Book Fairs Change Lives and Calendars

When DH handed me the blue blurb, I read three magic words before deafening him with my screaming “YES!”

The words? Bargain book sale.

The newpaper article elaborated: “…paperbacks, hardbacks, DVDs, CDs, children’s and youth books, nonfiction at bargain prices. Donations accepted…”

Buy? Donate? Both at the same time?

That’s a party my Inner Bibliophile can enjoy.

We entered the first conference room. I gasped.

Grateful I’d packed several empty book bags, I rush-scanned the tables. After a quick breath, I went back to consider the gotta-haves.

I found a second surprise — tables crammed with CD’s and DVD’s. Music and movies ranged from classical and funk to kindergarten flicks and horror shows.

Amazing what people donate. And buy.

In an outside hallway sat chairs crammed with boxes of Spanish, Arabic, and unrecognizable language books plus software manuals. I perused more rows of romance novels than I’ve ever seen in a traditional bookshop.

A distant room held non-fiction, including instruction notebooks, travel guides, and student textbooks from god-knows-what-university.

I don’t know what amazed me more—the volume of material available or the size of the crowd. All ages showed up. Even the youngest children scanned book titles. As their own entertainment, I’m sure but I watched, crossing my fingers in hopes that the littlest readers believe as I do — a good story can cure almost anything.

It’s why I paraded my favorite t‑shirt around the trio of book-filled rooms. I packed in with 11 must-have books, four sexy jazz CD’s, and a pair of never-seen movies. 

Our haul only cost us a baker’s dozen in bucks. In a brick-and-mortar, that stash would’ve beat $200 easy.

On the way home, we stopped for tea and read for an hour, each of us diving deep into our newest Best Book. Scanning our new Book Fair bookmark, we both discovered the best news. 

Our little town offers these Bargain Book Fairs every other month.

Where have we been for 27 years?

Can’t answer that, but I know where we’ll be on December 7th. 

Our book bags are empty, ready, and grateful that even passionate readers can miss the best headline.