And the books trickle in

This is the week that the books from my PEL binge should arrive - and indeed they have started to trickle in.  I walk down the road to my cute little post office every day to check the mail and yesterday the first of the PEL editions turned up.  Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens both arrived in amazing condition.  

However, the copy of Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy was in less than desirable condition {as you can tell from the webcam shot above}.  The front cover was all bent and smushed and there is obvious crinkling of the pages throughout the book.  Not what I expected when I ordered this

Thankfully today's package made up for that disappointment.  All the books that arrived in the post this morning were in excellent condition Hard Times, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Mill on the Floss and Sons and Lovers - and all had that rubberized texture that I love!  So I will bury my disappointment over the poorer condition of Tess because, truthfully, that could have happened while the books were in transit, and instead bookgasm over my growing PEL collection.

I can't wait to get my new bookcase so I can line up all these amazing spines on the shelf ;-D

Do you collect these gorgeouse PEL editions?  Let me know what your favourite cover design is.  The covers I'd love to get my hands on are Pamela by Samuel Richardson and The Monk by Matthew Lewis... oh, and Bleak House, The Pickwick Papers, Martin Chuzzlewit and The Old Curiosity Shop by Dickens.  Hmmm, Daniel Deronda by George Eliot and perhaps The Return of the Native by Hardy.  Okay, basically I want most of them! ;-D  But unfortunately they are Out of Print (OOP) and waaaaay too expensive to purchase second hand (over $200!).  Too rich for my blood.

Hmmm, I sense another post in my future - why aren't all the PEL titles still available?  ;-D

I'm off to reorganize my shelves so I can fit these babies in, but until next time,

 

Pre-birthday splurge

Yeah.  So, this was a thing over the weekend.  Money has been a little tight - still have to pay my electricity and telephone bill this week - but with my birthday coming up I wanted to treat myself to a book or two since my family don't buy me books because they are never sure what I've got, or want to read.  

Enter the smart phone.  I was browsing the Book Depository and Awesome Books websites on Saturday night and after about an hour of idle searching it was a shock to discover that I had 10 books heading my way!  Okay, two were for my mum for Mother's Day, but daammmmn!

Sunday afternoon.  I'm online again and poddling about Awesome Books - again! - adding books to my wishlist (and the cart) when I hit on the 'genius' idea of buying up some more Penguin English Library (PEL) editions to add to my collection.  Yeah, really bright idea.  Bought a further 8 books, and then jumped on AbeBooks to find some OOP PEL editions and ended up spending more money as I found two (and bought a third book anyway)!

So, here is a list of what I bought on this birthday binge of shame...

As you can see, I must have lost my mind for a few hours!  In truth, these are books that I've wanted for a long time - and that I will be reading in the future - so I don't feel too guilty about buying them as a majority of them are used books in great condition.  However, I probably could have timed this splurge better ;-D

In the meantime, I have not been reading as much as I would like.  Everyday chores like laundry, mowing the lawn, gardening, cooking, etc., have been a priority.  Hoping to read Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen this month.  I read Emma last May and loved it, so finger's crossed I have the same reaction to S&S.

Since I've spent way too much recently on books, I'm going to concentrate more on my massive TBR pile (300+ books I think) and get a chunk of that read before I allow myself another book order.  I'll settle for reading 20-30 titles.  It will be a challenge, but with winter only a few weeks away, and the colder nights, I'm hoping to snuggle up with some good books over the coming weeks - there's nothing on TV anyway ;-D

Have you had a huge book splurge?  If you have, let me know how many books you got so I don't feel so bad ;-D

Until next time,

Can't pass a thrift shop without looking at books!

Yes, it's true.  I just can't seem to pass a thrift shop without going inside to check out what's on their shelves.  Take this morning for instance.  I went to the store to buy a few items.  So far, so good.  Then I drove around to my favourite fabric shop and did I go in?  No!  Instead I ducked into the thrift shop next door.  I'm sure I tell myself that I just want a quick look.  I won't buy anything.  But true to form I walk out of there with an armful of books.

However, to be fair this mornings effort yielded a good result.  Recently I've been trying to gather more classics {for those long cold winter nights} and have had Great Expectations on my wishlist for ages.  Two days ago I put The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time on my wishlist as well - and today I found both on the shelves!  Saved a lot of money, as well as contributing to the local charities.  I'd call that a win-win all round ;-D

Amongst this haul I also found a gem or two.  First was a little old book from 1963.  It's called Boys Are Very Funny People by Bill Adler.  There is nothing remarkable about the cover, but inside are some of the funniest remarks made by boys, such as...

Dear Folks,

They take good care of us at this camp.  Don't worry we are not going

on any more overnight hikes until they find Stanley.

Your son,

Jimmy

I've already finished this book and found it to be a very quick and amusing read.  Kids are naturally funny, and sometimes the truth comes out in such an amusing way ;-D

The final book I found before I made myself leave I only found because I saw the word 'dragon' on the spine.  It's a beautiful hardcover {only $1!} and is written by the same author of The Spiderwick Chronicles - note to self, read those! - and as soon as I saw the cover and the gorgeous artwork I knew that this book was coming home with me.  

So after that unexpected thrift shop haul I have officially banned myself from the thrift shops around town for at least a week, perhaps two.  I really don't need all these book.  I just can't help myself!

Do you have the same problem too?  Let me know if you do and we can commiserate together ;-D

Until next time,