This weekend, the Friends of the Webster Groves Library are holding their annual book fair. This year, it’s in donated shop space near Crestwood Plaza. Last year, we hit the fair at the Masonic Temple on bag day, so we had better luck this year. By “better luck,” I mean, “had less temptation to buy.” The crowded space impeded browsing–we couldn’t get a stroller in, so we had to take turns, and the tables were cluttered, other patrons got in the way, and boxes full of books languished under the tables. So it wasn’t easy going, and when it’s not easy, I get going.
Still, I managed to find a number of books:
Amid my 12 new books, I got:
- Several first edition Ed McBains, including Lightning and Lullaby to replace book club editions.
- An 1882 illustrated collection of Tennyson’s works (the big book on the bottom) for only $12!. That’s like a dime a year.
- An autographed collection of Sonnets of Eve written by a local author. Sonnets. Signed. Why not?
I would have gotten more had it not been crowded and sloppy. Who knows what harm I could do to the empty space on my to read shelves on bag day?
