Some remarkable reads and a couple of pop culture surprises from a spring rummage sale

Twice a year,the church near my house has a rummage sale and this past weekend was their spring outing. I tend to pick up a few books at each sale(who am I kidding,the book tables are the first ones that I hit and sometimes the only ones) and while I add a couple of new titles to my home library,the bulk of my purchases were pop culture related.

Starting with the books, I did get two hardcovers,one of which was The Help( the copy I did share with my mother awhile ago was a rented paperback) and the other was Maeve Binchy's Nights of Rain and Stars. The story is set on a small Greek island called Aghia Anna,where several unlikely to ever meet up strangers connect with each other at the local taverna.

Since I just finished another Binchy novel recently(Heart and Soul)that referenced some of these characters,I was happy to scoop this sweet looking book up. Even though Maeve has gone to that great library in the beyond,it's nice to discover more of the wonderful work she left for all of us to continually enjoy:

 The one paperback I did buy was Nefertiti by Michelle Moran,about the infamous queen of Egypt as told by her younger sister Mutnodjmet. Sounds like The Other Boleyn Girl set on the Nile and I hope it's as enticing a read as that book was.

I've heard of Michelle Moran before but haven't had the chance to read any of her other historical novels such as The Heretic Queen,Cleopatra's Daughter or Madame Tussand. This book seemed a good place to start as any. The edition that I now have is from Target's book club(didn't even know Target did that sort of thing)and has a special intro by the author,a nifty little bonus there.

Granted,I have a lot of historical fiction in my TBR piles already but this portrait of a legendary Egyptian lady known best by many for her portrait in statue should be a nice change of pace:

 Now for the surprises-the first being a press kit for the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's Bag of Bones for A&E. I did read the book a long time ago but didn't get around to watching the TV movie version when it aired in 2011.

 Well, I have my chance now and in quite a package. The press kit is in the form of an old phonograph player with a secret compartment containing a booklet that has the two disc screener of the film and a bonus disc of PR extras.

 You can imagine my startled delight at finding such a treasure and am looking forward to watching the movie later this season. It'll be good for when the summer TV season starts to lag,I'm sure:

 A discovery like that is a pretty rare gem at a rummage sale but it wasn't the only one to be found. Nearby was a black book that turned out to be AMC's mailer for the Emmy voters in 2011. It has gorgeous glossy "For Your Consideration" photo layouts for such shows as The Walking Dead,The Killing and Mad Men,plus a brief bid for Breaking Bad.

The back pages,however, were chock full of DVDs-season one of The Walking Dead, the first five episodes of The Killing(with pilot included),the first three episodes of the short lived series Rubicon and the complete fourth season of Mad Men. Talk about your pop culture bonanza there,folks! True, the discs don't have any extras there but with the limits on my home entertainment budget these days, this was quite a blessing from the TV cable gods and I am most grateful for it.

I haven't seen The Killing at all but will give it a try(especially with season three on the way) and while the current season of Mad Men is underway, looking back to year four should be a sweet supplement indeed:

 Well, it just goes to show that you can never tell what can be found at any rummage,tag or yard sale. One person's trash is another's treasure and sometimes even the trash is worth treasuring,not to mention being able to come back in style or never go out of it: