Books
Well, there are a few postings that I love/have to do each
year..and the annual Friends of St. Mary’s Libraries Book Sale is one of
them. Each year, books are collected and
boxed up and stored in the back end of the Leonardtown Library. With that library being a political football
at present, who knows what the next year will bring, but that’s not the purpose
of this column. I don’t have a dog in
the fight so to speak other than I really think we need a new library.
Anyway, the process is the same year to year, on the weekend
before the actual sale, people bring their hauling vehicles to the back end of
the library and get them filled with boxes of books, as MFO and the MOMSTER are
doing
Then, you drive over to the St. Mary’s County Fairgrounds to
the appropriate building (Fiction, Non – Fiction, Children’s) and they get
unloaded. When the books are donated,
they are sorted into categories and indicated on the outside of the box as to
the big three, and then also what grouping is inside, such as Military History,
Self Help (always an interesting category), Cooking, Gardening, etc., etc..
Then, the boxes are unloaded an the contents are stacked on
tables according to subject
And eventually straightened up and noted – Oh! Looky here!
Wonder how I got to this table
Generally the cookbooks are what you would expect, but
occasionally you run into some interesting finds. In the “local interest” section there are always lots of
those comb bound “Church Lady” cookbooks,
There is also a building called “Rare and Unusual” which
contains some unique books of all sorts.
Coffee table books, older stuff, signed copies, stuff like that. Those books are “specially priced” (even then,
ten bucks would be a lot). The “regular” books sell for two bucks for a hardback
(and some are like new); one buck for “trade paperbacks”, those sort of grown
up paperbacks; and a mere fifty cents for us older folks would call a real “paperback”.
Besides the books there are some videos, a fair amount of
puzzles, CD’s, and something called “records” always show up
With various titles
something for every taste
There are thousands (yes) of things there, and like a food
buffet you can spend time looking for that hidden little gem, or maybe some
book that triggers a memory from your past, or just titles that sort of grab
you. For instance, I found a little book
on (go figure) the cooking table entitled: “Salt”.
Hours are Friday (the Yikes! 13th) noon – six,
which is only for members of the “Friends” ~ which you can join on the spot for a
mere fifteen buck (I think it’s still that), with the rest of the days free. Saturday
is (with a nod to Dolly) 9 to 5, and wrapping up Sunday from noon to three. All
the proceeds from the sale are divvied up amongst the county libraries. Great stuff.
Friday is almost worth the price of admission as that is
when the “dealers” show up with their tubs and boxes, and use their little hand
held scanning devices to look for something valuable. Our book sale apparently has a very good reputation
as dealers from all over the east coast attend, and generally tell us that it
is one of the best shows the visit. I presume that
sort of refers to variety, value, and condition. I would add that the volunteers (like me) are
very helpful and friendly. And over the
years, the dealers have become a little more decent and don’t elbow senior
citizens out of the way to get that little book .....over there!
Anyway, if you have some time come on over. It is always a great experience. I will be at my usual station at the check
out table in the Non Fiction building.
Did I mention that the
table is very close
to the cooking section?
And what makes this run is all the volunteers that show up
to lift the boxes, organize the tables, keep them neat during the sale. Takes a lot of people helping
Egg Rolls: no more!
Way back in the 70’s and 80’s when I used to come out to “Pax”
for various test programs, I normally stayed at the Belvedere in “downtown” Lexington Park, and would sometimes eat at the Peking Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant that I guess had been there since China
was a pup. I remember it used to have
those fancy lamps that hung down with red tassels, bamboo screens, and a lot of
traditional Chinese décor. I don’t think
I’ve been in there for decades. Any hankering
for Chinese food can now be satisfied by any number of the “new” places around
here. A source told me the other day
that Peking will be shuttering. Another empty hole in “The Park” which can sorely stand a lot of that. Anyway, memories of that and the “old” Roost
fade away. Too bad, sort of.
Chopin!
Tomorrow, Thursday the 12th, Brian Ganz will be holding
another Piano Talk in St. Mary’s Hall down at the college near Historic St.
Mary’s City. I don’t need to tell you
again what a wonderful experience it is listening to Brian both talk about and
play the music. I’ve probably mentioned
that Brian is on a decade long project to play every piece of music written by
Chopin. They are usually an hour, but
this one may be two hours, and starts at noon.
He will be playing some pieces that he has not performed before. It is amazingly free (he can sell out
Swarthmore in a heartbeat). Definitely worthwhile,
and the Feeder is planning on attending (as evidence what a great event it is).
And given the hour, I guess you really don’t have to
DFD
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