Find of the year

Last week I read about The Book Exchange on Lydia's blog..

For years I've seen the sign at Ward's Corner as I have driven past on my way to I-64 and have not given it a second thought.


Based on what Lydia had to say, I had to tootle over to the store to have a look. Shira and I were blown away at this book store. We expected a dirty, dusty little store, much like most secondhand bookstores I have ever visited. What a pleasant surprise to find that it was clean, bright and airy with not a trace of that musty book smell you so often associate with secondhand books.

I was surprised to discover that The Book Exchange is the largest secondhand bookstore in Virginia, stocking over 50,000 books, DVD's and CD's.

Shira and I spent a very pleasant hour browsing through all the books. We found an entire collection of Britannica's Great Books on sale for a pittance.


Currently, their juvenile fiction section is well stocked and full of books that Shira wanted to read. Obviously, this changes from week to week as their stock depends on what customers bring in to them to exchange.

Shira was very excited to find a well stocked art book section. She was particularly excited to find a book that merged two of her great loves, animals and art.

Shria, Flower and Robin Richmond's "Animal in Art".


This out of print book is a real winner. From Alibris:

Fine art reproductions of children from all time periods and places are presented here with text from internationally acclaimed artist Robin Richmond. The child-oriented text and pictures come together in a way that allows children to obtain a well-rounded view of not only artists and their lives, but of fine art itself

While I was paying, Shira made herself comfortable in the very fine reading area and started reading her new book.


That Carl Hiaasen book on the table is mine. I couldn't believe that there was one of his that I haven't yet read, so when I saw it on the shelf, I snapped it up. (now if someone could just tell me how to pronounce Hiaasen, I'll be a very happy chap).

I can see that the Silverbergs and The Book Exchange are going to become very well acquainted. I generally give the books we are done with away, or swap them on PaperBackSwap.com, however, I think that exchanging them at The Book Exchange is going to be a much better idea.

I really hope that more Tidewater homeschoolers start doing this as it will make this store an even bigger boon to homeschoolers.

How It Works: They sell all books for 50% off the retail price. VHS & CD's sell for $5 each or 3 for $12. DVD's sell for $9 each or 3 for $24. They give half this amount in trade credit for the items you bring in that they accept. They're always happy to look at what you want to trade at any time. Their trade policy is customer friendly. There are no hidden fees and you can use your credit toward the purchase of anything in the store at any time.

Sounds like a good deal to me.