Loved the animal stories too. When in England, one of my planned stops was Harriot's vet hospital. It was wonderful, fascinating...everything was just as it was when he practiced there and even had the original TV setting where they filmed. The people in the little town loved visiting Americans and would repeat that we were the reason his books become popular. A book I recommend to many is Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition (tis a "he" though). It is about the cat on Shackleton's Antarctica expedition, brought aboard by the ship's carpenter. Written with the cat's view, has wonderful pics of the expedition, ship, men and history story of this sad event. Although a teen level book, highly read by adults and found in the adult section. Be ready for a very sad ending, but truely a worthwhile read.

I just have to chime in here and tell all of you, I would so love to come; I live west of Austin and could easily come to Ft. Worth, except that I take care of my mom (age 94) and I don't have a backup. I am soooo homebound; it is a lonely life and I so much wish that I could come and join the party. Whenever you all have a get-together and I don't respond, it's cause I can't, NOT because I don't want to. The longest time I can be away from home is 3 hours. Someday when things are different, I hope to join in. Y'all have fun and I will be there in spirit.

> The title is Jesus, the Son of Man, by Kahlil Gibran and the print I have is from 1976. Not only is 1976 not old, but Kahlil Gibran was incredibly popular and there are more of his books even older gathering dust on aging college students shelves than you can imagne. So sell it for a buck. Many factors influence the worth of a book, condition being very important. For example, country of printing, and signed. -I have a first edition, first printing When We Were Six, from 1928 (American printing), that cost a few hundred bucks. The same book, first edition, English printing, signed by author and illustrator was going for 10,000 last time I looked. I remember when I visited my college library for the first time - shelves and shelves were filled with what I thought were ancient books (talking 1800s). While some of these probably were valuable, chances are most weren't. I have my sights now on pre revolutionary war titles; not for the worth, but because I think they'd be interesting. Many are out of my ball park. And I'd really love even just a sheet of an illuminated manuscript. In my dreams. If you are thinking about collecting books, choose books that match your interests. I collect children's illustrated pre 1950. Being specific helps you focus, and helps you learn more about the field so you know when someone is selling a 1920 edition of Alice in Wonderland for $500, you know to turn up your nose.

Hi guys, I don't post a lot on this forum but as a book lover and a gardener, this thread caught my eye. I know a few of you have referenced libraries (yay!) , but one thing I wanted to emphasize is that if you are looking for vintage books, do check out the book sales that libraries have. I work in a library, and sadly, non-fiction books are slowly becoming a thing of the past (up there with magazines). So many people go online now for info, and libraries are shrinking the size of their non-fiction collections, and often sell off their non-fic books. Secondly, it's absolutely amazing the number of books that get donated to libraries when one's loved ones pass away or downsize to eldercare. And so many people don't recognize the value (literary or monetary) of many books. I could almost guarantee that the above-referenced $185 book, or books similar to it, are donated regularly to libraries because it's "just an old book", and nine times out of ten, the library staff doesn't know or doesn't have time, effort, funding, or staff with knowledge, to research the value of donations. So they sell for a buck or two at the sale. Or even if they ARE recognized as something valuable, you can still get a better deal at a library book sale. Lastly, this might sound offensive to some, but check the dumpster at your library regularly. It's absolutely heartbreaking the amount of perfectly good books that get tossed. Sometimes libraries won't sell discards from their collections because they figure folks won't buy books with stickers, labels, or books marked "withdrawn". Other times again, they don't realize any value in a given book and it gets tossed. Heartbreaking. As a book lover I feel that someone somewhere could appreciate any book, and as an environmentalist I always think they should take the time to remove the covers, etc. and recycle, at the very least. But again, on the environmental point, it comes down to funding, staffing, time - as well as attitude! Okay, I'm getting down off my soapbox - or should I say my pile of books lol? Just wanted to remind folks of another option to acquire - and rescue! - a good garden book! :) Dee