Such a glorious day in general, but for books? Amazing too.

Today turned out to be such an incredible day for books I felt I had to share. My fiance and I had a lot of running around to do today, and it all turned out great. First he had a job interview for a second job and I found there a discounted Seinfeld DVD Trivia game set for $10.00, a perfect early Christmas present for my son and I to enjoy together.
The trouble with money really began when we hit this one thrift store. I'm trying not to spend any money at all since I am going on vacation next weekend, but alas, these deals were too hard to pick up. I've been itching to get some classics for a long time now, and the small section of the books offered some real gems in mint condition for only 99 cents. Oddly almost every book was in perfect condition, almost like they've never been read.
I picked up, in Paperback:
1984 - I've always wanted to read this book and now have my chance - yippee.
Ender's Game - Same as 1984, a classic begging to be tried out by yours truly.
The Golden Compass - I saw the movie, wasn't impressed, but always curious to read the book and see what the series is really about.
Stephen King's IT - Now, I already owned IT. However, I've been wanting to re-read it, and sadly the cover has fallen off. This book for 99 cents offered a good replacement, with my favorite cover that I've always wanted to own. Figured it would be a good time to replace the copy.
Eaters of the Dead - A Michael Chrichton book. Fiance's favorite author who I want to try out more. Plot sounds very good. Nathan says he's read it but it's been a long time for him.
The Catcher in the Rye - Another great classic
Of Mice and Men - I actually did read this one but it's been too long for me to remember much other than I liked it. Surprised how short the book is.
The Diary of Anne Frank - It's been years for this one. I had traded it on paperback swap. In the mood for a re-read, I was delighted to find it again and give it a home.
The Da Vinci Code - Curious because of the movies, always heard the books were pretty good. I owned the sequel in book form already (was waiting to read till I snagged the original).
20,000 Leagues under the sea - Another excellent classic I just had to grab up.


Hardbacks I bought -
Prey by Michael Chrichton - Fiance hasn't read this one yet either. Looks promising.
Lost boy lost girl - Peter Straub isn't a favorite of mine but this seemed appealing.
The Rainmaker by John Grisham - Just another great story I've always wanted to read.
Schindler's List - of Course I grabbed this one as soon as I saw it, great story
Disclosure by Chrichton - Saw the movie years ago, sure the book is likely better.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Can't believe I haven't read this one yet.


The fun didn't end here, though, and the real values are the graphic novels we snagged. I've never found graphic novels in thrift stores or used bookstores. I rarely find them from swap on websites. They are simply too pricey and hard to get. We were lucky to find a huge stack of perfect graphic novels for 99 cents a piece, when they typically cost from $14 to $25. Of course we grabbed them all and ended up paying $11 for the set!
Dark Horse Comics Aliens: Tribes -- Follows the Aliens movie after the queen has been killed. The first installment in the series by Dark Horse. A real treat to find. It is not a comic graphic novel exactly.
We found a large amount of graphic novels for the Exiles. Apparently it's an offspring from the X-Men. More a DC fan than a marvel one but had to grab these. The stories sound intriguing and the artwork is simply stunning. Some really neat branch-offs here as far as I can tell. We were lucky to get EIGHT of the series, not an easy feat, one of them including the 10th anniversary, and so cheap! We have #3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13. Sadly missing a few of course but I will hunt them down if the series proves promising.
Also, found 3 Graphic Novels from the Ultimate Spiderman. Book #8, 13, and 14. Delightful!


Seriously though, finding a stack of graphic novels like this that would amount to about $200 retail, in perfect condition with not even a dent or tear anywhere, for $11? We've been in book reader's heaven all day. On top of that, with all the classics and the great novels I purchased, it was $25.00 for the above books listed total. Sure, shouldn't spend the money, but how could I pass all these great books up at this price? I should be ashamed but the joy to come for years is worth it :) I have an addiction!
A funny side note is that we ran into my fiances coworker. She had her sister with her. The woman was eyeing the graphic novels we held. She said her son loved graphic novels and wanted us to give them to her. Well, not to sound selfish, but she wasn't that polite about it, and I have a 9 year old son we also bought the graphic novels for that we were excited to find this for. We didn't hand them over, hope that doesn't sound too wrong (lol), but she kept staring at the books the entire conversation, not saying anything else to us. Certainly a first time for me.
Even odder though really, if my luck could not get good enough with the books and the fun we had today, I discovered 2 bookmarks when I got home in some of the books. I never saw them in the bookstore. One was an Anne Geddes sunflower baby bookmark, and I've always loved her. She has incredible stuff. Another was a small magnet bookmark. Both bookmarks are perfect condition too. I rarely find bookmarks in books I buy, but 2 out of this small collection was surprising.
The day turned out great, but not because of this only - we also had a fabulous lunch at the Olive Garden with plenty of yummy leftovers, visited a few more thrift shops and beauty supply store (didn't spend money at those but still fun), browsed at Best Buy, ran around just about everywhere, a good day to remember for awhile to come.