My husband and I (why does that phrase always make me think of the Queen's speech on Christmas Day?)
Anyway, my husband and I took some time out over the weekend for a nice lunch and a stroll in a couple of local book shops. Heaven. So much nicer to book a babysitter during the day... by nine thirty at night my sparkling wit has put itself to bed.
As part of the whole 2010 Read Better Project I have started exploring our local second hand bookshops and look what I found...
A bunch of old penguin paperbacks published between 1948 and 1950.
Now for some reason the titles on the spine are upside-down even though the books are the right way up. Here this might help....
Mr Fortune's Maggot might have caught your eye. A maggot by the way is a 'perverse or whimsical fancy" so this is not a book about rotting meat.
Our house is littered with the new penguin classics and I really love the concept and the new titles they're releasing but I was so drawn to these. Don't judge a book by its cover, they say. Well I did, sorry.
My aversion to iPhones is softening but I can safely rule out the Kindle. Call me old-fashioned or a plain old luddite but I like the feel of paper and I also like the irrational part of me that bought these because they look so, um, bookish...?
Look out for them in my reading update in the right hand column if they make it there... my other half reckons they'll fall apart before I get to the final page. I'm a bit worried about my dust allergy... I sneezed when I opened the first one!
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By the way, a thank you to those who have given me encouragement to persevere with the slow cooker... I am off to the butcher to buy some beef to get back on the bike. I will try all your recipes and let you know how I go... and I am trying to ignore the uncomfortable truth that I may have just bought an appliance that does exactly what my rather expensive Le Creuset pot does anyway.
You're right about the Le Creuset - but you can't leave that to cook all day without risking burning the house down, so they both have their place. As for the books, I couldn't think of anything worse than an electronic version - it's the experience of sitting down, the thrill of turning the next page, the smell of the paper....I'm a hard-core biblophile from way back. Oh, and great score with those vintage lovelies - yum! K xx
ReplyDeleteI bet those bookshop owners are glad to have you in their neighbourhood:o) I love to physically hold a book while reading too and what would I do with all the bookmarks my kids have made me if I didn't have books?!
ReplyDeleteAngex
I love old penguin paperbacks. They're getting harder to find in my neck of the woods. xx
ReplyDeleteI second Kerri - you can go out and leave your slow cooker to do its thing, but you can't really do that with your Le Creuset. We put ours on in the morning before we leave for work in the winter and when we get home the house smells yummy and warm! We've also determined that the slowcooker is a bit more energy efficient than the stove!
ReplyDeleteI love those old books - second hand bookstores and I get along a little too well. When I lived in London, Charing Cross Road was a dangerous place to spend an afternoon!
Hi Ann Thanks so much for your comment... It was great to hear from you. I look forward to folowing. I enjoyed this post..we are on the same wave length. Have you read my recent post 'On my bookshelf.. And yours?' I have two Penguin reads as well and a review on my other blog... Finding My Way
ReplyDeletewww.jeanne-findingmyway.blogspot.com for Jane Eyre
sorry... I am on my iPhone and i have not mastered links yet.
Jeanne :)
I'm mad keen for those old Penguins. I like going into 2ndhand bookshops semi-regularly and delving for interesting-sounding titles. And yes, much cheaper than buying brand new ...
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to meet another book lover through Jeanne's link at Collage of Life. Ah, Penguin Classics . . . how we love them. Blessings on your adjustment to a new city.
ReplyDeleteFondly,
Glenda
Iris Murdoch is a great author! I love her novel The Black Prince. She is a true gem!
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