Lorain Public Library Book Sale

The Friends of the Lorain Public Library held its most recent Book Sale a few weeks ago.

The Sales are always an interesting affair. On Members Night (usually a Thursday), the Sale is only open to members of the Friends, who get first dibs at the latest offerings, which are both from the library's shelves, as well as donated. At zero hour when the Sale opens, it's a veritable feeding frenzy – similar to what you see when tossing snacks to hungry carp in a pond at a tourist trap. The leftovers are then offered to the public on the first day of the regular Sale.

It's hard to understand why some books end up in the Sale. In the last few years, I've walked away with books that didn't seem to belong there, including a biography of Admiral Ernest J. King; a copy of An Open Book: Coming of Age in the Heartland by Michael Dirda; Lorain city directories; and several books that I have taken out many times in the last five years (which is contrary to the library's notion that only books that are not being taken out end up in the sale). But when I ask the volunteers why certain books are being removed from the library shelves and peddled to the public, they cheerfully maintain their vow of silence. I guess whoever is in charge of the Library collection these days prefers empty book shelves uncluttered by dusty, old volumes.

Anyway, let's look at my book booty from the most recent sale.

I was fairly alarmed to see this copy of Jim Mahony: Mr. Lorain, a collection of oral history interviews conducted by Sheila Ives, M.L.S. between December 1, 1987 and January 10, 1989, in the Book Sale. But apparently the Library still has at least one copy in its collection.

This copy of The Pogo Peek-A-Book from 1955 was a nice find. Unlike the daily comic strip (which I enjoyed, but didn't always understand and almost never found humorous), the stories in it are pretty funny.

I flipped through this copy of Scarne on Cards by John Scarne (copyright 1949) is really interesting. He exposes all of the secrets of how experts cheat at cards. He covers all the games: gin rummy, Black Jack, Faro, Poker and Pinochle. Just reading a few pages of how to tell if cards are marked is pretty fascinating. I figure once I'm done reading it, it's time for a road trip to Las Vegas.

Lastly, and perhaps best of all, is this battered copy of Meet Andy Capp (1963). The paperback is a collection of early comic strips, which are pretty shocking if you're not familiar with the uniquely British character. (He was in the Plain Dealer Sunday comics when I was a kid so I remember him well.)

As the back cover notes, "Readers all over the world are howling over the daily newspaper antics of this raffish nogoodnik from Britain who drinks a lot, gambles a bit, knocks his wife out a bit – and doesn't work – not a bit. Everybody loves him."

It's interesting seeing how Andy Capp looked in his early adventures.

As a bonus, my copy of Meet Andy Capp had a surprise inside: two autographed photos of late night Channel 8 TV hosts Hoolihan and Big Chuck that someone apparently used as bookmarks!

And I've got just the snack to enjoy while perusing Meet Andy Capp.