Bargain Books

I love books. Love, love, love. Since you’re reading this in this crazy bloggity world of ours, I’m sure many of you can relate.

Recently my mom and dad were here for a visit from out-of-state, and one of the things my mom and I had on our list of Things to Do was check out some of the antique stores and flea markets that Ohio has in abundance. We didn’t go to nearly as many as we would have liked, but we went to enough. Enough to spend some money, that is.

It’s not nearly as bad as you might imagine, because at one of the flea markets? An open-air one that was a little rough around the edges? I scored this whole box of books…
…for $10.

I was casually looking through them when the girl told me they were $1 a book — or $10 for the whole thing!

By the way — it’s always good to go to these things toward the end of the day when the vendors are really ready to bargain rather than have to load it all up again.

I had already noticed a bunch of Goosebump books in there, a series of “American Girl” books, as well as various classics for kids. Once I got home I culled through them more thoroughly and found some not worth keeping, but considering there were 70 books in all, it was still quite the deal.

I also got this set of books, a good primer set for early American history…

…for $5.

Now, I do recognize the argument that the internet and public libraries render home libraries obsolete. I do wholeheartedly use our local libraries. When we lived overseas, it was nothing for me to get on Amazon and order a used book for myself; the library on base had a limited selection, so ordering books online was the only other option. One of the advantages of moving back stateside was to be able to borrow books again, with the use of an interlibrary loan program that can get you virtually anything you can think of, so long as you’re patient.

But I also recognize the value of having your children grow up surrounded by a variety of books that they can casually browse through, in a variety of reading levels, in the comfort of their own home. Yes, we visit the library. But there are so many books worth referencing and reading again and again. (And again.)

I keep my own daughter in mind when I come across bargain books like those above. My kindergartner who is already a proficient reader. I consistently find myself underestimating the level of book she would be interested in reading. In fact, after I brought that box of books home and put it on the coffee table, she and her 4yo brother were both so excited and took them out one by one, flipping through the pages and looking for pictures, yes. But my daughter also started reading one of the Goosebump books, a level I would never have thought she was ready for yet.

And later that night, my husband caught her reading it in bed, long after he had said goodnight. (I haven’t read them myself, but I’m guessing she’s either not able to comprehend them yet, or they’re not really that scary. *wink*)

I can totally relate to staying up at night reading, but a kindergartner? Do you remember trying to stay up at night reading at that age? It’s so the polar opposite of her older brother, who’s now 13. It’s still like pulling teeth getting him interested in a new book; he’d much rather sit at the computer.

But going back to that box. My dad started going through one of the books, a compilation of cartoons that were published some thirty years ago.
We found one of the political cartoons very interesting…
If you’re having trouble deciphering it, the burning airplane reads “Taxpayers” and “The Chrysler Mess” on the nose. The parachuters are the “Chrysler Management”, the “Administration Politics”, and the “U.A.W.” (The United Auto Workers union.) The date at the bottom is 12/7/79.