Volunteers Read Between The Lines Of The Donated Books

What people donate to a book sale and what people buy at a book sale can speak volumes about them, say volunteers from the Friends of the C.H. Booth Library Annual Book Sale.

There are some obvious interpretations, of course. A donation of a large number of cookbooks might suggest that the donor loved to cook. A collection of role-playing books suggests a love for games and pretense. A horse-lover might give boxes of books about horse breeds, horse care, and novels that feature the horse. There are subtleties within the donations, though, that give the sorters pause.

"We got in a couple of boxes with tons of books on witchcraft and the Wicca movement," said Ms Marshall. "We wondered if the person had become disillusioned with the whole Wicca thing, or had they just been doing research? The books were tossed in with a bunch of Dr Seuss books, and I thought, 'I'd like to meet that person!'" she said.