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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2009 > February > 28 > Entry
The Scavenger’s Manifesto
Lately I have been thinking quite a lot about how our society as we know it is about to change radically. As our economy circles the drain many Americans are getting rudely shaken out of their dreamy complacency by a brutal reality that is becoming more apparent with each passing day.
Our consumption is starting to plummet. Businesses are closing. Jobs and homes and incomes are being lost. Many of us are being forced to rethink all the things that we once took for granted; retirement, sound investments, lavish consumption. As Mick Jagger used to sing: But it’s all over now…
I’m reading THE SCAVENGER’s MANIFESTO by Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson (Tarcher/Penguin). This timely book is a guide to help readers to comprehend what the authors consider to be a “crucial practice.” It will be published in April, just in time for spring scavenging season…
Are you ashamed to scavenge? We live in a country that tosses out 250 million tons of trash annually. Our trash is a scavenger’s treasure.
I’m not talking eBay here. The authors provide valuable tips on how to be a smart scavenger. Where to do it. What to look for. They even offer readers a code of ethics.
They show off their magnificent household decor, most of it scavenged. They find stuff at rummage sales, in Dumpsters, at “free markets,” thrift stores, on-line, and in the street.
They even find stuff with metal detectors! I have been a proud scavenger all my life and I’m delighted to finally have some company. Hey, I saw that junk first!
Which reminds me. I scavenged some great books recently:
“The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Socialism and Capitalism” by Bernard Shaw. That is George Bernard Shaw, the playwright and social activist. Published in 1928, this is the first edition. I paid nothing for it.
“Great Russian Short Novels” Edited by Philip Rahv. It has stories by Gogol, Chekhov, etc. Philip Rahv was the editor of The Partisan Review. This is the 1951 Dial Press first edition. Scavenger price: nothing.
“M. Gorky - Childhood” by Maxim Gorky. Gorky was an intellectual who was coddled by Stalin and ultimately consumed by the Soviet State. This is the first book in this autobiographical trilogy. This Soviet first edition was published in 1954, the year after Stalin died. This English translation was free. Scavenged by me.
I still have a whole box to go through. A scavenger’s dream…
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: clearing the cobwebs
Comments
By vick
March 1, 2009 7:40 PM | Link to this
ah, the trusty turkey baster, right? Never know when you’ll need that… :)By downsized
February 28, 2009 8:06 PM | Link to this
Found an unidentifiable kitchen tool in my drawer today. It said Made in the U.S.A. on it’s underside. I intend to keep it as a potential antique.By lmj
February 28, 2009 4:18 PM | Link to this
My favorite scavenge was finding a neighbor’s golf bag in the trash. I rescued it and took it to the school where I taught. Another teacher saw me walk in with it and offered me $30 for it. This is my favorite story because that teacher would DIE if she knew where I got the bag. My dining room table is one of three that I bought at a school auction for a total of $1 (they were library tables). I sold the other two for $15. A few weeks before my dad died suddenly, I called to wish him happy birthday. She told me he was out shopping at 9 o’clock at night. I thought it was late, but my mother brought me to our senses by reminding me the next day was the garbage pick-up. Then I understood.