| Not an easy question to answer. First, every Book | | | | basement with all the problems of hauling books up |
| Store owner prides himself on being a sharp Book | | | | and down the stairs, but he had one, and customers |
| Scout. All of them buy used books. That's what they | | | | loved to go down and prowl though the shelves |
| do. Even working in their own store they are Book | | | | looking for great reads or rare books. |
| Scouts. Boxes arrive tumbling in with bugs, yard sell | | | | Sitting on a stool the book dealer worked over a |
| items, and books with torn covers and hard bounds | | | | row of books and spotted a softbound book that |
| with no dust jackets. You see it everyday. You have | | | | had the title of A Time to Kill on it. He pulled it out |
| to book scout these boxes just like you would the | | | | and glanced at it. His hands started to shake as he |
| shelves of a dusty hide-away that nobody knows | | | | examined the book. It was the first edition he had |
| about. | | | | been looking for. It was in his own store sitting on his |
| This particular Owner was always out looking for a | | | | shelf. He looked at the price. He had priced it at |
| copy of John Grisham's first book, A Time to Kill. It | | | | $10.00. Anybody could have purchased the book. |
| was published in Soft cover with a very small release | | | | The answer is to look everywhere! You never know |
| on the East Coast. Mostly by John himself as the | | | | when you are going to find used books. But be sure |
| rumor has it. This volume is the true first edition of | | | | to look at what you already own because you just |
| the book. When The Firm became a monster hit, A | | | | might not remember what you have. Even more |
| Time to Kill was published in Hard Bound and it went | | | | important, there is a lot of good used Book Stores |
| out as a First Edition. | | | | around who have no idea what they have. Nobody |
| Now finding a book like this is not going to be easy. | | | | can know everything about books. I have stood next |
| You're probably not going to find it. Yes, it would | | | | to scouts and have them pull off books that I had |
| make his collection of books even more valuable to | | | | no idea that had any resale value, and I have pulled |
| have this soft bound copy, but it was the bragging | | | | off books right next to them that they passed up. |
| rights of having it that Book Scouts love to tell. "Oh, | | | | Plenty of room out there, and there are books sitting |
| you mean you don't have a copy of the soft bound | | | | in book stores worth thousands of dollars that you |
| version?" | | | | can buy for $10.00. Does this happen everyday? No, |
| So one day the book dealer was digging in his | | | | it does not. It might never happen, but that won't |
| basement for books. A unique store having a | | | | keep us from not looking. |