Have you gone on an out of town trip for a specialty used bookstore?
By Teresa W.
@horsesrule (1957)
United States
February 28, 2007 1:51am CST
So you collect books, perhaps like me, it's children's books, in particular horse fiction or horse series books like The Black Stallion, but really, any books that are about horses. I love them. Well, I heard about a used bookstore in San Diego California that specialized in children's books called The Prince and the Pauper. So I called them up and asked questions and ordered a few books. But I really really wanted to SEE the store live, in person, and I really wanted to see a used bookstore that was FULL of kids books ONLY! This was years ago before the internet became quite so common so my only real option was to take a trip to San Diego CA and see the bookstore. I had to do it! I love books, kids books, horse books[they had a WHOLE section full of HORSE books only!] and I drooled thinking about this used bookstore. So one day, after a lot of planning, a close friend and I drove to San Diego, CA. I am lucky, I live in California so it was only an 8 hour trip one way. That part was the pitts but once we got there, WOW! This used bookstore was everything that I had dreamed of. They even had a castle decoration that real children could go inside of! It was heaven. I spent hours and hours there just looking through books and dreaming and wishing that I could get everything that I wanted but alas, a specialty used bookstore prices their books more expensive than a general used bookstore because they know about things like print runs and how many copies were printed and sold almost exclusively to children's libraries and stuff like that. I learned A LOT there because they liked to talk and I am a listener. It was one of the most special experiences that I have ever had. I love it, my friend loved it and I came home with books that I never thought that I would ever see, let alone be able to afford! I spent a lot of money there that day but it was totally worth it just for the fun happy memories that it gave me. Would YOU ever take a trip JUST to go to a specialty USED Bookstore?
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2 responses
@melanie652 (2524)
• United States
28 Feb 07
I loved the Black Stallion series when I was a kid. Read them ALL at least 2 or 3 times. I still have many of them packed away in a box somewhere. I'd hoped at least one of our kids (we have 3) would share my love of horses, but it didn't happen. 2 of them are grown up and the 3rd is a freshman in college, so I don't think that's going to change? I've driven several hours to look at horses, that's my passion and what I'm most interested in. So I don't think you driving 8 hours to the bookstore is odd at all? Sounds like you had a really great time, lots of fun and expanded your book collection. :)
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@horsesrule (1957)
• United States
28 Feb 07
Oh yes indeedy, I did have a great time! And I did actually drive to see horses one time too. We visited Shelia Varian Arabians in Arroyo Grande CA. It was so wonderful. I must have taken a million pictures and they were so nice to us even though we were [I'm embarrassed to admit!] "just looking." I wanted one of everything there too! LOL.
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
28 Feb 07
Horsesrule, I saw a very, very good answer in a thread about reading awhile back (before you were on my friends's
list) and I think it might have been yours. The poster was mostly interested in children's books. I also collect children's books but I lean more toward the old Victorian picture books. I do occassionally collect some more modern though. Right now I'm trying to get a set of first printings ofthe Lemony Snickett books together. Unfortunately, I got a late start and I don't have the first two which will probably run an arm & a leg.
We have a very good children's specialty book store here in Haverford, Pennsylvania. About five or six years ago J K Rowling came to the little bookstore to sign Harry Potter books. The lines were so long that police from two towns had to come out to keep the children from getting into the street. It was the cutest thing you ever saw. There were hundreds of kids in line holding their little books with the parents standing off to the side. I thought it was very nice of her to hold that signing there when there were Borders & Barnes & Noble stores in the area.
Anyway, I also sell books and I've found that estate sales are the absolute best place to find the old children's books. Once I was at an estate auction in chester county where they had many valuable antiquarian books. On a porch on the side of the house were boxes full of old children's books from the 1940's-60s (You would have loved it, many were by Marquerite Henry). When we asked about them, the auctioneer said they were just junk and being thrown out. So we had a little side auction with the owner who was there and just gave her the money directly. I got some very good books that day. Most were still in DJ's and some were first printings. LOL
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