I have blogged about my favorite day of the year before, but here's a summary. When I was a kid I used to go into bookstores and look at the sports section and history/biography section and pick out the books that I'd like to buy. On more than one occasion I would think that when I got older I would buy a bunch of books and spend $100 in one day. I did not know about inflation. I also thought about how cool it would be to actually write a book and I did publish, "Driving On The Sunny Side With 10,000 Strangers" this past October.
In 2001, at the age of 40, I found out about The Hunterdon County Book Sale and I absolutely loved it. I probably went home with 25-30 books and spent $30-$40. There were several years my kids went and at least one that I took my dad to this event. Between 2001 and 2017 I bought 25-40 books here each year except one.
Below is a picture of the large room filled with books, including the boxes and boxes of books under the tables. It is an extraordinary scene....for a reader. I want to thank The Friends of Hunterdon Library for their incredible event that has meant so much to me and thousands of other readers. I will be sending this blog to them.
In 2017 we planned on moving to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and my library of 800 books could not all go with me. It was difficult and painful to do, but I packed up over 500 books in boxes by subject and donated them back to the library. Below is the picture of what my vehicle looked like with 30-40 boxes of books.
This past Sunday morning I pulled up for half price Sunday at 9 am, an hour before the doors opened. The woman I parked next to thought it started at 9 am and she wanted to know where she could go so she wouldn't sit in the car. She had only been to the book sale once and I encouraged her to stand in line with me and we had a great conversation. She turned out to be Jewish, from Edison, and also an author and a writer. The third person to show up was from Edison and also an author. It was the most fun I've ever had in a line in my life.
Usually it would take me only thirty minutes to find the books I wanted, but on Sunday I took a whole hour and had a great time. Below is the picture of my 38 books which cost $39. I'll mention only four of the books, because of how unique they are:
1. The journals of Henry David Thoreau will be a more difficult read, but he was a very special individual. Of his most famous quotes has always been one of mine: "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
2. "Milton Berle's Private Joke File", is one of the largest books and who knows how much I'm going to laugh while reading it.
3. A biography on Thomas Edison is something I have never read before. Growing up in Edison, New Jersey, this will definitely be a fascinating read.
4. Last, but not least, I did buy four books on former President Donald Trump. One book is for Trump and two are definitely not and the fourth one is entitled, "The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump." I laughed when I read the title and I have to guess this is a tongue in cheek, analysis or samples of how he talks. It will be different to read for sure.
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