TGIF! Most Valuable Book!

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads. Every Friday she posts a new question and it’s a really fun way to discover new blogs.

This weeks question is: Most Valuable Book: From your personal collection of books, which ones hold the most value to you – is it signed by the author? or maybe it’s your favorite story of all time? Share it with us.

This week’s question is really fascinating and I can’t wait to see what makes a book valuable to everyone. There are so many factors that could be used to evaluate the books value and everyone will have a different set of criteria.

In my collection there are two books that I valuable above all the others and they are both highly values for sentimental reasons.

The first book is my copy of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. It’s funny that this is one of my most valuable books, as it’s not high up there on my list of favorite novels. This particular copy makes the list as it is a Third Edition, hardcover copy of the book that was given to me by my great-great aunt. We were on a trip up North to visit Family the summer before seventh grade and I had borrowed Gone with the Wind from the library to read for the first time (It was a long book so i figured it would last the bulk of the way up the east coast).

We spent time in Buffalo visiting my mom’s Aunt and Uncle and cousins, family that we only rarely got to see so we always tried to make the most of our trips. On one of our last days there we took some time to visit my mom’s Great-Aunt. Her Aunt Clara was a big reader and to make conversation she asked me about the book I had in my hands, the library copy of Gone with the Wind. Her eyes lit up and she managed to get up and pull something off the shelf, a hardback copy of Gone wit the Wind that looked like it had been read many, many times. She handed it to me and told me I could keep it, that she wanted me to have it.

Unsure, I glanced at my mom to make sure it was okay to accept the gift, and then turned back to Aunt Clara to thank her profusely.

Aunt Clara passed away a few years later, so that trip was the last time that I saw her. However, I still have her copy of Gone with the Wind, the third edition that she bought new and read over and over again as a young adult.

The other book that holds a lot of sentimental value to me is my copy of The Giver by Lois Lowry. This bookbelonged to my mom, she purchased it to read as an assignment when she was in graduate school. I was in late elementary school at the time and she thought I would enjoy the book, so she purchased an extra copy for me.

The extra copy was purchased as my mom’s copy was signed by the author. Lois Lowry had visited Oglethorpe University when my mom was in graduate school and she was able to go hear her speak. Afterwards she waited in line to meet the author and have her sign her award winning book.

The signed copy sat on a shelf in my mom’s room and while I was allowed to look at it, I wasn’t able to take it anywhere. This was the first book I had seen that was signed by the author and I was in awe over it.

A few years ago mom was cleaning out her room and she asked if I wanted her copy of The Giver. Um, of course I did! I don’t think I will ever have the opportunity to meet Lois Lowry myself, but I will always have a signed copy of her book.

What are you most valuable books and why? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!