

It's hard to resist the urge to splurge on hardcovers and paperbacks during Erie's Great American Book Sale.

Erie's latest Great American Book Sale, hosted by the Friends of the Erie County Library, reminded me that I already own too many books. I look in the want ads on most days to see if any bookcases are for sale, which is a bad sign for me. It means more books are headed for my collection.

As a kid, I read about how young Abe Lincoln would walk miles just to borrow a book — he loved reading that much. Thomas Jefferson’s personal book collection was considered one of the finest in the new world.

The last two books I purchased, coincidentally, covered Lincoln’s last trial and Jefferson’s final days. I now own 24 books on Lincoln, though I’m thinking of donating several.

Years ago, before marriage and children, I used to prowl old bookshops in faraway cities, which is how I came to purchase a half dozen or so first editions signed by authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Adlai Stevenson and Robert Penn Warren.

When our boys began to crawl and then stand, they tore the covers off “The Old Man and the Sea” and “All the King’s Men.” I went wailing to their mother, but she fixed me with an icy stare and told me to choose between the books or kids. After that, I dialed my hobby back a few notches.

To me, there’s something special about holding a book in your hands and leafing through the pages as you lounge in front of a cozy fire. Actually, I like reading during any type of weather. I’ve always collected hardcover books because they look so impressive in a bookcase. But lately, as I’ve been falling asleep reading heavy tomes such as Ron Chernow’s excellent book on Ulysses S. Grant, the books have been slipping from my hands and landing on the floor with a thud, much to Mrs. Cuneo’s chagrin.

But you got to love the Great American Book Sale, where people walk out laden with heavy bags of books. At this year’s sale, which was spread out over the spacious first floor of McDowell Intermediate High School back in mid-June, you could see scores of people digging through piles and piles of titles.

I had to promise my wife that I would fill just one of the cloth bags she brought to the sale. And when we checked out, I carried just that single bag. Mary didn’t need to know that I’d already made three previous trips to the car.
https://www.goerie.com/entertainmentlife/20180705/kevin-cuneo-bookworm-cant-resist-collecting-volumes
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