Back at the Library

I hadn't been at the Library in three weeks. Online sales seemed to have dried up while I was out, so I arrived early, anxious to get started. Stacy, another volunteer who was working the earlier shift, said that a couple of kids with a scanner came in, scanned just about all of the books and bought 13. She thought they were just college kids trying to make an extra buck, but it seems a bit more ominous to me.

I opened a box and there was a copy of A Thousand Splendid Suns, the new book by the author of The Kite Runner. I was all set to buy it, but Amazon suggested it would go for 10 or 12 bucks. I listed it for $11. It sold before I left that night.

Between my second and third boxes of books, I saw a trade paperback copy of Norman Mailer's last book on the Classics shelf. One dollar. OK - that one is mine.

Anyone working retail (as opposed to owning a retail business) will tell you there are times when the customers just interrupt you. That happened all night. For a total of $10, but our director keeps saying that every bit helps. As I suspected, it has definitely picked up since Chicago finally thawed out.

Anyway, I went through four boxes of donations and listed about a dozen books. Productive night, I'd say.

Edit: Ha! Two books sold before I had even left the Library last night. The second was a cookbook. Low Carb for the Slow Cooker - if you can believe that!