Bag of Books

I’m not sure there is anything a book lover enjoys more than free books and certainly a bag of books for 50 cents is a close second! My friends and I made a few shopping stops in Mexia during our trip to Fort Parker last month and one of them was to the Caritas thrift shop in Mexia. The retail shop is open for limited hours throughout the week and we managed to show up at the right time. Like many thrifting adventures, I don’t usually go in with anything in mind. Of course, I beelined it for the books once I saw what appeared to be a rather eclectic collection and some older books on the shelf. And, I definitely do not need books but it is pretty difficult to resist a bag of books for 50 cents!

I laid out the books that had made their way into my bag when we returned back to the trailer at the state park. Only one is missing from the photo above, which my friend Michelle was looking at when I snapped the photo; it was called Flight from Natchez by Frank G. Slaughter. I also threw in four or five other books that my friend Stephanie picked up—there was no reason to start a second bag, might as well pack as many into one bag as possible. I also came home with two slightly dinged up Pokémon lunch boxes sans cards (they did have stickers and one of the toy coins), one for Forest and one he gave to a friend, a VHS set of Anne of Green Gables, and an electric wax melt warmer. I’ve been wanting a wax melt warmer, mostly so I can continue to use the remnant wax after my candles have been completely burned up, and I reached for this one initially thinking it was going to be a toothbrush holder which I’ve been looking for to use in Forest’s bathroom. I feel like I bought something else on this trip but I can’t recall. Just as I was about to publish this I recalled—I bought two more craft/pencil organizers for some items we have at home to organize. I only spent like $7 or $8 and it was great!

Books for those who cannot make out the titles in the photograph:

• In Search of a Sandhill Crane by Keith Robertson
• The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
• Yarborough of Texas by William G. Phillips
• Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
• Deep South by Erskine Caldwell
• Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
• Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
• Animal Farm by Georgia Orwell
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• Flight from Natchez by Frank G. Slaughter

There were quite a bit of the Animal Farm and Catcher in the Rye books on the shelves and Michelle astutely pointed out they were likely purged from the schools during recent books bans.