Saturday, April 05, 2003

Running out of bookshelf space seems to me a fairly normal occurence. But running out of space in which to stack books when there are no more shelves? A library book sale today left us $70 poorer, and about 50 books richer; unfortunately, it also means another trip to the grocery store parking lot for more milk crates. I'm overwhelmed and appalled by the sheer volume of books being rapidly accumulated in this house, but, on the other hand, I would have it no other way. There's something wonderfully satisfactory about owning a hefty percentage of the books one wants to read, as well as being able to immediately produce a book when it comes up in conversation. And yet... soon our only available space will be in the bathroom, which wouldn't bother me except for the steam damage. Perhaps bibliophiles should not pair up, although the other options are probably worse. I guess we'll just never be able to move.

Our best finds of the day include an illustrated dictionary and concordance of the Bible, as well as Strong's Exhaustive Concordance with Greek and Hebrew dictionaries (yes, two concordances, but at $15 total for two massive hardbacks it was not to be passed up). Also a 1928 biography of Francois Villon (apparently worth $150, bought for $0.75 -- I love book sales), a lovely copy of Vanity Fair, Three Jacobean Tragedies, Maria Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent, Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde (Landmark Books edition), A Documentary History of the United States, Boswell's London Journal, Biblical Demonology, and many other treasures as well as the usual handful that will be read and re-donated to next year's sale.

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