Cheapskate Book Bling!

For all you fellow bibliophiles out there, just a reminder NOT to overlook the used book angle. Here it is, the miserable dog days of Summer, which - if you can stand to drag your sweaty butt out from in front of the A/C - is the best time of the year for scoring awesome reads on the cheap.

Yeah, I'm a real tightwad [part necessity and part cheapskate DNA].

It breaks my heart to pay F.U.L.L.P.R.I.C.E. for ANYTHING ... okay, except for food and underwear maybe lol.

On the plus side, I have been known to go into full body spasms of miserly delight when I can reallllllllllllllllly stretch a buck and strike some killer buys.

Well, with that said - July really blew me away! Even though I didn't go to a ton of yard sales or book stores, those I did chance upon were the Mother Lode of book treasure. I've got to make a list and take some pics to post on this thing, lazy and haphazard as my blogging tends to be.

Ah, well.

Anyhoo, let me be the first to say that August has started off on the right page ... I mean FOOT. No lie.

After picking up my meds today, we made a quick stop in at the Salvation Army store. Usually I don't find much. However.

Today I found:
Gossip Girl: You Know You Love Me
Gossip Girl: All I Want is Everything
Gossip Girl: Would I Lie to You
Gossip Girl: Because I'm Worth It
Gossip Girl: You're the One That I Want
Gossip Girl: Only in Your Dreams
(all in practically brand new condition for only TWENTY FIVE CENTS EACH!)
Woot!
and -
Incantation by Alice Hoffman (also like new for .25)
Closed for the Season by Mary Hahn (ditto) (not heard of this before, but the cover is creepalicious)
and finally, another one that looked cute -
Confessions of a Teen Nanny by Victoria Ashton (hard cover .50c)

I dunno, they must have had a sale going or something and my timing was right, but now I have another stack of goodies to add to my burgeoning pile of upcoming winter reading material. Illinois winters blow chow, in case you didn't know :P

So again, while we all love buying books, and especially WINNING books, don't forget to check out your local yard sales, thrift shops and such.

For peeps like me, who don't have much cash to start with, and are typically behind on the ten thousand new books constantly coming out, buying used is a great way to catch up on some of the older titles you've yet to buy or win.

Heck, I just found a hardcover copy of Hunger Games a couple of weeks ago - like new condition and for only .50.

And as an aside, if you can, I really recommend rummages, church sales and thrift stores over the *standard* used book stores - not that I don't LOVE them, in fact, I could LIVE in one - but, at least around here, our used book stores are pretty pricey.

Whatever. Hope you guys can score some majorly good deals, too~ :D

Saturday Book Brag!

Ah, the Gods of Awesome-Books-From-Rummage-Sales trice blessed me today!
Left to right:

TRULY, MADLY by Heather Webber (VERY good condition!), Lucy Valentine has the powers of Cupid - at least according to family legend. But did her powers to read couple's auras and perfectly match them up get ZAPPED by an electrical surge? Because now her gift seems to lay in finding objects - including a missing wedding ring on a dead body!

WOLFSBANE and MISTLETOE (hb), an anthology of hair-raising holiday tales. Includes authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur and Carrie Vaughn! This one made my day, in mint condition no less.

PRIDE and PREJUDICE by Jane Austin, Penguin Classics edition, very good but read condition. Okay, [looks nervously around] ... I have to admit my shameful little secret ... I have NEVER read ... ahem ... er ... ah ... ANY Jane Austin!
BUT, before you tar & feather this worthless heathen of a bibliophile, now I can join the ranks of those better read than I. OR soon anyway. Pretty soon. At least right after I get finished with Dust. Sorry, but even zombies beat out the classics right now. Maybe it's just the menopause talking?

AND here is my *tacky* cost brag [Okay, so I love being thrifty! lol] ...
Even though I purchased these babies at three separate yard sales, EACH book only cost .25c!!!

Yeppers, for 6 bits I added another week's worth of fun reading to my winter pile.
See, here in Illinois winter can be quite the show-stopper. We're talking bitter cold & snow that last foooooooooorrrreverrrrrrrrrrrr. Ugh.

So in my estimation, winter is the perfect time to read & write. And maybe toss a pot of cheesy/chive potato soup on the stove, add a crispy, buttery loaf of home baked bread [no bread machine here, gals - strictly a knead-your-own kinda baker!], plus some bubble bath indulgence, followed by a steaming mug of amaretto hot cocoa whilst shoving my winter-sinus-stuffy nose deep inside the pages of paranormal plots.

How do YOU prepare for winter in your neck of the woods? ;D