Wednesday 21 April 2010

Booked

The Lifeline Bookfair is an institution in this town.  I know many people who take the day off work to attend the first day (Friday) of the fair.  It is, for some of us, a holy day of obligation.

I normally attend for work.  I get there early (8.30am or so) on the Friday morning with my shopping trolley and bags and queue up with everyone else.  Thermoses of coffee are opened, old friends caught up with and new acquaintances made - there's a lovely sense of community and I usually get a fair whack of knitting done.

I couldn't get there on opening day last week, alas, but TSS kept me updated via text and telephone and picked up one or two items for my collection of vintage Patons knitting patterns.

TOF and I were busy all day  Saturday so it wasn't until Sunday afternoon that we managed a visit.  Is it a coincidence that they announced the "everything you can fit into a supermarket green bag" for $10 sale within minutes of us arriving?  I think not.

Amongst the items in my "green bag" were 30 or so Textile Fibre Forum magazines from the 1980s and 1990s, over a dozen community fund-raiser recipe books for the collection at work and these - lovely, lovely, lovely Enid Gilchrist pattern books.


TOF picked up a mixed bag of books and about 30 cds for his $10 (and some novels for me slipped in there as well).  All up, we're a couple of happy little bookworms.

8 comments:

Janet McKinney said...

Arhhh I saw the Enid Gilchrist books there and I was strong, and left them there. Even the ones that were versions I didn't have.

Wekk that is partly a lie, I bought the last version of the Baby Book - printed in colour on glossy paper... Had to add to that collection after all.

amummy said...

Well done I spent $30 on Enid books on the Saturday. There are a few that you ended up buying that I considered buying but decided not to.

Taphophile said...

Let me know which ones you are after amummy - I may have duplicates.

secondhandrose said...

That sounds like an amazing event. Could you post more about the size, location, prices etc.. How often is it held?
Great score with the Enid Gilchrist material.

secondhandrose said...

Silly me, just saw the Lifeline Bookfair dates at the side of the blog. Was still love to hear more. Where is it held?

AMCSviatko said...

secondhandrose; if you follow the link to the Lifeline Bookfair page it will give you all the information you need including tips for first time visitors...

Anonymous said...

I visited for the first time this year - even travelling from Victoria to do so! It was worth it. I visited four times all up (yes, I am a book nerd - I admit it) and came home with a back seat full of books. The prices are great and it's very well organised - well done to the Lifeline volunteers!

Elizabeth McClung said...

Wow, this is fantastic. I miss the annual Lion's club fair where I used to live. Here books are seen more as a way for museums and other places to get lots more money so they are 'high end' events. But 'fill a bag for $10'! I would be wheeling around and around, filling bags like crazy - books are like oxygen, do you really want to have 'just enough'? How can there be too much, if you run out, what then?