During our too-short stop in Ohio, Tom and I wanted to go to Dayton.  We had two reasons for going.  First, we wanted to see second “son” – Steve and his wife Amy.  They just bought a house and we wanted to see where they are living now.  The second reason to visit Dayton was to go to the One Dollar Book Swap.

Of course we enjoyed visiting with Steve and Amy.  They have a beautiful house in a very nice neighborhood.  We got the full-on tour, including their ideas about what they will change first (basement).  Most of the house is updated and gorgeous.  They do have one unusual room – a bunny room – where Daisy plays to her furry heart’s delight.

We saw the One Dollar Book Swap on Facebook and decided we needed to visit.  It is a bookstore in a warehouse, but it is also a book swap.  For every two books you bring in, you can get one book.  The have a big selection of books, although there are more books in bins than there are on the shelves.  Two people at the desk were sorting books and preparing them for the shelves.

The most interesting part of the One Dollar Book Swap is getting inside.  You drive to an area that looks like a bad part of town.  Then you follow the signs around the back of a big, industrial looking building.  Once parked, you walk in a door, down a hall, through a huge empty storeroom, past bins of books, and finally get to the sign that says you’ve arrived.  Then you are in the big room that houses the books.

The books are loosely grouped in sections.  The kids book section looked large and inviting.  There was a big area of video games, DVDs and CDs.  But we were most interested in the books.  I found cookbooks, fiction, non-fiction, and popular authors.  There were also some textbooks and a small section of old books.  The very large fiction section had the books roughly grouped by author’s last name.  All the books are used, but they are generally in good condition.

I took in eight books I didn’t want anymore and swapped them for four others to read. I got two paperback novels, a book on peppers for John, and a non-fiction book on idioms.  Tom and I have enjoyed reading and talking about the book on idioms as we travel.

John and Jackie went with us and we all agreed that it was an interesting place.  If we lived in Dayton, it would definitely be a place we would stop regularly.  All the books cost $1 if you don’t bring any books in to swap.  It would be a fun place to take a kid and let them pick out any 10 items they wanted.

With the price of books today, the One Dollar Book Swap definitely fills a need.  It is a fun place to browse and check out the available books.  I’m sure their inventory turns over frequently.  They only had a small portion of books out on the shelves.  One Dollar Book Swap is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 until 6.