Wow you did really well!! I hope you had a shopping trolley with you.

On my morning's outing I scored two only,

"The Heart Of London" Monica Dickens.

"The 19th Wife" David Ebershoff.

I seem to everage about five a week from the op shops, and I am only reading on the average one book a week, so my stock can become quite large. The only way to solve this is to cull now and again.

This particular book sale benefits a local shelter for battered women and their children. In retrospect, I probably should have bought less. One of the paperbacks fell apart shortly after it arrived home with me. Turns out I already had one of the books. Oh well. You win some and you lose some.

I did some book culling myself earlier this year, which may be why I went a little nuts at this book sale.

I will take the opposite track and list what I have hauled to the library used bookstore -

A large and I mean large box of newer paperbacks, mysteries, thrillers, chick-lit that had been left in the house I just rented. The woman in the bookstore couldn't believe I was giving them away. She told me to pick out a book or two from the shelves. I declined but went away very happy.

To the library near my old condo in Massachusetts - five boxes of books various and sundry.

I am still left with oceans and oceans of books. And I bought one last week, for my mother - How To Wash A Cat by Rebecca M. Hale - one of cozy mysteries that she likes so well.

Our Friends of the Library sale is next weekend. . .so will keep you posted!

I had quite a haul over the weekend--all for only $28!

Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter
City of Quartz by Mike Davis
Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Isaak's Storm by Erik Larsen
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
The Land of Little Rain by Mary Hunter Austin
Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue
The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Blue Willow by Doris Gates
Good Evening Mr. and Mrs. America and All the Ships at Sea by Richard Bausch
Love Medicine by Louise Erdich
The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdich
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Frangipani by Celestine Hitiura Vaite
Summerland by Michael Chabon
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner
Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey
Diary of a Bad Year by J. M. Coetzee
War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk

Great haul, Phaedosia. I seem to recall an RP discussion about One Thousand White Women. What is it about?

On a morbid note, many years ago I visited Hollywood Memorial Cemetery in Los Angeles (it later went bankrupt, was purchased and renamed "Hollywood Forever", an asinine name for a cemetery!) In one of its gorgeous mausoleums, I saw the niche where the remains of Gene Stratton Porter were deposited after her death in a car accident. My first celebrity grave!

How interesting--just read about Porter's death--her limousine was hit by a trolley car?!? Wow! One of these days I need to get over to the Hollywood Cemetery. We only live about 45 minutes away. I think a walking tour is in order.

I picked up One Thousand White Women because of the mention here on RP. Isn't it serendipitous how things will appear right after you hear about them? So, all I know about it is that it's a fictional account of what would have happened if the Cheyenne were given white women as wives in order to affect peace. Sounded intriguing.

Hollywood Forever is a fascinating cemetery. There is a section of single graves which backs onto old sound stages of Paramount Studios. I couldn't help but wonder how many of these graves were for long-forgotten extras, stage hands, set builders, editors, seamstresses, etc., who toiled in obscurity at Paramount Studios. Of course there are countless celebrities buried there too. I remember being surprised at the modest little headstone of Charlie Chaplin's insane mother Hannah.

One Thousand White Women sounds interesting. In Canada, "les filles de Roi" are part of our national folklore. These women were shipped by the hundreds from France in the 1600s to marry French traders and fur trappers, many of whom were already living with and fathering children by women from the First Nations.

I read "One Thousand White Women" a few years ago and loved it. It's based on an idea that was actually considered by the government. The idea was to send white women to marry Cheyenne warriors to help them assimilate into the white man's world. The story is told through journals of one of the women, May Dodd. She tells how she comes to join the program, which is an intriguing story on it's own. Her descriptions of daily life are so vivid you feel you are there. The book is a good portrayal of the treatment of and attitudes towards Indians at the time. Life was not easy or fair. I laughed at parts and sobbed at others. It was very easy to get emotionally involved. I highly recommend it!

I had to change subject line slightly or this wouldn't post. Can you not post twice in a row? I thought I did on another topic.

timallan and phaedosia, looks like you both had a great time getting books. Do you select ones you've heard of, ones you've read and want to own, or anything that catches your eye? I'm guessing a mix, but if you have a limit on number of books or money to spend, how do you narrow down your choices?

My county library system has a sale every October that takes place over two days in a good sized room at the Civic Center. There are also author readings and signings, and a marketplace I've calmed down, but the second year I went I bought close to 100 books and audiobooks. 60 were westerns for my Dad. Now he comes to visit for that weekend to get his own books :)

Thanks for the info, jaxnsmom, I will move One Thousand White Women to the top of my TBR pile! Sounds like your county library system sale is paradise. Our little sale is much smaller. But, still I manage to find good stuff every time. I usually know what I'm looking for. I have a "to-read" shelf on Goodreads with like 600 books on it and can usually recognize books I've heard of and want to read at the sale. I'm open to impulse buys, too. Some of the older titles in the list above were ones that just looked interesting. If I'm coming up on my limit, money-wise, I'll put back the things that aren't in as good of condition. I think the most I've ever spent was about $40. The books are priced really low.

@timallan--I've never heard of "les filles de Roi." Do you know of any books dealing with them/that era? Sounds so interesting!

I know there are histories of of "Les Filles de Roi", but the name of a particular book eludes me. Perhaps one of the many RP history buffs can recommend one? These women are treated in almost every book of Canadian history.

The generic name of these women translates as "Daughters of the King", as the King of France paid for their fare to the New World. I believe that most of these women hailed from the sturdy peasant class, so were happy to try for a better life on another continent. "Les Filles de Roi" are a hot topic in genealogy right now, with many genealogists in both Canada and the U.S. trying to research their descent from these women.

Jaxsmom, I don't get to that many charity book sales, so I let myself splurge at this one. Like Phaedosia, the deciding factor is whether the book is still in fairly good shape. Most of the books I chose are drawn from my mental "one of these days I'm going to read..." list. When I get past my budget, I start putting titles back based on how interested I am in the author or topic.

The book sale I attended is a great place to people watch. For example, there was a funny intense woman ransacking the history and biography table for a biography of Teddy Roosevelt. I also noticed an family of what I assume were recent immigrants from Egypt who were buying every book they could find about that country. I assume their choices were fueled by home-sickness.

I just culled my TBR pile and donated three bags of books to our library book sale. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not going shopping two weeks from now when the sale is held! I love FoL sales, you never know what you might find.

We have a booksale every quarter at my local library. It consists mainly of donated books. I never remember when it is on (what did I have for breakfast?) so I am lucky if I get there before the other scavengers!
I mostly check for books a family member would like as I have so little space at my home. I had a heartfelt 'Thank you' call yesterday from an ardent fisherman who had just been given a "very useful" book I had picked out. I was not sure if he would want it so I was gratified that it was suitable.
The books are priced at 50c for children's books, $1 paperbacks, $2 hardcovers. They are usually in good condition but watch out for toothmarks and scribbles on the children's book donations!

I went to our FoL sale this morning, and scored a nice selection of books. In addition to four YA books for my DD, I got:

The Rector's Wife Joanna Trollope (I might have read this before, but for fifty cents, worth a shot)
Lake Wobegon Summer 1956 by Garrison Keillor
Joe Jones by Anne Lamott (no idea what this is about, but I love the way she writes)
A Country Doctor Sarah Orne Jewett
Genealogy by Maud Casey (bought for the title, didn't have a chance to read the blurb yet - again, worth a shot)
A Marble Woman: Unknown Thrillers Louisa May Alcott
The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (only because I have Housekeeping already sitting in the TBR pile.)
Amy & Isabelle Elizabeth Strout
and finally a pristine copy of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's A Gift From the Sea as a gift for a new mom I know.

All this for just over $20, and it goes to a good cause.

The library activity room was packed, there were people waiting outside when we arrived, and I'm going back up this afternoon so my DD can have a browse around of her own. I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday :)

Such a nasty wet and windy day! I went out looking for some things to brighten up my spirits, bought a cheerfully pink cyclamen pot-plant and then found the Book Sale was on at the library. I picked up a colourfully illustrated P&P, the Assembly Ball double-page spread is delightful! Also two children's books again with lovely pictures that will entrance my 2year old GGD, who loves to 'read'.

Hello all,
Time to pop this thread back to page one since my FoL sale is this week. It starts on Saturday (with crowds waiting at the doors) and ends tomorrow.

I confess that I left with far more titles than I should have but then again, I do the same thing every year.

My haul:

Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson
Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman
Ten Days that Shook the World by John Reed
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart
Geisha by Liza Dalby (this one looks "iffy" but my daughter said, "go for it, Mama", so I did.)
How to Think Like Benjamin Graham and Invest Like Warren Buffet by Lawrence Cunningham (yea, well, reading about this stuff is kinda fun for me...)
Sea of Glory by Nathaniel Philbrick
Green, Inc by Christine MacDonald
In the Beginning (the story of the King James Bible) by Alister McGrath
Down the Nile by Rosemary Mahoney
Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox
The Boy and the Samurai by Erik Christian Haugaard
Changes at Fairacre by Miss Read
Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum
Less Than Angels by Barbara Pym
Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, An American Childhood and The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
A Moment on the Earth by Gregg Easterbrook
Book Business by Jason Epstein
In the Garden of Papa Santuzzu by Tony Ardizzone
Life of Pi (illustrated hardcover edition) by Yann Martel

Whew... now it is time for tea, popcorn, and an evening of reading!

PAM

What a lovely haul you had!! Good job. Now - to read them all. hahaha. :-)

PAM -

Was it you who was looking for books with strong female characters/protagonists?

If so, I have a really useful book called 500 Great Books by Women by Erica Bauermeister, Jesse Larson, and Holly Smith. It was this book that I found the mention of Stone Angel and I am sure there have been others but just can't bring them to mind right now.

Anyhoo, this is a book full of great female writers and I have not yet got a bad read out it... Just a suggestion.

And if it's not you PAM who's looking, who was it?? I have dug everywhere trying to find that person...)

Here is a link that might be useful: Book

Yes Lemon! It was me. THANK YOU very much for that title! I will see if I can find a copy right away. I have already made note of both title and author in my RP notebook.

And yes... now to find time to read all of the great titles I have just purchased at the library sale. Ah, what a delicious problem to have!

Today is a lovely day, windows open, constant breeze, sun is shining, the birds are singing, the cicadas are giving me a headache... perhaps it is time for lemonade and a book outside in the hammock.

PAM

Great haul Pam!

The Candleford books seem very popular at the moment, don't they?

The Joshua Slocum title sounds intriguing. I believe he disappeared in "The Bermuda Triangle" in the 1890s.

I got recently bought some childrens books, as I mentioned in the 'Borders' thread and one book is "The Nursery Rhymes of Winnie the Pooh" which has mostly well-known ones with 'Disney Pooh' illustrations. Charming but also gives me a small problem. There are some differences in the rhymes,e.g. Ring around the Rosy (Roses)Ashes,ashes (Atishoo,atishoo).
Will this be a problem? My greatGD will learn a different version at playschool which could be confusing or do little ones cope with this? It seems a pity not to give her the book. She cannot read yet and would love the pictures.

I took the book of nursery rhymes to show my granddaughter and she said that as she has worked in a number of childcare centres, she noticed many variations of nursery rhymes taught to the children and they enjoy learning different versions!So it is all good!

Despite my best intentions, I brought home three books yesterday -

The Abandoned - Paul Gallico - a young boy is transformed into the body of a cat - this is supposed to be one of his best

The Quotable Farm Animal - a collection of photographs and quotes from Odgen Nash, John F. Kennedy, Grandma Moses, Aristole, and many others

Dog is My Co-Pilot - a collection of stories featuring dogs and their relationship to people

Yes, these are all animal books.

On Saturday we visited the local parish church's annual Autumn fete, where I joined the scrum around the second hand book stall. They were selling 6 books for a pound; an offer I couldn't refuse.

Beyond the Blue Horizon Alexander Frater, about tracking the routes of the old Imperial Airways and its 'Empire Service'.

Don't Wake me at Doyles Maura Murphy (possibly a tear-jerker Irish hardship story aka Angel's Ashes.)

Desert Places Robyn Davidson. Could be read in conjunction with A Winter in Arabia Freya Stark. I bought a mildewing copy at the same sale last year!

The Information Officer Mark Mills. A who-dunnit set in Malta in WWII (not his best according to write-ups on Amazon)

Chocky John Wyndham. I've come to this author very late.

Brokeback Mountain & other stories Annie Proulx

Return Journey Maeve Binchy for light bedtime reading.

OK so they threw in an extra book. ;-)

Vee, my sentiments too about the Binchy book. I often reread one of her short stories if I need to wind down to nod off. My favourite from "The Return Journey" is "The Women in Hats". Being a plus-size, I love the theme of being comfortable with your body!