The Thrift Store Library
Woman in the Middle | September 27, 2015I came late to reading. When all the other kids had graduated to chapter books I still sought out the big pictures books with their beautiful, colorful drawings. Then, finally, the summer between my 3rd and 4th grade year I found real books, books with hundreds of pages, and a life long love affair began.
While the city I live in was much more rural when I was a child, we still had a library, small though it was. The big city next door had lots of libraries, including its biggest one just 15 minutes from our home. Yet, in spite of this, we never, and I mean never, went to the library. I have no idea why. My mother loved to read. My Dad did too, if it was the right book and he had some free time.
When reading finally kicked into high gear for me my mother began taking me to the local thrift stores. The one we went to the most was in a former bowling ally and was quite large. It was called Value Village. My mom enjoyed looking around Value Village. I remember one time she found herself a house coat that was brand new and still had the tags on it. I don’t remember looking at anything but the books.
I remember Value Village having lots of tall shelves filled with books. Mom would let me buy several of my favorite books – Nancy Drew mysteries. They always seemed to have quite a few there. Sometimes I would pick up something else, like a Happy Hollisters book, but Nancy Drew was my favorite.
I still love going to thrift stores for books. You may find this ironic, but our local library has a room where the Friends of the Library group sells used books. I go the library all the time, but rarely to check out books. I go to check out the Friends used book room. I can usually find a book or two and a couple of magazines. I just love it!
Same with the book section of my favorite thrift store over in the big city next door. I might cruise the aisles looking at everything, but I really love looking in the book section.
I did take my girls to the library when they were younger. We donate hundreds of books and magazines to our local library each year. But I guess I still love the excitement of hunting through the shelves of old books, looking for something that seems interesting. I will never lose my love of the thrift store library.
Recent Comments