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Friday 15 September 2017

I'm Rich! I'M RICH! But Not The Normal Kind

As I mentioned last Friday (HERE), the local used book sale was held recently over the better part of a week. My daily attendance was almost 100%.

I'm not sure that's something to be proud of, but I look at it like a squirrel might: Gather ye acorns while ye may. Except in my case it is ye books. (I know the original line is "gather ye rosebuds" but I like to think of a literate squirrel changing it for his own use, and then me borrowing it from him and changing it again.)

Husband and I are devotees of the written word - as are many of you - and our habit is just too costly at full price. It does take time and stamina to weed through the hundreds of books available, but I was determined to make the most of the sale.

Last year the 30-some books I bought lasted less than six months, even though we both read each other's preferred genres. My husband leans toward historical fiction and legal mysteries, while I lean toward books with less action but lots of thinking and feeeeelings (always said with the proper emphasis), but those are only leanings and there's a lot of overlap in our reading.

I went bigger this year with 60-plus books, many of which could double as hefty doorstops - at an average price of less than $2. My book-loving heart is going pitter-patter as I contemplate my harvest. Not unlike how I imagine a squirrel feels when it gets into a bird feeder.

The last day of the sale I nearly swooned when I learned that all books were priced to move at a buck apiece. This is how five cookbooks came home with me - against all reason, considering that I make the same things for supper over and over. Maybe I'll make something new and exciting now.

... Or maybe I won't. But I'll have fun reading them. (Some of us do that, you know. Like a novel.)

And next year, many of these books will be donated back to the sale, to be bought by another avid reader.


Job done. Can relax now.

Hope you all have a happy weekend ... and if you are a book-lover too, tell me: how do you feed your habit? Do you prefer best-sellers or do you like to look for overlooked gems? Or are you omnivorous?

(Side note: I used the word omnivorous in fun, thinking it was only meant for food, but checked the definition - and lo, it can be used just like this!)



48 comments:

kylie said...

There are many, many secret collectors of recipe books! and most of us never cook from the books we buy :)

I used to read a lot but I haven't for a long time. I still think of myself as a reader. I like easy reading so I'm not as omnivorous as those who take on the more challenging literature

Elephant's Child said...

As you know I am a greedy reader and decidedly omniverous in my tastes. I have preferred genres but have frequently been delighted with books outside that range. And I do understand that feeling of wealth coming home with armloads of books.

Geo. said...

I cannot tell a lie. Well, in the the words of Mark Twain, "Geo. Washington could not tell a lie. I can but I won't" --I love mystery novels, especially Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle (including the preponderance of pastiches drawn from the latter). Reading science and philosophy constitutes the balance --and yes, poetry, graphic novels and comic books. My kids grew up on this literary diet, so it's only natural I should read what they publish too. So I guess my best answer is my reading pursuits are in a constant state of flux. Excellent post and good question.

River said...

I'm not sure how to describe my book habit. I'm kind of picky, preferring crime and forensic crime and comedies, and murder mysteries, but not by certain authors. For instance Agatha Christie novels, which are mystery murders, I can't stand them, because of her writing style. Mostly I stick to what I prefer, with an occasional dip into other genres. I don't buy books so much these days, the budget is a bit tight and book sales her aren't as cheap as yours, that's for sure. So it's libraries, kindle and whatever I can find in my daughter's front room where she stashes everything she reads.

Steve Reed said...

I LOVE a good used book sale! And as you point out, not only is there reading material to be had at fab prices, but it can all be recycled into the next sale. My problem is actually getting everything that I buy read. I have bigger eyes than I do extended reading time!

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

I am glad to read that you donate them back to the sale. I used to keep many of my books but years ago I decided that they should be shared and enjoyed by others. I usually pass them on right away to a friend or the book kiosks in my neighborhood. Lately though, I am downloading and I am finding that easier for so many reasons.

Joanne Noragon said...

My friend Ann is a bookophile. I go to her house to read her books. Her cookbook collection fills two cupboards, floor to ceiling. She reads them. Bookophilia is an acceptable quirk.

Betsy MacWhinney said...

Congratulations. What's the best of your haul?

only slightly confused said...

I tend to store my books on the Kindle app....I don't have much available space for book storage.

Red said...

I LOOK CAREFULLY AT YOUR BOOK LIST TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE READING. MY READING HAS REALLY SLACKED OFF THE LAST FEW YEARS. I LIKE HISTORICAL FICTION.

jenny_o said...

I'm glad to know there's a secret society and that I belong - hahha

Thanks for dropping in, kylie :)

jenny_o said...

I realized I'd be preaching to the choir with this one - for a few people in particular (such as you) :)

jenny_o said...

That's a broad range, and maybe partly explains your broad knowledge base, Geo.!

jenny_o said...

Do you like your kindle, River? Our library never used to have much to offer but I should try it again; it's been years since I was there.

jenny_o said...

I know! When I'm busy at work I don't get nearly enough time to read!

jenny_o said...

I rarely read anything twice so I don't mind letting them go. My husband, though ... you'd think those things were made of gold :) Do you like your e-reader?

jenny_o said...

And I thought my sister-in-law had the biggest cookbook collection in the world - your friend definitely wins that honour :)

jenny_o said...

That's like asking which child I love best :)

I've just finished "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein, and as a dog owner I really think you might like it. I loved it, so much so that it just might be the best, even though it's the first.

jenny_o said...

We don't either, to be honest, but that's more my husband's doing than mine. He hates to give them up :)

Do you like your Kindle?

jenny_o said...

I finished "Barkskins" by Annie Proulx a couple of weeks ago - historical fiction in epic form. What a huge book! But it was quite good, if you're interested in that genre.

dinthebeast said...

I tend to mostly read actual books when I don't have internet access. But when that happens, I really go to town on them. When we moved into the foundry building in May of 2013, I read 35 books before Sara got me internet access in July. And after the fire in November of 2015 that resulted in the city turning off our electricity, I lost count somewhere around sixty before we moved out in February. That time I had a little money from a small inheritance, and it felt like luxury to go to the bookstore and just buy the books I wanted to read brand new.
I don't mind reading them on the computer, so I downloaded a ton of them from Project Gutenberg when I only had a limited amount of internet access, so I would have something to read when I got to my data cap, and I still have them all on my drive. I think I read "Crime and Punishment" and some Oscar Wilde essays, but mostly just figured out how to use the internet with only 6GB a month.
I do still have a library card for the Berkeley Public Library, but I haven't been there in years. I could probably go in there and just never leave, if they didn't kick me out and I could find a way to get food; they have everything there.

-Doug in Oakland

Terry said...

I get given second-hand books all the time, so I don't actually buy any. They are usually 600-page novels that I tend to read in a week or so.
I don't it to try and impress anyone. In fact I read because my life is so boring and I need books to stir my imagination. Without them I couldn't cope with life.

John M said...

Reading is such a good hobby.

Mr. Shife said...

Congrats on the book haul. Excellent work, my friend. Hope they bring many months of joy. Take care.

Jimmy said...

That is the way to buy books, nice job on picking up so many at a great price.

Martha said...

I totally get you. As an avid, or rather, fanatical reader, I am helpless at these book fairs. If I don't have a pile of books waiting to be read, I feel unbalanced :) Congrats on the BIG book haul. And enjoy!

Lovenicky said...

I love books too. I know lots of people are reading e-books but e-books always make my eyes too tired. There is something about holding an actual book that is irreplaceable.

jenny_o said...

Two words: pizza delivery :)

You ARE a good little reader, aren't you? That's a pile of books!

jenny_o said...

Books can be a wonderful refuge and escape, can't they? It's good that you have a steady supply.

jenny_o said...

I so agree.

jenny_o said...

I'm looking forward to them :)

jenny_o said...

I feel pretty lucky.

jenny_o said...

I've already started the enjoying part :)

jenny_o said...

I haven't tried an e-reader so I'm interested to read your comment. I think real books are a special experience, too, and I'm unwilling to give them up :)

37paddington said...

My husband and I mostly read on our Kindles now, but I miss the days of seeing him hold a book, and knowing just what he was reading. I never know what he's reading now unless I ask, and I still can't imagine the cover art unless i look it up online. There is something about bound books, for sure. xo

jenny_o said...

I never thought about those aspects of e-readers, but now that you've mentioned them, I would be the same way. I like to know what my husband is reading so we can talk about it, and I definitely connect stories with their covers. Our son keeps telling me how great e-readers are, though.

baili said...

Wow lucky you to have ssle near and same time managed to select the book according to your tast.

My husband also is madly in love with history and historical novels .

And i just like love to read human emotions,psychology and dramatic aspects within.

We have book shops in local market which never put books in sale so i got chance to perches one or two books for myself and some for kids when we go to our native town where Islamabad (capital city) is near and best for finding vast collection

jenny_o said...

Hah - your husband's preferences, and yours, sound like my husband's and mine :)

I do know how lucky I am. I had to keep reminding myself not to jump around like a kid!!

LL Cool Joe said...

60 plus books! They would last me a life time! :D But when I do read, I prefer a book not a kindle. The only time I read is when I'm on holiday.

jenny_o said...

I think I prefer books to e-readers, also, but to be honest I've never used an e-reader so I shouldn't be too sure :)

River said...

I love my kindle, but am trying to get through everything I have on it before it dies as it one day will, it is just over six years old already.
I find libraries these days are more able to locate and bring in books they don't have, and some of them have e-books available too, but only on loan to any particular e-reader, so if I get one on my kindle, I can't then transfer it to someone else to read.

River said...

I prefer real books too, but the kindle was very handy when traveling to work and back on a bus, also if my eyes are tired or a book is downloaded with small print, I'm able to enlarge the print for easier reading.

jenny_o said...

Interesting points - it hadn't occurred to me about the life of e-readers, nor that they are in different formats.

jenny_o said...

Convenience in carrying, and enlarging the print, would be points in favour of a kindle for me as well.

Diane Henders said...

Oooh, books-books-BOOKS!!! What a treasure trove for you! I read mostly e-books these days, mostly because I already have double-stacked bookshelves everywhere, though I also buy physical books if they're ones I know I'll re-read. I rarely seek out bestsellers, maybe because they rarely seem to live up to their hype; but I'm omnivorous. Put a book in my hands and I'll read it. And if I don't have a book in my hand, I'll read the shampoo bottle or whatever other piece of text is closest to hand. Books-books-BOOKS!!! ;-)

jenny_o said...

Shampoo bottle - hah!! You ARE a good little reader, aren't you :) Do you like your e-reader?

Diane Henders said...

I LOVE my e-reader! I've got a Kindle Paperwhite, and it makes reading so much easier for me. Best things: 1) Normally I need to take at least 8 books with me on a holiday = about 8 extra pounds of luggage. Paperwhite? Hundreds of books, only one wrapper. 2) Now that I have to wear reading glasses, I get eyestrain trying to read the print in paper books. With the Paperwhite, I can set a larger font size and let my eyes relax. 3) I have arthritis in both my thumbs, so holding a paperback book up and open makes my hands hurt. The Paperwhite is light and easy to hold, and I don't have to hold pages open - just touch the screen to advance to the next page. WIN!! :-)

jenny_o said...

Those are all good points in its favour. I'm especially liking the one about holding it. I'm finding it hard on my hands to hold books open now, too ... Thanks so much for your input, Diane.