DJ Ernst Books

03/31/2026

Last Saturday when I spoke briefly at the start of my book auction, I should have called up my wife, Petey, to stand beside me. She supported me and helped me unhesitatingly for the entire 50-plus years of my book selling career. Without her, it would have been a dull and spartan atmosphere. She was my energizer, my inspiration to work harder, my public relations manager, my event coordinator, my event chef, and on and on. I can’t exaggerate her positive role in the history of DJ Ernst Books. She was essentially my mother and my wife. Without her presence and efforts, the store would have been simply a dusty repository of old books. Thank you Petey for infusing my efforts with your vibrant personality and unflagging encouragement.

03/29/2026

The auction was a success. It all started with Kimbo soothing the crowd with his live performance! Any bookseller who did not stay to the end missed literally a ton of deals on some very good stuff including a thousand paperbacks that we gave away to a man with a big truck. I thank everyone who showed up, including all my helpers. DJ Ernst Books storefront in Selinsgrove is now history. This effort took three months of preparation.

03/28/2026

The stage is set for the book auction at 9:00 AM tomorrow, Saturday, March 28. Come early to look around.

03/28/2026

The stage is set for the book auction tomorrow, Saturday, March 28 at 9:00 AM. Come early to look around.

03/25/2026

We moved four tons of books to the auction site in Freeburg yesterday, and today we have got about half of them on display. We plan to finish on Thursday, and then on Friday we plan to be open by noon for people to preview the display. We plan to stay until sometime early evening. Around 7:00, if no one is there, we will close up and eat supper. If there are still people looking, we will stay. On Saturday morning, we will be there by 7:30. Bidding starts at 9:00. There’s a chance that we’ll have some musical entertainment from 8:00 AM until around 9:00, when the auction starts. There is a large number of box lots on subjects from hunting and fishing through history and horticulture and children’s’ books and art and antiques and book collecting and literature and history both ancient and modern, etc. A large number of books on the American Civil War as well as World War Two. Books about ancient Romans and Greeks, native Americans, India, Spain, England. Altogether a diverse selection, including over a thousand paperbacks in large box lots. A good sale for people who have book stores. There are some early printings from Pennsylvania including New Berlin. Some religion, mythology, and philosophy.

03/16/2026

03/16/2026

There are two flags of local interest that will be sold at the book store auction, one Selinsgrove High flag, and one Susquehanna University flag. Both are about 4 1/2 feet long.

03/11/2026

Still putting books together for the March 28 auction. Here is a 1943 Middleburg yearbook. A nice little production. I see that Pooch Felker was a senior. He became a book collector and a teacher. He taught me remedial algebra in summer school in 1966, and then after I became a bookseller I sold books to him and bought books from him.