Books with images of water on the cover almost never sell

and other secrets of the remainder wholesale industry...

I live about two miles south of Daedalus Books, which has built a flourishing global business by joining the desire of publishers to get rid of excess inventory with the desire of bookish types to grab as much high quality reading material as they can at bake sale prices. We can't help it -- most of us were weaned on used bookstores (which, long long ago, were cheap), the sunlit corner back of the Goodwill, library sales, and hand-me-downs from deceased, literary-minded relatives. When the remainder boom took off, it was a natural transition; we already had a hunter-gatherer mentality.

Here in central Maryland, Daedalus has become a kind of cultural landmark. It's situated in a large warehouse in an industrial park off of Route 32; neighbours include Eastland Food and Rhee Brothers. First time visitors are apt to get lost, and you have to watch out for the trucks.

When you step in, you're greeted by jazz, folk or world music coming over the speakers, Celan or William Burroughs or Tatyana Tolstaya catch your eye, a fresh shipment of bargain philosophy awaits your perusal: Heidegger for $2.98. It feels partly like a Costco, partly like a good city bookstore on an off day. It's one of my favorite places around here.

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