On Books

I’m a hardback convert. Books are sacred and must be treated with care so they last. Compare holding a hardback to the feel of a paperback. Or worse, a mass market paperback with the paper so thin you can nearly make out the words on the next page.

I’m building a children’s library, a legacy to my family. Also included are my favorite reads from the adult genre so future generations can grow with the library.

"...many rare books slip through
the pricers' fingers"

The thrift store has been an integral part in building this library. I’ve been able to recapture all the fantastic reads that I bought in paperback and passed on before I became a bibliophile. I find recent releases in the thrift store stacks quite often for gifts. Thrift stores do not discriminate between new releases or old, they’re all priced the same and hardbacks generally range from $2-$3, even if the book is autographed! Well, unless it’s rare book that they are aware of and I think many rare books slip through the pricers' fingers. In fact, I know this happens.

I like to give classics as gifts. My favorite gift to have on hand for a girlfriend in need is Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Classics on the shelves of new bookstores are not so appealing. They are often cheap reprints and sometimes attempt to cram five novels by Charles Dickens into one hard back weighing in at ten pounds. Uh, we’re trying to read, not pump up our upper body, guys!

Here’s where the thrift stores fill a need. Just today I visited a store and bought a darling 1966 edition of Pippi Longstocking. Granted it’s a 16-year-old reprint from the original date in 1950, but cool in it’s own right. I also bought Tom Sawyer by Samuel Clemens. Catch that? Clemens, not Mark Twain. I also have a soft suede copy of The Song of Hiawatha that I shall never part and very rare book involving Edward R. Murrow that is also on Ebay for $100. I figure that if you wish to give a classic, and I recommend you do, buy an old edition or an anniversary edition. I think it will help serve testimony to the book. If it’s dirty, gently take a disinfecting wipe to it. Gently.

Now here’s where you’re going question if I’m obsessive compulsive. Maybe I am when it comes to books. I laminate jacket covers both old and new to protect them much as a public library does. Find an educational supply store and there will be a laminating machine that will laminate paper up to 20” wide for 20-30 cents a foot. That's peanuts! Laminating book covers is especially smart when giving books to children. This is a trick I learned from my daughter’s first grade teacher. Book jackets can also be bought at used bookstores, but guess I just like the feel of that smooth, warm plastic. Weird.

A fun book to give to people are dated Books of Knowledge from a person’s birth year. I found one for my husband and gave it to him this September. I think he’s read most of it. We especially had a good laugh over the section about the beatnik generation, those naughty communist whippersnappers dressed in black! Those books are out there. I found one from 1929 and I have just given away a huge hint to someone's holiday gift. Ah well.

"Reading gives us some place to go
when we have to stay where we are."

Mason Cooley wrote that. We’re sitting in some hard times. I recommend books as gifts for the holidays. And, how I love Book Rate with the US Postal Service! The savings are phenomenal! The person behind the desk will warn you about the five to seven day media mail delivery like it's a curse. I guess the US Post Office expects impatience. Me? I laugh and turn into Rob Schneider's character, the Copy Room Guy, from SNL. When they warn I reply, "Five to seven days! Five-a-reeno. Goin' ground. On the truck-meister. Drivin' the road-a-rama. Ten four. In the cradle." I can save something like $5 per package.

When picking out books at the thrift store it is always wise to check to see if there is a personal inscription. If so, I offer two options, 1) Spray mount a book template over it, 2) Add on to the inscription if it seems worthy. Flip through the pages too. All kinds of things pop out of thrift store books, airline seat assignments, old letters, or bookmarks worth keeping.

In the spirit of those random acts of kindness, I will tell you that elementary school teachers and librarians always welcome nice books found in thrift stores. Many children's books start at 50 cents.