Cheap Chick Bargain Bulletin-Open Air Book Fair (Sunday September 28, 2008)!

Hey, just a brief entry to alert my fellow bargain hunters to the Open Air Book Fair this Sunday September 28th (apologies to all who saw the previous date of Sept. 27th, the sale was pushed to the 28th because of storm predictions.) The event is being hosted by Housing Works (http://www.housingworks.org/) and features books, music, and movies, all for $1. Plus for just $20 you can stuff a bag with clothing and accessories from the Housing Works Thrift Stores. Be warned, you will have to earn your bargains by sifting through hundreds of boxes and rubbing elbows with other bargain hunters, but it will be worth it when you find a mint-condition hardcover copy of The Alienist by Caleb Carr (hey it worked for me!) There will also be food from Noho Star and Nolita House, and Sixpoints Craft Ales from Puck Fair. The sale starts at 10 a.m. and runs until 6:00 p.m. and is located on Crosby between Houston and Prince. This is a really great event and if you need to soothe your conscious about spending your hard-earned dollars, remind yourself that all proceeds from the sale are used help homeless people with AIDS. The event is also sponsored by The Village Voice, The Onion, WFUV, and Tekserve.

Cheap Chick Info: All books, CD's, movies etc. $1, $20 per thrift store bag.
Location info: Crosby between Houston and Prince.
Subway Info: B,D,F, and Downtown 6 to Broadway-Lafayette, N,R,W to Prince Street.

The Perfect (Free) Weekend-Part One (Sunday September 14, 2008) The Brooklyn Book Festival

The next chapter (and a particular favorite of mine!) in the Cheap Chick's never-ending story of New York City cheapness is the upcoming Brooklyn Book Festival. It's a fantastic (and FREE) one-day event held in the fall that celebrates New York City literary offerings. There are five outdoor stages as well as other area venues set up for a variety of happenings in Brooklyn's Borough Hall area. Events include readings, panel discussions, and performances, and past author appearances have featured Jonthan Lethem, (Motherless Brooklyn,) Dave Eggers, (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,) Pete Hamill (Fovever), and Jhumpa Lahiri (The Namesake.) Fellow bibliophiles can browse among stacks of books, and other literary-related items displayed at various vendors including Housing Works bookstore, and other publishers, and organizations.

This year some notables include Dorothy Allison: Bastard out of Carolina, Russell Banks: The Reserve Susan Choi: A Person of Interest, Joan Didion: The Year of Magical Thinking, Nathan Englander: The Ministry of Special Cases, Jonathan Franzen: The Corrections, Pete Hamill: Forever, A.M. Homes: The Mistress’s Daughter, Chuck Klosterman: Downtown Owl, Jonathan Lethem: Fortress of Solitude, Phillip Lopate: Two Marriages, Alice Mattison: Nothing is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn, Terry McMillan: Waiting to Exhale, Sarah Mlynowski: Bras & Broomsticks, Elizabeth Nunez: Prospero's Daughter, Sandra Tsing Loh: A Year in Van Nuys, Naomi Wolf: The End of America, Gail Carson Levine: Ella Enchanted, Cecily von Ziegesar: Gossip Girl, Jacqueline Woodson: Feathers, Chris Raschka: Charlie Parker Played Be Bop Jon Scieszka: Time Warp Trio, Betsy Lewin: Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type, and Mo Willems: Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity.

Cheap Chick Info: Event is totally free, and runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location and Subway Info: 2, 3, 4, 5 to Borough Hall; R to Court Street; A, C, F to Jay Street/Borough Hall (these trains will let you off right near the festival.)