More new to me book purchases

A recent trip to that place that I’m not supposed to be visiting – the library – ended up with me picking up four books that I had requested from them and three books from the for sale shelves. Honestly, there’s no hope for me!

I bought A Lovely Way to Burn by the Scottish author Louise Welsh. This was apparently a BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime, but I didn’t hear it.

The news of Andrea Camilleri’s death had just been announced a few days before and although I love watching the TV programme Montalbano which is based on these books I had only read one of them. So two have just joined my TBR list:

A Nest of Vipers and
The Pyramid of Mud

I’ll read one of those ones for the Reading Europe Challenge which I’ve been neglecting.

The Courts of Idleness cover

A trip into the West Port area of Edinburgh ended up with me buying two books by an author who seemed to be haunting me at one point as everywhere I went I saw his books, just as another blogger told me they were worth reading – the books all disappeared! So when I saw a whole load of Dornford Yates books I snapped up a couple of them. I was drawn to the modern paperback reprint first as I like the stylish cover. The Courts of Idleness is supposed to be funny – so fingers crossed because I need a laugh.

The other Dornford Yates book I bought is an old hardback from 1946 called The Stolen March. It was originally given to someone called Joyce from Kenneth in Falmouth, 8 May 1947. I love inscribed books but I never write in my own although I sometimes think I should. What are your thoughts on the matter?

I try not to buy books via the internet but sometimes you have no alternative as the chances of what you’re looking for turning up in a secondhand bookshop are just about nil, so I bit the bullet and bought The Stream That Stood Still and The Tree That Sat Down by Beverley Nichols, part of a woodland fantasy trilogy for young people. The other one I already had is The Mountain of Magic.

Have you read any of these ones?

9 thoughts on “More new to me book purchases

  1. You’ve reminded me that I have A Lovely Way to Burn on loan from the library – I’ve renewed it twice but haven’t started to read it yet!! I’ve enjoyed other books by Louise Welsh which is why I borrowed it, it’s just that other books keep getting in my way.

    • Margaret,
      I think I’ve only read one Louise Welsh book, but I enjoyed it. I get really annoyed with myself for requesting books from the library, I keep saying I won’t do it then read reviews and there I am on the library website usually around midnight – requesting yet more books!

  2. I never write my name in my books, although I did when I was younger. Like you, though, I enjoy reading inscriptions. I especially enjoy reading gift inscriptions and imagining the circumstances for the gift (Christmas, ‘hope you’re feeling better’, ‘for your trip’, etc.)

    • Joan,
      Snap – unsurprisingly! I still have some books with my maiden name in them, then some with that name as my middle name, but I soon gave that up.

  3. I have not read anything by Louise Welsh although I keep meaning to. I have three books by her but not the one you got, which I think I would like because I like dystopian settings in fiction.

  4. I have “The Stolen March” on my shelf, it’s a while since I read it.
    A bit different to the “Berry” books, I might like it better on a second reading.

    I find inscriptions on books very touching.
    I have a couple of books inscribed by my mother to my father when they were engaged, in 1938;
    others from beloved family members to my parents;
    and numerous books with inscriptions from unknown folks, often for Christmas – because I’ve acquired those ones second-hand I often wonder “what were you *thinking* of, disposing of this!” – anyway, a link with another time.
    Then there are the school prizes, for diligence, attendance, needlework – so precious, many well over a hundred years old.

    • Valerie,
      I think a lot of books in secondhand bookshops end up there because there were no children to cherish them – I hope that anyway. But one time when I was browsing in a shop I picked up a copy of Three Men in a Boat just to see how much they were charging for it as it was the same as my copy, and I was amazed to see Jack’s grandfather’s handwriting, name and address in it! It was when he was a student and I suspect someone ‘borrowed’ it and never returned it way back in about 1915. Of course I had to buy it. I also have school prizes for needlework and such from the early 1900s. I found Jack’s granny’s chemistry homework in one of her books. She must have been looking for it and probably got into trouble. I sometimes think I should inscribe books but might have to do it on post it notes and not actually on the book.

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