I love books. I love them love them. I love to read them, write them, color them...wait. Just kidding, I like to color. I'm not ashamed. I'm a 24-year-old doodler. Anyway. I love books in all shapes and sizes. So when DeAnn called me Wednesday and told me the library was having a book sale, I pulled my hair back and ran over. I didn't literally run, though I probably could have.
The door had only been open for ten minutes or so when I got there. You have to understand, it's a small town. We have a small library. But we love it all the same. So when I got there, there were three banquet tables of fiction, one table of non-fiction, and two tables of kids' books.
Right off the bat I found an Orson Scott Card book called Enchantment. It's one of my absolute favorites (I'm a big fan of his). But be warned, don't take that as a recommendation. I'm not responsible for anything you might read if you decide to check it out. Anyway, I love the book so much I bought it for myself for Christmas and had Tyler wrap it. You can do that when your an adult, right?:) Well, I found it at the library for $2, which is really good. But I already have it. So I put it down and walked away.
DeAnn showed up and started perusing with me. She picked up the book. I had to tell her how much I liked it, but I almost panicked when she put it in her little basket. Like I said, I don't want to be responsible. Luckily, Shawn called and talked her out of it. So she put it back.
I turned my attention back to the table in front of me. All those books, it was making my hands itch. I had to run my finger along the spine, just so I could get out some of the anticipation. While running my finger along spines, what do I happen upon? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, hard back, perfect condition. That's mine. I picked it up protectively. The girl standing next to me and gives me the Napoleon Dynamite, "Lucky," look.
I showed DeAnn, and she was excited for me. Somehow, she pulls the other six hardbacks off the tables in a matter of minutes. I don't know how she found them among the same books I'd already ran my finger along, but she did it. I didn't need book 1,2, or 4, so we put those back.
Soon I had my arms so full of books, I had to get a basket. I felt like a Goofy cartoon where the books are stacked so high you think he'll fall over, but he amazingly doesn't. Anyway, that was me. I'd found another Orson Scott Card book (two actually, but one I'm borrowing from my Aunt, so I didn't need it), a big huge fat fantasy book. It looks kind of Lord of the Rings style. I count my books and estimate that I'll have to pay about $18 for everything. The adult hardbacks were $2 each. Not bad. I don't mind supporting my local library.
I check my watch, it's 9:45, and I have to go to a girls' camp meeting at 10:00. So I waddled over to the checkout table. The girl counted my books out.
"$8.50." She gives me a cute little smile.
My eyebrows shoot up to my hairline.
"$8.50? Are you sure?" I have to be honest in my dealings with my fellow men.
She counts them again. Yep, $8.50 for all of them. Turns out Harry Potter is actually a children's book, so they were only a dollar a piece. Sweet!
The girl puts my books in two plastic bags and looks at them with a furrowed brow.
"Do you have far to walk? Because I don't think they're gonna hold."
I had to laugh.
"No, I'm just walking to my car."
I ran over to DeAnn and told her about my excellent deal. She gave me the same Napoleon "Lucky," look.
Hey, she got Eragon and Eldest (both hardback) for $.50 a piece because they were children's books and the binding was broken so badly they gave her a deal.
Anyway, I'm still troubled by the fact that I had to leave behind Enchantment. I hurried home to my camp meeting.
At 12:15 I'm home from the meeting and taking out my books one by one just to look at them. I don't have time to read them, but it's like Christmas in April. The Orson Scott Card book grabs my attention. I read through it and realize it's the third in a series. He's notorious for having books in a series that is not clearly marked that it belongs with other books. Anyway, I soon find out that I have book one from the series. I bought it at DI years ago. I run to my office and pull the fat book off my shelf. I flip through the pages. Holy cow, books one and two are here and I've read them. Somehow I found book three and wasn't even looking for it. In the words of Hannah Montana and Toad on Mario Party, "Sweet niblets and fluffy biscuits!"
But I'm still feeling icky inside for having to leave that book. I've got to go back for it. Hey, I let Kadie borrow my copy once. I think she liked it. I'll just get it for her for her birthday (that's not until August). In the Andreasen family, we do DI (thrift store) presents for birthdays. Hey, you can't beat a $2 book from the library! (don't worry Kadie, I'm not ruining your birthday present surprise)
So after Tyler came home for lunch, I packed up in the car and went back to the library. I debated hiding my face as I walked in, but there was a shift change and the girls weren't at the desk anymore.
I knew exactly where that book was. I walked right to it. I picked it up and nearly stumbled when it was the wrong book.
Where is it? Where did it go?
I searched those tables for half an hour. It was gone. In the space of four hours, someone had bought the one book I wanted. Figures. Well, I couldn't leave empty handed, now could I? :) I soon had another pile of books, this time a little smaller. A few more paperbacks. I took them to the desk. The kid counted my books and told me the amount. I think it was $6.50. I don't carry cash, and they didn't take a card, so I wrote a check. In the course of writing the check I forgot how much he said. So I asked him. He counted again.
"$3.50."
My eyebrows did the thing again. And I asked him to check again because I was sure he'd said six fifty before (I have to be honest in my dealings with my fellow men:D). So he counted again.
"$6.00"
I'll take it. I'm sure he cut me a fifty-cent deal, but I feel pretty good about it anyway. A lady standing next to me laughed and said she would have taken the other deal. Oh well.
Hey, you can't beat two dozen books, mostly hardback, for less than fifteen dollars.
Oh, the joy of a library sale. Next year, I'm going to be standing at the door saying, "Open, open, open."
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