Collecting Books

Tonight I enjoyed flipping through a newly thrifted book, Celebrating Family Traditions : An Idea and Keepsake Book by Helen Baine Bland and Mary Seehafer Sears. Books about holiday and family traditions are one of my favorite genres to collect. They always inspire me to enjoy each new day and make the days special for my family and friends.



I have a particular thrift store that is my favorite. Children's books (no matter how small, large, inexpensive, or valuable) are 50 cents and adult books are 75 cents for paperback and $1 or $1.50 (they keep changing their prices) for hardback. You really can't beat that. I usually spend too much, but I actually added up the retail price of my last cache - $85. I paid $7.50. My family traditions book, a book of patterns and ideas for shrinky dinks, a good quality workbook/activity book on outer space (that I have another brand new copy that I picked up a few months ago there - 2 new workbooks for $!), a hardcover storybook of the Sleeping Beauty ballet, about 6 Level 1 or 2 easy readers that didn't have dumb story lines (or no storyline), a hardcover If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, a large knock knock joke book for Ethan, and I think a few more. Considering that I also got practically new Land's End and American Eagle shirts for Brian for another $7.50, I didn't feel too guilty.



I also collect good parenting/tips books, beautiful storybooks, and lots of other children's books, especially nonfiction and classic fiction ( and right now large quantities of early readers). I love Trixie Belden, finding them at a low price can make my day - I only have a couple. Also some cookbooks, historical and good Christian fiction, Christian marriage and romantic idea books, books on home education, or just education in general, music books, homemaking books, and other Christian living, theology, etc. books - anything that intrigues me and doesn't look like fluff. I try to hone in on my kids favorite stuff too, so I look for bug books and ballet books, and if I ever find any Max and Ruby books I have a two year old who will be very happy with me and a library that will be relieved to have theirs back in circulation.



What kind of books do you like to collect and where do you find them cheap? And for that matter, if you're like me and love all of the books you have too much to part with them - where do you put them???


graphic from Anne's Place