Monday, March 2, 2015

New book joy





The past week or so has been very good for books (and bad for my TBR stacks).

First, I finally got to pick up my copy of the new Laurie R. King book, Dreaming Spies.  While I was at Murder by the Book, I couldn't help checking for Helen MacInnes's books.  They had a whole shelf of the lovely Titan Books editions, and I brought home I and My True Love.

Then at Half Price Books on Saturday I found half a shelf of Barbara Pym's novels. There were multiple copies of titles I already have, but I still found three to add to my collection: An Academic Question, A Few Green Leaves, and The Sweet Dove Died.  As I mentioned elsewhere, I think I will end up collecting all of her books.  Most of those I have now are lucky finds in used-book stores, though I've searched for a couple of specific titles on-line.  At some point I will probably sit down with a list of those I don't have and start looking.

Today I finally got to a favorite Houston bookstore, Kaboom Books.  I had hoped to go last Thursday, when I had half a day off from work, but they were unexpectedly closed when I got there. (I said bad words.)  I made up for it today.  I was pretty sure they had some of Margery Sharp's books, and I was right: Cluny Brown, which went straight up my reading list after Simon's review; and The Sun in Scorpio (about which I know nothing).  They also had a 1909 edition of Some Experiences of an Irish R.M., illustrated by E.O. Somerville.  I've resisted it for two years; today it came home with me.  But the real find was Miss Miles, by Mary Taylor.  The close friend of Charlotte Bronte, and a feminist author, Mary Taylor wrote just one novel, this 1890 story that "depicts women's friendships as sustaining life and sanity through all the vicissitudes of Victorian womanhood."  I almost bought a copy at another store a year or so ago.  I put it back on the shelf and have regretted it ever since.  I didn't note down the title or author, so I had no idea how to find it again.  And today, there it was, sitting on a shelf - even angled forward, to catch my eye.  Book serendipity!

Though I have disqualified myself from the TBR Dare by re-reading, I'm still keeping to the spirit of the Dare by not reading the new books I'm acquiring.  So these will have to wait until April 1st - except for the Laurie King.

12 comments:

  1. What a wonderful haul - I am envious particularly of the Mary Taylor which is quite a find. I wrote about Sun in Scorpio for Margery Sharp day if you want a sneak peek.
    A great deal to look forward to in April!

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    1. Cat, I should have checked Fleur/Jane's wrap-up site to see who read which book. Though I remember skimming the reviews, to avoid spoilers - except for Cluny Brown, for some reason.

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  2. New books are always a good thing, even if they topple your TBR pile. I'm jealous that you found so many B. Pym novels. I need more used bookstores where I live. :) Happy Reading!

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    1. Lark, I have staked out all of the UBS around me, with the Half Price Books rated :) Seeing all those Pyms together on a shelf was a pleasant shock, I'd never seen so many at one time.

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  3. Lucky you! You've found some gems. I think your HPB sounds so much better than mine. I own all of Pym's novels yet haven't read any in over a year - how did I let that happen?

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    1. I am envious of your Pym collection! A Few Green Leaves is a new title to me - I don't think I've ever seen a list of all her books. I saw another new-to-me title in a stack on Jane/Fleur's blog last week. Maybe we need another reading week?

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  4. My goodness what a wonderful haul. All lovely, and I am particularly pleased that you and Margery Sharp will be getting acquainted.

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    1. Jane, your Margery Sharp reading event definitely piqued my interest! But her books are thin on the ground around here. These are the only ones I've ever come across - so if I click with her books as I expect to, I'll probably be doing some on-line clicking as well.

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  5. An excellent haul! I've had a copy of A Few Green Leaves for nearly two years and haven't read it yet... my next Pym.

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    1. I currently have six books in the Pym section of the TBR stacks, as well as the book of her letters & journal entries. I can't decide what my next one will be, but it will be a while. As excellent as they are, I don't like to read them too close together.

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  6. Cluny Brown is a wonderful book - I hope you enjoy it too. And I am glad to see Helen Macinnes back in print (I saw that she had been e-booked, but hadn't realised there were 'real' ones too) - such a good writer of that nice mix of spies and lurv... ;-)

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    1. I know it's shallow, but I lurv these Titan reprints of the MacInnes books. They aren't flashy, but I think they're beautiful, and I want them all lined up on my shelves. I think this one will be more romantical than the first I read. I'm looking forward to meeting Cluny - it seems to be a favorite.

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Thank you for taking the time to read, and to comment. I always enjoy hearing different points of view about the books I am reading, even if we disagree!