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.
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.aspxA 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!
The Webster’s New International Dictionary was revised and expanded in 1934 for a second edition. This edition is popularly known as Webster’s Second or W2. This enormous dictionary has over 600,000 entries and reportedly contains every word used in the works of Shakespeare including the names of all the characters. Also included in this edition are a Pronouncing Biographical Dictionary; many proper names from mythology, fiction, and the Bible as well as names of buildings and works of art; a ten page section titled Arbitrary Signs and Symbols; and more than 30 color plates. Webster’s Second contains a famous error, the inclusion of the ghost word “dord." Dord is the result of a slip of paper written during the editing process which read “D or d, cont./density” This notation was made by the chemistry editor and indicated that D or d were abbreviations for the word “density." D or d was misinterpreted as a single word and dord became a synonym for density. Dord was first noticed by an editor five years later. We have one of these wonderful, massive dictionaries in the bookstore and it can be yours for $45.00.
Special topics in the spotlight this week are; philosophy, religion, women’s studies, and vehicles. And, don’t forget a week from this Saturday is our annual September Book Sale. Books are 10¢ each or $2.00 for a bagful.
This weeks we are featuring two new categories of books. First we have a great selection of books about vehicles. You will find books about cars, boats, trains and planes, both modern and vintage. This collection includes some very fine books but the selection is limited so if you're interested hurry down. Secondly we have put together an interesting group of books about women's issues, these include women's studies and history, literature, short stories and more. We even have a book signed by Gloria Steinem.
Don't forget the September Book Sale is coming soon. The big day is Saturday, September 19, 9:00 to 3:30. It will be held in the Van Deusen Room in Central Library.
Saturday, September 19 is the date for our annual September Book Sale. For the second time we will hold the sale inside instead of outdoors. The sale, to be held in the Van Deusen Room on the third floor of Central Library, will open at 9:00 and conclude at 3:30. Books will sell for 10¢ each or you can fill up a grocery-size bag – ours or yours – with books for only $2.00
This week in the store there are a couple of things I would like to bring to your attention. We have a lot of religion books! There are books about different religions, various religious and spiritual practices, Bibles, study guides, commentaries, and more. Look for these religion books on a cart in the center aisle. Another group of books I’d like to tell you about are the special children’s books that have either Michigan authors or illustrators. Some of the stories are set in Michigan. These are mainly picture books but there are also a few chapter books. This is a very nice selection of children’s books with a connection to Michigan. Finally we have a couple of attractive large framed prints for sale. If you looking for some wall art check these out; you can’t bet our prices.
"More than any other single skill, the ability to read – and read well – allows a child to succeed in school, learn about the world, function in society, and some day have good job options." (A quote from the National Children's Literacy Website.) We all know that the ability to read is life-changing. For many of us the idea of life without reading is almost unimaginable. As parents we hope our children not only become good reader but learn to enjoy reading. One of the ways to encourage reading in children is to let them own there own books. The Children's Area in the bookstore is filled with wonderful books for children of all ages. Books start at 25 cents and most are less than $2.00. If you have children or grandchildren, nieces or nephews, I would encourage you to check out the Children's Area at the bookstore. For just a little bit of money you can make a big impact on a child's life.