Never doubt the amazing serendipity of your local Friends of the Library book sale. I've worked in a couple of suburban, Stepfordesque neighbourhoods, and I'm constantly bowled over by the random awesomeness of the books that patrons and neighbours donate to us. Mostly we sell them and the money goes back to the library. I always expect to find nothing but worn out Danielle Steele but I'm always proven wrong. Today I scored three total gems.
Amphigorey: Fifteen Books by Edward Gorey
Amphigorey Too by Edward Gorey
...and I'm pretty sure these are first editions. Not that I care, but, you know.
The Letters of E.B. White
...and not a cracked spine among them. How people have let these books languish in their basements, hardly even breaking them in, boggles my mind. But am I ever glad they fall into my hands. Six dollars well spent, folks. I urge you to check out your local Friends shop soon. Sometimes they even sell coffee, and, if you're in South Ottawa, cheddar flavoured Combos. It's a little like visiting your grandmother and helping her clean out the basement, while also making a donation to that noblest of public institutions.
And finally, how excited am I to have googled Combos and stumbled on that last link to taquitos.net? From now on, no snack will be bought until I've checked the reviews there.
Having the internet in my house again is the greatest.
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ReplyDeletei lived in pointe claire (west island of mtl) for, like 5 years, and every booksale + second hand bookstore in town had at least 2 copies of the rubaiyat of omar khayyam. i was always wondering what that meant, exactly...?
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