Friends of the Library Book Sale

I went to the Friends of the Library Book Sale in Corvallis on Sunday, February 28. I got there about 15 minutes early and there was already a line at the door. I brought a small plastic bin with handles built into the sides to carry my books. The price for the last day of the sale is $5 a box. There were many sizes of boxes in the hands of people in line. One couple had two large boxes each on wooden carts with wheels. They were prepared and I figured they have done this many times before.

I got in the door and there were books everywhere. It didn't look like this was the third day and that the library had already made $33,000 from the sale. There were books in boxes under the tables and there was wall to wall people so it was hard to move around freely. I had to make a decision where to look. I wished that I had scoped out the building the day before so I knew the layout of the tables and what books were where. I first went over to the table with the sign that said history books. That group of books was picked over and I only found one reference book about Presidents so I headed on over to the mystery books and found several. Then I found literature and stayed there the rest of the time. I found collections of short stories, books on writing craft, poetry and drama anthologies. It was glorious. I was happy to be there. A couple of different times when I was shoulder to shoulder with other people, I looked to the person next to me and said, "This sure is fun, isn't it!" They looked at me as if they didn't share the same level of enthusiasm. Well, I was happy to be there. I went in and out three times for a total of $15 for hundreds of dollars worth of books. I found real treasures and I'm so happy I went.

When I went to my car the first time, Rachel Beck, a reporter for the Corvallis Gazette Times asked me if she could talk to me about the sale. Since I was happy to meet her, I said yes. It was fun to talk to her and I ended up on the front page of the paper on Monday, February 29.

Am I going to this sale next year? You bet!

When I got home and took inventory of the books I bought, the first book that I read was a book of interviews of famous writers. The first interview I read was all about Jean Auel. Her interview is inspiring and I wrote to her the next day.