Do we have to leave? -- Pt. III

We'd scored the Cooper set and the Modern Library works, and so on half-price Saturday at the Gordon Ave. Library Sale, we were after some of the other things we'd seen but not yet pulled the trigger on.

The doors opened at 9 a.m., so we had ourselves out the door with plenty of time to spare -- or so we thought. Unbeknownst to us, the Charlottesville Marathon was well under way by the time we were headed out, and we hit some serious traffic on our way.

After re-routing ourselves, we made it over with enough time to spare that we had a few minutes to wait in line (or change a diaper, depending on which one of us you ask), and those few minutes in line were not wasted, as I learned that the SPCA Rummage Store is half-price in the book section on the first Saturday of every month. Noted!

Once the doors opened, it was game on. I made a bee-line to the area of the sale where sets were collected, and while I wasn't the first one there, I was the first to put my hands on a collection of Mark Twain's works, a collection of Nathaniel Hawthorne's works, and a collection of Ralph Waldo Emerson's writings. A total of 52 books for $57.50. Done and done.

It appeared that I was the only one after the Emerson and Hawthorne collections, while Twain was another story. One of the men who arrived to the section before me went after a different set first, providing the opening for me to get in and grab Twain. Almost exactly after the moment my hand touched the first book he exclaimed, "Ah, you beat me to it." I actually said "Are you sure?" and gave him an opening (why did I do this?), and he deferred, saying it was all fair and no worries.

We added a few more nonfiction/reference items before checking out, and deemed our three days at the Gordon Ave. Library Sale to be a rousing success. We can't wait for the next one!

Books added: 24 vol. set of the works of Mark Twain (c.1920); 14 vol. set of the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1890); 14 vol. set of the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1883)

Publishers (in same order):  P.F. Collier & Son Company; Houghton Mifflin, The Riverside Press; Houghton Mifflin, The Riverside Press

Years: See above

Where obtained: Gordon Ave. Library Sale, Charlottesville, Va.

Price: $57.50 total