Book Finds from the Last Three Weeks

I have purchased quite a few books locally in the last three weeks.  

In the middle of March I purchased Nancy Drew #52 with double oval endpapers along with the first printing of Nancy Drew #55.  I now like the books with double oval endpapers and will purchase all books that I find in that format if they are in pretty nice shape.

Note:  Every copy of Nancy Drew #55 with the black and white multi endpapers is the first printing.  I have never seen one that isn't the first printing.  Farah's Guide indicates a printing for #55 with black and white multi endpapers that goes to #56 on the back cover.  It does not exist.  For many years, I have checked the back cover list of every #55 that I have run across.  All copies of #55 that list to #55 are the first printing, and all copies of #55 that list to #56 have double oval endpapers.

A little over a week ago, I went into a store and was looking around.  I then looked up and saw a boxed set of R. L. Stine books rather high up and out of my reach.  Oh!  Now I don't even like Stine's books, but other people my age and slightly younger love his books.  Since Stine is very popular, I always pick up his books if the price is reasonable for the condition. 

I glanced around and found a picture book tall enough that I could use it to push the boxed set over the edge.  I caught it with my other hand.  Success!

Even though I don't like the writing style, I do admire the cover art and design of the books.  The boxed set is in pretty nice shape and so are the four books.

On that same day in another store I found a green APC library binding and the first printing of Nancy Drew #56.

Around a week later, I checked a store and found one Hardy Boys book and quite a few vintage teen books, mostly from the River Heights series.  Click on the photo in order to read the titles on the spines.  Blogger now reduces the resolution of images in posts.

I also found two vintage teen books that I chose not to picture.  They are from a set that is hard to complete.  The ones I found are the only ones that can be found easily and the rest are very scarce.  I created some saved searches, and now I wait.  I didn't picture those two books since I don't want to cause anyone else to try to find them.

All of the vintage teen books seen in the above photo were on clearance.  The store sent them straight to clearance instead of placing them on the regular shelves.  Book stores view the vintage teen paperback books as throwaways and don't feel that they are worth taking up shelf space.  What a shame.

It didn't escape my notice that I found most but not all of the River Heights books.  I went back one week later to check again.  I found two more.

I also purchased two Weekly Reader books, two Three Investigators books, and an Alfred Hitchcock short story collection.

On Friday afternoon, I wanted to go check a certain store, but I wasn't feeling well.  I really wasn't feeling well, but I also felt strongly that books were to be found in that store.  This doesn't happen to me very often, but when it does, I know not to ignore it.  I have never forgotten that day in October 2012 when I felt that a large book find was out there waiting for me, and I ended up making a fabulous book find.

Even though I truly felt bad, I drove to the store that beckoned me.  While I didn't find anything fabulous, I did come away with quite a few books.  It was like they had been put out just for me.

These Sweet Valley High books were reduced and put on clearance on Friday, just in time for me to show up to purchase them.

I found these Hardy Boys books.  

I also found one Stine book and some Trixie Belden paperbacks.

Most of the books had been put out for sale on either Thursday or Friday, so my timing was perfect.