What a haul

A trip to the public library is always worthwhile, but even more so when the used book sale is going on. During the past couple of weeks, two of our area libraries were holding sales, and the bounty available for patrons to pick up and a minimal cost was both great and sad to see. Great because it meant I could pick up a few titles I’d been hemming and hawing over for a few bucks. But also sad because so many were discarded titles from the libraries themselves, meaning they hadn’t been checked out in quite a while – if at all.

One of the things I look for are novels based on movies that I recognized. Among them this time were “Bonfire of the Vanities” by Tom Wolfe, “A Most Wanted Man” by John Le Carré and “News of the World” by Paulette Jiles. Sometimes I’ve seen the movie, but other times I only know its reputation, which makes me want to read the original that much more. And while the book sale was a success for me, it was discouraging that both times I went to these libraries, there was hardly anyone else inside. All the books and movies available to borrow for free, you’d think there’d be a line out the door every day.