My favorite way to buy books from through thrift stores and library and garage sales. One of the huge bonuses of this method of book acquisition is the low prices. I got a box full of books yesterday for less than ten dollars. (Insert victory cheer).
But even cooler than the fact that you can affordably buy in bulk second hand is the fact that you come across books that you would never find somewhere else. These books are usually some combination of the following: out of print, outdated, an older edition, or just plain awful. Unlike the teaming shelves of Barnes and Noble, you have no idea what you'll find when you walk into a Goodwill. When I find an interesting (not to be necessarily confused with good) book, I like to share.
But since I'm whimsical and easily bored, I'm going to play Trash or Treasure with my latest finds. Eventually, I want to hold a blog Trash or Treasure Tournament of Champions, where books that have been deemed Treasure battle to the death (or recycling bin). I'd love to hear your take on whether the book deserves a yay or nay! I'd also love to receive reader submissions of secondhand books for entirely subjective judgement as Trash or Treasure, so fire up your email!
Our first book was acquired at the local hospital. They sell used books, lined up on library carts, by the front entrance. I've never seen a hospital do this. If I were Queen of the World (and let's face it, I'm still holding out hope on that one) every hospital would.
Title: America's Ski Book: Revised Edition
Author: Editors of Ski Magazine
Date of Publication: 1973
Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons
SBN*: 684-13510-8
*I feel like a bad librarian for not knowing this, but I assume SBN was the precursor to the ISBN?
Pluses:
+ Cool pictures (to which my scans do not do justice).
+ It's heavy on old school skiing stories.
+ The information on technique and equipment is dated, which means this book has information that's harder to acquire today.
+ Although it's not in great shape, the book has its original dust jacket.
Minuses:
- The information is outdated, which would be a drawback if you actually wanted to use this book for its intended purpose.
- The book's a little musty.
Final verdict: Treasure!
A title like "America's Ski Book" is sooo garage sale. I'd say an emphatic "TRASH", but I guess I do like the idea of antiquated skiing techniques. Skiing fashions of the 70's are pretty badass, too.
ReplyDeleteI always prefer to buy used books, but when I buy something from Amazon marketplace, I look in particular for books that are specified by the seller to be former library copies. I love the stamps on the back cover of a well-traveled library book, all musty and stinky haha
Oh, I definitely prefer former library copies too. Mostly for the covers, and also for the stamps. I'm crazy allergic to mold and all that fun stuff, so sometime that's a deterrent.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Ski Book is so not trash. It's classic! And I really didn't capture how cool all the photos are. There's this one of all these little kids lined up, sans helmets, basically looking like they've got their shoes strapped to planks. Wild.