The New, the Old, and the Overdue

I have this shameful habit of continuously keeping my books past their appointed due date. I know, a terrible thing for a librarian to have to admit to. Under most circumstances, this would be a bad thing, but for once, having an overdue book worked out for the greater good.

"How, pray tell, could you say such a thing?", you're most likely wondering, "How on earth could an overdue book be for the greater good?"

Well, I shall tell you.

Upon making an unplanned stop at the library yesterday afternoon, I opened the door to discover that they were having their semi-annual book sale. My library hosts it (good chance to sell off their old, infrequently looked at goods), and they allow other libraries and individuals to donate their books to the cause as well. One never knows what may be found in these sales; being the book lover that I am, I naturally had to stop and paw through the piles.

The first thing I noticed, I grabbed immediately. It was a 1965, 5th edition Leslie 20,000 Words book. I do so enjoy learning new words! That one, I decided, definitely had to come home with me- especially since it was only going to cost a dollar. Shortly after that find, an announcement was made: in 10 minutes, the book sale would be shutting down and people could then grab a paper sack, fill it as full as they desired, and purchase the contents for a mere $2. Oh yes, I was in. I was so very in!

Grabbing my sack (after having a delightful chat with a lady who turned out to be a portrait artist), I began to rummage through the piles with much less discernment than I'd previously used. This resulted in my collecting five additional books to take home. My final collection ended as follows:

1. 1965, Leslie 5th Edition 20,000 Words
2. 1946, The Modern Omnibus, by Rolfe Davenport & Bowerman
3. 1930, Harvard Classics Reading Guide
4. 1976, Think Mink! by Mary Crowley
5. 2012, Discovery, by David Jeremiah
6. A very old looking pocket-size copy of The Four Gospels of the Bible (Can't find a publication date on it, but it says "The American Bible Society, Instituted in the Year 1816" inside)

Needless to say, I walked out quite happy. Not only for all my new old books, but also because I didn't have to pay an overdue fine. Oh, library life is sweet!