I donated five books from my shelves to the cause. It is getting more and more difficult to cull my collection though because the majority of the books I buy, I buy because I want to keep them. I am down to the keepers, books that were gifts, souvenirs from one of the Grand Southern Literary Tours, or books from my family shelves.
At the sale I showed restraint and did well with a net gain of three books. Here they are:
I was happy to find two books I had not read by Peter Mayle, Chasing Cezanne, an art caper, and A Good Year, the story of a British fellow who inherits his uncle's vineyard in Provence. Apparently this last one was made into a movie starring Albert Finney.
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive is by Alexander McCall Smith and is the eighth in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. I have read all the books but only own the first one. I like the look of these hardcover editions by Pantheon so I snatched up this one. Looks like I am starting a collection!
Machiavelli's Lawn is an anthology of garden writings in the style of twelve writers from Raymond Carver on planting a hanging basket to Pablo Neruda on pruning roses. It is written and illustrated by Mark Crick. I picked it up not realizing that it was a parody on the listed writers' works, but it looks to be fun.
I am always on the lookout for vintage volumes. I did not know of Ernest Dimnet but discovered he was a French writer and his book The Art of Thinking was popular in the 1930s. Maybe reading it will help me think!
I like vintage Modern Library editions and this nice clean copy contains both of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (which I have never read) and A Journal of the Plague Year which I once started but never finished although I remember it to be quite fascinating. It is an account of London in 1665 during its battle with The Great Plague.
So You're Going to Paris! is a vintage guide to the City of Light. It was written by Clara E. Laughlin in 1924. It depicts a Paris just after World War I. But this edition, published in 1948 has been updated to reflect a Paris after WWII and the German Occupation. This is one in a series that the American Ms. Laughlin wrote for women travelers. I love reading travel books no matter what the age.
Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons by Tracy McBride is the only paperback book I purchased. It looks to contain everything needed to celebrate the changes in the year from recipes to wreath making to flower arranging to cleaning out one's pantry. As the seasons seem to all run into one another, maybe this book will help them - and me - slow down.
"So You're Going to Paris!" (love the exclamation mark) sounds wonderful - I love vintage travel books too, especially when it's somewhere I have been and somewhere as lovely as Paris. What a treat.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Vicki. I had not heard of Ms. Laughlin, but apparently she was quite the popular travel writer. Thrilled to have found this copy. The end papers are lovely hand-drawn maps of the city. A bonus!
DeleteP.S. Thanks for pointing out the exclamation mark. I added it to the title in the post.
DeleteHow lucky you are to have found a Clara Laughlin! She's another of the travel writers I used to collect. (I'm no longer collecting anything.) She's very like Eleanor Early. I love these chatty books, written from personal experience and in another time, that make you feel you are actually at a place.
ReplyDeleteI just checked and found that I have several of her books: Paris, England, Mediterranean, Italy,and Germany / Austria. I have more of hers than Eleanor Early's. I haven't read all of them and I haven't read any in a long time. As soon as I finish a couple of the books I'm reading now, I think I'll travel back in time with one of these delightful ladies!
Joan, I wondered if you were familiar with Ms. Laughlin. You are way ahead of me on these female travel writers. Wow! You do have quite a shelf full of her books. Lucky you. I am glad to have this one on Paris. My edition was actually published seven years after her death and updated with an intro for 1948. I can't wait to dig into it.
DeleteWell done Belle, you obviously showed great restraint. I too attended the local library book sale a few weeks and came away with some nice finds. I know its for a good cause, at least that's what I keep telling myself and the snow is not a deterrent but to find I bought a book I had donated a few months ago, that's embarrassing! At least you didn't do that! I found a nice copy of "Selected Poems of Archibald Lampman" , "A Year with Rilke" and "Shakespeare and the Moving Image" , the latter is a great find as I am taking an on-line course from University of Birmingham on Hamlet, its only for fun but provides great focus on most challenging characters in the Bard's works. Our library encourages us to fill a library book bag for $25! Library funding is a continual challenge so that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!
ReplyDeleteOh, Tullik, that is so funny about you buying back your own book. That sounds exactly like something I would do. That, and buying copies of books I already have!
DeleteNow is that the University of Birmingham USA or UK? I have often wondered about taking on-line courses. How has that worked for you?
I am glad you found those books for yourself at the sale. I am always in favor of supporting the library. Good for you! And good luck with Hamlet!
Hi Belle, Its Dept., of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK. Its just a fun, and free course that is just over (I'm a week behind) no exams, just interesting material, which prompts the participant to think, read and come to some personal conclusions about the subject. I enquired about a "real" course (MA in Shakespearean Studies) but it was very expensive with a requirement of at least 1 week in residence at the campus. Nice but not right now. There are quite a few free courses on line the commitment is just how much time the individual wishes to devote in reading, research and thinking about the subject (and a very civilized forum to share thoughts). This is the link to "Future Learn" which is a gateway to free courses:
Deletehttps://www.futurelearn.com/courses
Just trying to keep the "little grey cells" busy (as Hercule would say). I have watched 5 different film versions of Hamlet and listened to 1 audio version and I am beginning to mouth the lines before the actors! ...not sure if this is a good thing???? ....."To be or not to be.... ".....OOPS there I go again!
Thanks for the link, Tullik. I see that 'Shakespeare and His World' is just beginning today. Perfect timing. I hope that if I miss a week the 'class' is still available online so I can catch up...I have never actually studied Shakespeare. I think in high school we watched a movie of one of the plays...perhaps 'Romeo and Juliet?'
DeleteI have been to Stratford-on-Avon and saw "Much Ado About Nothing" with Derek Jacobi. (He was in the play, not with me.) This course looks like an interesting way to get to know The Bard...through the collection of items from the museum.
What a good sale! I love your books. Machiavelli's Lawn looks great, though Carver and Neruda are not really cozy wriers, are they? For some reason I expect gardeinng writing to be cozy. That must be Beverley Nicholson's influence!
ReplyDeleteWhen I picked up the book I thought the essays were actually written by the authors listed which is why I bought it. It wasn't until I got it home that I realized the pieces were 'written in the style of'' each author. Oh well. I love the lawnmower on the cover!
DeleteLovely haul--I think I've seen the movie version of A Good Year (it also has Russell Crowe in it), and I've read a book called Frugal Luxuries that I assume was written by the same author as your new book. I'm now intrigued by these travel authors you and Joan are so familiar with. I've not read anything by them, and now I want to.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of travel writing, currently I'm reading Patrick Leigh Fermor's A Time of Gifts. I'm enjoying it, but it makes me feel woefully ignorant of history and geography. And he's sending me to the dictionary over and over again...really I feel like a complete dunce. But his writing is so amazing, it's all worth it. I've marked several passages of description that I love.
I will look for the movie at my neighborhood DVD rental store. I was hoping the library had it, but no luck. Yes, Tracy McBride did write
Delete'Frugal Luxuries' as well as the book I bought. I was not familiar with either of them. I most likely won't be making any spring wreaths (ha), but I do like reading about different seasonal celebrations.
Patrick Leigh Fermor has been on my TBR list for quite a while. I have never seen anything written by him in any of my many bookstore/sale haunts. He shows up in Lawrence Durrell's "Bitter Lemons" and he and the Duchess of Devonshire carried on quite a correspondence. I am actually interested in his "A Time to Keep Silence". I may have to break down and order it.
I meant to say also that I'm intrigued by Machiavelli's Lawn--you'll have to let us know how it is when you read it.
ReplyDeleteWell, you will never catch me cutting grass, but I was amused by the cover. I will let you know how it goes.
DeleteLovely literary haul, Belle. I am sure you will enjoy these.
ReplyDeleteHaul is the right word, Penny. Now I am wondering when I will ever have time to read them all. I still have books from two Grand Southern Literary Tours, other Locust Grove Used Book Sales, and miscellaneous treasures found at bookstores waiting to be read. Oh, well. Onward and upward.
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