The Book Thing

April 19, 2011 • 1:40 pm • POSTED BY jtondera

On a recent weekend trip to Baltimore, a friend introduced me to my new favorite place in the entire city —The Book Thing of Baltimore, Inc.

Open Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 6pm, The Book Thing is a space you can visit to pick up used books. For free! From the F.A.Q. section on the website,

Are the books really free?
Yup.
Really?
Yes.
Absolutely free?
Yes.
What’s the catch?
All the books you take have to be stamped “not for resale”. That’s it.
What is the suggested donation?
A smile.

The building never seems to end as you turn a corner and discover yet another room with densely populated bookshelves lining the walls. The books are organized by subject, but this experience will still appeal to the treasure-hunting book finder as there are additional bins along the floor to dig through to find that classic novel you’ve been wanting to read. And if you’re a graphic designer like myself, you may gravitate towards certain aesthetics of more unfamiliar books for their moments of design ingenuity:

Bring a tote bag and be sure to pick up some books (or donate books!) the next time you’re in B’More:

The Book Thing of Baltimore, Inc.
3001 Vineyard Lane
Baltimore, MD 21218