I frequent in which the "specials" are often much more recent); however, since this usually isn't an interest for me, I didn't give it much close review.
CD selection was pretty good for quantity and quality, and I ended up buying six. To my amusement, along with the many Backstreet Boys CDs which always seem to populate these sales, I saw THREE copies of Dave Matthews Band's Under the Table and Dreaming--Hartford suburbs are clearly DMB territory. (I also admit that I bought one of these three.) The conservative streak ended with the Butthole Surfers' Electriclarryland--which I also bought.
The children's book selection was excellent. Again, sorting was better than I've usually seen--I liked the fact that many of the "leveled" learning-to-read books were sorted into a separate category, since for my purpose this makes it easy to pick out classroom stuff at the appropriate level. Also amused at the fact that books about horses warranted their own category; this would have been wonderful for my stepdaughters. (Seriously, if it's possible, I'd suggest that type of sorting for children's books as a more common practice--especially if children are going to browse for themselves at the sale. I know from experience that my kids can be a bit at sea when confronted with a vast number of books because they haven't yet developed the skills to browse quickly over titles and judge interest by the cover or a speedy skim. Arranging school-age kids' books by subject/interest might make the selection process a lot easier.)
I'm a bit of a snob about books that feature cartoon or other TV/movie characters; I won't usually buy them for the classroom library, and this sale seemed to have fewer of those than usual, which was nice. The sorters also did a really good job making sure the books were in good shape and didn't have much crayon, pencil or other scrawl on the inside--that's VERY common for children's used books, and while I try to check and avoid it I occasionally miss something until I get home and find it while I'm shelving. I saw one or two that I put back because of scrawl, but far less than I usually see. I ended up with a lot of high-quality picture books, including quite a few in hardback.
This sale was VERY crowded--one of the more crowded I've attended of late. I think a fair number of attendees were book dealers, judging by the boxes of books waiting on the sidelines for picking over (common practice of dealers--they'll toss stuff into boxes at top speed and high quantity and then sort it all out afterwards so they run the slimmest chance of missing something good--needless to say, I'm not that fond of dealers). The crowd was generally quite polite, however--especially the pleasant teenagers with whom I jockeyed (gracefully) for position at the CD table.
By the time I hit the line, it was fairly short, and the check-out process was run smoothly by someone at the head of the line who monitored the (eight? ten?) separate check-out tables. I actually got to hop the line a little because I was paying by check. The guy who checked me out clearly knew what he was doing and made very efficient work of the process (not always easy in a hectic environment with people buying large quantities of stuff!).
Prices were a little higher than most library sales in my experience, although still cheap. I'd warn buyers that the children's book pricing is steeper than usual. This sale separates children's hardback and paperback (I haven't seen that done elsewhere very often) and charges a buck for the hardbacks; the children's paperbacks are subdivided into larger and smaller sizes for 50 and 25 cents, respectively. That added up--I ended up paying a good bit more for children's books than I usually do. (One thing that needs fixing--possibly the only thing: price lists need to be posted around the gym! I looked for them during the sale several times and did not see any!) CDs were also $3 apiece (I've seen $2 more often than not). Adult hardback/paperback are $1 and 50 cents, respectively, which is standard.
One lovely little touch--a bulletin board in the hallway with a collage of photographs of people and pets, with the sign "Do you know these people? (Found in books, and we didn't want to throw them out.)" Oddly moving.
Best Finds: Great hardback copy of Mary Howlitt/Tony DiTerlizzi's The Spider and the Fly (some macabre little kid in my husband's class is going to enjoy it!). The aforementioned Butthole Surfers' Electriclarryland ("Pepper" is one of my favorite songs). About eight clean, unadorned Dr. Seuss books.
Altogether--this sale was high-class. It's a bit of a haul but I may well be back next time.
This was one of the rare library sales that wasn't actually at the library--it was held in the gym at Simsbury High School. In many ways, this is a plus. Parking was ample, even though some sports matches were also going on at the time. It also affords a lot of room, since the sale itself took over the entire gymnasium and the cashiers were set up in the foyer. This sale had more cashiers than I have EVER seen at a library sale, and they seemed necessary. The sale started at 9 a.m., I got there at 10:30, and when I walked in, the line of people waiting to check out wound through the entire hall, through the gym door and most of the way across the gym. From the number of folks I saw leaving with two or three full bags each, I'd guess that this sale actually did live up to its billing as a BIG sale.
Plenty left for me, though. MAJOR props to the sorting and labeling at this sale--it's not often that the books are actually alphabetized by author as well as divided by genre (well, the trade paperbacks were, at least). The genre signage was clear and easily visible--nice to have the signs on sticks rather than taped to the front of the tables where they're blocked off by browsers.
Side note: It's kind of funny--seems I'm buying fewer books for myself at book sales these days. Partially because my buying tastes and habits have changed over the years (more details on that in future posts) and partially because one of my big projects at present is building a classroom library for my husband. He's currently going to grad school for certification as an elementary ed teacher--preferably, he'll end up with Pre-K or K but his certificate will be good for up to third grade. I have a couple years head start, since he won't finish for a while yet, but I've thrown myself into it and so far have filled three shelves. At any rate, one of my primary book-saleing reasons these days is the classroom library, so my posts will probably be heavy on young children's books. One of my other foci these days is CDs; since I bought a car with a CD player I've been catching up on all the music I've missed over the past decade or so (including repurchasing an awful lot of 80s/90s stuff that I had on tape)--since I discovered library sales are often good for cheap CDs, that's been a big draw.
So. Simsbury's choices. Overall, the spread was pretty high-quality but a little conservative, which is probably appropriate for this town. Trade PB fiction had a wide spread, but (as is getting more and more common these days), I saw a lot of books I already owned or had borrowed from a library, so I only ended up with one novel. Selection was a little heavy on Oprah books and chick-lit, but that's often the breaks. The humor section (another common destination for me these days, largely because I've been into comic strip collections) was pretty good. Lots of cookbooks--I almost bought a vintage one my mother used to have. A separate section held "specially priced" books, which looked mostly as if they fell into the "vintage" or "rare" category (as opposed to some sales I frequent in which the "specials" are often much more recent); however, since this usually isn't an interest for me, I didn't give it much close review.
CD selection was pretty good for quantity and quality, and I ended up buying six. To my amusement, along with the many Backstreet Boys CDs which always seem to populate these sales, I saw THREE copies of Dave Matthews Band's Under the Table and Dreaming--Hartford suburbs are clearly DMB territory. (I also admit that I bought one of these three.) The conservative streak ended with the Butthole Surfers' Electriclarryland--which I also bought.
The children's book selection was excellent. Again, sorting was better than I've usually seen--I liked the fact that many of the "leveled" learning-to-read books were sorted into a separate category, since for my purpose this makes it easy to pick out classroom stuff at the appropriate level. Also amused at the fact that books about horses warranted their own category; this would have been wonderful for my stepdaughters. (Seriously, if it's possible, I'd suggest that type of sorting for children's books as a more common practice--especially if children are going to browse for themselves at the sale. I know from experience that my kids can be a bit at sea when confronted with a vast number of books because they haven't yet developed the skills to browse quickly over titles and judge interest by the cover or a speedy skim. Arranging school-age kids' books by subject/interest might make the selection process a lot easier.)
I'm a bit of a snob about books that feature cartoon or other TV/movie characters; I won't usually buy them for the classroom library, and this sale seemed to have fewer of those than usual, which was nice. The sorters also did a really good job making sure the books were in good shape and didn't have much crayon, pencil or other scrawl on the inside--that's VERY common for children's used books, and while I try to check and avoid it I occasionally miss something until I get home and find it while I'm shelving. I saw one or two that I put back because of scrawl, but far less than I usually see. I ended up with a lot of high-quality picture books, including quite a few in hardback.
This sale was VERY crowded--one of the more crowded I've attended of late. I think a fair number of attendees were book dealers, judging by the boxes of books waiting on the sidelines for picking over (common practice of dealers--they'll toss stuff into boxes at top speed and high quantity and then sort it all out afterwards so they run the slimmest chance of missing something good--needless to say, I'm not that fond of dealers). The crowd was generally quite polite, however--especially the pleasant teenagers with whom I jockeyed (gracefully) for position at the CD table.
By the time I hit the line, it was fairly short, and the check-out process was run smoothly by someone at the head of the line who monitored the (eight? ten?) separate check-out tables. I actually got to hop the line a little because I was paying by check. The guy who checked me out clearly knew what he was doing and made very efficient work of the process (not always easy in a hectic environment with people buying large quantities of stuff!).
Prices were a little higher than most library sales in my experience, although still cheap. I'd warn buyers that the children's book pricing is steeper than usual. This sale separates children's hardback and paperback (I haven't seen that done elsewhere very often) and charges a buck for the hardbacks; the children's paperbacks are subdivided into larger and smaller sizes for 50 and 25 cents, respectively. That added up--I ended up paying a good bit more for children's books than I usually do. (One thing that needs fixing--possibly the only thing: price lists need to be posted around the gym! I looked for them during the sale several times and did not see any!) CDs were also $3 apiece (I've seen $2 more often than not). Adult hardback/paperback are $1 and 50 cents, respectively, which is standard.
One lovely little touch--a bulletin board in the hallway with a collage of photographs of people and pets, with the sign "Do you know these people? (Found in books, and we didn't want to throw them out.)" Oddly moving.
Best Finds: Great hardback copy of Mary Howlitt/Tony DiTerlizzi's The Spider and the Fly (some macabre little kid in my husband's class is going to enjoy it!). The aforementioned Butthole Surfers' Electriclarryland ("Pepper" is one of my favorite songs). About eight clean, unadorned Dr. Seuss books.
Altogether--this sale was high-class. It's a bit of a haul but I may well be back next time.
welcome to my world
When I told my husband about my plans for today and next Saturday (four, count 'em, four used-book sales!), he said, "You should start a blog about that. You know, do some reviews of the different book sales and what's better or worse at each--kind of like that Connecticut Museum Quest guy."
Well. I can't deny I'm a huge fan of that Connecticut Museum Quest guy, and I admitted that the idea might be tempting. Besides, it's nice to keep a blog with a limited focus, because it doesn't take over your life (and I know from previous experience that keeping a journal can take over my life, let alone something nifty on the internet that other people might actually read!). So, apparently I have my own little Eric Powell, and now I have a blog.
I've lived in Connecticut for about thirteen years now, and I've never been shy about how much I love its library system. I came from a state in which my family--as residents of an unincorporated township--had to pay a yearly fee for the use of the library in the closest "big town." So when I got to Connecticut and found out that not only was my library card free, it was a ticket to every library in the state, I was blown away. Since then, I've floated happily from town to town, library to library--often to check out books, but also, increasingly often, for used-book sales. Over the years, my library has grown (exponentially), my tastes have changed, and my navigation has gotten better.
Which is where this blog comes in. A website already exists that tells people where and when the used book sales in Connecticut are--and believe me, I adore this thing--but it's really only bare-bones info. I'm more interested in in-depth reviewing of the Connecticut used-book circuit (and I'll most likely be counting used-book stores as well as library sales and other fundraisers)--what's good where, tips for visitors, etc. I live in eastern CT so eastern and central parts of the state are probably going to get the most bandwidth, although I did warn my husband that this means I might have to go farther afield than I previously have.
I realize, of course, that this may be a little bit like reviewing plays that have already closed, and readers are urged to take me with a grain of salt because not all sales are alike, even two sales from the same library. But, I believe that I can give a decent enough sample of the flavor so that the next time a sale rolls around, I can be a decent reference.
Happy booking!
Well. I can't deny I'm a huge fan of that Connecticut Museum Quest guy, and I admitted that the idea might be tempting. Besides, it's nice to keep a blog with a limited focus, because it doesn't take over your life (and I know from previous experience that keeping a journal can take over my life, let alone something nifty on the internet that other people might actually read!). So, apparently I have my own little Eric Powell, and now I have a blog.
I've lived in Connecticut for about thirteen years now, and I've never been shy about how much I love its library system. I came from a state in which my family--as residents of an unincorporated township--had to pay a yearly fee for the use of the library in the closest "big town." So when I got to Connecticut and found out that not only was my library card free, it was a ticket to every library in the state, I was blown away. Since then, I've floated happily from town to town, library to library--often to check out books, but also, increasingly often, for used-book sales. Over the years, my library has grown (exponentially), my tastes have changed, and my navigation has gotten better.
Which is where this blog comes in. A website already exists that tells people where and when the used book sales in Connecticut are--and believe me, I adore this thing--but it's really only bare-bones info. I'm more interested in in-depth reviewing of the Connecticut used-book circuit (and I'll most likely be counting used-book stores as well as library sales and other fundraisers)--what's good where, tips for visitors, etc. I live in eastern CT so eastern and central parts of the state are probably going to get the most bandwidth, although I did warn my husband that this means I might have to go farther afield than I previously have.
I realize, of course, that this may be a little bit like reviewing plays that have already closed, and readers are urged to take me with a grain of salt because not all sales are alike, even two sales from the same library. But, I believe that I can give a decent enough sample of the flavor so that the next time a sale rolls around, I can be a decent reference.
Happy booking!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
