Saturday at the Library

My family and I went out today to the local library for a used book sale. We piled into the minivan and drove down to the sale, where -- according to plan -- we split up into two groups: my wife went to the sale room, purse in hand, while the three girls and I headed off to the children's section of the library.

My oldest daughter now picks out her own books; my middle daughter suggests topics of interest, such as animals or Amelia Bedelia, and I find the relevant books for her; my youngest is pleased just to hold any book of her own. Our selections included Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, My Little Sister, and Pippo Gets Lost (you're on your own in any attempts to guess who got which).

My wife picked up a few paperbacks at the sale, some of which she had already read but felt she would re-read with great enjoyment. And, after all, they were inexpensive... and all proceeds go to support the library.

After this part of the trip, we swtiched roles so that I could check out the sale... and when I write "switched roles," I mean that I took the two older girls to the sale with me and my wife took the baby into the check-out line with her. I picked up The Fellowship of the Ring, which I last re-read before the movie came out and figure I will read again (and it was only fifty cents) and L.A. Confidential, having never read it nor seen the movie. ALso grabbed three old issues of National Geographic which had stories and pictures of Israel and a great map of the Grand Canyon.

Upon our return home, my wife pointed out that we got much better deals than we could have on, say, eBay. Sure, you could bbuy a book for four bits online, but it would cost $4 shipping sand handling to get it in your hands. Plus, we were forced to interact with other humans in person, support our local library, and spend time sharing our love for books with our children. All told, a very nice morning.