First things first

This weekend, the main branch of my county library system held its semiannual book sale. It’s a major fundraiser for the library and draws lots of people, including out-of-towners and used book and DVD dealers (who pay the membership fee so they can attend the members-only Friday evening sale–and clean out many of the more valuable items).

I’ve considered paying the membership fee so I could go early, but while waiting in line yesterday morning for the library doors to open for the general sale, I chatted with several people (including one library staff member) who told me that the Friday evening book sale was a madhouse, jam-packed with rude people elbowing each other out of the way. No thanks–I like my bargain-book hunting a lot more leisurely!

And even though I didn’t shop during the “first pick” hours, I still managed to come home with four tote bags full of books. When the doors opened, I made a beeline for the room with the children’s books, where I found thirty-six items to bring home for Sylvia. At fifty cents each, they were a bargain.

She got six books right when I came home. The five Christmas books will be brought out next month, the Easter Bunny-themed book will appear in the spring, and the rest will be rolled out gradually over the next few months. I found a couple of the Sweet Pickles books (which I had as a child–and adored!), as well as A Book of Seasons, by Alice and Martin Provensen. We already had Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm and The Year at Maple Hill Farm, by the same authors. Jan grew up with those books, and it’s fun to to see how much Sylvia loves them, too.

I went to the sale intending to shop only for Sylvia, but I ended up coming home with a few things for myself. When I stopped by the shelves with craft books in the general books area, my friend Pat (whom I’d seen half an hour earlier) was there. “I found a few books I think you should get,” she said, “and I was going to bring them back to you, but now you’re here, so here they are.”

What did she find for me? For starters, there were Barbara Walker’s Treasury of Knitting Patterns and Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. (I should add that these are both first-edition hardcovers in near-pristine condition.) She also found Barbara Abbey’s Complete Book of Knitting. (Another first-edition hardcover, with the original dustjacket, even!) Pat said something about how these were really great books that I should add to my library, but she didn’t need to convince me: I already knew of the Walker books and had been thinking for a while of getting them, and even though I hadn’t heard of Abbey, Pat’s recommendation was all I needed.

While we looked over the bookshelves together, we found two other books that I ended up purchasing: Maggie Righetti’s Sweater Design in Plain English (first-edition paperback, third printing), and Debbie Bliss’s Great Knits for Kids (first U.S. edition, hardcover). The Bliss book is especially interesting because tucked among the pages are not only the original errata slip that came with the book but also the receipt from when the book was purchased in 1997, the year it was published. My guess is that this book was never used.

The general books were priced at two dollars for hardcovers and one dollar for paperbacks. Adding these five amazing books to my knitting library set me back a whole nine bucks. And as a bonus I get warm fuzzies for supporting my local library! Hooray!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS