Some Tag Sale bookish bargains

 This past weekend was quite the wild ride even for those of us who are not into sports (that said, YES, Knicks in Five!!!!!) yet there were milder pleasures to be had as well.

For example, a church in my neighborhood usually has a big tag/rummage/etc. sale twice a year-fall, then spring-but this year, their second sale was this June(due to roadwork in the area). It’s a great chance to get some great deals and when it came to books, I found a nice trio of reads to add to my eternally growing pile.

Now, I have read Nick Hornsby before yet it’s been awhile so finding a nice British paperback edition of Funny Girl was hard to resist. Set in England during the 1960s,  newly crowned beauty queen Barbara Parker decides to move from her hometown in Blackpool to London in order to achieve her dream of becoming the next Lucille Ball.

Through a series of rather fortunate events, Barbara remakes herself as Stella Straw, the rising young star on a hit sitcom. But will her ambitions allow for anyone else to matter in her life?

This novel was adapted into a British TV series called Funny Woman and received at least two seasons, both of which are available to watch in the US via PBS Passport(that I thankfully have)-should be a fun read along experience to be sure!:

Then, I came across Three Days in June by Anne Tyler, another author that I haven’t read for some time. Seems a good enough time to get reacquainted here.

The three days in the title are centered around the wedding of Gail Barnes’ daughter Debbie and Gail has plenty of her own troubles without dealing with all of that.

She just lost her position at the fancy private school she worked at for thankless years, her ex-husband Max has shown up with a rescue cat that their soon-to-be son-in-law is allergic to and if that’s not enough, Debbie has dropped a major bombshell of a revelation that could change the course of everyone’s life.

Tyler is best known for low key drama with strong emotional high points when necessary and this certainly sounds like a prime example of her smartly elegant work. This ought to be a good way to get to know her again indeed:

For something completely different, Ten Restaurants That Changed America was the final course on my book buying menu that day.

Culinary historian Paul Freedman highlights this top ten of groundbreaking dining establishments from the classic Delmonico’s in New York to Antoine’s in New Orleans, more commercial venues like Howard Johnson’s and modern day icons such as Sylvia’s in Harlem, New York.

 The cultural changes that each place brought to American society when it came to fine dining are showcased in loving detail along with gorgeous photos, menus and even recipes! I was so lucky to find such a nice hardcover edition like this!

I may be just a Food Network watcher (and Top Chef fan) but it is interesting to learn more about the everyday art of cooking and especially, cooking for the delight of others. No doubt that this book will be a banquet of delicious insights to savor with each turn of the page:

Books weren’t the only good buys I made that day; my haul also included some fresh bed linens, a lovely tablecloth and a pair of damaged yet repairable Disney villain figures (with help from my mom!).

Whether it’s a tag, rummage, yard or flea market sale, these secondhand shopping events are great opportunities to not only get a good buy(particularly in our harsh economic environment right now) but to connect a little with your fellow buyers and sellers in friendly commerce. I know those last two words sound like an oxymoron but it is possible, folks, truly!

Anyway, it was an extra nice way to enjoy the weekend with some bargain hunting fun outside of watching reruns of Flea Market Flip.

However, the host of FMF now has a new show on Hulu called That Thrifting Show, where teams of two compete to design living spaces with  secondhand items found online and off . The winning team gets to keep everything they bought, plus the other team’s purchases as well!

It’s definitely a good time to be had if thrift shopping is your thing and yes, there is a second season n the works. For some creative comfort viewing, this show is truly a bargain to behold(plus, you can read during the commercials!):