The confession

[selenay]

I figure that I should probably 'fess up about the books I bought, particularly as I just spent some time carefully listing them for my own anal cataloguing purposes.

To wit:

1. The School at the Chalet - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer (hardcover, partial dust jacket, Rose's Bookshop)
2. The New House at the Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer (hardcover with dust jacket, The Children's Bookshop)
3. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - Trans. G. N. Garmonsway (Richard Booth)
4. The Whole Man - John Brunner (Richard Booth)
5. Time and Stars - Poul Anderson (Richard Booth)
6. Cat Among the Pigeons - Agatha Christie (Murder and Mayhem)
7. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
8. Autum Term - Antonia Forest (Rose's Bookshop)
9. The Naughtiest Girl in the School - Enid Blyton (The Children's Bookshop)
10. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
11. A Murder is Announced - Agatha Christie (hardcover, red binding, Murder and Mayhem)
12. The Naughtiest Girl Again - Enid Blyton (hardcover, blue binding, no dust jacket, The Children's Bookshop)
13. Phule's Company - Robert Asprin
14. Darkover Landfall - Marion Zimmer Bradley
15. The Forbidden Tower - Marion Zimmer Bradley
16. The Poems of Wilfred Owen (hardcover, blue binding, no dust jacket, inscription inside dated 1947)

Listing it out somehow makes it that tiny bit worse...

I couldn't remember where everything came from, which is why some have nothing next to them. I kept feeling guilty for leaving shops without at least taking one thing :-)

The Chalet School books are things that I'm especially proud of, particularly that first one. The School at the Chalet had major cuts when it was put into paperback so I've been itching to get hold of the full text for ages. Admittedly, those two books cost about four times what the rest cost combined but I honestly don't care. After all, I saved for exactly this kind of thing :-) It was so tempting to leave with more - Rose's had loads of great hardcover Chalet Schools and I'm sure that I'll be ordering from her in the future. She also had a terrifying cabinet of "things too expensive for mortals to touch" with more Chalet Schools. That kind of thing, I suspect, will always be out of my price range and I'd be terrified to actually touch and read them even if I did have them.

It did make me wonder whether I should, at some stage, get my own books assessed if only to make sure that my house insurance covers them.

I'm planning to hit another bookshop this afternoon but it should be much less disasterous. Although I do have plans to visit Foyles tomorrow and Forbidden Planet when I'm in Manchester on Tuesday as well, so there is still disaster potential.

It's a good thing my luggage only weighed half my allowance when I left, that's all I'm saying. I'm going to dread weighing this lot when I'm going home...

Comments

[katlinel]

That's a great haul! Hope it's within luggage allowance.

[selenay]

If it isn't then the excess usually works out cheaper than mailing books to Canada...

[davidbrider.livejournal.com]

I'm planning to hit another bookshop this afternoon but it should be much less disasterous. Although I do have plans to visit Foyles tomorrow and Forbidden Planet when I'm in Manchester on Tuesday as well, so there is still disaster potential.

It's not "disaster," it's "opportunity." :-)

It's a good thing my luggage only weighed half my allowance when I left, that's all I'm saying.

*g*

Given your interest in Enid Blyton, do you have any interest in her Faraway Tree books? Only a few weeks back Tesco were doing a boxset of the three for £4:00. No idea if they still are, but I was sorely tempted...

[paranoidangel]

I definitely need to go to Hay-on-Wye sometime and buy lots of books.

[evil_plotbunny]

I am determined that my next trip to Britain involves a trip to Hay-on-Wye.

[paranoidangel]

I approve of this plan :)

[evil_plotbunny]

Also, I discovered that there's a book village in the Catskills about 3 hours from my home. I plan to do a day trip this summer to check it out. :)

[fyrdrakken]

Ooh, Phule's Company. I enjoyed that series.

[selenay]

I like the way you look at this :-)

I may already have copies of her Faraway Tree books. Um. I tend more towards her school stories and the Adventure books but the Faraway Tree books are lovely. I've managed to educate the daughter of a friend about Faraway and Wishing Tree - "The Naughtiest Girl" is the next stage of her education. I also plan to get her the first Malory Towers book and the first Adventure book, possibly.

My friend curses me out regularly for making her Google stuff when A wants to know what things are :-)

[selenay]

Hay on Wye should definitley be on any plans either of you make. It's quite amazing.

The cabinets of truly terrifyingly expensive books are amazing to look at. The joy of walking out of a shop with five books for under a tenner is also wonderful :-)

[selenay]

This is a good plan!

[selenay]

I read it years ago from the library and have since regularly regretted not having a copy for re-reading when I need a silly pick-me-up.

[paranoidangel]

That sounds good.

[paranoidangel]

I've been before, but I was about 13 and I remember the books but nothing else.

I had plans to go with my sister a few years ago, but then I got ill :(

[sugoll.livejournal.com]

Main thing I remember about HoW is the open-air bookshelves. Eak.

But there's nothing to feel guilty about managing to get hold of the complete text of a book. Especially one bought in special circumstances - you'll cherish it all the more.

[fyrdrakken]

I bought like the entire series at once (or at least all the books I was aware of, if there have been more written since then I don't know) and was able to read through them all in a stretch. Don't know where the books are now, though -- somewhere in a box, probably.

[selenay]

There were no open air bookshelves this time - it's something my parents told me about when they went years ago so I was a little disappointed. And a lot relieved :-)

I'm definitely going to cherish that book. Knowing how many years I've wanted it and all the times when I've nearly given in and hunted it down online rather than in person...I'm very happy that I have it :-)