Weekend
So far, it's been a lovely weekend here in Sel-world :-)
Yesterday, I spent the day with yragg, historyterry and sazzle_02, which is always much fun. There were noodles, movies, pubs and lots of chatter - perfect way to spend a Saturday.
The highlight (apart from the company of three wonderful people, of course) was popping into the second-hand bookshop and being handed an entire box of Chalet School books to sort through by one of the women who work there. They were all hardcover copies from the 1950s and I was in heaven. I'd printed off my LibraryThing catalogue of the books I already have, to ensure I didn't duplicate, so I was even happier to realise that there were around 15 books in that box that I didn't have. Most of them have their original dustjackets with lovely old illustrations on and they all belonged to a girl called Nan Townsend, who must have collected them carefully over the course of several years. They've obviously been cherished and loved, stored carefully, and I can't help wondering who Nan Townsend is and why her books are being sold now.
However, cash came into the picture as I gazed at my little treasure haul. Saz gave me three pounds, but even with that I only had enough cash to buy three books. Although the bookshop was selling the books for considerably less than they might have been elsewhere, they were still £5 or £6 each and there was a great stack of them that I wanted. It's going to cost a pretty penny to add them all to my collection, pennies that I can't really spare all at once thanks to car insurance being due this month.
The lovely lady at the bookshop came to my rescue, though. I'm going to be buying them on the instalment plan: she's put them in a big back with my name on and I'll be going in to buy a few at a time over the next few weeks. I can't tell you how grateful I am to her. The reality is that I probably won't be able to collect any more Chalet School books once I'm in Canada, so whatever I don't have by then will have to remain out of my collection for ever :-( This little haul will be filling in lots of gaps in the collection, including a few that I wasn't sure I'd ever find because they weren't printed many times. So it's an amazing find and I am currently one very happy person.
I've already torn through Gay from China at the Chalet School and am now busy with Highland Twins at the Chalet School. Considering they're all 50 years old, they're in amazing condition and I can't believe my luck at getting editions that old with most of the dustjackets intact.
Take my advice: never start book collecting. It's a lethal addiction!
I have one very firm plan for next weekend (Bank Holiday): a really big sort-out in this room to free up my sofa again and try to create a titch more space on my bookshelves for all my new babies. They need a good home, in memory of the little girl who so faithfully collected and cared for them originally.
Yesterday, I spent the day with yragg, historyterry and sazzle_02, which is always much fun. There were noodles, movies, pubs and lots of chatter - perfect way to spend a Saturday.
The highlight (apart from the company of three wonderful people, of course) was popping into the second-hand bookshop and being handed an entire box of Chalet School books to sort through by one of the women who work there. They were all hardcover copies from the 1950s and I was in heaven. I'd printed off my LibraryThing catalogue of the books I already have, to ensure I didn't duplicate, so I was even happier to realise that there were around 15 books in that box that I didn't have. Most of them have their original dustjackets with lovely old illustrations on and they all belonged to a girl called Nan Townsend, who must have collected them carefully over the course of several years. They've obviously been cherished and loved, stored carefully, and I can't help wondering who Nan Townsend is and why her books are being sold now.
However, cash came into the picture as I gazed at my little treasure haul. Saz gave me three pounds, but even with that I only had enough cash to buy three books. Although the bookshop was selling the books for considerably less than they might have been elsewhere, they were still £5 or £6 each and there was a great stack of them that I wanted. It's going to cost a pretty penny to add them all to my collection, pennies that I can't really spare all at once thanks to car insurance being due this month.
The lovely lady at the bookshop came to my rescue, though. I'm going to be buying them on the instalment plan: she's put them in a big back with my name on and I'll be going in to buy a few at a time over the next few weeks. I can't tell you how grateful I am to her. The reality is that I probably won't be able to collect any more Chalet School books once I'm in Canada, so whatever I don't have by then will have to remain out of my collection for ever :-( This little haul will be filling in lots of gaps in the collection, including a few that I wasn't sure I'd ever find because they weren't printed many times. So it's an amazing find and I am currently one very happy person.
I've already torn through Gay from China at the Chalet School and am now busy with Highland Twins at the Chalet School. Considering they're all 50 years old, they're in amazing condition and I can't believe my luck at getting editions that old with most of the dustjackets intact.
Take my advice: never start book collecting. It's a lethal addiction!
I have one very firm plan for next weekend (Bank Holiday): a really big sort-out in this room to free up my sofa again and try to create a titch more space on my bookshelves for all my new babies. They need a good home, in memory of the little girl who so faithfully collected and cared for them originally.