Posted by Early in the morning I set out some free books by the street (in a variety of genres) and had the pleasure of seeing neighbors take some. One neighbor said she was going to do the same thing down at her end of the street. Throughout the day I ended up finding more books I could part with and set them out.
Later I saw on Nextdoor.com a woman was looking for plain cotton fabric for face masks and I had some I thought would be perfect. I put it out in a bag for her and she picked it up within an hour.
And quite a few generous folks came by to drop off donations of food and toilet paper. Next week I will be bringing these to some vulnerable folks who live nearby.
Oddly it felt a bit like Grand Central Station at our house with more people than usual coming and going! An interesting day of giving and receiving.
I’ll be honest I did look up some of the books before I set them out in the free pile. But most, for me, just aren’t worth trying to resell. I can’t compete with folks on Amazon and other platforms. The few books I sell nowadays (25-30 a year) are usually in the rarer, quirkier category.
Here’s one of my more valuable ones right now: “In Henry’s Backyard: The Races of Mankind.” It’s a 1948 picture book with a serious message about racism geared towards elementary-age kids. On Amazon, the prices range from $65 to $250 depending on condition.
This 1941 health/medical book was from my grandmother’s estate. It talks about sex, pregnancy, childbirth and babies. Some of the info is hilariously dated and condescending.
I thought this 1928 “Three Boy Scouts in Africa” book seemed quite unique (I mean, Boy Scouts shooting game in Africa!) and is complete with photos.
This 1962 “The Pleasures of Italian Cooking” cookbook by celebrity chef Romeo Salta is a signed and inscribed one. (He died in 1998 at the age of 93.)
I ended the day feeling upbeat. Which was nice.
Day 40 done.
Hunting for Vintage 