Paul took me away for a surprise overnight trip Sunday night and we spent the next day thrifting and shopping antique stores looking for living books (me) and tools (him). I am an avid thrift and antique store shopper, but have never actually made such an purposeful event of it. It was SO much fun – mostly because we were doing it together.
Are you familiar with the term “living book”? It is a term used in the Charlotte Mason community, but certainly isn’t restricted to those who follow her methodology. A living book is one that is written by an author who is passionate about their subject, as opposed to a text book that is compiled by many authors and generally rather dry. Books by a single author can also be dry, so it isn’t a given that any single-author book will be a living one.
A living book will, generally, stay with you for life. The events, people, or other subject matter will be painted so vividly and beautifully in your mind you will be able to recall them later on. Over six years ago I read such a book about hippopotamus’ to the boys and I still remember how it described the jaws of the hippo crushing a crocodile. I could recount many such books that have left deep impressions in my mind, but suffice to say – when the passion and research of an author collide into a well written book it holds so much power to not just teach in the moment, but to become a friend you turn back to over and over again. Living books hold the hearts, minds, and ideas of people.
I have been meaning for quite some time to write more on books and how I chose them and share more reading lists and just generally encourage a culture of beautiful, living books, so this is the start of that! I will be reorganizing the book lists I have already shared, and compiling book lists friends have requested, and sharing more of the books on our shelves – so if there is something you’d like to see on books please let me know!
Tips for looking for books at Antique Stores and Thrift Stores
- Location matters. High traffic towns or tourist locations will have much more curated antique stores, so don’t get discouraged if the ones you visit don’t even have books, just keep looking. I have found the small towns tend to have the best selection.
- Know your prices. Most of the books I have seen at antique stores are $3-$5, which makes some books a great deal and other books ridiculously overpriced! Pull out your smart phone and check prices online to see how the prices compare. (note: I tend to shop hole-in-the-wall antique shops. Bigger city ones have books priced much higher.)
- Know your thrift store options. I am in second hand stores 1-2x every week and I have never found a vintage book at Goodwill (and we have a dedicated Goodwill Bookstore!) I did some digging and found out they send their old books to be sold online. That being said, the Goodwill Outlet, where they sell their books for .25/lb (yes, twenty five CENTS!), has had some great old books.The Salvation Army seems to put their books out without culling them first, BUT only one local Salvation Army has decent books.Charity thrift shops tend to get a wide assortment of book donations. Our local one use to pull the books they thought were more valuable and price them higher, but the ladies told me that was too much work and now all books are mixed together. When traveling I have never seen another Charity shop seperate books, so they tend to be well priced and have a good selection.
- Know your thrift store book shelving routine. While antique stores are unpredictable as to when the books get put out because it is up to each seller, the thrift stores might actually have a routine for putting them out. I asked at my favorite thrift store and they told me their schedule, so I am there just after they shelve new ones each week!
- Talk to the cashier. In thrift shops it is pretty obvious where the books are as they are kept on dedicated shelving. Antique shops are a bit different as each seller keeps them in their booth – once you’ve looked through the entire store (or, if you are in a rush!) ask the cashier if they know where children’s picture and/or chapter books might be in the store. They won’t necessarily know where every book is, but they can point out the larger collections and help ensure you don’t miss the ones that might be tucked away.
- Look high and low. In antique shops books are definitely not the big sellers and they are EVERYWHERE in a booth. It is lovely when they are actually on a shelf. But sometimes they’re sitting in basket on the floor. Or behind a glass door on a shelf. Or under a lamp. Or stacked on a high dresser. I’ve even found them in impossible to see at first glance places – like under dressers and under blankets!
- Know your books. Take time to scan book lists, read books on books, or join Facebook groups that discuss good books. Educate yourself on what series, authors, and illustrators are worth collecting. There will never be a thorough list, but the more you know the easier it will be to find living books when in “the wild.”
- Know what you are looking for in books. While educating yourself on books is going to be an ever growing education that will feed your mind and only ever grow deeper and richer (book collecting is really addictive! and book lovers love to talk about their favorite finds!) you are going to come across books with “the look” and having a “formula” to help decide if the book is a living book or if it is worth purchasing when you know nothing about it is helpful. In the video below I try to explain why I picked up some of the books I did when I knew nothing of the book, author, or illustrator.
- Inspect the books before purchasing. Check the book to make sure all the pages are intact, that the book is free from mold, water damage and smoke smells, and any other defects that might be in the book.
When we got home from our shopping – I found 16 living books! – I decided to make a video of the living books I found and why I picked them out – I will try to do more of these videos in the future! But for now here is the video of the 16 books I picked out – some I had been familiar with and others I had not been.
