I’m good at finding books. Nice, cheap books. No, not cheap because they’re worthless and should have been thrown out, but cheap because they’re an amazing find. I used to be like that when it came to CDs too, but then CDs died, and maybe books are next, or maybe they’re already dead but no one has told me yet. Anyway, I’m like the Horse Whisperer of books. I’m the Book Whisperer. Wherever they are, they come to me, and they make me very happy. Or they make others who are close to me very happy when I give them away as gifts, books that look like they cost a pretty penny, but probably cost closer to a penny than you would think.
Where do I find these books? Well, everywhere! The first place I go, though, is the library. It isn’t just a place to check out books that you have to return (or if you’re like my friend Chet — a place where you just steal the books and dare them to come after you). Most libraries I’ve been to have what are called book sales, and tons of people donate to those book sales yearly, monthly, weekly, or — in some extreme cases — daily. These people get books from everywhere. Maybe they’ve just decided to clean out their bookshelves and they come in carrying boxes of books, with the neighbor boy behind them, dragging his wagon full of even more boxes. They deposit them at the circulation desk, happy to be rid of them, but just like the saying goes, one man’s trash can certainly become another man’s treasure.
Some of these books haven’t even been cracked open. Some of them were given as gifts and never read. And still others were bought with the intention of reading but just never were, and were instead given away. Or even more books were read, were enjoyed, and now are being donated as a gesture of friendship. That’s why so many of these groups call themselves the “Friends of the Library.” I myself have donated books that fit into the “gesture of friendship” category. And it’s surprising how many really good books make their way into library book sales and are then sold for 10¢ or 25¢ or 50¢. Indeed, amazingly enough there are some books I know I will always be able to find, no matter which library I frequent, because there are a group of books that seem to keep being recycled for whatever reason. They include:
1. The Lovely Bones
2. White Oleander
3. Any John Grisham book (I even found the most recent one the other day)
4. Any Twilight book
5. The Kite Runner
6. Life of Pi
7. Jurassic Park
8. The Secret Life of Bees
9. Any Harry Potter book
10. The Da Vinci Code
More recently I’ve begun to see one of the best books I’ve ever read join the above ranks, a wonderful story by Elizabeth Kostova — The Swan Thieves. In fact, I purchased two copies of the book, one in hardcover, and the other in paperback, from two separate libraries in just the past week. I can only assume that these were well-loved copies of a great book, given away after being read and enjoyed by every member of the donating family. I can only hope that was the case because if they didn’t even give it a chance for whatever reason, I would be shocked. I plan on giving them away as gifts (if you get one, please be sure to actually read it, because I put a lot of thought into the present).
Where else have I found nice cheap books? The Salvation Army is a good spot, as well as dollar stores. You’d be surprised the number of good books you can find for a dollar at dollar stores. The internet is another great place, especially to get books that are out of print or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, books that are relatively new, but are instead lightly used and cost a lot less than their newer counterparts. I have found books like The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Fermata at deep discounts in this way. I can also find good books in the clearance sections of stores like KMart, Wal-Mart and Target. Sometimes these stores have more than enough inventory, or for whatever reason the book is clearanced, like if someone bought it on-line and returned it to the store when the store doesn’t carry it. I found several great copies of Rainshadow Road and The Double Bind using this method.
The result is an endless supply of books as gifts, both new and used, both current and classic, and also of books I myself can read and then re-donate to the library of my choice for someone else to discover it as I have. I’m good at finding books, but even better at sharing them. And isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?
Sam
Sam's Online Journal 