Do you remember Readers Digest Condensed Books?
Earlier this week I had lunch with several women I work/used to work with. One of them had a box on the curb in front of her house filled with books.
"Do you want them?" she asked. I said yes and she seemed so happy I was taking them. She knows how much I love to read.
Here's the box showing a couple of the books.
Yes, I was one of those who purchased these condensed books as a teen (back in the 1960's). I have the box in my house now, wondering when I will look through this and recognize any of the books that I received during my subscription years. I remember that reading some of the condensed versions led me to reading the full books.
I even found a list of books published in the series and their condensed books.
Does Readers Digest even publish these anymore?
They do, although they don't call them Condensed Books anymore; they call them Select Editions.
I'm wondering if my friend was giving them away because she found they couldn't be donated to a library book sale. I know our local library booksales don't accept them. It's strange in a way, because I remember these books being quite popular at one time.
Which brings me to my Thursday post, where I showed a bookstore in a small town in my part of New York State and the book Christmas trees they have in their window. One tree included some books whose pages were carved into art.
I normally wouldn't ever want to see a book carved up into "art" but it got me to thinking of the thousands of no longer wanted books out there. Better to make them into art, I'm thinking, rather than into trash. There are places you can donate them to (noting I haven't verified any of the article I am linking to, but I'm sure a lot of books end up in landfills eventually.
When I'm done with these books I hope that isn't their fate.
They bring back too many condensed memories for me. I wish there was a good way to send them on to someone who would appreciate a condensed book or two.
Now to find time to add them to my to be read pile.
Grandma Holton had a whole bookcase of these. You can find a lot of these at used bookstores.
ReplyDelete...I have a short attention span, I always say, give me the Reader's Digest version..
ReplyDeleteOh, my, I haven't thought of those Reader's Digest versions of books in years. At one time there was a whole closet shelf full of them in the house where I grew up.
ReplyDeleteI know I read one of them, perhaps two. It introduced me to an author that I liked.
ReplyDeleteI know of Reader's Digest, but not the condensed books. I think I'm just a touch too young to remember them.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know, sometimes bookstores have to destroy books. There's something about getting credit for books not sold, so those books have to not be sold, but returning them is too costly... Anyway, I imagine that some of the book art was done using those. I have no idea if I'm right. I'm just hoping that's what they were doing.
Over the years I've read one or two of them - but never felt convinced to buy them ... they're good for hotels, bed and breakfasts etc ... and obviously introducing people to the authors. Cheers Hilary
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