Ellen Israel presents an engaging, interesting, and frequently entertaining picture of the Bay area, charity-affiliated thrift shop in which she'd worEllen Israel presents an engaging, interesting, and frequently entertaining picture of the Bay area, charity-affiliated thrift shop in which she'd worked for over five years. The store occupied approximately 4,000 square feet of compartmentalized space, each one designated to a given category such as furniture, clothing, shoes, dishes, jewelry, and so on.
She describes some of the more colorful and controversial customers, including one of the regulars, a chatty, helpful woman who'd been using her benevolence as a distracting subterfuge to steal. Ms. Israel shares stories of lonely people whose visits to the shop supply an hour or so of socialization, and also provides a couple of examples of the length people will go to bring "first come, first served" to fruition. Another unfortunate segment of shoppers brought to light is the group sometimes labeled, "shopaholics," such as the lady who hid her filled-to-the-brim shopping bags in a secret place within her car so as to hide these acquisitions from her husband. Also profiled was the jewelry afficionado who could never get enough, and visited the store daily in search of another new and shiny addition to add to her massive jewelry hoard.
Ms. Israel cites instances in which unrecognizable donations presented a sort of "What is this object?"guessing game, and goes on to reveal the outcome of these oddities. She gives examples of countless things the store received that lacked any obvious purchasing appeal, and yet... a buyer usually appeared. (Powder horns, anyone?) Collectors, the author explains, cover every category, from old, defunct radios to World War II memorabilia to old photographs, even faded images of strangers. The older the item, the greater the find, i.e. a true antique holds cachet over something that is vintage. It turns out a buyer needn't be a collector to scoop up a highly unusual item, especially if he or she finds it interesting, compelling or cheap enough.
Interestingly, the author's years working in a thrift store bear testimony to her claim that many, if not most, people can't resist a bargain, even if the bargain isn't something they need. Purchases that fit into this category are often donated back to the store at some point - perhaps when the buyers finally run out of room, die, or when their spouses discover their stashes?
Besides covering thrift shop curiosities many of us ponder, Ms. Israel offers some practical advice to donors: Thrift shops typically do not accept used under garments, even washed ones. Donated clothing is not washed and, for this reason, many thrift stores emit a certain, specific smell designed to mask any unpleasant odors. Foods and alcoholic drinks represent another category of unwelcome items, along with clothing that has missing buttons, broken zippers or pills. Used car seats needn't show up at the donation door, either, for safety reasons.
Other tips include old, high-quality furniture. The author suggests reconsidering the heavy, oak piece that at first glance seems too cumbersome to move, and compares it to cheaply built, contemporary home furnishings built to break after a few years. She also suggests reupholstering torn and faded seat covers on old chairs, which involves lifting the seat out of the wooden seat frame, removing the old cover, and tucking the edges of the new, replacement material underneath the seat. She opines that it's a simple, less expensive solution than having seat covers professionally replaced.
If there are any aspects of thrifting that the book sidestepped, I'd suggest one of them relates to the ubiquitous reselling customers found in every thrift, retail, and online store nowadays and their impact, if any, on regular, non-reselling customers. Also, It might have been interesting to learn the views of the sorters who accept the interminable donations that pour through the donation window each day. These overworked, underpaid volunteers can't be cheerful, stalwart, - or honest - all of the time, can they? Another rather minor, albeit annoying, observation concerns the careless editing in the book. Although I was able to work around the repeated word phrases, neglected deletions and misspellings, not everyone is so forgiving.
Overall, this enjoyable, informative book deserves to be read by anyone who is curious about the wares and wonders that take place behind and beyond a thrift shop door. As an aside, sometimes those marvels are visible before you even enter - such as the five-feet wide, respectively, elephant parent statues and their elephant baby, all of which looked out from behind the expansive, thrift-shop window. P.S.: Their home behind the window didn't last long; someone snapped up the hefty trio for a real bargain....more
This started off with promise, but my expectations may have been too great. Aside from the fun, but fantastical, premise of finding your very own doppThis started off with promise, but my expectations may have been too great. Aside from the fun, but fantastical, premise of finding your very own doppleganger, too many other implausible situations and characters feature in this story, beginning with a six-year-old child who speaks like a 60-year-old nun. Halfway through the book, it is revealed that only three days have passed. By the book's conclusion, an exhausting lifetime of events and minor miracles pile up - all in the span of one week.
Without further ado, the ending, although climactic in a way, felt like the final insult. The "savior" deserved so much more. Perhaps I just chose the wrong book as my introduction to Daphne duMaurier....more
This is an informative book with credible sources, including former letters left by some of the victims. "Victims" is not too strong an appellation gThis is an informative book with credible sources, including former letters left by some of the victims. "Victims" is not too strong an appellation given the callous treatment and brutality most of these indentured servants and white slaves suffered at the hands of their masters.
Until fairly recently, most Americans knew little, if anything, about the circumstances surrounding their Irish and British ancestors who came to America during the transportation years. Well, now they might be able to construct a mental composite of that era thanks to this excellent, exhaustively-researched book. ...more
After reading Bruce Holsinger's, "The Gifted School," I was eager to read his newest book. Unfortunately, this one did not live up to its predecessor,After reading Bruce Holsinger's, "The Gifted School," I was eager to read his newest book. Unfortunately, this one did not live up to its predecessor, and I felt let down and dismayed.
Although the story captured my interest, my enthusiasm began to wane after encountering too many liberal issues injected here and there. It seemed as though some of the story lines were developed around those progressive causes, as a way to telegraph a message - "See how nice those illegals are, and how poorly they are treated [by those evil, privileged white people]?"
The Displacements possessed the plot points for what could have been an innovative and exciting novel. Instead, I read a manual on all that is wrong with the right:
The punch list included climate change, illegal immigrants, gun control, capitalism, i.e. the rich white wife bamboozled by her rich, bad white husband, more bad white people, two of whom decide to sell illegal drugs from a makeshift library in the camp, and even more bad white trash, featured at the end with a bang - literally.
I'm sure the book resonated with many readers but, obviously, this reader is not one of them....more
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