I'll second the suggestion that, especially if you work downtown, you check out the Poetry Appreciation Group that meets Tuesdays at noon at the Seattle Public Library. Here's a link to basic information about it: http://goo.gl/Ve0Fy.

And if you want to talk to the group organizer, you can email Ask a Librarian and the query will be forwarded to her.

Hope you find a group that works well for you.

First of all, to comment on the previous answer by MyrnaMinkoff, regarding contacting the libraries, there's nothing wrong with talking to them, but they will tell you to contact a local bookbinder. They should know bookbinders and paper conservators if they have the more valuable books in their collections. Librarians are not bookbinders and based on my experience, what they "patch up" isn't restoration, and the end result is horrible. I'd not recommend you to let them "fix" your book for you.

Regarding the condition of the paper mentioned also by MyrnaMinkoff, she's correct: however, based on what you described in the questionnaire, I don't think the kind of book you have has paper that contains serious acid problem, and can simply be rebound.

I wouldn't recommend you to do a spiral binding. Do Not do it. Beside, your book has an extremely small margin on the left (spine side) that the holes might punch through some of the text.

If I can see some pictures of your book, I can be more precise, but If I understand your description of your book correctly, all it needs is re-gluing on the spine, and if the cover is still in a good condition that can be reused, I think it'd cost somewhere between $10~$25 to rebind. Not that expensive. I'd recommend you to Google local bookbinders, and contact them.

One thing that will be critical in determining whether the book can be rebound is the quality of the paper it's printed on. If it's a thicker, paper that is still bright white, you'll be fine. Older books, especially cheap mass-produced paperbacks are less likely to hold up, because they were never meant for longevity. If the paper is yellowing, or if you fold over a small corner and the page breaks, the book cannot be rebound. (And don't do sprial bound if you can avoid it -- super ugly, and not designed to hold up over time.)

Contact the University of Washington Libraries about re-binding. Big university libraries usually bind their journals, either a year or a quarter at a time, so they do a high volume of binding books. They will also periodically do the same thing for paperbacks or other hardbound books that are falling apart.

I don't know whether they do their binding in house or send the books out, but it can't hurt to ask. You can also ask Seattle Public Libraries or King County Libraries, but I bet they use the service less -- it's probably cheaper to replace the high-circulation/low-cost paperbacks that are likely to fall apart, and journals they can just keep in magazine files.

I'm no expert, but have you ever tried AbeBooks.com? They seem to be an awesome site, but I'm not sure.

If you like the obscure and the quality, check out John Lang Books in Ballard. Short hours (12-5 Tue-Sat or by appointment), but it's full of odd treasures. Strong in Western Americana of all kinds, and lots and lots of interesting paper ephemera.

There's a neat little cluster of used stores down on Stone Way below 36th, including Seattle Book Center, B. Brown (amazing science fiction and mystery first editions), and a nautical book shop, if that's your thing.

My favorite used bookstores in Seattle are in the tourist zone, though -- Wessel & Lieberman (all kinds of stuff), The Globe (fantastic for art books), and tiny but sweet Newberry Books down in the basement of the Grand Central Arcade

There's also Globe Books in the upper U-District, and Spine and Crown on Pine Street between Summit and Bellevue.

In addition to David's Victoria suggestion, if you find yourself in Vancouver, be sure to check out MacLeod's downtown -- it will boggle your mind, and possibly topple over onto your head as well, in the grand tradition of messy used bookshops with ten times more books than shelf space. If you ask nicely about a particular subject, they may take you down the street to the enormous annex, which isn't open as a store separately but is stacked to the 20-foot ceiling with rarer items. It's like a cathedral of books in there, in dozens of subjects you've never even imagined.

I've recently moved to the Greenwood area and have started to greatly enjoy Balderdash Books. It appears to be (I've only been in a few times and haven't really chatted too much) owned by a woman, who has been there every time I've gone in. Two of the three times I've been there the woman's 10-12 year old son (assumed) has been there, working alongside her and having great interactions with her. The store has sweet, friendly, and not over-sensitized or sad cats, although no cute/dictatorial signs about them. The proprietor has two racks of $1 paperbacks sitting outside on the pavement to lure you in (and they're not all Danielle Steele or James Patterson "novels," either)! I need more time to know if they're going to regularly carry books that sneak up on me and make me want them, or whether the organization of the books they do have is optimized for customers, but I do know that they're reasonably priced, quiet, crammed-full (an essential quality for bookstores, imo), located right by my bus stop, and that the owner/manager is friendly and glad to answer questions. Those are most of my criteria for used-book store greatness.

I do also really like Twice Sold Tales' new Capitol Hill location. I like feeling like I am wandering into a book labyrinth. Also, book happy hour (25% off after 6 pm Sun-Thurs, after 8 pm Fri/Sat)! It seems like the staff have become more friendly and accommodating as well.

If I'm in the U-district, I'll usually look in on Magus- it's *slightly* more pricey than what I usually am looking to pay, but usually makes up it for by having titles not available elsewhere and excellent, excellent atmosphere.  My other regular U-district stop is at Half-Price, but the browsing experience there is kind of subpar.  I feel like it's a used-book store for people who don't really love to read (Is that weird?).

Half Priced Books on Capital Hill.. nice and large so ya don't get claustrophobic!

Gotta represent for my home zip, the 98118: Columbia City Book Exchange, right on Rainier, nice laid back spot.

I do like Arundel books down at 1001 first avenue (right down the hill from the library) - an interesting selection of titles there.

But boy, I know - I grieve the loss of Beatty and Shoreys, they were so much fun. If you're looking for a book browsing holiday (apart from the obvious trip to Portland), Victoria BC has some GREAT old book shops for browsing. My grandparents used to run used bookstores up there, actually, and their stores are closed now, but many others from that day are still in operation - I especially liked a little shop called Renaissance books, I think it was.

Inner Chapters in South Lake Union is a great one. They have a cafe and beer, too.

And Mercer Street Books in Queen Anne is a lovely, well-curated bookstore.

Up in Greenwood, there's Balderdash Books, which is kind of similar in feel to the late, lamented Abraxus crossed with the U District Twice Sold Tales, and Couth Buzzard Espresso Buono is just up the street from them.

It's not strictly used, but I really like Ada's Technical Books on Broadway. It's nice to see a good science-minded bookstore in town.

I know I'm forgetting a couple; I'll come back when they come to mind.

Are you planning to mass publish your board book? Or, thinking of having a few numbers bound/made after printing the manuscript at the local printer?

I've found Twice Sold Tales gives me the most money back on my books, but they are picky and require you to make an appointment to sell. Also, I hear the U-district location is closing (or closed) and the last time I wanted to sell at the Capitol Hill location (~8 months ago) they weren't buying for cash, so this might not be particularly helpful.

I've heard very good things about Magus in the U-district for selling rare or old books, and the store is great.

Half Price will often take everything you've got, but the pay out is much lower. I'm also not a fan of the dumpster of (sometimes soaked with a hose?) books in the parking lot.

None. The Rapture as a distinct concept was created in the 18th century. It has been linked to various sentences in the bible (see David's comment) but the mythology surrounding the Rapture has been GREATLY expanded beyond the strict language of the Bible itself.

It is a very modern conception and creation with very limited basis in the Bible.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 (King James Version)

"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

I'll second what's below. Typically, when I'm clearing out lots of books, I make two stops:

1. Third Place Books. They give good value, and they will pay more for high-value titles.

2. Whatever's left over goes to Half-Price Books.

I've done this several times, and have felt like I've gotten decent value. Keep in mind that there are a lot of variables that go into pricing books. In my experience, popular books that are less than a couple years out from initial publication get good return, as do titles for a significantly narrower audience but which are still relevant. Books that do NOT get good returns are books that are of little use once they're a few years out of date, like software manuals, which are the albatross of used book stores everywhere.

Medici Paper downtown has lots of fancy stuff like that. They for sure sell lovely paper and ink, and most likely metal quills. I don't know about actual goose quills though.

The University Book store has calligraphy supplies as well.

Oh and look! Look at this! http://www.paperinkarts.com/shop.html

It's online, and therefore not in Seattle. But what are you gonna do? Sue me?

The answer is--it depends. It depends on what you have, of course, and if you want just cash or store credit.

I sell lots of books myself. I find the University Book Store gives a pretty good price for used books, and I especially like that I can get store credit (and get slightly more when I opt for that) and spend my money on something new there, if I want (books, gifts, art supplies, etc).

Then, there are times when I just want to get rid of what I have and Half Price Books seems to take just about everything. I can't say they give the best rate, but sometimes just unloading makes it worth my while.

I have also heard that Third Place Books gives good trade back money.

I am interested to hear about other's experiences with this...

Do the writers at the Stranger have to limit the material to The Stranger? I could see Brendan K's recent article about the "Speakeasy" expanded to a 20-50 page mini e-book to sell. (That is if he's not turning it into a real book or is sick of the story)

I always mention this when people ask about e-readers: There are two killer apps for the Kindle and other e-readers.
1. Free first chapters for many books, so you can decide whether to buy a book by actually starting to read it.
2. Access to affordable English-language books while traveling. This is particularly important if you traveling with a kid who can burn through a complete young-adult novel in one train ride.

When I flew across the Pacific in March, I would have killed for an e-reader. Lightweight, not bulky, perfect. I had already fancied the possibilities of the e-reader in terms of expanding the book's horizons, but convenience ruled for me.

But I have reservations mostly because of the DRM issue. I really don't relish buying a book that can only be read on a particular piece of hardware. (And yeah, I know it's possible to convert formats ... but why do I have to do that? Especially if my library gets big enough for that to be a hassle.)

I also really like the freedom of being able to sell or trade my books once I'm done with them. The used market is still an important source of books for me, and there is no electronic equivalent of that yet.

Happy medium? If places like Amazon sold physical books bundled with digital copies.

As a reader, I'm really glad there's both. I haven't quite hit my stride w/ eReaders - something I keep putting off fully indulging in, perhaps because in the library I'm literally swimming in an abundance of really good, free books - it's glorious - so I'm doing more downloadable audio than ebooks.

As a librarian (and a consumer) it is a little more complicated. I'm not going to use this as a platform to lauch into any kind of anti-DRM diatribe - there are plenty of other more well-informed people who do a better job of that - but I will say I have serious concerns about the shrinking preserve of the public sector and of fair use in a time when so many of our rights are signed away in dialogue box filled with henscratch that nobody reads before clicking on it. The other concern for librarians has to do with the archival aspect of all this: yes, it is phenomenal that I can now rave about some long lost, long out of print book and you can pull the whole thing up on your phone while riding a bus, for free. But technologies and devices change with staggering rapidity, and those technologies leave a lot of people in the dark. Librarians wince at the blithe "it's all online" sentiment that we hear more and more, because it very much isn't, and even if it were that doesn't mean it is safe or accessible.

It doesn't have to be an either or thing. You can have both and I think they will continue to coexist for a long time if not for ever.

There are things that are much better to read as a book and things that are better on a Kindle. Anything with graphics of any kind is still better as a book for example (although that may change).

It's hard for a book to compete with a medium which allows you to look up words you don't understand.

The real issue at the heart of all this are publishers. They are stodgy businesses set on protecting their legacy. They don't innovate in anything and resist all change. If they continued to push the book in new directions it might have properties beyond text on a page which would make it a good alternative. Meanwhile, if all a book is is a string of text then the electronic form will dominate.

I am totally split on this. I LOVE the feel smell and weight of a real book but still my Kindle is the best damn thing I have ever purchased. I especially love it for reading the Daily Telegraph and the Washington Post. I also enjoy the Kindle since I have a habit of wanting to read while at a coffee shop or the bus and like to change what I am reading after a period of time.

Oh Oh! I can help with this one. I am a hardcore Luddite (I still write handwritten letters and send them through the US Mail, and use landline phones), but I LOVE my Kindle. I thought I would never switch to this technology, but I got one for my birthday, and it is the BEE'S KNEES.

I still read printed books on paper too, though. Not everything is on the Kindle, especially history books - my favorite subject.

I'd say these days my reading is about 60% Kindle, 40% book. My briefcase has two printed books and one Kindle in it at the moment, in fact.

You don't have to be monogamous with printed books or the Kindle. They don't mind if you have an open relationship. Read books on the Kindle when it strikes your fancy, and pick up an old friend on paper and ink when you're in the mood. You can have the best of both worlds.

You can get some sense of what's in demand, and what the going rate for SOME comic book issues by checking Ebay.

Remember, just cause somebody is asking $100 for their copy of "Bone-Man" doesn't mean that you can get $100 for it, or that it will sell.

Check out the completed sales to see what's sold for what amount recently.

I tend to shy away from depending too heavily on the Overstreet Guide, as it is only a price guide that shops rely upon.

And any shop that invests in a book expects to make a profit on it, and so will have to give you less than they can expect to sell it

Don't know what Virtigo books are going for on the whole.

But try Comic Castle for one... and walk into a few shops to flip through their back-issue boxes to get a sense for what they're asking for their back issue stock.

Good luck.

The University Book Store has a large selection of stuff like that.

de Medici Ming if they are still there on First Ave

Paper Delights on 45th in the U District :)

I write in my books and I love when a used book has been written in.

Reading is such a solitary endeavor. The only time I really get the feeling of belonging to a community of readers is when I'm reading a book that's been written in. Even if the note is silly or the underlined passage is unremarkable, it reminds you that reading is a shared experience.

I like the reminder.

It wasn't until I got a kindle that I became aware that I had always been fairly mindful of markings I made in books. I underline and make notes at least twice as much on my kindle as I do with a paper book.