I was given the chance to go to the Ithaca book sale happening. Although I didn’t get to buy any books, I did get a nice hit of nostalgia for one of my favorite niche genres. That genre being Alternative History, we are given the chance to see what a simple change would do on the rest of history. One popular timeline is that of the author who’s publish dozens of books of this genre, Harry Turtledove, and this timeline being named Timeline-191, where the Confederate States wins the American Civil War. As expected, world history diverges and I won’t spoil the story. I saw many of his publications, those that I’ve read but no longer own the books of. Great reads and a great experience. (James Patterson really has a lot of books published, wow!)

I had seen the advertisement for this book sale first during freshman year, I was really interested to explore Ithaca outside the bounds of Cornell. I had been to the commons a few times for dinner but had never been there during daylight. Unfortunately, I went to this event independent of the group because of an emergency but still, I found the entire affair very wholesome and nice. Reading is something I didn’t focus on during the semester. Unfortunately, I get bogged down by the coursework that reading seems to be a secondary activity which it should not. I am planning to extensively read over the summer though. Also now I have the science center and the library off my Ithaca exploration list.

I love wandering through book aisles and selecting stories and manuals to skim through. I find that old book shops and used book sales are some of the most interesting events to attend. In high school I was a book worm. I would read everything from fantasies to realistic fiction to magazines about gardening to manuals about architecture. What sparked my curiosity was the starkly different stories, messages, and realities each book contained. Ever since leaving high school, I have lost the time I used to spend reading. As a result, I appreciated the opportunity to explore books again offered by this Rose Scholars event.

During our visit, I explored the fiction, short story, gardening, and computer book sections. I enjoyed skimming through a wide variety of books. In particular, I liked that the book sale was for used books. Often these sales offer a quirkier and more interesting variety of books than bookstores do.

I ended up buying a book of short stories presented on the Moth Radio Hour. The Moth is a famous radio show that allows people to tell their stories to others. I really enjoy listening to the wide variety of hilarious, powerful, and inspiring stories told through this show, and I was surprised and excited to find this book at the sale. I am looking forward to reading it this summer.

I also read through many interesting computer books at the sale. Several of these books were about how to use the Linux operating system, learn different coding languages, and use several interesting and useful software resources. I thought it was cool how the book sale did not just include books meant to tell stories but also practical books such as these.

When I return home, I would like to explore my local used book sale after enjoying attending this one so much. Overall, from this experience I learned about this annual book sale in Ithaca (which I may attend in future years) and about the value in attending used book sales versus traditional book stores or online book stores. I am also very happy I left the event with a new and exciting read for this summer!

This was the first time me going out and actually going to buy a book rather than just ordering one on online. I remembered that I actually I almost missed coming and had to rush out to meet my friend ten minutes after they already got there. The collection of books they had was really outstanding. From educational to sci-fi, there were several genres that I enjoyed. I purchased a computer science book and before I left to get back to campus, I actually went back and see if I can find some type of antique book. If I could, I would come back again just to find one. I love old books and originals and if they had one, I would buy it in a heartbeat.