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I have an awkward confession to make. As a bookseller, it's generally expected that I'll be on top of the new releases—that I'll know all about the new campus novel and the new World War II novel, and the new nonfiction release about how Donald Trump is either the worst president ever or the best president ever. 

But new books just don't really do it for me anymore. Instead, I've been working my way through a series of out-of-print public-domain ebooks of the kind that you'd be lucky to find used. I don't know what initially drew me to this. Maybe it's my natural contrarian streak, maybe it's the thrill of making rare discoveries (a thrill that's almost entirely imaginary at this point, when almost anything can be found and acquired for free online without getting out of bed). Probably it's because I like to get stuff for free.

Look, Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to mean anything. You get to decide whether it’s a holiday celebrating love, or a capitalist trap designed to sell cards and chocolate. Maybe it’s both, or neither. Maybe it’s just another random Friday in February. 

The data is in, folks! You've seen our individual list of favorites -- part one, part two, and part three -- but if you looked at that and were overwhelmed with the sheer number of books we loved last year, this is the list for you.

Welcome back to Part 2 of our Third Place Bookseller favorites of 2019!