I’ve been into book hauls lately on Booktube, probably because I’ve been in a consumerist mood myself and I want to see what everybody else is reading. They led me to look up the books mentioned, and I was shocked at how much prices have increased over the past few years (I know, everything has gone up, what was I expecting). I’ve only gotten into recreational book shopping this last year (I’m gonna stop); I used to only buy books as needed, so I didn’t get to witness the increase firsthand. I do wish it was a better deterrent to buying more books, but I only buy my books secondhand anyways. So I have been bad these last couple months, but to be totally fair to myself, I’m a thrifting goddess, because I got 25 books for the price of 6 new books from major and most independent bookstores (assuming the avg cost is $15, which is on the cheaper side of paperback books in 2023 [thank you, inflation]).
Over Memorial Day weekend, I went to Winston Salem to go to McKay’s used bookstore, which has the best prices (I’ve been to Greensboro’s store, but not the one in Winston-Salem). But that’s a 2-hour drive just to go to a bookstore, so I added some gallery stops to try to justify the trip. The galleries ended up being a bust, so I would have been happier spending the entire day at McKay’s. I was able to spend a few hours browsing every single fiction shelf, though, so the end of the day made it all worth it.
Anyways, here’s the breakdown of my haul:
Of Mice and Men by John Stienbeck… $2.25
I have East of Eden (I just finished this and it was stunning) and Grapes of Wrath, both of which were also bought at used bookstores, so why not finish out his main trio?
As I Lay Dying by William Faulker… $3.00
I remember reading The Sound and the Fury by Faulker in high school and being fascinated by his style of writing. I need to reread The Sound and the Fury too.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton… $4.00
Honestly, this is perfect, because I always think of the past as “the age of innocence,” and I’m currently into books that defy this misconception and prove that humans have always been just as depraved as modern generations.
Mary Anne by Daphne du Maurier…$2.00
I loved Rebecca, so why not dive deeper. It’s interesting that all of the books of hers I’ve encountered so far are titled with a character name.
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier… $2.50
I guess I just want Daphne to become my favorite author.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas… $4.00
This is a favorite classic among some booktubers, which seems so random to me, but I’m excited to read it.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood… $5.00
I’ve never read it, and it’s about time.
No Bones by Anna Burns… $2.00
I know nothing about it, just saw it and thought it looked interesting. But apparently it’s darkly funny and all about trying to make sense of the world.
Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte… $1.50
I have a kindle copy of this book back when I was still using my kindle, but I highly prefer hard copies, and it’s so cheap…I did start it back in the day, but it might be the first book I DNF’d because I couldn’t get through the first two chapters. Maybe with the physical reminder of it on my bookshelf, I’ll remember to pick it up again.
Howard’s End by E. M. Forster… $1.25
Again, I’ve read a book by him that I need to reread (A Room With A View) as well as read this one. Honestly, with all the books on my shelf I need to reread or read for the first time, I REALLY shouldn’t buy myself any more books.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame Smith… $0.50
I genuinely don’t know why I picked this book up except that I love Jane Austen, and I love classic Darcy-Bennet enemies-to-lovers, and it was fifty cents. But I have no interest whatsoever in zombie media. So I’ll enjoy this ironically or I will hate myself for ever picking up a Pride and Prejudice fanfiction that could never hold a candle to the original… we’ll see.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett… $6.50
You can tell McKay’s knows what books have been on the NYT bestseller’s list, because they are always more expensive. But this book was on my TBR for the last two years, I believe, so it’s finally on my shelf.
So I think I’ve mentioned before that the Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girl series is my favorite middle grade series. During a phase in middle school, I would go to the public library, read the entire series front to back at least twice, return it back to the library, and maybe a month later, I would check out the series again. I never got the full series (I only got the last one in the series because that just came out and wasn’t available in the library yet), because my mom wrongly assumed I would grow out of them and not want them anymore, but they hold such nostalgia for me, and I was so excited to see McKay’s had nearly the full series available. So I obviously got them, and I’m glad they are part of my library. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the second book, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, so I just had to order it off of thriftbooks.com to complete the collection. (Also, I just found out that apparently Ally Carter is coming out with her adult debut… about spies. I think Imma have to give it a try, for my middle grade self.)
I’ll Tell You I Love You, but Then I’d Have to Kill You… $0.35
Don’t Judge a Girl By Her Cover… $0.85
Only the Good Spy Young… $1.00
Out of Sight, Out of Time… $0.50
That’s my McKay’s haul, but when I got back and saw my finds, I wasn’t satisfied, because of course it was mostly classics, and I’m on a mission to read more contemporary books that I’m “behind” on. So I went to Thriftbooks.com and ordered Circe by Madeline Miller ($10.39), The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ($8.59), The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ($6.89), and The Secret History by Donna Tartt ($9.99). Honestly, those prices are more than I’d usually splurge, but they are extremely popular books that don’t usually appear on thriftbooks at too much of a discount, so I succumbed.
And then in Santa Fe, New Mexico (art blog should be coming out if I can ever organize everything), I stopped by a used bookstore, because I just can’t help myself. But this bookstore was one that does half off market price, which is usually 7 or 8 dollars, which frankly doesn’t compare to McKay’s prices. Or to Thriftbooks deals. So I only got one book for $7.50: Journey Into the Past by Stefan Zweig. Hardly any American bookstores carry Zweig, I grab him when I can.
As I said, I ordered Carter’s Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy to complete the series, but of course thriftbooks.com enticed me with free shipping with a certain price point and then increased the shipping price every time I got close to the prized price, so the order turned into four books:
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter… $4.69
(Obviously.)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer… $4.69
I adored the movie and have wanted to read the book ever since.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles… $5.49
The hype sold me. And I love classic Russian literature, so maybe I’ll love historical fiction set in Russia.
The Human Stain by Philip Roth… $4.19
I’ve never read Roth, and this was the second highest rating on Goodreads. The first highest rated just sounded boring, honestly, and I’ve heard The Human Stain recommended. And I needed one more dollar to get to free shipping, or else they were going to add five dollar shipping anyways…
So over 34 days, let’s calculate (including tax and discounts)… I’ve spent $98.99 on books…
Officially starting a book ban as of this very moment. I never thought I would be required to implement a book ban, because I’m usually not materialistic or spendy. But here we are.
