On Saturday I went to the largest book sale in the country, the Visiting Nurse Service Auxiliary (I think it has dropped that now and is officially just VNSA). I first attended in 1958, the second year of the sale, and have missed only 6 or 7 over the years. I always go first to the language section, often never going beyond it. In the past, I’ve purchased many books for little money. This year was the smallest: $9.00 for 3 books, but well worth the two and a half hours wait in line before dawn. One was a huge, magnificent grammar of Basque, a language that is not represented in my library. Another was a real find: I had contemplated paying the hundred dollars for a community card at ASU library to get access to Ibsen’s plays in Norwegian and what did I come across? A paperback from Norway of Ibsen’s plays………. in Norwegian!
And finally, foraging in the history section, I found a doorstop of a book filled with essays by top-flight historians on alternative histories, all military, e.g. what would have happened if that Union soldier had not found Lee’s orders in a field so that Union general officers were able to counter his moves?
I also found two books on Navaho for my friend.
Good day. I call it my High Holy Day.