Friday, October 3, 2014

Red Cross Book Fair: Another Year, Another Book Bananza

I have been waiting impatiently for this year's Red Cross Book Sale--waiting since October  2013. Waiting and wondering what kind of buried book treasure would be found on the rows and rows of tables at the Monroe County Fairgrounds. My wild, book-buying abandon has also been attracting the attention of my Facebook friends and co-workers. A bit of wagering can be had--the question being not "Will Bev buy books" but "How many will she bring home?"  It's been my practice of the last several years to take a personal day and head to the book sale bright and early Friday morning. This year, my co-workers made Bev's Book-Binge the mixer topic for the
staff meeting that I had opted to miss. Kristal is currently the closest with her guess of 42 books--but the overall winner based on Day 1 is Heather out on Facebook with a guess of 38. My first day's haul? Thirty seven books (counting one book on CD), two music CDs, and 2 DVDs. The only question now is whether I will make another trip and add to that total.

Here are my Friday Finds

Mysteries: 
The Crime of the Century by Kingsley Amis
The Mammoth Book of Historical Crime Fiction by Mike Ashley, ed
The Avenging Parrot by Anne Austin (1st edition)
Line Up for Murder by Marion Babson (paperback)
Swing Low Sweet Harriet by George Baxt (paperback) 
The Sound of Murder by John & Emery Bonett
Murder Is Academic by P. M. Carlson (paperback)
Deadly Hall by John Dickson Carr (paperback)
Bedelia by Vera Caspary (reprint)
One of Us Must Die by Anna Clarke (paperback)
Sleight of Crime by Cedric E.Clute, Jr. & Nicholas Lewin (eds)
Eye Witness by George Harmon Coxe (2nd Edition hardback)
The Baron & the Missing Old Masters by John Creasey (paperback)
Death of a Hoosier Schoolmaster by Marlis Day (paperback)
Wings of Fear by Mignon Eberhart (WWII Armed Services Edition)
An Omnibus of Continental Mysteries Part II by Arno Eckberg (ed) (1st edition, dustjacket)
He Didn't Mind Danger by Michael Gilbert (paperback)
The Man from the Sea by Michael Innes (paperback)
Whodunit? A Guide to Crime, Suspense & Spy Fiction by H. R. F. Keating, ed (dustjacket)
The Diamond-Studded Typewriter by Carlton Keith (1st Edition, dustjacket)
Mother Finds a Body by Gypsy Rose Lee (Tower Books hardback; dustjacket) 
Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely (paperback) 
The Cannibal Who Overate by Hugh Pentecost (paperback)
MWA Presents: Murder by Experts by Ellery Queen, ed (1st edition)
The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L Sayers & Robert Eustace (9th Printing, Victor Gollancz hardback, dustjacket)
Black Aura by John Sladek (paperback) 
The Final Deduction by Rex Stout (book on CD)
A Question of Identity by June Thomson (paperback) 
The New Shoe by Arthur W. Upfield (paperback)
The Sands of Windee by Arthur W. Upfield (paperback) 
Sinister Stones by Arthur W. Upfield (paperback)
The Battling Prophet by Arthur W. Upfield (paperback)
Always Lock Your Bedroom Door by Roy Winsor (paperback)
The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sebastian Wolfe, ed.

 Non-Mysteries
Classic Ghost Stories by Charles Dickens & others (paperback)
She by H. Rider Haggard 
The Pocket Book of Popular Verse by Ted Malone, ed (1st edition WWII Pocket edition)

Now...we just have to see if I decide to go back to the tables for another round....




6 comments:

TracyK said...

Looks like a great list and a great sale. The one on there I would have liked to find was The Cannibal Who Overate by Hugh Pentecost. I just went to a large sale and bought at least 100 books. I haven't counted and I don't intend to. How did you stop at just 37?

Robin M said...

Wow, lots of neat books. What a great haul!

Bev Hankins said...

Tracy: I didn't...I went back for more today. :-)

But...truth is, while there are tables and tables of books and even more tables than usual of mysteries this year, the books leaned heavily towards modern mysteries (think Janet Evanovich [ick]) and thrillers than the kind of books I look for. I like my mysteries with a little more age on them. There have been years when I did much better.

Jacquie said...

Is there anything more fun than these types of sales? I always tell myself I won't buy more than I can carry. But then you can stuff a lot in two shopping bags. :) Great finds! Your tastes so closely match my own that I follow your reviews carefully. Thanks for sharing! Wish I could read as quickly as you do.

Bev Hankins said...

Jacqueline: I love these sales. There isn't anything as much fun as browsing the tables (or shelves in a used bookstore) and pouncing (literally--that's what I do) on a book that you've been looking for for ages. That's why e-books don't excite me and I don't shop much on line. There's no thrill of the hunt....

neer said...

Lucky you. The only one I have read of this haul is One of Us Must Die.