Valuing and Destroying Old Books

South Dakotans: Antiques Roadshow appraiser Richard Austin will be appearing at the Brookings Public Library today. Don't you hate that newspapers wait until the day of the event to report on it? It's just a little beyond my driving range, but if you're closer you might like to see what he's got to say. He'll even evaluate books for you (max 3 books), so you might get your chance to find out if your Nancy Drews will finance your retirement.

Austin will also let you know if the book is worth keeping, or recycling into something new. Now, this (at first glance) makes me want to cry: converting an old book into a journal. Cutting up a book is heresy, an obscenity! However, if the book really isn't worth anything to you, but you'd like something cool to carry around and write your most intimate thoughts inside, this could be a classy alternative. It could even be cheaper, given that a newly-made journal with a hundred pages could run you $10, but a 50¢ hardcover at the thrift shop and $2 worth of notebook paper could get you a 300 page journal. You could also get creative: pick the title of the book you dissect based on its contents -- like bloggers do. Your personal thoughts compiled, chronologically, in a single volume with a witty title and wrapped in images created by other people? By gosh, it's much more deserving of the term dinosaur blog!