Recently arrived

I’ve only bought a couple of books in the last 4 months so I decided to have a little splurge. I’ve really loved choosing books from my tbr shelves as well as books from the library where I work & it hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be to just stop rushing to the Book Depository whenever I read a review or heard about a wonderful new book. Or a wonderful old book for that matter. So, I did a little preordering – Nella Last in the 1950s, Anne Boleyn by George Bernard (apparently he has a new theory that Anne was guilty of adultery), Highland Fling by Nancy Mitford, Peking Picnic by Ann Bridge (both Capuchin Classics), The adventures of Mrs Harris by Paul Gallico & Henrietta sees it through by Joyce Dennys (both Bloomsbury Group). And I also ordered the stack in the photo above that have all arrived over the last week.

The top four are all for the 19th century Yahoo group I belong to. They’ve decided to do a theme for the next few months of reading books which have been made into operas or musicals. I can borrow some titles from work but I’ve bought The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, Peter Pan by J M Barrie, Carmen & other stories by Prosper Merimee & Kipps by H G Wells (which became the musical Half a Sixpence).

Next is Pot Luck by Zola. This is a prequel of sorts to The Ladies’ Paradise which I loved & reviewed here. The Complete Richard Hannay by John Buchan, because I read The 39 Steps & Greenmantle last year as part of a Boys’ Own Adventure reading theme I found myself on after reading King Solomon’s Mines by H Rider Haggard for the 19th century group & found I really wanted to read the other Hannay books. I also love those big Penguin omnibuses.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, because Cornflower mentioned it recently & I’ve never read it & I fell in love with the new Vintage cover. Nancy Mitford’s Wigs on the Green, because I recently read The Blessing & I haven’t read this early novel which has never been reprinted. It caused lots of upset in the family so Nancy wouldn’t allow it to be reprinted. Penguin are reprinting most of Mitford’s novels at the moment. Desperate Reader reviewed Wigs on the Green here. Rogue Herries by Hugh Walpole because it’s the first in a series of four historical novels set in the Lake District in the 18th century & I’ve read about them but never read them. Nella Last mentioned Judith Paris, one of the main characters as a favourite of hers in her post-war diary & John Buchan is quoted on the front of this lovely new Frances Lincoln edition saying Rogue Herries is, “The finest English novel since Jude the Obscure.” How could I resist? I’ve enjoyed the sight of Book Depository bags on the doormat when I’ve come home from work but, with my preorders arriving at regular intervals, I think I’ve had enough book buying for a while. I’ve made lots of gaps in the tbr shelves (which I’m now about to fill up again of course!) & I want to make further inroads before I order anything else.

As you can see by the photo above, I have a new camera. So, if Abby is in the mood tomorrow, I'll take some photos of her in her new collar. I plan to get out into the garden & do some tidying up & I'm sure to have company as Abby loves supervising my work so fingers crossed.