Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale
This past weekend was the annual Bryn Mawr-Wellesley Book Sale at Princeton Day School in New Jersey. The sale this year runs from March 16-20 and the proceeds go to benefit a college scholarship fund for local women.
I was lucky enough to be able to make it to the sale for the first time this year. I was there Saturday morning, which was the second day of the event.
This sale is huge! There are four rooms filled with books, and they have something for literally everyone: fiction, history, biography, foreign language, reference, economics, politics, philosophy, photography, poetry, plays, religion, science, travel, mystery, psychology, children's, hobbies, sci-fi, sports, sheet music, DVDs and books on tape (CDs). They even have a special room just for collectible and rare books.
All nonfiction was separated by topic. Hardcover fiction was sorted alphabetically by author. Paperback fiction didn't seem to be in any particular order from what I could tell.
All the books other than collectible/rare were priced between one to three dollars, so you don't really have to be too picky with what you're choosing.
There is table after table of books, which can get a little overwhelming, but thankfully it wasn't overly crowded when I was there. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, which is probably the best strategy to have. There is not any way to know ahead of time exactly what they will have, so if you go in search of a particular title, you might end up disappointed.
Most of the books seemed to be in surprisingly good condition. I admit that, for a used book sale, my hopes were not super high. I'd say the majority of books would be classified as gently used, with several appearing to be brand new. Of course, there were some that were pretty beat up - dog eared, notes in the margins, etc. - but when you're only paying $2 for a book, there's not really too much reason to complain about that.
These excellent prices gave me the leeway to go a little crazy. Here's what I walked away with (please don't judge me):
Mesdemoiselles de la Vengeance - Florence Thinard (French language)
Sex and the City - Candace Bushnell
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Moneyball - Michael Lewis
A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman
A Garden of Earthly Delights - Joyce Carol Oates
Beowulf - Seamus Heaney translation
Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky
The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Michael Chabon
New York - Edward Rutherfurd
Freakonomics - Stephen Dubner & Steven Levitt
The Big Short - Michael Lewis
The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
Beasts of No Nation - Uzodinma Iweala
A Year In The Merde - Stephen Clarke
Little Pretty Things - Lori Rader-Day (ARC copy)
The Expats - Chris Pavone
Cork Dork - Bianca Bosker
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Infinite Home - Kathleen Alcott
The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer
The Paris Wife - Paula McLain
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Gomorrah - Roberto Saviano (Italian language)
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas (French language)
Wild - Cheryl Strayed
Boardwalk Empire - Nelson Johnson
An Italian In Italy - Beppe Severgnini (Italian language)
In The Garden of Beasts - Erik Larson
The Complete Stories - Flannery O'Connor
Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis
A Mix Up In Heaven - Guillaume Musso (Italian language)
The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee
The Mortifications - Derek Palacio
So I may have gone slightly overboard, but overall I'm really pleased with what I came home with. I picked up a few books to give as gifts, some classics I should have already read but sadly haven't, and some newer releases that I've been wanting to read. I think my best finds were the foreign language books. These books are usually priced on the very high end of the spectrum because they have to be imported. It's nearly unheard of to find a new/like new book in French or Italian in the United States for less than $15.
Overall I think this was a fantastic event! I really had a great time - I'd say my mood was nearly euphoric as I was shoving as many books as I could fit into my tote bag. The sale is still going on the rest of the day today and tomorrow, so don't miss your chance to attend this event and support a great cause!
I was lucky enough to be able to make it to the sale for the first time this year. I was there Saturday morning, which was the second day of the event.
This sale is huge! There are four rooms filled with books, and they have something for literally everyone: fiction, history, biography, foreign language, reference, economics, politics, philosophy, photography, poetry, plays, religion, science, travel, mystery, psychology, children's, hobbies, sci-fi, sports, sheet music, DVDs and books on tape (CDs). They even have a special room just for collectible and rare books.
All nonfiction was separated by topic. Hardcover fiction was sorted alphabetically by author. Paperback fiction didn't seem to be in any particular order from what I could tell.
All the books other than collectible/rare were priced between one to three dollars, so you don't really have to be too picky with what you're choosing.
There is table after table of books, which can get a little overwhelming, but thankfully it wasn't overly crowded when I was there. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, which is probably the best strategy to have. There is not any way to know ahead of time exactly what they will have, so if you go in search of a particular title, you might end up disappointed.
Most of the books seemed to be in surprisingly good condition. I admit that, for a used book sale, my hopes were not super high. I'd say the majority of books would be classified as gently used, with several appearing to be brand new. Of course, there were some that were pretty beat up - dog eared, notes in the margins, etc. - but when you're only paying $2 for a book, there's not really too much reason to complain about that.
These excellent prices gave me the leeway to go a little crazy. Here's what I walked away with (please don't judge me):
Mesdemoiselles de la Vengeance - Florence Thinard (French language)
Sex and the City - Candace Bushnell
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Moneyball - Michael Lewis
A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman
A Garden of Earthly Delights - Joyce Carol Oates
Beowulf - Seamus Heaney translation
Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky
The Yiddish Policeman's Union - Michael Chabon
New York - Edward Rutherfurd
Freakonomics - Stephen Dubner & Steven Levitt
The Big Short - Michael Lewis
The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
Beasts of No Nation - Uzodinma Iweala
A Year In The Merde - Stephen Clarke
Little Pretty Things - Lori Rader-Day (ARC copy)
The Expats - Chris Pavone
Cork Dork - Bianca Bosker
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Infinite Home - Kathleen Alcott
The Interestings - Meg Wolitzer
The Paris Wife - Paula McLain
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Gomorrah - Roberto Saviano (Italian language)
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas (French language)
Wild - Cheryl Strayed
Boardwalk Empire - Nelson Johnson
An Italian In Italy - Beppe Severgnini (Italian language)
In The Garden of Beasts - Erik Larson
The Complete Stories - Flannery O'Connor
Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis
A Mix Up In Heaven - Guillaume Musso (Italian language)
The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee
The Mortifications - Derek Palacio
So I may have gone slightly overboard, but overall I'm really pleased with what I came home with. I picked up a few books to give as gifts, some classics I should have already read but sadly haven't, and some newer releases that I've been wanting to read. I think my best finds were the foreign language books. These books are usually priced on the very high end of the spectrum because they have to be imported. It's nearly unheard of to find a new/like new book in French or Italian in the United States for less than $15.
Overall I think this was a fantastic event! I really had a great time - I'd say my mood was nearly euphoric as I was shoving as many books as I could fit into my tote bag. The sale is still going on the rest of the day today and tomorrow, so don't miss your chance to attend this event and support a great cause!
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