Book Deals Abound, Just in Time for the Holidays

The holidays are coming and books are great gifts for obvious reasons. Besides, they’re easy to wrap and don’t require a box.

All of which means it could be time to visit one of the several San Fernando Valley locations of A & S Bargain Books, where the prices are almost always at least half off the publishers’ prices.

Currently, all computer books, hardback or paperback, are $5. Many other books throughout the store are priced under $10 as well.

Let’s take a look at fiction first. A hardback edition of “I Know This Much Is True” by Wally Lamb is selling for $7.99 instead of the original $16 price.

Self-help is available from Iyanla Vanzant’s “Yesterday I Cried,” a hardback edition of which is marked $6.99, down from $13.

For children, a hardback edition of “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein is a good buy at $7.99, not the original $15.95.

Also, a collector’s edition of “Charlotte’s Web” that was a pricey $24.95, is a much more reasonable $12.99. Fans should delight in “The New York Times on The Sopranos” paperback for $5, instead of the $9.95 list price.

For World War II history buffs, “The Victors” by Stephen E. Ambrose is a bargain at $7.99, down from $16.

To help build your small business, the cost for the paperback of “Guerrilla Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson might just be the best $5 you ever spend.

According to owner Andy Weiss, about 80% of the store’s inventory is made up of returns or purchases from trade show auctions, and the rest are publishers’ remainders, all releases from two months to two years ago.

Occasionally, a hot new book is purchased and sold at discount.

A & S Bargain Books, 301 N. San Fernando Road, Burbank, (818) 238-0371; 10821 Zelzah Ave., Granada Hills, (818) 831-6000; 9036 Tampa Ave., Northridge, (818) 882-2095; and 275 N. Moorpark Road, No. 197, Thousand Oaks, (805) 374-7780.

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Weekend Supersale: As if the prices aren’t already low enough at the Family Outlet, owner Gary Kramer is having a sale this weekend to make space for all the holiday merchandise that has just arrived. Gift bags for all occasions will be three for $1 (these retail for $2.50 or more apiece), children’s backpacks will go for $5 (retail $15-$20) and 5-inch, black-and-white portable TV sets will fly out the door at $25 each.

The Family Outlet, 11124 Balboa Blvd., Granada Hills, (818) 832-1367; and 19557 Parthenia St., Northridge, (818) 701-0145.

The Saturday Sale is back at the California Mart, where local manufacturers sell their excess merchandise at wholesale prices and lower. Some hot names for women include Tessuto, Bisou Bisou, Mica, Custo and Syrup. For men, look for B.C. Ethics and Fubo.

California Mart, 110 E. 9th St., Los Angeles. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. $2 admission, $3 parking.

For more deals, check https://bargainsla.com.