afternoon adventure: books

Jon and I have been on a bit of a used book buying binge lately. First it started with paperbackswap.com where I've been trading my unused books for new to me books. Then we discovered the little library used book store, which has great prices (nothing over $1).

And then Jon finally introduced me to John King Used & Rare Books in Detroit. Why had I never checked this place out before? I don't know. We headed down to the city yesterday afternoon and spent a few hours browsing all four floors of books. It's the mecca of used books on any and every subject you can imagine and is the largest used bookstore in the country. The store was overwhelming at first and I was kicking myself for not bringing along my book wish list, but I ended up finding a few things to purchase - two novels and a great book on the history of NPR (my daily necessity!). It's so inspiring being surrounded by shelves and shelves of books! There's so much out there to read and learn about!

We ended our Saturday afternoon book tour at a local used bookstore: Royal Oak Books. It was a bit pricier than the library book store and John King, but they had a good selection and we both found a couple of books to buy. Plus, the store was "run" by these two cute calico cats that followed us around the store while we were browsing. A bookstore with cats...great combo in our eyes!

And speaking of books...I was accepted into grad school for Library and Information Science and I start my first class in May. I hope to complete my master's degree in two years and am so excited to head back to school and to see where this new field of study takes me.

Comments

[Rachel]

Wow! I'm jealous. That's a lot of books. I'm always on the look out for good buys on books. Congratulations on grad school. I want to go to grad school, but in what I'm so sure.

[joanna]

Congrats on grad school! Are you going to the School of Info at the U of M? That's where I went. Just wondering. ;)

[abcgirl]

congratulations on grad school! i'm in the process of getting my MLIS right now, but i'm taking the very slooooooow track--only about one class at a time. so, you'll be done before me, but i'll get student discounts longer. :)

[Jodi]

Ahhh....John King. Good stuff. The folks who work there are amazing...ask them for any book and within minutes they'll have it for you. Congrats on Wayne!

[Deana]

Recently found your blog - didn't notice you were from MI - and didn't know about John King...Must check out! My hubby would love it.

[Cami]

Congrats on grad school! What an accomplishment. What a fun book store. I'm sure I could spend hours, maybe even days just getting lost in that store.

[Steph]

Congrats on grad school! I've been thinking of taking a few papers towards me degree, I love university!
Second hand books rock, you can get so many more for less money!

[Oiyi]

OMG, that used book store, more like building, is awesome!! I can't believe it. It's like a factory. I would have fun browsing there for hours. DH and I go The Strand in NYC, but it pales in comparison to that building.

Congrats on getting into grad school!

[Elizabeth]

Hello. Amy's blog led me to you and I had to comment on this because I can't imagine anything more fabulous on a Saturday afternoon than spending it in a used book stores (especially those run by cats!) I have just heard of paperbackswap myself. How do you like it? Does it compare to the in-person browsing experience?

[Rebekah]

That is so wonderful. I wish that I had something like that in Washington.

I see you are a fan of Lisa See I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and the Bonesetter's daughter. Both such wonderful books.

You should check out Sisterhood of the Traveling Books.
http://www.readerswithoutborders.com/bookswap/?IgnoreDefaultPage=1