University of Sydney Chancellor's Committee Bookfest

So this year's Sydney Uni Book Sale has come and gone. I held back my urge to rummage through the collection until the last day as they were having a $5/box day.

Too bad the box wasn't any bigger

I love picking up second hand books for bargain prices and often visit my local St Vinnies and Salvo opportunity shops in search of juicy new finds. I've managed to pick up 5 Terry Pratchett hardcover books for $1 each, a collection of brand new piano books for $10, Japanese textbooks for less than $4 each, and the list goes on...

Oh Terry Pratchett, what a splendid find you are!

The people working at these shops are often really friendly too and I've had instances when they've taken one look at my purchases stacked precariously on the counter and charged me a lump sum of $10! Oh bless those old ladies!

I think part of the fun comes from the fact that you never quite know what you will find whilst flipping through a dusty old collection and of course it's a cheap way to satisfy any shopaholic tendencies you might be harbouring inside before you burn a hole in your wallet at the nearest upmarket department store.

I guess part of the reason I love rummaging through a pile of second-hand books is because Mum used to agree more readily to buying old magazines and books for me for $1 or $2 as opposed to $20+ on shiny new book purchases she wouldn't even be sure I would read more than once.

There weren't always a lot of children's books on offer at some of these op shops and I soon got into the habit of reading old copies of Reader's Digest and Women's Weekly ever since I was in primary school. (Come to think of it, that probably really warped my way of thinking as a kid...hmmm)

As a teacher in the making, I'm always on the look out for more teaching resources and this year, I managed to pick up quite a few language books, high school English study guides, ESL learning books and a few fiction books as well.



The pickings on the last day weren't so slim after all, much to my pleasant surprise. In fact, I managed to pick up a wholesome 10.4 kg worth of books!

Bargain, eh?