The quiet rustle that can only be made by flipping through a worn paperback and the smell of old paper hanging in the air like a comforting blanket make up a favourite sensory delight of any book lover. There is nothing quite like a used book sale to make a book lover like myself smile, a sentiment many Mt. A students seem to agree with.
On October 20, Mt. A’s English society had its second ever book sale to fundraise for future English society events and activities. The tables, floors, and windowsills of the student lounge in Avard-Dixon were covered in books of all kinds, from textbooks to comic books, each priced at around one to four dollars and just waiting for someone to pick them up.
Samantha Penny, a fourth-year English major and one of the organizers for the event, said that the English society started the book sale “last year and want to make it annual.” They are even “debating going biannual,” she said. Penny explained that “the majority of the books were donated from our professors in the English department, mainly Dr. Lapp, […] from the library, and we also had a couple bins on campus.” She added that the books were priced based on factors like condition, topic, and size.
While I was in attendance, I saw many students coming in to wander around and look at the books, with many leaving with a huge stack, but paying less than they would for a single volume at a regular bookstore. I myself bought quite a few books including both informational texts and novels.
Two such students wereOlivia Nowe, a third-year Modern Languages major and Em Coates, fifth-year Modern Languages major. They heard about the sale through their friend Abi Flann that morning whilst leaving class and decided to come by. They left with Pet Semetary by Steven King and a selection of books by Latin American authors.
Penny expressed gratitude for the Mt. A community, both teachers and students, and their support of the English society. “We appreciate everyone’s donations and without the donations and excitement from the Mt. A community, we wouldn’t be able to have the event,” she said, adding that “every time we do the book sale it shows how much people love English and how many more people care about it than you might know on campus.”
Penny also explained that “next semester we hope to do the second book sale. We would like to tie it into the Atlantic Conference that is going to be happening, as that will be a huge event for the school and we want to get more things involved with it.” She referred to the Annual Atlantic Undergraduate English Conference happening at Mt. A this year
Mt. A book lovers should keep an eye to the Society’s Instagram (@mtaenglishsociety) next semester for the English Society’s next book sale. It is a great way to get rid of your old books that you no longer want and to buy some new-to-you, previously-loved books.
