Hi Everyone! For my first post, I thought I'd write about something that is a small obsession of mine, and that is books!  I am a huge bookworm, as some of you might know from the "What are you reading now?" thread in Quiverful of Worldly Distractions.  I adore talking to other people about what books they are reading or their favorite books, so maybe people are interested in seeing what my bookshelf looks like. 

I consider myself lucky to be someone who likes reading.  It's funny now, ( I want to say in this day and age but maybe this has been going on for generations?) people act like reading is uncool, or boring, or what have you.  While I realize that there are a lot of things competing for our attention, like TV, school, and work, I am a huge advocate for making more time to read.  So since I am an avid reader, people sometimes ask me if I buy all these books, implying that it would be ridiculously expensive.  And yes, it would be if I were buying them from bookstores.  I definitely frequent the library, and I LOVE the library, but I do end up buying a lot of the books on my to-read list.  My secret to buying lots and lots of books is thrift stores.  Yep.  Good ol' "buy used and save the difference."  When you go to thrift stores, you can find books for practically pennies on the dollar (ok, more like $2-4, depending on the thrift store, or $1 if you are lucky!).  

My to-read list is is a little over 100 books, which is a lot, I'll admit.  But I have at least a working memory of most of the titles on my list, so when I pass by a thrift store, I just pop in for about 5 minutes, browse the books really quick to see if any of the titles are on my list, and I leave.  I try to keep to my self-imposed rule of not buying books that aren't on my to-read list, just to prevent myself from going overboard.  As it is now, I am definitely out of shelf space in my tiny NYC apartment, and my parents' house in California is overflowing with books.  

So, with out further ado, I present to you my most recent thrift store book haul!

The books I picked up yesterday, from top to bottom:

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

I found the top one at a Goodwill by my school, and the bottom three at a HousingWorks (an awesome thrift store that helps to combat AIDS).  I was sosososo excited by these finds, because they are still currently popular and at the top of my to-read list.  Since you never know what you'll find at a thrift store, it is always a surprise to see books like these.  Typically, I end up buying books that were super popular a few years back (you know, after most people had time to buy the book, read it, and decide they didn't want it taking up precious shelf space).  As a result of this phenomenon, I have discovered that the trick to buying books at thrift stores is patience.  There have been plenty of times where I leave empty handed.  However, sometimes you get an awesome day like I did yesterday, and you end up with some exciting books.  

So there you have it.  My first blog post and also my strategy to buying cheap books.  Oh yeah, total, I spent $11.  Until next time!