12 in 12 - Used Book Bonus

It's been a couple years now since I completed my '12 in 12' project.  12 books in 12 months....one a month.  And while I thoroughly enjoyed the increased reading I did over that year, I've scaled back my page flipping a bit.

Currently, I'm tackling Dan Epstein's book on baseball in the 70's....Big Hair And Plastic Grass.

#WalletCard is helping me out with it.  And I must say that it's a fun ride.  Check it out if you like your baseball with a touch of vintage.

In addition to the library helping me out in finding new titles, I'm a big fan of used book sales.  And spring brings with it a few in my neck of the woods.  I've already got a couple circled on the calendar.

But I was told about a sale last weekend that was not on my radar at all.  And after seeing what was grabbed by fellow collector Captain Canuck, I decided to head out and go digging.

And I'm thrilled I did.

This was my "quick sweep".  I only had about 20 minutes of searching before I had to go volunteer so I really only hit up the sports section (say for the unopened News Radio Seasons 1 & 2 dvd set - a steal at $2).

I like Stephen Brunt and his style of writing.  I enjoyed Searching For Bobby Orr and am looking forward to his writings on Muhammad Ali - or should I say the opponents of Ali.

Tretiak has a story all to itself so I will leave it for a moment.

Gary Carter is a name that stuck with me in my infancy of baseball on TV. When I saw this book staring at me I grabbed it without thinking.  I'm sure it was written before Carter's death in 2012 but I'm curious as to how much post-career story sits within the pages.

Dave Bidini.....big fan.  No brainer.

Friday Night Lights is a book that I think could go down as one of those "gotta own it" if you like sports reads.  I have the softcover version but decided to upgrade.

Love the title of Bob Knight's book.  That alone got it to the keep pile.

And Arthur Ashe is a subject that's always intrigued me.  I started his other book Days Of Grace but set it aside for now as it's a tougher read than I thought.

All totaled (with the News Radio dvd) I paid $20.  It actually came to $16 but because the money was going to charity I told them to keep the change.

That......and when I saw what comes next, I knew I was getting a great deal.

Tretiak: The Legend.  I've seen this book dozens of times during my trips to bookstores, sales and charity fundraisers.  Maybe it's the boring looking cover or that it's an older title, but I never really was drawn to it.

I saw this cover staring me in the face last weekend and originally passed on it (as I always do).  But when my eye caught a second copy on the shelf I decided to give it a shot.

After all, it's a couple bucks and the money is going to charity.  Maybe the current documentaries on the Red Army that have been in the news had me more interested, maybe it was me trying to build a bit of a bulk lot to make the trip worth it.

Or maybe it was the fact that the author signed the inside page.

GREAT GOOGILY MOOGILY!!!!!!

Yeah, I couldn't believe it.

And the funniest part is - I had no clue until I went to pay.

I was carrying my haul up to the front counter and was still on the fence when it came to the Tretiak book.  I decided to take a closer look at the condition with the mindset that if it wasn't mint it'd go back on the shelf.

Front cover good, back cover good, pages seem good, oh what's this scribble on the inside cover?

And sold!!!!!

I was shocked to see such a great looking autograph.  I immediately went back to check the first copy I saw - the one I passed on originally.  No auto.

What are the odds of me passing over the first book only to talk myself into getting the second copy?

Let this be a lesson to all you used book sale people....buy 'em.

And for those who might not remember, this isn't the first time I've had a little bonus gift on the inside cover of my used book buy.

I'll be making a trip back to the store later this spring.