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In general, I like brand-new things. I have never liked second hand furniture or second hand clothes. I don’t want to wear something that someone already wore. The very thought kind of disgusts me. As for second hand furniture, I like my house to be well decorated with new, shiny things. I do not want some worn, weathered couch in my living room. One thing I have always liked used, however, is books. I cannot get enough of used bookstores, and visit them whenever I get the chance.

Some of my friends would consider these to be second hand books, but I consider them antiques. What is great about second hand book stores is that you can find interesting reads that are long out of print. Publishing decisions are not based on the quality of book but on the ability to sell. At second hand bookshops, you might be able to find something that, in its day, was quite a classic but has fallen by the wayside amidst the millions and millions of books that have been printed over the years. I have found some amazing second hand books in my time. I found, for example, an illustrated Encyclopedia of the ancient world from the turn of the century. It was fascinating because it detailed the prevailing views of science at the time, views which now we see as quaint and outdated, but which back then were the cutting edge. The best used books can be a window into the past, allowing us to see the way people saw themselves and their world at a certain point in time.

Another great thing about second hand books is that they make such great decorative additions to your house. I know this is shallow of me, but in my living room the books do not serve merely as scholastic function. I like people to know that I am intelligent and well read, and having a wide variety of books on different subjects conveys this impression admirably. Modern books are printed in a fairly standard and uniform way, but with old antique books, there were many different conventions. Some of them are printed on fancy paper with handcrafted, uneven edges. Other ones are of unusual sizes or shapes. Every once in awhile, I even find second hand books filled with illuminated pages. They make such varied and colorful eye candy that I just cannot resist the temptation. Even if it is years before I read a book, I will still enjoy having it in my shelf.

Have you noticed how expensive it has become to send your child to public school? It seems like my son and daughter are constantly bringing home notices requesting fees for different activities as well as supplies for classes. I do not remember this from when I was in school. For some classes we needed to have a certain kind of paper or writing utensil, but these were in the upper grades. My children started needing special supplies in elementary school.

When my son was in second grade he brought home information about a school fund raiser that he was going to be involved with to help raise money to buy a computer for their science class. This particular school fund raiser involved selling different office supplies. This made sense because a large office supplier sponsored the fundraiser. The office supplier was going to give them money off of the computer based on how many supplies were sold. There were a variety of things to buy including printer paper, bulk pens and pencils, ink cartridges, address labels and other office supplies. Many of the things were offered at a discounted rate; however I was upset that I was going to have to accompany my seven-year-old son though the neighbor hood taking orders, collecting money and then delivering supplies. This seemed like a school fund raiser that would be more appropriate for older students. I also thought that something like a computer for a classroom was the districts responsibility to buy, not the students.

Through the years my children have been involved in selling everything from greeting cards to magazine subscriptions to every kind of candy bar and other food items. Most of the time the money is being raised for extra curricular activities. I made the request to the school for them to include how much of a cash donation would replace the child going from door to door selling things. I no longer wanted our children asking their grandparents and aunt and uncles to buy things. My parents have nine grandchildren; they cannot be expected to buy things from all of them. I told the school I would rather make a cash donation than go through the hassle of selling to neighbors and relatives and then having to deliver the items. I did not feel this was a good use of my time and I was not willing to let my children go in the neighborhood by themselves. It seems that a number of other parents also expressed concerns because in the later years all school fund raiser announcements were accompanied with an optional cash donation amount. I know that fundraising is a learning experience for children; however doing it several times a year seems excessive to me.