Starting today at Festival Pavilion in Fort Mason, the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library celebrates its 50th annualBIG BOOK SALE, and suffice it to say, there are more volumes in that airplane hangar-size space than I’ve seen anywhere, even Barnes & Noble.
The prospect of finding an obscure gem or two (The Midwich Cuckoos, anyone?) is overwhelming at best, given the categorized, but sadly un-alphabetized, set up. But with hundreds of thousands of spines to skim, dusty jackets to paw, and yellowing, crusty, sometimes heavily marked pages to thumb through, this book sale is a literary aficionado’s wet dream. After all, the books are priced to move: hardbacks are just $3; paperbacks, $2; CDs and DVDs, $1. On Sunday, the final day, everything is $1, even if you find a signed Ray Bradbury hidden at the bottom of a box stashed underneath a table of cookbooks.
And if you’re not of the literary ilk, like yours truly, the sale makes for good people watching—let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised if cats (and lots of ’em) are the pet of choice among Big Book Sale goers. Bring your reusable bags to haul your loot home, and don’t forget the hand sanitizer. Many of these books have been attic-bound for decades.
Check out this cool stop-motion video of last year's Big Book Sale coming together.
