As a book lover, purchasing new reading materials is always one of those things that I both relish and anguish over, as it tends to put a sizable dent in the wallet. While fiction is one thing, the the high cost of many arch and landscape related volumes is sometimes laughable when deciding which $80 book to pick up. While an occasional free review copy is a welcome addition, the low-volume / high-price of design literature is cost-prohibitive to fully obtain the plethora of great titles. The library is an option, but I’m more of a owner than renter in this case (specifically in the non-fictional) – mostly as these aren’t short-term relationships but long-term engagements that get visited and re-visited over the years. The other local mecca Powells and other used book stores is always a benefit – shaving a few dollars off, but more often than not the price tag is large.

So I was excited to visit local Title Wave Books here in Portland today… the word ‘bookstore’ here is somewhat applicable, as it’s more a repository for Multnomah County Library to unload books that are taken out of circulation in the regional library system and sell them at a significantly reduced price. Today was a local special (an additional 55% off books in Architecture and Design), so I was salivating over the possible additions to the library. I wasn’t disappointed.

The full list of books I acquired:

:: Building Inside Nature’s Envelope – Wasowski
:: Earth Sheltered Houses – Roy
:: Theory and Design in the Second Machine Age – Pawley
:: Emilio Ambasz: The Poetics of the Pragmatic
:: The Making of a Town: Potsdam-Kirchsteigfeld – Krier & Kohl
:: AD: Sci-Fi Architecture
:: AD: The Architecture of Ecology
:: Architects: The Noted and the Ignored – Prak
:: Tight Spaces: Hard Architecture and How to Humanize It – Sommer
:: Understanding Architecture – Conway
:: The Architecture of Happiness – de Botton
:: Nature Near: Late Essays of Richard Neutra
:: The Language of Space – Lawson
:: Architecture and the Phenomenon of Transition – Gideon
:: What is Architecture? – Shepheard
:: After the City – Lerup

Total price-tag: $36

While admittedly, I may not have chosen all of these had they sold for full price, but even a chapter’s worth of knowledge is worth a dollar or two sometimes, and some were just chosen for some good imagery or an interesting historical viewpoint. Many were hardcover, and a good bit where standouts, which will inevitably be mentioned in upcoming reviews or posts, so stay tuned – and check out your local library for a sale or a store… you won’t be sorry.