The Really Big Book Sale

If there is one thing that I am helpless to resist in this world, even moreso than chocolate or coffee, it is books. Everything from the smell, the feel, the look of the written work on the page intoxicates and captivates me. To me, there is no greater indoor heaven on this Earth than a cozy book nook, an old book store or a large old library. You will never find me hunched in front of my computer or lounging about with an e-reader until someone comes to pry the last of the printed words from my cold, dead hands. I'm just that sort of crazy passionate. Also, I get migraines from reading type on any sort of screen but let's ignore that for now. ;)

Given my devotion to these marvelous collections of paper, it's no small wonder that I willingly crawled out of bed early on my first Saturday off in a month to go to our county's annual book sale, appropriately named, 'The really good, really big, really cheap book sale.' It's also no small wonder that I requested the day off, but that's neither here nor there.

With pocket camera and coffee in hand, I arrived at the book sale and made a dash for the Sci-fi/fantasy section, which had already been picked over fairly well despite the book sale only being open for an hour. However, I managed to snag a mint condition trade paperback copy of The Hobbit as well as some DragonLance titles before making my way into the jungle of bodies rummaging through the fiction trade paperbacks and hardcovers.

Apparently last year's big seller, was this year's re-seller.

Immediately upon hitting the area my mind went blank and I was powerless to come up with anything in particular that I wanted to look for. I had no choice but to join the crowd of book zombies as they muddled about, scanning every box for a title that caught their eye. Having managed to find a few things that I wanted I next made my way into the dangerous fray of the classics and collectibles section.

While in hindsight, I should have purchased the manual of plant diseases that I photographed above, I emerged from the table in tact grasping a 1960's hardcover copy of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe to my chest. Since Joe was outside at the time due to the bank calling and letting him know some jackass stole his debit card number and was attempting to use it in California, I surprised him with an antique book of woodworking and wood finishing.

I perused the rest of the sections quickly before heading to the check out, stopping to chuckle because I had the entire collection of these growing up:

The total damage to my wallet was less than $1 per book and super pleased with myself, I collected Joe and made my way back to my car with my purchases. Since the husband was kind enough to feign interest in my extreme literary addiction (he enjoys reading, but is nowhere near my level of book crazy) I went to the local gun and knife show with him, where he acquired an antique russian rifle and a broken bone in his foot, though not at the same time and not related to each other. Now he's stuck on the couch with constant ice packs and anti-inflammatory medication while I enjoy the spoils of my book addiction. In between changing ice packs and yelling at him to quit trying to walk all over the place. ;)

We're so going to need bigger bookshelves.