I love libraries. Despite owning an e-reader and doing plenty of reading on that device, not to mention my web browser, I still have a huge attachment to the printed word. Whenever I go to a college campus, I check out the library, and will spend quite some time wandering the aisles, just looking at the shelves and shelves of books.

One of the cool things about libraries is the “Books for Sale” section. My local library has a shelf dedicated to this, but the larger branch downtown has an entire nook. I’ve never been to the larger branch before- the traffic makes it a chore- but I went with some friends today, and we spent an hour there. The entire time, one friend and I were in this section- I didn’t even explore the rest of the library like I normally do- and I walked away with ten books.

The books, in no particular order, are as follows.

• Timeline, by Michael Crichton. This is the same author who wrote Jurassic Park. A friend recommended this book to me, and I watched the movie at another friend’s house, which increased my interest in actually reading the book.

• Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugham. I’ve heard of this book, and seen it quoted elsewhere. The blurb on the back makes me question whether or not I’ll actually finish it, but for twenty-five cents I figure I can give it a shot.

• The Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells. Classic author, classic book. One of those books-you-should-read-eventually. And now it’s on my shelf.

• SSN, by Tom Clancy. I’m a big fan of action (or thriller) novels, and Clancy’s recent death brought to my attention that I need to read more of his works. The only one I’ve read to this point is Patriot Games, and that was a long time ago. SSN might be a decent re-introduction to the author- the next book definitely should be.

• Clear and Present Danger, by Tom Clancy.

• The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, by James Hogg. The title intrigued me, and the blurb on the back even more so.

• The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I strongly debated grabbing this one. I already have all sixty official Holmes stories on my shelf, but the blurb claims the twelve stories in this book should be counted official as well, but my main debate was trying to remember if I already own this book or not. If so, I’ll just donate a copy to the local library. If not, well, score!

• The Bancroft Strategy, by Robert Ludlum. I greatly enjoyed Ludlum’s The Bourne Identity, and have been intending to read the sequels one of these days. Now I’ve got another of his books on my to-read list.

And, finally,

• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, by Donald Glut. The novelization of the movie. My friend showed me this and I thought it would be amusing to read it in comparison with the movie.

All in all, a nice little collection for a great price. If you like reading, but need to do so on a budget, I highly recommend paying a visit to the local library and checking out their sales section. Now I just need to find time to read all of these.