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12/29/2004: "Books - The Consuming Passion"

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, "Where do you get your books?" After many years of experience, and many different answers ("Everywhere" was a favorite response) I usually respond with, "Where don't I?" You name the place, chances are I've been there.

A lot of my books come in with customers. Like many bookshops, I have a generous trade-in policy (see my 'Products' link on the website) so people bring me their old books. That's also satisfying for the customer, because they are able to get their heart's desire for a discount!

One of my favorite comparisons to bookhunting is that it's like a perpetual treasure hunt. I've frequently used a metal detector for "coinshooting" as the term is, sweeping across a field or a plain of sand looking for coins or other treasures. With books, the process is much the same: sweep your eyes across shelves and boxes, waiting for the treasures to jump out at you. But unlike coinshooting, where the coin is detected automatically, you have to do the work yourself; you must know what consitutes a treasure. So, a lot of study is required, which only heightens the anticipation.

The danger about books, though, is that once you start looking for books--or even just keeping your eyes open--you can't stop. Just today, for example, I was pawing through a junk shop and spotted a First Edition of _Make Room! Make Room!_ by Harry Harrison, which later became the Charlton Heston movie, Soylent Green. Snapped that up right quick. And later, in a box of junk, was a signed copy of Bill Owens' famous book, _Suburbia_. It quite made my day.

And then there's the moments of just plain dumb luck. I'll never forget the day I came to work and found a box of donations sitting at my front door: 99% junk, but at the bottom of the box, a First American Edition of George Orwell's _Animal Farm_! For every pile of quartz, there may be a diamond in the rough.

Happy Hunting!