Chapter 7 - Cheap Books!!!

So, today is a bit of a departure from my normal posting where I review a particular book or discuss an author. Today, I want to discuss some great AFFORDABLE ways to buy good books. I have been thinking about this topic for sometime (I guess for about as long as I’ve been a poor student…meaning, a long time), but it is especially relevant due to what my family and I attended last Saturday: the Radnor Library Book Sale. I first heard of library book sales from Scott and Joy Wilson last year (Thanks Wilsons!). They bought some books from our local library here in Upper Darby, including a paperback copy of Elie Wiesel’s “Night” for me. I assumed that the books the library was selling were old books that were not getting checked out much. Therefore, I also assumed that there wouldn’t be a very good selection of books to buy. Nevertheless, I decided to try to catch the next book sale at my library. Over the past year I ended up going to two library book sales at different libraries. One was really weak and I only found one Stephen Sears book. The other was better and I found 3-4 good books, a couple of which I had already read. Then, last week I happened to check my county library website where I saw an announcement for the Radnor Library Book Sale in Wayne, PA. For those of you not familiar with PA, Wayne is an affluent city on the Main Line. The website also mentioned that the books the library sells are books that are donated by local residents throughout the year. So, I realized that a library in a more affluent area would probably have a better book sale. Kathy agreed to go, so we went Saturday afternoon. There were four rooms filled with books, including a wall full of history and biography. I went through most of the non-fiction section and came away with a fantastic stack of books. For those who might care, they are (if you don’t care, skip the following list):

1. Stilwell and the American Experience in China 1911-45 - Barbara Tuchman. Probably best known for her book about the start of WWI “The Guns of August”, this book also won the Pulitzer Prize. Interesting side note…Tuchman also happens to be one of David McCullough’s favorite authors.
2. Nothing Like It In The World - Stephen Ambrose. Many of you have probably read Ambrose (Undaunted Courage, Band of Brothers, D-Day, etc). This one is about the building of the transcontinental railroad that met up, of course, at Promontory Point, Utah.
3. The Army of the Potomac - Bruce Catton. Probably my best find of the day. I’ve been looking for this for a while. This is a three-volume set about the eastern arm of the Union Army during the Civil War. The last volume in the set, “A Stillness at Appomattox” won the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1954. The set I got is in great condition.
4. The Lexus and the Olive Tree - Thomas Friedman. Most of you probably know Friedman, but he is a foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times. His latest book is “The World is Flat”, but he is well known for his first book “From Beirut to Jerusalem” which was a fantastic book. This one is supposed to be great too.
5. Miracle at Philadelphia - Catherine Bowen. The story of the creation of the constitution. I don’t know much about the author, but have heard great things about the book.
6. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - Edmund Morris. One of a few books to win both the Pulitzer and the National Book Award, this book is the first in a (planned) trilogy about the former president. The second book in the series, “Theodore Rex”, came out 20 years after this one. Morris plans on a third volume, but hopefully it takes less than 20 years to finish!
7. Our Vietnam - A.J. Langguth. I haven’t yet read anything by Langguth, but I have one other book of his called “Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution” that is supposed to be fantastic. I also haven’t yet read anything about Vietnam, so I look forward to this one.
8. The Bounty: True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty - Caroline Alexander. This book has been on my “to read” list for a long time. I’m drawn to these sea adventure books like “In the Heart of the Sea” and “Mutiny on the Globe.” These early sailors where a tough bunch and there are some great mutiny/survival stories out there.
9. Lindbergh - A. Scott Berg. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this book looks very good and it seems that Lindbergh is a complex, interesting guy. Should be a great read.
10. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: Home Front in WWII - Doris Goodwin. You may have seen or read her new multi-biography of Lincoln and others called “Team of Rivals.” This earlier book won the Pulitzer in History in 1995.
11. Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years - Carl Sandburg. The poet Carl Sandburg wrote a 2-volume biography of early Lincoln called “The Prairie Years” and followed that with a massive four-volume biography of Lincoln’s presidency called “The War Years.” This is a one-volume abridged version of the entire six volumes. Not only did Sandburg win a Pulitzer for “The War Years”, but he also won a Pulitzer in Poetry for his book of collected poems. Pretty talented guy! I recently finished reading an abridged version of “The War Years” and loved it. I will likely review it in the future for the blog.

So, you may ask…how much did all these books cost you? I got these 13 books (counting the 3 volume set by Catton) for a grand total of $13.50. Yes, that’s right. Each book was $1 with the Sandburg book costing $1.50. What a steal! Months of reading pleasure for the cost of one regularly-priced book! Throughout the sale, most hardcover books were $1 and paperbacks were fifty cents to $1. So, I would highly recommend that you check your local library to see if they do book sales. And if they do, be sure to go the next time they do. For those of you in the Philadelphia region, here is the website for the Delaware County Library calendar of events. And also, I’ll let you know that the next sale at the Radnor Library is November 3^rd, and you better get there early if you want to beat me. Another great thing about these book sales, is that not only do you get cheap books, but your money goes to support your local library. Two birds with one stone!

There are a couple of other ways to find cheap books. One is to use the World Wide Web. (Do you know what that is?) There are some great websites that do searches for you to find the best price for a particular book. Check out BestBookBuys and School Soup (which was programmed by my brother Brandon…way to go, Morace!). For some older USED books, you can sometimes find them for as cheap as one cent on websites like Amazon.com and Half.com, where you then just have to pay the $3 or so for shipping. So, that’s a pretty cheap option. Finally, I have had mixed success at the Borders Outlet store. It’s definitely hit and miss, but I have found a few great books for $3-$5 (most recently “Undaunted Courage” by Ambrose). Used bookstores are one other option, and a lot of them have a great selection of books, but I’ve found that you can almost always beat their prices online.

Well, this has gone on long enough. If you still can’t find the book you want cheap (and you’re poor like me), checking out books from the library is still a great option. If you are more established financially and can afford to buy books full price from your local bookstore, more power to you. But then again, you’re not likely to find “Army of the Potomac” at Barnes and Noble or Borders.

If you know of other ways to get cheap books, or have had success with the ideas I’ve mentioned, please share with the rest of us! We’re all interested in building our libraries, one book at a time!