Good morning and happy Tuesday!
Today is my first day back to work in 9 days. I had all last week off for the Book Expo in New York (see my final post on that here) and then I took yesterday off to experience the Duluth Minnesota book sale – the coveted book sale for me of the past few years.
Why coveted? Word on the street was the Duluth Library sale was the best in Minnesota. Seems like I either missed the date each year, or had a conflict and could not go. This year I made it.
I had some things I liked and some things not so much… here is my pro/con list for this sale:
Pro:
When in line they give you numbers so once you have your number you can go do whatever (I went to Starbucks), come back before they open at 10 am and they let you in by number.
Con:
Many of the books were older titles (as in many years). I am usually looking for books I have heard about recently or a couple years old.
The cost for the large paperback I love was $1.00 each. At Brainerd sale, they are 25 cents each.
The quantity to me felt less than Brainerd’s although Duluth’s sale is so much bigger.
To be a friend of the Duluth Library you have to pay $10, this gets you in the first day of the sale. Brainerd’s is $5 for the membership.
Overall it was a fun experience, I talked to some fun people in the line while I waited, but for a two hour drive one way, I don’t think I found enough to make it an annual thing. Here is what I left with:
My biggest thrill was the hard cover of The Passage. I have a paper back copy but that one will now go to our cabin for guest reading and the hard cover goes on my top shelf all time favs.
Curious – do you have library sales in your area? What do you look for?
Book Journey 
I was just wondering how the sale went. Our library charges $3 and $5 for hardbacks depending on how old they are and what kind of shape they’re in. You’re going to need some new bookshelves! (I’m one to talk.)
LOL… I need to do some organizing that is for sure. I was going to work on that last night but still working on reading the book club book for tonight’s review – yipes! 😀
Brainerd paperbacks – any size ate 25 cents and hard covers are 50 cents. They have a few new ones that are more. Duluth sold hard covers for 1.25 which is still a good deal. 😀
Our Public Library charges nothing and anyone can browse and buy. I didn’t bother since after working in the public library in “georgia for 5 years I donated 2 fulland double rowed bookcases of books to the Friends of the Library. I just waws buried alive in books and needed space. I mostly download books to my kindle or check out from the library.
I’m sorry it didn’t live up to your expectations, but at least you got some good stuff. I’m interested to hear how the audio of ‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ is…Krakauer himself reads it, doesn’t he? I’d love to reread that one, and maybe it’d be better to do it on audio.
He does read it himself Sarah. The lady at the checkout counter said she had listened to it and it was pretty amazing.
I have that Laura Moriarty book….and, of course, The Help, although I lent it to my granddaughter Fiona…and I’ve seen her room. I may never see it again! lol
I also have Garnethill…and The Year of the Flood is resting on Sparky. Enjoy!
The paper back Help is for the cabin. I have it here in hard cover but I like to keep favs at the cabin too 😀
Sorry it wasn’t as good as what you wanted, but you still got some great books! We have quite a few in our area. They all have a sale on Fri. & Sat. once a month, with no membership fees. One has no set prices, it’s by donations, and another has
books for $2 a bag. The rest are .25 for paperback and $1 for hardcover.
I expected more, Duluth being so huge and all but really – other than the Passage I seen nothing even remotely new.
I used to be able to find lots of goodies at the local library sales but not so much any more. The last few years most have been holding a pre-sale night with an admittance charge of $5 to $10. I imagine the newer stuff gets snapped up the first night. I go on “free” day and browse. I never know when that one book I really want will be waiting for me for 50 cents!
I now know how awesome our Brainerd sale is 🙂 great prices and lots of books that I enjoy!
We have two great book sales in this area. One is the summer tent sale at the Blueberry Festival in Montrose, PA with old and fairly new books cheap. The other is in November, just in time for gift buying, given by Putnam’s Warehouse in Kirkwood, NY. Their sale runs in a huge empty building for a week and the staff replenishes the books each day. All the books are new and although I can’t give you the price since I missed the last two years, they are cheap. Lots of children’s books and people go out with boxes and boxes.
OOH your sales sound wonderful!
I have been to several librarysales, but my impression is also that the books are old – wicked old.
I usually look for children’s books, Nora Roberts, royal literature, and … One can always find something interesting.
Thats what I seen in Duluth but Brainerds are fairly new coveted titles. 😀
Wow. You have had one awesome week of books!
I really did… a bit of an overdose… 😛
Add to this your haul at BEA (have we seen those pictures yet?) and you have enough to get you through the summer. 😉
Our library doesn’t do sales anymore so I haven’t been to one for ages. We have some charities once or twice a year that do book sales but they’re usually not that great (lots of yellowed books (that I hate!) to wade through.
BEA haul just arrived this afternoon – I will put pics up starting Thursday morning… tomorrow morning I suspect I will be in gush mode over my book club tonight 😉
We have a used bookstore in the main branch of the library so sometimes the best deals are there. I’ve only been to one of the actual large yearly sales, and I’m thinking the prices are around those in Duluth.
You may not have gotten a lot of books in Duluth, but you did get some good ones. The hardcovers of The Passage and Labyrinth are great finds.
Thanks Ryan, those two hardcovers are for my :Keeper” shelves 😀
Our library starts the sale with high prices, one the first day some hardcovers are $7-$10 depending on how new they are. Then as the days go by the price goes down. We like to go on the last day which is bag day, everything you can fit in a brown grocery bag for a set price, usually $5. My kids love to pick up new things, I just have to make sure they aren’t buying back the books we donated!
Thant seems so high to me Jill… (I am so cheap! 😛 ) Love the bag sale though 😀
You have been nominated for the Sunshine Award! http://lifeinanotebook.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/sunshine-award/
Thank you 🙂
Out here in California, our libraries always have a sale section. Many of the newer ones have build a special room for their book sale. At my county library branch, I think they do $1 for hardcover, $0.50 for trade paperback and $0.25 for mass market. One of my city’s branches puts a sticker with the price on the hardcovers. Most of them have been $2. The main city branch has a more standardized price list. They have sales on certain sections from time to time. The main branch has a more ‘clearance’ type shelf .I got a former library paperback copy of The Book Thief for $0.25 there, which I figure is fine, since if I liked it I could upgrade the copy to one in better condition.
My favorite is the one at the library in the next city over. The city only has one branch, so the book sale is the size of the two used bookstores I go to. Hardcovers $1-2, Paperbacks I think were $0.50 (I usually get hardcovers there). If a book is a new release (last year or two), it could be $3-4. They do silent auctions too- I got an old Gone With The Wind from one of those. They have various sales on certain sections, and a fill a bag section also.
I like the sound of your sales – nice variety!
Three of my local county libraries have a Friends of the Library area where they sell old library books and donated books. One has an actual storefront. It’s been forever since I’ve been, mainly because I’ve bought back books I donated!
LOL – that is always dangerous! 😛
The public libraries in my area has separate Friends of the Library store within the library. Several times per year they have book sales in the aisle leading into the main library and once in a while outside.
NIce! I love those sales!