Today was the first day of the Saskatoon Symphony Book Sale. If you’re on Facebook with me you’ll know I was lamenting spending an hour and a half shopping for clothes yesterday. I hate clothes shopping. Book and record shopping however… YAY! I spent 2 hours there today and it seemed like only minutes. So here are the treasures I snagged today (for a grand total of $30):

Dear James: Letters to a Young Illustrator by R.O. Blechman

In the tradition of Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, Dear James is an indispensable tool for any up-0and-coming creative person looking for advice and inspiration, as well as a memorable read for those daring enough to chase their dreams

My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber

Mostly it’s about the wildly incredible things people do when they think they’re acting with common sense.

The Portable Dorothy Parker

The collected stories and poems of one of the most beguiling and witty of moderns

A Guide to Nature Viewing Sites in and Around Saskatoon edited by Peter Jonker and Bernie Gollop

(I think I may have a newer version of this already, but I wasn’t sure, and for a buck how could I lose?)

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

…exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave.

Sabine’s Notebook and The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock

(The second and third books in the Griffin and Sabine trilogy – I already have the first one.)

Everybody’s Favorite Songs

(A music book with old songs in it – and it includes ukelele tabs! In case I ever get a ukelele…)

Folk Blues

(another music book)

The Microjazz Duets Collection 2

(On my electric piano I can record one part and then play a duet with myself. That’s not pathetic, it’s creative, right? 🙂 )

Great Jazz Songs

(another music book)

Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty

(We had this record set when I was a kid! Two 78’s that tell the story of Sleeping Beauty including snippets from Tchaikovsky’s score.)

Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Little Fishes: Animal Folk Songs Sung by Pete Seeger

(A Pete Seeger LP for kids for $2! That was a no-brainer.)

Aesop’s Fables

(Read by BORIS KARLOFF! This LP was my best find of the day.)

I hope to get back to the sale once more next week, but if I don’t, I’m totally happy with what I got today.

My favourite sale of the year is the used book and music sale put on by the Saskatoon Symphony. I always find amazing, quirky things and for cheap! Here are the treasures I scored today:

• For my husband, a 1970 yearbook from Mount Royal (the highschool he graduated from in 1965) for $2. He had fun looking through it and finding friends and acquaintances.

All the rest were for me:

• The Scottish Students’ Song Book ($8)- couldn’t find a publication date, but the Editor’s Preface was written in 1897, and the inscription handwritten in the front of the book is dated 1919. By “student” they mean university students, as there is a section for Songs of the Gown and another for Songs of the Universities. I haven’t had a close look at it yet, but I did find one song that makes fun of Darwin’s theory!

• Deadlier Than the Male: Dangerously Witty Quotations by Women about Men ($2.50)- How could I resist with a title like that! I’m sure some of these will show up in my Wednesday quotes, but here’s a good one to start with:

Naked from the back, Ellen decided, Jack Conroy was more exciting than naked from the front. He was hairy. This man was not born, she thought. He was knitted by his grandmother on a cold day.

Isla Dewar, 20th-century Scottish writer from Women Talking Dirty

• A Walk Though the Heavens: A Guide to Stars and Constellations and their Legends ($1)- I’m a sucker for Constellation Legends.

• Old-Time Songs and Poetry of Newfoundland ($1)- This little gem, which I believe was published in about 1966, includes “I’se the By” but also “Anti-Confederation Song,” the final verse of which goes like this:

Would you barter the right that your fathers have won,

Your freedom transmitted from father to son?

For a few thousand dollars of Canadian gold,

Don’t let it be said that your birthright was sold,

• Creative Bird Photography: Essential Tips and Techniques ($2.50) – How could I pass this one up? Prepare to be amazed by my photos this year… or not. 🙂

• Cautionary Tales and other verses by Hiliare Belloc ($10) – my priciest purchase but worth it. It’s a hardcover and comes in a bright red box. Here’s a verse from the section entitled “The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts:”

The Tiger

The Tiger on the other hand, is kittenish and mild,

He makes a pretty playfellow for any little child;

And mothers of large families (who claim to common sense)

Will find a tiger well repay the trouble and expense.

That was all the books. I bought one DVD set:

• The Bonanza Collection ($5) – Five bucks for 20 episodes with Ben, Adam, Hoss and Little Joe – that’s 25 cents an episode! Who could resist that, right?… Right?

And I bought a few 78 rpm records for $1 each:

• Prokofieff’s Cinderella: A Musical Play in 4 Acts – I was THRILLED to find this one! We had this when I was growing up and I loved listening to it. I’m looking forward to hearing it again.

• Danny Boy / I’ll be Home for Christmas (Bing Crosby) – for a buck? A no-brainer.

• Lullaby Yodel / The Land of my Boyhood Dreams (Jimmie Rodgers) – see comment above. 🙂

So I’d say another successful treasure hunt at the Symphony Book Sale. And it’s on until Saturday, at Ave. D and 20th Street, with the records about 4 doors down from there. Trust me, you should definitely go!