Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Bookish things

I always begin the New Year with the intention of not buying any books for a few months. I have so many unread books that it would take me years to read them all that it really shouldn't need a new year's resolution to motivate me to stop for a while. I'm usually quite disciplined &, apart from a few ebooks (which are just too easy to buy - at least they're invisible), I stick to it, at least until autumn & the thought of long winter afternoons send me off to check my wishlists.

I have just bought these four VMCs from World Of Books, a secondhand bookshop in the UK. They were £1 each so even with postage, they only cost $25AU which I thought was very reasonable. They're in lovely condition & I'm looking forward to reading them. I had read a review of The Wild Geese by Bridget Boland somewhere & that's what sent me off to Abebooks in search of a copy. It's the story of an 18th century Irish family, told through letters. The Wild Geese are the young men of the family, rebels who risk their lives by returning from exile. I was also fascinated to read the Bridget Boland was a scriptwriter who had written the screenplays of several well-known films including Anne of the Thousand Days & the 1940 version of Gaslight. I couldn't just buy one book though, could I? So, I found myself looking through the bookstore's listings for VMCs & came across The Misses Mallett by E H Young, Company Parade by Storm Jameson & The Way Things Are by E M Delafield.

Does anyone remember Catherine Gaskin? I loved her novels when I was younger. She was born in Australia, but, like many artists of the mid 20th century, left Australia to live in the UK & US most of her life. She wrote novels of romantic suspense & could be compared with Mary Stewart. I especially enjoyed Sara Dane, set in early 19th century Australia, Falcon for a Queen, set in Scotland & The File on Devlin, a suspense novel. I came across the website dedicated to Gaskin (follow the link) through a link to an interview there with Linda Gillard, author of Cauldstane. I enjoyed my trip down memory lane & was pleased to discover that one of her books has been released as an ebook with hopefully more to come. The Property of a Gentleman is about a young woman working for a London antiques house who is sent to a remote country house in the Lake District, Thirlbeck, to assess the art collection. She finds romance, suspense & family secrets. I don't remember reading this one but it sounded so intriguing that I bought it. Some of the book covers here look very familiar & I would love to read more of her books.

I also have a few books on preorder. I'm looking forward to the British Library Crime Classics. I couldn't resist the gorgeously nostalgic covers of the books by John Bude & Mavis Doriel Hay so I've ordered all four of them. Martin Edwards has written the Introductions to the John Bude titles so that's another reason to look forward to them. So many good things to look forward to!

12 comments:

  1. Of course you couldn't buy just one; that would have been like leaving the last puppy behind bars. Glad to hear that you did the right thing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew I'd be supported by anyone who reads my blog!

      Delete
  2. Those books are very pretty and look good, they should keep you busy for a bit! I have one Catherine Gaskin book, read it several years ago, Falcon For A Queen, and really liked it, a good suspense tale, but have not read any others of hers yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't need to buy another book for quite some time! But I will... CG is very good so I'm looking forward to rereading more of her books if they become available.

      Delete
  3. Lovely selection! I can't believe you haven't read the EMD yet, Lyn, I'm sure you'll like it. The EH Young isn't her *best* but it's still very readable and enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There's lots of EMD I haven't read yet, Simon. I hope more will be reprinted once she's out of copyright.

      Delete
  4. My goodness, that first paragraph makes you my twin. I know what you mean and YES I do remember Catherine Gaskin. I know I have read her but could not tell you what. Sounds like you're having fun, and life is short. Enjoy your new things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew you'd be on my side, Pam! I love rediscovering authors like CG so it's great to see her being reprinted.

      Delete
  5. I remember Catherine Gaskin and my eye straight away saw that Delafield title. Now Lyn you should know that buying second hand books doesn't count because you are recycling. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, well, we all know how easy it is to talk ourselves into buying books! I have been pretty disciplined this year though. I don't feel like buying books in the summer, I don't know why. I also have lots of excellent library books at the moment so I have plenty to go on with without buying more.

      Delete
  6. So much to look forward to sounds so much better than TBR pile, don't you think? TBR seems to imply a duty rather than a pleasure.

    E H Young is one of my favourite authors and I enjoyed The Misses Mallett. Hope you do, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never see my tbr shelves as a duty although I do sometime feel a bit guilty (& greedy) for adding to them! I've read a couple of EHY's novbels & really enjoyed William, so I'm hoping to enjoy this one too.

      Delete