Weekly Specials, News & More
If you enjoy a good mystery, we have a sale for you. Select hard cover mysteries are on sale this week for 50¢ each. But wait, if you want to save even more money and stock up for the winter, you can buy 3 for a dollar! Books include titles by classic and current mystery authors. You’re sure to find many books you will enjoy.
Holiday books are available. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa books for children and adults are just the thing to help you begin to get into the spirit of the season.
The annual Gift Book Sale begins a week from Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Mark your calendar for Friday, November 27. The sale begins at 10:00 a.m. The word is out about the quality of books at this sale. Beautiful, gift-quality books are available at a fraction of the retail price. Start your holiday shopping on Friday, November 27 at the Friends Bookstore and I promise you will feel great about both the gifts you’ll buy and the (small) prices you’ll pay.
The smallest bookstore still contains more ideas of worth than have been presented in the entire history of television. ~Andrew Ross, author
Our small bookstore is filled with ideas to contemplate, facts to learn, and stories to immerse yourself in.
I want to share with you a list of the categories of books we have available in the bookstore. Lots and lots of food for thought.
Architecture, Art, Biography, Black Studies, Business, CDs (music), Children’s, Civil War, Classics, Collectibles, Computers, Cooking, Crafts, Diet, Drama, Education, Fiction, Fitness, Food, Foreign Language, Gardening, Geography, Government, Health, History, Hobbies, How To, Humor, Language, Law, Literature, Marriage, Mathematics, Medicine, Michigan, Military, Miscellaneous, Music, Mystery, Native American, Nature, New Age, New Arrivals, Occult, Parenting, Philosophy, Poetry, Psychology, Reading, Reference, Religion, Romance, Science, Science Fiction, Self Help, Seniors, Sociology, Speaking, Speech, Sports, Spy, Travel, True Stories, Westerns, Women’s Issues, Writing, Young Adult Fiction
We welcome you to come in and browse.
Today I woke up to the morning radio DJ announcing that there are only 52 shopping days left until Christmas. Time seems to go so fast! I think I hear this statement or say it myself almost every day. Today, as we do every Tuesday in the bookstore, we talked about what to spotlight this week. We all agreed it’s time to put out the Christmas and Hanukah books. So, if you are ready to plunge (or maybe just wade) into the holiday season, we have the books to help you do just that. Our Holiday Books cart includes fiction, both children and adult, and holiday crafts and cooking.
Also this week VHS videos remain at ½ off our low price (most are only $1.00) and we have an extra cart of Hobbies and How To… books available.
We are still quite low on children’s books. Perhaps you have books your children have outgrown and have been thinking about donating them. Now would be a great time. We will gratefully accept and appreciate your donation. Check out the Donating Books & Media link on our website or call 553.7821 with questions about donating.
Vintage or antique objects are valued for several reasons including age, beauty and rarity. Determining whether or not an item is vintage or antique is often a subjective decision. The standard that I use is simple; it must be older than I am. That rule doesn’t strictly apply to some of the” vintage” items we have for sale this week. I’m using the term anyway to describe the collection of vintage postcards as well as the vintage University of Michigan Football Programs.
We have a really charming collection of postcards from as early as 1918 and many from the 1950s and 1960s. The postcards are divided by location; including cards from Michigan, Chicago, New York City, Florida, California and more. Looking through these old postcards bring back memories of days gone by and provide a glimpse of social and cultural history.
College football programs also provide a glimpse into the past. The University of Michigan Programs available include: Indiana – Michigan, Nov. 12, 1949; Michigan – Illinois, Nov. 10, 1956; and Michigan – Michigan State, Oct.12, 1957. These programs are in very good condition and are only $5.00 each.
Other items in the spotlight this week are Hobbies and How To (we have a lot of great books) and VHS videos on sale for ½ price.
Our audio/visual materials have started to take over the back room! There is no longer any space to store videos. That is a problem but we think we have the solution. Starting on Wednesday all VHS videos are 1/2 price. That means most videos are now only $1.00. We also have a sale on select audio books. Look for the red dot on the boxed audio books to receive 1/2 off our sticker price. These books are mostly on cassette tapes. Finally, we have a diverse selection of A/V materials including audio or video programs on various topics ( foreign language, business, Shakespeare, music, religion, and more) and computer games and software.
Once in a while we ask for your help and this is one of those times. We are in need of gently used children's books. Our special need is for young children's picture and story books. If you have books that you can donate and want to know how; click on the Donating Books & Media link (on the right side of this page) for information. Your donations will be greatly appreciated.
A large selection of Michigan-themed books are being featured again this week in the bookstore. More books have been added and there are definitely books available that any Michigan history buff would love to have. In addition to history there are fiction books by Michigan authors, cook books, travel/geography books, children's books and more.
Halloween is just a few short weeks away. We have a cart of Halloween and just-plain-spooky stories available for children and adults. Stop by and check out these and other great buys at the bookstore this week.
We’re celebrating! For fifty years the Friends of the Kalamazoo Public Library has been committed to supporting and promoting the library, literacy and reading. To help us celebrate, on Saturday, Michigan author and historian, Larry Massie will present "Old Books, Trash or Treasure" a program designed to help audience members evaluate the worth of their books. (See last week’s post for more information.)
We are also celebrating this important anniversary in the store. What better way to do that than by offering our customers an opportunity to shop from a very special selection of books, and a very special sale? In honor of this milestone we have put together a large and diverse selection of Michigan-themed books. These books include local history (both cities and state), Michigan authors, biographies, cook books and more. In addition to this exceptional selection of Michigan-themed books, we have a really special sale you won’t want to miss. Our regular customers are familiar with our book bundles. A bundle consists of four trade fiction books that normally sell for $2.00 a book. But because we are celebrating you can buy a bundle, four books, for only $2.00. That’s eight dollars worth of books for only $2.00!
Come celebrate with us!
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Author Larry Massie presents "Old Books: Trash or Treasure?"
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http://www.kpl.gov/events/old-books.aspxIs that old copy of Gone with the Wind you inherited from your grandmother worth something or should you be using it to prop open the back door. Come to the Central Library's Van Deusen Room on Saturday, October 10 and find out. At 2 p.m. Michigan author and historian, Larry Massie, will present "Old Books, Trash or Treasure" and will illustrate his talk with examples from his own extensive (over 35,000 volume) library. After his talk, Massie will evaluate up to 2 books, pamphlets or magazines from each audience member. This program is presented to the public as a gift from the Friends of the Library who are celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year. Although it is completely FREE, reservations are required. Call 553-7821 to insure your seat at this fast-paced, fun and informative show.
A big thank you to everyone that has recently donated books to the Friends. Our wonderful community continues to support this organization and the library. We are so pleased to be able to fill our little bookstore with your gently used donations. We make every effort to gently price them and make them available for others to read and enjoy.
In the spotlight this week are vintage books, graphic design books and poetry.
The annual
September Book Sale is this Saturday. It will be held in the Van Deusen Room on the third floor of the library. It begins at 9:00 and concludes at 3:30. All books are 10 cents each or you can buy a bagful (our bag or yours) for $2.00! Sale books include fiction, nonfiction, and children's books. Don't miss this super sale!