Surfing the Book Sale

By Chanah Liora Wizenberg

The Wake County Public Libraries Annual Book Sale was the first weekend in May—a bibliophile’s dream! As I entered the Expo Center at the Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C., where the sale was being held, I gasped.

A sea of books was spread before me. There were tables and tables of books set in rows the length of the enormous room. The scent of freshly popped buttered popcorn and hot dogs permeated the air. For a split second my mouth watered and my stomach grumbled. My eyes darted to the source. No, no, I am not here to eat. Book finding treasures is the order of this day.

Above each row was a sign depicting what I would find: Business, uh no. General Fiction, maybe. Mystery, hmm. Science Fiction, BINGO, going there first! I was actually on my way to Reference but of course got side tracked.

As I threaded my way through the oceans of people scarfing up the books in the Youth section, I couldn’t help but notice the number of people who had boxes with them. I thought Sunday was box day.On Sunday you can get boxes stuffed with as many books as you can fit for three bucks. Today the price for hard covers is four dollars, paperbacks are two dollars, and for “non-print” items (CDs, audio books, and DVDs) some are two bucks, others a buck.

Those who weren’t using boxes for their loot had brought rolling suitcases. (You were allowed to use the emptied boxes that the staff had used to put out the books). I hoped they were sturdy boxes!

Using boxes and rolling cases was a good idea because it turned out today’s sale was “Buy one, get one.” Oh, I wish I had brought a bigger bag. I had come armed with only a medium-sized cloth bag. Once filled, that was it for me.

I needed rules for shopping. Rule one: anything I could check out from the library was a no-no. Rule two: a book had to be something I would re-read in order to buy it. My rules were strict. They had to be, otherwise I would walk out of there with bags, boxes, and suitcases of books and no money left for food, gas for the car or funds for any other monthly bills.

There were so many treasures! But I held strong to my rules, as I rather like to eat and get to the places I need to go.

I found two books by Michael Crichton that I wanted from the Science Fiction section. Sadly, they did not pass my criteria for the library rule. Sigh. I put them back. I did find an Ayn Rand book, Anthem, that included an introduction by her heir, Leonard Peikoff, and was the original British edition complete with editorial notes and revisions at the back of the book. I kept that. I’m curious to find out what was so controversial about Ayn Rand. There was a book, Rook, by Daniel O’Malley. A review, “A Creative Mix of suspense, the supernatural, and espionage thrills…” by Christian DuChateau of CNN.com. My kind of book! Oh, I couldn’t pass up Legends II, Dragon Sword and King (short stories by Terry Brooks, George R.R. Martin, Diana Gabaldon, Orson Scott Card and Elizabeth Haydon).

The Reference table forgotten, I came upon the Arts and Crafts table. It held an eclectic mix of everything from knitting to cookbooks. I did allow myself one cookbook because it’s entirely on microwave cooking, the only kind of cooking I can do right now due to an outdated, non-working stove.

Perusing the table further, I discovered some books on art, Degas, Picasso, and one about a woman who got to go inside the art world! Lucky woman. She traveled the world learning all about the ins and outs of how the auctions work at Christie’s and about several other intriguing behind-the-scenes art adventures. The book is Seven Days in the Art World, by Sarah Thorton. Hmm, ideas forming…

When I reached the end of the Arts and Crafts table, I looked up and, low and behold, there was the Reference table on the other side! I had forgotten I wanted to go there to find an interesting book on writing.

This table held all kinds of reference books. I found an old copy of Reader’s Digest, American Folklore and Legend: The Saga of Our Heroes and Heroines, Our Braggers, Boosters and Bad Men, Our Beliefs and Superstitions, and it still had the postcard inside to subscribe to the book series! Cool. I grabbed that one. I also found Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving, by Jonathan G. Kooney, Ph.D. The title sounded intriguing. I flipped it open and it fell on a page about Sherlock Holmes. Fanning through the pages and seeing some of the chapter headings (“Be a Detective,” “Tell a Good Story,” Show Your Stuff,” “Be Prepared,” “Information, Intention, Action”), the cogs in my brain started up. Ideas, ideas!

Oh yeah, I did find that book on writing, Unless It Moves the Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing, by Roger Rosenblatt. He wrote for the Times and PBS and won two Polk Awards, a Peabody, and an Emmy, to name only a few of his accomplishments. More ideas are forming.

It was time to check out my loot. I found a corner and plopped down on the floor. I carefully took out each book from my bag to make sure I did indeed want it and that it passed rules one and two. I had to be sure I had not gone over my budget. Well, not too far over budget. Five bucks over was okay. As I looked over my books, the ideas that had come to me while searching through the various sections of the book sale came floating back to me.

Who would have thought that the Wake County Book Sale would be a great place for generating article and story ideas, especially in the Arts and Craft and Reference sections of the sale?

I could tell you my ideas, but then I would have to kill you.

I can tell you how to go about getting your ideas at book sales, bookstores, and antique or thrift stores. The list of places to get ideas is endless. At the Wake County Book Sale, I got a lot of ideas while perusing the various sections.

In the Arts and Craft section there were a myriad of topics: knitting, working with clay, all kinds of art books, books on artists, and getting started with… you fill in the blank and they had it. Now ask yourself some questions. (Getting ideas is all about being curious, so be curious). Here is one question you can ask, “How do people get started with their art?”

I just read a whole magazine that addressed this in its current issue. It featured page after page of interesting interviews about how various successful artists got started. Now ask yourself, “Who do I know who does art?” “Is this what they do or is it a hobby?” “Where do they do it?” “Who helped them along their way?” From here, let your questions flow and write them down. “What magazines like to showcase local talent?” Voila! You are on your way to some interesting interviews. A good way to start.

Another way is to ask what the story is behind something. “What drove the author of Seven Days in the Art World to write that book?” I do love a good backstory and I am not the only one. Hint, hint. See what I did there?

Now go to it. Hit a book sale, a yard sale, or an antique or estate sale. Talk to people, be curious, ask questions, and have fun!