We are very fortunate to have an extensive local library district. With that, we also have library book sales. Every couple of months, one of our libraries has a used book sale. It is mostly books and items that have been donated. Sometimes, the library goes through a purge and puts its older books into the sale as well.

All sales go toward the purchase of more books and resources for that branch!

We’ve been going to these sales for years and years. Like most things, they stopped for a while due to the pandemic. When the sales restarted, it was a bit different. Instead of running from a Wednesday to Sunday, now they are Friday and Saturday.

Before, the first four days, the price was per book. For example, paperback, hardcover, children, and so on. Now, both days are $5 a bag. Fill a plastic grocery bag for only $5!

Typically, myself, my daughter, and my mother go and spend $20. Since it’s all used books, it can be hit or miss. Most of the time, it’s hit.

There are books that we have read and donated back to the library. Or, since my daughter is obsessed with cookbooks, will just go back because the cover is more interesting than the actual book.

Either way, spending under 30 cents a book, there is no feeling of loss when we donate the books back.

Some of the cover images below do not necessarily match those to the editions we purchased. These are the cover images found on Goodreads.

If you would like to see all the editions we actually bought, check out my Instagram reel. Below, they are in the order they were featured in the reel. Beginning with books for my ten year old daughter ending with the books I picked out for myself.

Here is what my and my daughter picked out during the sale in December of 2023 (minus the pile of cookbooks).