Book sale treasures!!!
Y'all, I am so thrilled that this sale landed exactly two business days before my fall work project, so I was able to go on Thursday! I still squandered my time and didn't leave home until almost 3:00, but this was the book sale day I'd been dreaming of: a 30-minute drive mostly on highways, good tunes playing, a nice travel mug of coffee by my side to combat the slighty chilly and overcast day, and then turning myself loose in a huuuuge room full of books with all the time in the world. Where almost everything cost only fifty cents -- the only $1 items were DVDs and adult hardcovers.
And it was amazing, even better than the spring sale. I spent three full hours walking around and browsing and I could probably have done more. I walked in like "okay, we are going to be RESTRAINED and only buy what we really want and what fits in this small shoulder bag," and then my resolve immediately shattered upon seeing this box:
(click for full size) (x)
VINTAGE TAB SCHOLASTICS MY IRRESISTIBLE BELOVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(spoiler alert: I was very restrained about this particular box - these are all the ones I didn't buy; some of them I already have but others simply couldn't outweigh the rest of what I found today and my budget was maxed out - but it was hard. It was even harder not to let myself go back for the bag sale.)Children's
1. On the Run - Tristan Bancks (2015)
"When a twelve-year-old boy's parents discover millions of dollars deposited into their bank account, they take him and his sister on the lam [and end up in a remote cabin deep in the woods] in this fast-paced middle-grade adventure."
This just seems like a fun read! Though probably a read-and-release. (side note: apparently this is an Australian novel originally called "Two Wolves," and yes I am screaming that the "there are two wolves inside you" proverb is key, because I will never take that phrase seriously again thanks to the internet.)
2. Riff, Remember - Lynn Hall (1973)
SECOND TIME FINDING LYNN HALL THIS YEAR??? And the most wild thing was I found two editions of it; I had my CHOICE between hardcover and paperback!
3. The Something-Special Horse - Lynn Hall (1985)
And then I found a SIGNED Lynn Hall!!!!!!!!!!! Which, I hate that it's this book, because this book has such a depressing premise (kid's dad makes a living by selling horses to slaughter) that I wasn't even going to buy it -- but I can't pass up a signature.
(I checked the children's area like five times over in hopes I hadn't missed any additional ones, because what are the odds when I usually never see her at all.)
4. Goosebumps #62: Monster Blood IV
I don't really collect Goosebumps, but I still have some childhood ones, and I learned on a forum recently that this final book in the series is apparently one of the slightly harder ones to find? So I snatched it, even though this is really only relevant if I plan to sell it (I don't), and by the time I AM ready to part with it the market will probably finally be gone. I am of course still plagued with indecision about whether I should keep it in pristine shape for Value Reasons, or tear out the perforated bookmarks that come in the middle, which I really want. If the book was in worse shape, I would, but...it looks almost unread.
(bonus: the original Scholastic Book catalog order sheet was still tucked inside! Just the form where you check the titles you want - this kid had apparently earned it as a freebie for spending X amount earlier that year - but still neat)
5. Wishbone Mysteries #1: The Treasure of Skeleton Reef
I can't resist!! These are the books I wanted as a kid but didn't know existed; the only Wishbone books my parents could find turned out to secretly be classics-for-kids in disguise.They had Wishbone on the cover, but it wasn't like the show; these were purely retellings in easier language. I wanted stories about Wishbone and Joe & Co, darn it! So, better late than never. Do you KNOW how much I would have loved a possible pirate/buried treasure story??
6. A Room For Cathy - Catherine Woolley (1967 edition of a 1956 book)
I probably shouldn't have taken this - I only grabbed it because I thought it might be the answer to a tricky what's-that-book question about a girl's bedroom being rented out where sooo many books have been ruled out, but this is among the not-it guesses. Still, it looks cute, and the volunteer at the register got to exclaim, "Oh, I think I read that as a kid!" so that was fun.
7. Ride to Win - Catherine Van Steenwyck (1978)
This is a VERY short little book for Hi-Lo readers - and damn, I just noticed my ex-library copy has a black marker X drawn across the cover image; what's up with that - but it's about a horse! An appaloosa! And liberally illustrated with b&w photographs, which is awesome. I find it charming.
Tab Scholastics/Vintage Teen
8. The Long Way Home - Margot Benary-Isbert (1965 edition of a 1959 book)
I don't know anything about this book, I just snatched it up based on the author, because of how much I love her duology The Ark/Rowan Farm. This doesn't look quite as interesting, but I'm still interested enough because I know it will be very authentic -- it's about a boy moving from East Germany to the U.S., inspired by the author having done the same not long after WWII.
edit: I went to add the Goodreads link and SHUT THE FRONT DOOR, THE ARK HAS MULTIPLE SEQUELS? So I guess I gotta read Castle on the Border first to see how this fourth one fits into that same universe, but still, amazing.
9. Scarlet Royal - Anne Emery (1970s edition of a 1952 book)
This is a fairly well known horse book, but I've never seen a copy, so Tab version it is.
10. Wild Horse Tamer - Glenn Balch
I'm a simple girl; I see his name and I auto-buy.
11. Whoa, Matilda! - Janet Lambert (1944)
This one actually isn't a Tab Scholastic, it's a hardcover and I'm THRILLED that it actually has its dust jacket, too! (though it's a "The Famous Janet Lambert's Books For Girls" edition, not original) But more excitingly, I didn't recognize the title at first, just the author. THRILLED to subsequently discover it's the second in the Candy Kane trilogy I've wanted to complete ever since accidentally reading book 3.
12. Star-Spangled Summer - Janet Lambert
And also the first (horse-focused) book in her other most famous series??
13. I Rode A Winner - Christine Pullein-Thompson
Her books are generally common, and this is probably the ugliest edition I could have found, but I couldn't resist the prospect of "moves in with relatives to a farm with 16 horses."
Modern YA
14. A School for Unusual Girls - Kathleen Baldwin
Yay! I've been kinda wanting to read this in the fall since last year, but it's long and I have to be in the right mood, and now I don't have to worry about when the library will weed its last copy of this 2015 release.
15. Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson
I have resisted this book several times over, even though I really enjoyed it in college and considered it one of the best YA books out there, but...the promise of a paperback edition with "extras" for 50 cents finally got to me. I've been saying I'd like to reread it...
16. Fireworks - Katie Cotugno
Katie Cotugno and I are like *this* (insert picture of two bighorn sheep slamming heads). I was SO MAD at 99 Days, and cheating + trash boys appear to be a staple of her work. But the thing is, I freaking love this edition -- I don't know why anyone would buy those bland illustrated covers; the polaroid photo cover designs are perfection! -- and this is one that seems less hateable than most of her others, so I'm intrigued. For as much as she annoys me, homegirl can write.
17. Ophelia - Lisa Klein
I have resisted this one multiple times as well, especially after I made myself let go of Lady Macbeth's Daughter during one of my more intense purges (which I obviously retain regret about), but after finally seeing the movie based on it, I'm helpless against the memory of how much I liked this one back in the day. And this is also a paperback w/ extras!
18. Game Change - Joseph Monninger
I probably should have just gotten this from the library, but...I tend to like his YA books, and this is the time of year that I'm all fired up to read about small-town high school football. When you've already got twenty books in your bag, it somehow makes you less discriminating about throwing in another. I've already read it, and I like it too much to let go.
19. Safe Harbour - Christina Kilbourne
This is an ARC, which as I've established I hate reading...but I've been wanting to read this for SO long and my library doesn't have it. I could do an interlibrary loan, but that's such a hassle...why not try it. Really interested to hear about a quasi-homeless girl* and her dog on the streets of Toronto (*she's waiting for her father to collect her, but then loses contact with him)
20. I Am Princess X - Cherie Priest
I read this last year and was surprised how much I identified with it. I resisted a paperback copy at Goodwill a few months ago. I could resist no more; I want it and an ex-library hardcover is great.
Adult Fiction
21. Everyone is Beautiful - Katherine Center
22. The Lost Husband - Katherine Center
I was so THRILLED to find a) my two favorites of hers, and b) my favorite covers in paperback! I didn't realize this edition of EIB was smaller than trade size, which means I don't love the small font, buuuut it's the only cover design I don't hate (the original is godawful while the bland flower collage theme of all her 2010 books, retroactively applied to new editions of some older ones too, annoys the begeezus out of me).
23. Solsbury Hill - Susan M. Wyler
Me: "climbin' up on Solsbury Hill???" *snatch*
One of the few random books I bought "just to read," I obviously could not resist that title/cover combo, and when I saw it was loosely based on Wuthering Heights?? Hell yeah.
Other Books
* American Girl: Girls and Their Horses: did I buy this entirely for the horse breed fact cards in the back? Yes and I'm not sorry; I want cute horse photos printed on cardstock. The book will be going into a Little Free Library shortly.
* This Just For Girls bind-up of two "original short stories, included in a Jean Nate gift set of bath products for girls," because I figured: when am I ever again gonna see that Saddle Club story??
* Two Doctor Who (Tenth Doctor) comic books: "The Forgotten" and the IDW 2010 Annual
I don't know why I bought these. I hate comic books. But when it's the Tenth Doctor and it's only a dollar all told...I can't resist suddenly, I don't know.
* Afternoon Tea: Making Memories With Friends: This gift book in miniature (it's literally like 2x3 inches) with pretty Victorian paintings and quotes was 2 Pretty 2 Ignore.
DVDs
- Willy Wonka (I just rewatched it and remembered how I love it so)
- Bambi (it's very hard for me to resist 2-disc Super Special Editions of my fave Disney classics)
- Lady & the Tramp (see above)
- And...Harry Potter: Wizarding World, the...DVD game?? Which, IDK, that seems fun.
A few, but the only one worth remembering (so I can stay away from it) is "A Member of the Family" by W.E. Butterworth, because I pulled it out like "80s teen book about a dog!!!" and only read the summary when I was sorting through my absurd number of options, at which point I realized, "ah hell, is this another one of those books from the era where the family dog has to be put down due to aggressive biting" and the answer is yes.
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THERE, I'M FINALLY DONE. (Buying from Friends of the Library is for a good cause so money doesn't matter. $21 is a lot for a used book sale but not a lot for books in general, is my justification)
'
The only downside to the day was that I was going to spend time walking in the giant park nearby afterward, but I had left so late and spent so much time browsing that it was already dark. And very shortly thereafter, it was raining. So I at my packed dinner in the car, then browsed through the library's regular shelves to jot down TBR prospects, since this isn't one of the counties I'm registered in. I was hoping the rain would stop*, but it did not, so I had to drive home on unfamiliar freeways in the dark AND heavy rain -- so heavy that I was afraid to take the calmer back roads lest there be surprise flash flooding -- which was suuuuper terrifying; I definitely went at a maximum of 45-50mph the entire way.
*the rain did not stop for literally over 24 hours. We needed it, but still, I was so annoyed I couldn't bring my books inside to look at them!
But other than that, a great time was had!
My next book sale visit will be in eleven days. :P
('Tis the damn season!!)