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.