Light Industry Benefit Book Sale
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Lush Themes from Motion Pictures: Film Music and Easy Listening, 1955-1975
Sunday, October 25, 2026, from 1-6pm
Light Industry, 361 Stagg Street, Suite 407, Brooklyn
Members preview: Noon-1pm (Not yet a member? You can sign up for as little as $2/month.)
For the past few weeks we’ve been gathering books from friends and colleagues, and on Sunday they’ll all be for sale, priced, in every instance, lower than the cheapest copy available online. Our inspiration comes from the small-town library book sale, where members of the community donate their old books and their neighbors scoop them up for a song, to the benefit of a concern they all have a stake in. After hauling many a FreshDirect bag crammed with old paperbacks back to our space, and having reviewed the assembled hoard, we can assure you that there will be a dizzyingly wide array of treasures to be found, from art history rarities to cowboy romance novels.
Also on offer that afternoon, amplifying the pleasant vibes which are sure to prevail, will be a survey of film music’s central place within the once-popular genre of easy listening, assembled by Light Industry’s Ed Halter from his personal record collection. Covering the height of the genre’s success in America from the 1950s to the 1970s, selections will include the most celebrated figures of mood music—101 Strings Orchestra, Les Baxter, Ray Conniff, Martin Denny, Percy Faith, Ferrante & Teicher, the Gunter Kallman Chorus, André Kostelanetz, Liberace, Enoch Light, Mantovani, the Mystic Moods Orchestra, and Lawrence Welk. Six hours of themes from motion pictures will float through Light Industry’s chambers for your shopping enjoyment, featuring familiar classics like The Godfather, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and High Noon as well as all-but-forgotten titles like Marjorie Morningstar, A Summer Place, and Dirty Dingus Magee.
The snack bar will be open throughout.
Our thanks, finally, to those who contributed: Peggy Ahwesh, Nicolás Gómez Amín, Melissa Anderson, Mitch Anzuoni, Archipelago Books, Eric Banks, Laura Battle, Yve-Alain Bois, Lisa Cohen, Kevin Cooper, Angela Dalle Vacche, Dan Fox, Carmela Gersbeck, Franklin Gilliam, Matthew Shen Goodman and everyone at The Baffler, Sara Goodman, Michelle Handelman, Vanessa Haney, Rachel Harrison, Mott Hupfel, Mary Krembs, Mark Krotov and everyone at n+1, Jeanne Liotta, Cynthia Mautner, Molly Nesbit, Jake Perlin, R.H. Quaytman, Kelly Reichardt, Lea Reingewirtz, Sarah Resnick, Keith Sanborn, Julia Sforza, Amy Sillman, Amy Silver, Mac Simonson and everyone at Criterion, Mary Grace Williams, Matt Wolf, Tom Wolf, Julie Zenie, and everyone on the Bard College Pennysaver listserv.