Great Valley Bookfest recap!

Hi friends – here’s a quickie blog since I’ve been feeling a little achy and groggy this past week.

Last weekend, I stopped by the Great Valley Bookfest for about an hour and lugged home a bunch of goodies. I thought I’d share this little adventure since it fits right in with my blog’s thrifty theme — I got one heck of an epic secondhand book haul at the festival’s library book sale!

When and where is the Great Valley Bookfest?

Besides browsing my local library’s new book section, I also love digging through its used book sale corner. A celebration of all things bookish in the Central Valley, the Great Valley Bookfest is an event that takes my local library’s rinky-dink corner and expands it 10-fold. It takes place every year at Manteca’s Promenade Shopping Center the second weekend of October, just when the Valley’s scorching summer temperatures simmer down to a slight crisp. 

Every year, there are tables upon tables of donated books that are sold to raise funds for the county library system. As you’d expect, there were tables set up for fiction as well as non-fiction genres such as cooking, religion, art, and more. The biggest fiction genre was mystery — of course I picked up a few cozy mysteries for good measure!

Anyway, I actually don’t think I hoarded too much, although several people did offer me their free orange tote bags because I was lugging around lots of books. I left with around 13 books for $7.50. A steal! (Although, looking back, I think I was undercharged by the sweet older lady ringing me up.) I was especially excited to come across a withdrawn library copy of John Steinbeck’s Sweet Thursday and a cool vintage houseplant book. As you can see, I tossed in a few classics, too, including As I Lay Dying and The Waste Land. 

This year, I went early in the morning, around 10:30 AM. When I first came across the book festival, I actually came at closing time around 4 PM, and all the used books were actually free! Just a quick tip for anyone who’s looking for free books. 

What happens at the Great Valley Bookfest?

Besides featuring a major used book sale, the Great Valley Bookfest goes all out with the festivities — there were food vendors, games, performances, and so much more! There was even a complete-a-passport raffle for a 6-inch Kindle. (I did not participate because I recently dropped some money on a new Kindle). I also came across tables for city services, author organizations, and local Central Valley bookstores. Before leaving, I picked up a cute bookmark and autumn dog tote bag from Caspian Books in Tracy. 

Even if I dropped by for just a short time, I’m glad I stopped by the book festival! It’s one of those events that reminds me how much the Central Valley, a place I very reluctantly moved to at first, has a little bit of everything I love, including healthy literary, gardening, and thrifting scenes. 

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