Palo Alto Library Book Sale–Cheaper and Better Organized than Most Bookstores 

My mother said that when I was a kid she often saw me curled up in my bunk bed reading. I loved books. I read the Hardy Boys, Howard Pease adventure novels set on a tramp steamer, and Landmark history books. I also read books that few kids read anymore, such as Tom Sawyer and Treasure Island.

I remain a lover of books, and what I enjoy reading now isn’t unrelated to what I enjoyed back then. I like crime novels, nonfiction, and fine literature.

In an area where bookstores have become almost extinct, how convenient then that there is an inexpensive source of used books just a half mile away from my house! 

Each month for two days, Friends of the Palo Library puts 50,000 books, mostly donated by patrons, on sale for the benefit of the library.

Don’t conjure up an image of the Sale with books in boxes, stacks of who knows what on the floor, unsorted books on trolleys, and maybe a cat draped over the monitor on the counter.

This book sale is superbly organized and spread over three rooms: the Main Room, Bargain Room, and Children’s Room.

The Main Room is organized by subject just like a commercial book store with sections and unexpected subsections clearly identified. For example, in the cook book section, books  are organized by region and even chef.  In contemporary fiction, there is a subsection for popular book group selections.

If you don’t mind a little less organization and are seeking even cheaper and older books—yes, treasures have been found there—check out the Bargain Room.

This is not to say that books in the Main Room are expensive; most of its trade paperbacks are each only two or three dollars and many are just one dollar.

Because they are so cheap, it is easy to walk out with more books than one will ever read. I always anticipate that eventuality by bringing a sturdy canvas bag to the Sale, one that could hold 25 books.

To minimize the result of excessive purchasing, I do abide by my rule that the number of new purchases has to be matched by an equal number of outgoing volumes.

I donate books back to the library and contribute to my neighborhood’s Little Libraries.

The Sale is held on the second Saturday and Sunday of every month. For hours and other information see the Sale’s website: https://www.fopal.org/book-sale-info  

If I go on Saturday I wait until the early afternoon when the morning rush of enthusiastic readers and used book dealers has died down.

Lunch Afterwards?

If you wish to eat lunch or enjoy coffee afterwards while you view your finds, the Sale is adjacent to Palo Alto’s Charleston Center which offers the following places to eat: the Green Elephant (Burmese and Chinese food), Mountain Mike’s Pizza, Peet’s Coffee, Piazza’s Fine Foods (grocery and deli), and Rick’s Rather Rich Ice Cream, a Palo Alto institution.