Tuesday, June 27, 2017

The Great Book Sale Haul

photograph by me
"Book buying ban? What book buying ban?" Those were my infamous last words as I walked away from not just one but two book sales this month. So what tempted me away from my oh so determined book ban? Well, since you asked (and I conducted a poll on Twitter) here are my latest findings.

Chimneysmoke by Christopher Morley
This small book of poetry captured my interest because of its author. I read and adored Morley's Parnassus On Wheels and followed it up with its sequel The Haunted Bookshop.

Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland
I almost bought the reprint edition of this book earlier this year and was delighted to find a vintage edition for only two dollars. The classic film lover in me is excited to read Ms. de Havilland's account of moving to France in the 1950s.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Yes, I already own a copy of this Dickens classic but this one is a beautiful vintage edition by Oxford University Press with original illustrations.

The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
I have never seen the film they made out of this novel that Humphrey Bogart won his Best Actor Oscar for or read anything by Wouk, but I have an interest in seeing both the film and exploring Wouk's writings. His name keeps cropping up in WORLD magazine articles. Which would you recommend first, the book or film?

Tales From Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
I first heard of Charles Lamb when I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and then this particular title kept popping up here and there. And the cover on this one is particularly pleasing. So I bought it.

The Tiger of Mysore by G. A. Henty
Is there any homeschooler from the conservative Christian community of the 2000s who did not voraciously read Henty when they were young? If not, I am sincerely sorry. You missed out on a slew of wonderfully fun adventure stories, but there is still time to remedy it. And if any of you also greatly enjoyed reading Henty as a youth, let me direct you to this post which contains a particularly brilliant summary of every Henty story ever written.

Downton Abbey Rules For Household Staff
This little book I picked up goes over the different roles that the staff had in a Downton Abbey era household. As a history buff, historical fiction writer, and someone who enjoyed the show this was half for fun and half for research.

The Brandons by Angela Thirkell
Book seven(?) of the Angela Thirkell Barsetshire series. I first heard about this series from Elisabeth Grace Foley and have been keeping an eye out for the series ever since. I previously located a copy of Wild Strawberries (book 2). Now, I just need to find the first book High Rising.

A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
I am excited to read my first of Shute's novels set in Australia. I loved Pied Piper and Pastoral, so I have my fingers crossed for this one as well.

Gather Ye Rosebuds and This Same Flower by Jeannette Covert Nolan
I know nothing about these two books except that, according to their dusk jackets, they take place in the American mid-west during the early 1900s. I found them in an out of the way corner of the book sale which turned out to be a gathering place for a bunch of Nolan's books.

Hobnailed Boots by Jeannette Covert Nolan
A Revolutionary war story. The title on this one sounds familiar and I half believe that maybe years ago we read it in a family read aloud, but I honestly do not know for sure. I may be mistaking it for another book with boots in the title.

O. Henry: The Story of William Sydney Porter by Jeannette Covert Nolan
A fictional biography of O. Henry. This type of book is how I am most familiar with Nolan's work. Also, I found old newspaper clippings inside and the inside of the cover is brilliant. (See top left corner of photograph.)

Miss Pinkerton by Mary Roberts Rinehart
I have never actually read anything by Rinehart but I have been intending to remedy that. The subtitle on this sold me— "Adventures of a Nurse Detective". A mystery + a nurse = a book I will most likely love. My childhood dream was to be like Florence Nightingale. Let's just say I had a romanticized notion of what the nursing profession was like. I probably would have horrified Miss Nightingale. Not to mention, blood and I do not have a good history. But I digress ...

Introducing Charles Dickens by May Lamberton Becker
A biography of Dickens that I read and enjoyed in school years ago, I was delighted to stumble across a copy to add to my own library.

The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War In 1914 by Christopher Clark
I feel like the title is fairly self explanatory on this one. It is yet another nice thick non-fiction book on a time of history that fascinates me.

Have you been to any good book sales recently? Have you read any of these books? 

3 comments :

  1. It sounds like you had a fun month! ;) I've been craving some book sales this month too, but so far have restrained myself. (This post isn't helping though, haha!)

    The only title I've read that you've listed is A Town Like Alice. It's a good story. :) Anyway, enjoy reading through all those finds, and thanks for sharing with us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it is hard to resist when the sale is across the street from where I work. :)

      Glad to hear A Town Like Alice is good! Have you read any of Nevil Shute's other novels?

      Delete

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