Every Saturday morning, I start my day off with a slightly strange routine. I hop on my iPhone, load up Craigslist, and search for flea markets and sidewalk sales. Yes, this sounds like a highly unusual ritual for a guy in his late 20′s living in a big city, but there’s a reason.
During my undergrad, I spent most of my time working a terrible retail job to pay for school, transportation to my horrible internship-from-hell in NYC, and when I could afford it… books. While in New York City, I’d visit The Strand, and when I was at my job at the local mall, I’d dig through the bargain bins at the Borders outlet store on my lunch break. With the pressures of school, family life, and the future stampeding towards me, reading kept me sane. Diving into classics and reading obscure pieces of clearance fiction (consequently, I found one of my favorite novels in a dollar bin), really helped me hold it all together.
I promised myself that if I ever got out of this rut, if things turned out the way I planned, I’d do my best to make sure my future students, whoever they were, would be able to find some peace the same way I did. Through books.
So every Saturday, I write down the most promising-looking sidewalk sales, grab a bundle of canvas totebags, and hit the streets early. I fill these sacks up with all kinds of books, from poetry anthologies to popular fiction, non-fiction historical epics to mass market paperbacks… anything that will get my students reading. I’ll spend $20 or so every weekend, come home with two dozen books, and dump them in a large box in the corner of my bedroom.
Come Tuesdays and Thursdays, the first 20 to 30 minutes of class involve me giving handfuls of books away. Sometimes the students are excited about the books, especially when I have something popular. Other times, it’s like a silent auction, not a soul raising their hand for a Shakespeare play or the third copy of Dante’s Inferno I’ve brought in that month. If anyone so much as scratches their nose, they get stuck with the book. They’ll whine and roll their eyes, but I know they will appreciate it later down the line.
Because who knows. For every student that complains when they get a copy of The Canterbury Tales or an Ernest Hemingway collection, there’s a student who was probably just as stressed and terrified about life as I was. Maybe they’ll open up whatever book I threw to them from across the room, and find a similar, calming feeling.
Today’s Friday. Tomorrow’s a brand new day for rummaging. Wish me luck.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
When Diba first told me that you like to pick up books at flea markets I never really understood how deep seeded your obsession really is. I love dusty old books!
When do I get to be an Eric Smith student?
You’re an awesome teacher!
I <3 this. Exactly how I got my totally awesome copy of The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler back in 5th Grade.
There used to be a pretty cool used book store on 20th just south of the Whole Foods. They have such great stuff there… I wonder if it’s still there?
I used to work at Borders, so I know exactly what you’re talking about. The best deals were ALWAYS in the bargain bins (and they were CHEAP)!
You’re making me want to go and buy more books now.
I’ll always love that you tote several bags worth of old books around the city just to hand out to your students as you see fit. I wish my professors had done that.
One day you’ll be an old man, handing out books instead of candy on Halloween, lol.
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