The Friends of the Oak Park Public Library sponsored the used book sale this weekend. I so dearly love this event. The Village of Oak Park has three libraries, and this is their big fundraiser. Beginning right after the July 4th weekend, Oak Parkers start going through their bookshelves, deciding what to part with. It seems like the whole town gets involved, which gives the sale a unique personality and makes it a joy. There are so many people, and so many books, that it's held not at the library but at the cavernous OPRF high school.
Today is free, but last night … that was the event! Admission was $5, the doors open at 6:00. I got there at about 5:30 and the line was already around the block. I saw people with bags (I brought a sturdy oversized green plastic bag from The Body Shop), people with wagons, people with carts, empty suitcases, childless strollers and even one catless cat carrier. We were all ready to go in and scoop up some treasures. Hardcovers are $1, paperbacks 50¢. (I've often wondered if they would make more if they charged us by the pound, but the Friends have been hosting this for 35 years now, so I guess they know what they're doing.)
I made a deal with myself: I donated a bag of books, so I was limited to purchasing a bag of books. I headed straight for the mystery table and grabbed myself a Robert Parker hardcover I somehow missed and a terrific old Nero Wolfe paperbook with its original, lurid vintage cover. Then I perused the rest of the room. This fascinates me. You can tell which books were in vogue, but aren't anymore, by all the copies that have been donated.
John Grisham is always big at this sale, but he shouldn't feel bad. He should be proud. Year after year there are tons of Grisham paperbacks for sale. I believe every man, woman and child in the western suburbs must buy at least one Grisham each year. Besides, for the most part, Grisham is not really a writer you re-read. Once you know "whodunit," you know, and what's the point of going over the story again?
To the gals who wrote The Nanny Diaries, though: Sorry. Tons of copies of that book, in hard cover, were turned in. In theory, that's one that could be read again and again. I'm afraid your time is done, and your movie hasn't even come out yet.
Every year there's one like that. If not a single title that the public is just done with, then a topic. One year it was Princess Diana. About two or three years after her tragic death, it seems like the mourning ended and those big coffee table books about her clothes, her reign, her wedding and her funeral just weren't worth hanging onto. They could have filled an entire table that year, just with Diana. I don't know if that's sad, or just the way it is. Life goes on.
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