I took a lot of books to the used bookstore, most of which I’d read, but it’s still always difficult for me to let any book go. There are some I’ll always treasure, and I’ve passed on a few when I know they’ll be appreciated. A friend of mine is a big Walt Kelly fan and, as much as I enjoyed a Pogo collection I had, I gave it to him without any regret because I knew he’d enjoy it even more.
The used bookstore is a little more of a crapshoot, though. I never know what they’ll take and what they’ll reject. It’s great when they take a book. I get a little money and, hopefully, it’ll find its way into the hands of someone who will enjoy it, maybe even treasure it. If they reject a book, though, I don’t know what to do with it. There are two big bins in front of the used bookstore where people drop their rejects, and I often see people going through those, looking for the wheat in the chaff. And since one person’s reject is another’s treasure it’s possible some of those will find someone who needs them. I saw a guy pull out a Windows 95 manual and carry it away so you never know what someone will consider useful.
I still have so many books I could part with, including more than a shelf of anthologies from college, which I’ve mostly held onto for sentimental reasons. Anthologies are great introductions to a wide range of authors but every time I look at them I think they’re for readers, not writers. Anthologies are like greatest hits collections, which are fine, but for aspiring writers the real lessons are in the deep cuts. It’s the forgotten or neglected works that can reveal an author working out the ideas that would eventually crystallize into what they’re known for, or that show their mistakes. The best lesson of all is that no one’s perfect all the time. It may even be possible that, doing a deep dive, you find something better than the anthologized work—after all, anthologists make mistakes too, and many anthologized works are pulled from previous anthologies.
That was a bit of a tangent but I also think used bookstores are the ideal place to find those neglected, forgotten works. After all they have a lot of stuff, and a lot of very specific categories.
We have a Little Library that we built on the edge of our property so a lot of our used books go in there. People quite often pull up in their cars to exchange books and it’s cool to see, but not as cool as a store with labels like Men Who Lost Their Shirts!
The “Men Who Lost Their Shirts” is a subsection of the Romance category and it was funny to me, and a little disappointing, that the covers didn’t feature shirtless men. But I didn’t look that carefully. Anyway having a Little Library is a very cool thing too. I think it’s a nice way to get rid of books I know I’ll never return to, and to sometimes find new ones.
I love taking books to used bookshops… especially because I feel like I can combine the trip with shopping for more books 😉
Picking up more books when I take old ones to used bookshops is a risk I’m always willing to take. The used bookshop I went to recently offers either cash or vouchers for exchange. I took a voucher because I knew I’d just end up spending money there anyway. 🙂
McKays is THE BEST. I’ve taken a similar picture of that one section – it never fails to crack me up. I have bought and sold so much there over the years. We have a family rule -if you see it and you want it – get it then – there’s no “going back for it later”. Even if they still have it – it might get moved.
YES! A couple of times I’ve seen something at McKays and not gotten it and I always end up regretting it. And it’s a valuable life lesson that I’ve never regretted anything I did buy.
This post found its way onto the screen of someone who really enjoyed it, Chris. I’m writing this response at a desk where I have 10 books piled up on either side of my laptop. When I finish any of those, they’ll be going to a local little library, where I hope people will be glad to see them.
In the age of computers there’s something very special about being surrounded by real books, especially old books, and I’m glad you’re sharing them and your thoughts here.