$25 and Thriftbooks or Why I Probably Should Seek Professional Help: Part 1

   We don't have enough space for our books.  We have bookcases where the books are stacked at least two deep to maximize space.  We have books in boxes under our bed.  There are more books in my four-year-olds room then in most houses.  Most the time I have a better selection of classic literature in my purse and my car than most bookstores.
   So, when I got $25 for my birthday, I pondered what to do with it.  Buy a new outfit?  Save for something in the future?  Nope.  For I had discovered thriftbooks, the home of cheap used books in good condition, where shipping is free for any order over $10.
   I received my first package from my order on Saturday, six days after I ordered them.  This package contained 3 of the six books I bought.
 

   For $4.12, I am able to continue my recent obsession with Elizabeth Gaskell.  This book is one of the three BBC miniseries my husband bought for me back in February.  Her last work, it is also incomplete.  She died before writing the final chapters, though her notes make it clear what the ending was suppose to be.  From what I have read, it is considered by many her finest work.

  Another $3.79 allows me to expand beyond Gaskell and explore more of Victorian literature by fascinating women.  Charlotte Bronte is, of course, best known for Jane Eyre, but that is not the only novel she wrote.  I read Shirley about 10 year ago.  And for some reason, I remember almost nothing about it.  So, I'm excited that I can come to it fresh.  Thriftbook is good about describing the condition of the used books you are purchasing.  While the other books I purchased are described as in "Good condition" or even "Excellent", this one was listed as only "Acceptable."  The pages of this edition are little wrinkled, as if it was in a damp place at one time.  However, I was able to buy it knowing what I was getting and I don't feel cheated. 

  This package contained one more book.  For $3.59 I found a collection of short stories by L. M. Montgomery I haven't read yet.  I read the Anne books in middle school, but Montgomery was become more interesting to me as I have matured.   On one hand, her books might be characterized as "gentle reads."  But that doesn't mean she shies away from the realities of life.  There is heart ache and grief in all of her books, but there is also a beauty.  And that beauty is often intrinsically tied to setting, in particular Prince Edward Island.  This collection of short stories are tied together by the sea.  I'm sure this will be the perfect book for our trip to the beach this summer.

   If you're doing your math, that's $11.50.  That means I still have $13.50 of books to come.