After a very fun baby shower BBQ and dropping off my awes out-of-towner girlfriends, I thought I'd drop by the Live Oak Library to check out the used book sale. I'm all about used books, especially when they only cost between $.50 and $1 each. Got there an hour early and checked out two fluffy chick lit books (sometimes you just need fluff) and then waited patiently on a bench for the doors to the "auditorium" (I guess any room larger than a bathroom qualifies as an auditorium) to open and the sale to begin. Seriously, people started lining up more than 15 minutes before the doors were set to open. Also I saw a young couple freaking out and yelling to grab the kids (they had 5 under the age of 10) so they could catch the sale. They took off running through the library, clearly stressed out, only to find out that the doors were still closed (duh) and people were lining up. I love me some used cheapo books, but really folks... stressing out, yelling at your kids, running in the library? Is it worth it? Get a grip! It's not like these people looked to be on the poverty train. If they were, maybe I could kind of understand the panic.
Anyhoo I finally made it into the sale, literally two minutes after they opened the doors and the place was already jam-packed with bargain hunters and it felt like a sauna. All my used book sale dreams were shattered. But I don't give up easily and I carried my 8+ months preg self in, grabbed a plastic bag and went scouting for good reads. Yeah, never again. Books were lined up on tables, semi-organized into sections. If books couldn't fit on the tables they had extras underneath in cardboard boxes. People were lined up at least 2-people deep just to take a look at what was on the tables. And there were people who were crawling on the floor to get to the boxes under the tables. I saw one woman (who had a suitcase full of books already, yes...a suitcase) under a table in the children's book section and she was literally grabbing books, looking at them and throwing her rejects behind her (some making it into boxes and others just hitting the floor or people near her - namely me). You would think that being VERY obviously with child that people would be courteous to me. Maybe let me in for a little look at these precious books. No. After waiting patiently to look at kids books I finally made it up to a table only to have some middle-aged woman elbow her way next to me and reach over me continually to grab books. She's lucky the Wrath of Jen did not pay her a visit. I won't bore you with more details, but I did manage to walk away with two kids books (one was a really good find) and one light mystery novel to haul with me to the hospital (ya know, when baby decides it's Time). I think I've learned my lesson - avoid the library used books sales at all costs. I'm just not hardcore enough. Next time I want some used reads, I'll check out Powells and call it a day.
Sometimes something happens which touches people far and wide. By chance, a few of the blogs I regularly read reported on the moving story of Stephanie and Christian Nielson, a couple that miraculously survived a plane crash but are still fighting for their lives. Their injuries are quite serious and both are expected to be in the hospital for months, enduring multiple surgeries and racking up medical bills into the millions. I don't know Stephanie, but from everything I've read, she's someone I'd like to know. To learn more about Nie and her family, go to C Jane Run (Nie's sister). 
