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Friday, October 10, 2008

Better than a thrift store


My friend Benny secretly thinks the only reason that I serve on our local Friends of the Library Board is because I get first crack at the offerings in the Used Book Sale.

She's wrong of course. I'm just your average civic-minded citizen who cast around for a while to find the right place to serve. The library is a natural fit for a writer--plenty of books! I like being around grandmotherly older women who impart their wisdom freely, and since I'm the only member younger than 64, the Friends of the Library offers that in spades. I love being involved in activities that support literacy in children. My own kiddos are allowed at meetings and well-behaved children are welcome at all related events. The activities that the group supports boost our community as a whole. See? It's the perfect community service for me!

Not that the Used Books Sale perk hurts at all. :-)

Today, three of the kiddos and I headed down to help with the set-up for the annual sale. This is our biggest event of the year. An entire room is filled with tables that are literally covered with books of all shapes and sizes. It takes a lot of work to get to that point, though. When we arrived, the scene was one of general box-driven chaos and tables at all angles. Oliver enjoyed some quality ergo time while Logan and Jo were put to work unloading boxes. I flitted from task to task: lining books up on tables, sorting the Danielle Steeles from the the John Grishams, putting prices on the bigger items that will bring in more than $1 a hardback. As we worked, the kids and I set aside our own potential purchases.

We worked for about two hours. Oliver had tired of his confinement long before the work was finished, so we had to say goodbye to our co-workers. In addition to the feeling of satisfaction we had at leaving the place with some semblance of order coming together, we also had the thrill of a whole box full of our own finds.

The grand total? $5.50. The best of the best of the best? Take a look ...



We liked the first one in SL Core K, so I thought the second was worth having on hand.
Retail: $14.99 My price: 50¢



Highly recommended by Karla, I couldn't pass this one up. It's a selection in one of the SL preschool programs.

Retail $12.95 My price: 50¢


My children like to read these books for fun. A great investment!
Retail: $16.95 My price: 50¢



When I saw the accompanying activity book, I almost did a backflip right there in the aisle. PERFECT CONDITION. What a blessing!
Retail: $34.95 My price: 50¢

So that was my reward for community service today. Almost $80 in materials I'll use for our homeschool for just $2. See? It pays to be involved! Not that that's the only reason you should serve ... :-)

9 comments:

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

Hi!! Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog and stoppin' by. I think Oliver and J are almost the exact same age. J (aka Woodjie) was born in early December. I can't imagine him going into a playpen for even HALF A SECOND. Oh, no, you'd hear about it.

Oliver sounds like a sweetie. Praying he'll be legally totally yours and soon. He deserves that, poor punkin. :]

The books look like real treasures. What a win-win situation for everyone when you volunteer.

Jamie {See Jamie blog} said...

Sweet deals! I think our library sale is next weekend??? I'll have to check so I can search for deals like yours!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog. Looks like we have a few major things in common (besides the rescue greyhounds) like homeschooling and adoption thru foster care. I'll be back to visit, and I hope you'll come visit me again soon, too!

anya* said...

oh, MG, we should really be friends:) This evening I loaded up all five (gulp) kids and went to the 'early bird' event for the local library yearly book sale! The main sale is advertised as starting tomorrow morning. We all got a few treasures and I was so happy to spend $4.25.
Great finds for you though, I am pretty impressed!

Anonymous said...

We LOVE Story of the World. My eldest two children in particular love to just read the books for fun. And they've learned a TON of history by just reading. We no longer homeschool as of this year for now but the books are still favorites.

The activity books are great. We used SOTW last year for 7th grade homeschool and I bought the activity book to use. What a great resource!

Glad you found such good deals!

Lori said...

Score! I always feel like I'm on a treasure hunt at Friends of the Library.

Mom Of E's said...

OOOOOH! I have to admit that I am pretty jealous of those deals you found. My husband has put me on a book-buying hiatus for the next month or so, whether I find a great deal or not. Of course I can't stop myself from looking for the deals, so it is kinda torturing me.

We have the Millie-Mollie-Mandy book because my daughter is doing Sonlight P4/5 this year. We haven't got to it yet, but I did some pre-reading, and it looks wonderful.

Finding great books for a great price makes them worth even more!

Mom Of E's said...

MG -

May I mention your blog on mine in the near future?

Anne

Unknown said...

Oh man, I wish I could go to that sale. I love it when our Friends of the library have one!

Michelle Smith said...

Hi! I really enjoyed reading your blog; you are a good writer. Now I'm thinking about finding the time to volunteer for Friends of the Library. I don't think I'd stumbled upon your blog earlier from amongst the TOS Crew blogs. Let me know if you happen upon mine.
www.homeschoolblogger.com/ALifeBetterThanIDese/