Some gifts are priceless, but the best one cost $6.89

James Thurber was born in Columbus, Ohio on December 8, 1894, and attended Ohio State University.


I grew up in Columbus, Ohio. I attended The Ohio State University. I was born on December 10, 1961


James Thurber is one of my literary heroes. He is best well known for his cartoons and covers of The New Yorker magazine, but I know him for his wicked wit and view of life around him. To see his Wikipedia entry, click here.

I am always on the lookout in old bookstores for hard cover editions of James Thurber's books. In April of this year I was walking along downtown Main Street in Kutztown on a sunny Saturday, and saw that the small bookstore next to the stream was open.

It is called the Saucony Bookstore, and is located at 41 W. Main street. I went in and asked the proprietor if he had any Thurbers. He only had one, and I was ready to buy it, except....... I had no cash, and it was a cash only store. It was about to close at 4 PM, so I told him I would be back.

The book he had is a treasure, the one pictured above, The Thurber carnival. It was published and printed in 1945, and a stamp three pages in certifies that it was "manufactured in strict conformity with Government regulations for saving paper."

The book itself is a collection of his numerous short stories and written works between 1931 and 1945. Two of the more notable and known stories included are "There's an Owl in My Room," and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." The last twenty pages are reserved for excerpts from his what I feel was his most insightful book, "Men, Women, and Dogs"

Unfortunately for me, every time I had occasion to be in Kutztown, the bookstore was closed. I had mentioned to my wife how much I wanted that book, but as time passed, I had put it from my mind.

Then Saturday we were driving through Kutztown after running errands, and she spotted the large red, white and blue OPEN flag hanging at the door.
"Lets stop, I'll buy you that book, you always talk about," she proposed.

So we went in, and it took some searching, but the owner remembered me, and found where he had put it. So how much was this rare literary find, that I personally treasured?

It was six dollars and fifty cents, plus tax, for a grand total of $6.89.

Some people might think Thurber's Carnival must not be worth that much, and they would likely be right, because to most people James Thurber is a nobody. But to me James Thurber is a mentor, a writer who did it right, and followed his own path, like I try to.

My wife has given me many gifts in our years together, and while I treasure her love for me above any other, the present of a book that cost her less than $7.00 stands up there just below that as one of her best of them all. Thank you honey.

Some gifts, like love, can not be given a price tag, and this book was one of them.