092626 • Thrift Store Finds

I got lucky today and found most of these at the Arvada ARC, and all at reasonable prices when not Saturday half-off. They just put them on the shelf; usually by the time I get there, all the good stuff has been picked through, often by the resellers who go through every book with their scanners and block the aisles with their buggy full of the best of the crop of books. Not a fan of those resellers.

A Time To Kill

This book from 1951 sat at the thrift store for about five weeks. It was somewhat unique, as it had the same title as one of John Grisham’s earlier novels, one that I read many years ago. This one had a battered dust jacket that I fixed.

It sat, week after week, even after its blue sticker was the non-sale tag a second time, so it went through the entire sale tag cycle at the ARC thrift.

I finally bought it for several reasons: I’ve been reading a lot of old books lately; it isn’t very long, it is a genre that I like, and nobody else wanted it. I saved a book. Obviously, I can’t save every book, but this one? Okay.

My High-End Bookshelf

These are my high-end books, or most of them. Easton Press leather-bound editions, some Barnes & Noble Collector’s Editions, and a few others. The John Wyndham Omnibus on the right was a great find, as I want to read those other books anyway. He wrote my favorite, “Day of the Triffids,” and his other books, which are well-regarded science fiction, I really need to give a try.

I could give a story on every book here, but it is enough to say that higher-quality books feel so much better to hold while reading than normal books. I like them all—beat-up books, normal hardback, ex-library, paperbacks in any condition… but leather-bound books are the best. Expensive, but worth it.

There Should Be Jail Time For This…

Another great example of a book I wanted to buy, but couldn’t because it was so ruined by doodles and underlining.

I recently watched a video by a guy who has a bookstore and reads a hundred books a year; he said that reading is a conversation and one should have food stains, writing, notes, underlining, etc, in books.

I believe that one should get jail time for this kind of thing!