Book Sales Are a Girl's Best Friend

This weekend, I went to the Memorial Library Book Sale with a group of friends. It's part of the Wisconsin Book Festival every year, and this was my first year attending. (Last year, when I was in the book business, I was required to work rather than go to it.)

This book sale is terribly exciting because on the last day, you get to fill up as many bags as you can carry, and each one is only $4 (though some friends were charged $5 for an extra-large bag - still a great deal). At an event like this, when all the good stuff has been picked over in previous days, you don't expect to find much that you've been meaning to read, but you do always find some little treasures that make you squee in delight. Following are some of mine.

Legends of the Ferengi by Quark, a.k.a. Ira Steven Behr 

I'm excited about this one because I'm a geek (obviously), but especially because Spousal Unit and I have been watching lots of Deep Space Nine lately. I tried to get him to watch Voyager, but to no avail, so I figured DS9 would be a better gateway drug option. The Ferengi have quickly become his new favorite species, and this book features all the Rules of Acquisition, including Rule 239: "Never be afraid to mislabel a product."

Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

For real now: this is one I've been wanting to read since I discovered it at A Room of One's Own. It comes highly recommended, and I've been very interested in fairy tales, myths, and folklore for quite some time now - especially because of my novel. I regard reading something like this as part of my research (though this definitely blurs the research/fun line). Now I have a nice hardcover copy of it.

Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I love the story behind this book of poetry: Robert Browning, Elizabeth's spousal unit, nicknamed her his "little Portuguese," hence the title of this book. They're not poems in translation - they're love poems. Her most famous poem (How do I love thee?) appears in this collection.

There were plenty more wonderful books I discovered, but seeing as I have to leave for work, they will wait. I hope you find some wonderful treasures of your own today.