Last weekend, Teresa and Thomas and I went to a used book sale at a local girl's school. Annual event. Very large. Jam packed with tables of books that Thomas contended made him start menstruating. But at the end of the sale, the books are all so cheap that one could not help but pick things up just for the fun of it. There is nothing in the stack above that sets my heart aflutter. But for $15.90 I was more than happy to take them home. The haul and the justifications:
- Innocence by Penelope Fitzgerald - Only one of her books that I have not read. Makes me believe that one is never too old to pitch it all in to just write.
- Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - It's Stella Gibbons. I actually own a copy of this one. But not this edition.
- Making Things Better by Anita Brookner - Thomas is a Brookner enthusiast extraordinaire. I liked the one novel I read by her even though I suspect that "scary" might be the word to describe this author in real life. Oops. I meant "chain-smoking scary."
- Tigers Are Better-Looking and Sleep It Off Lady by Jean Rhys - I have only read The Wide Sargasso Sea by Rhys. Appreciated the writing more than the plot. But they were a dollar each.
- The Leopard by Guiseppe Di Lampedusa - Have actually meant to read this for a long time. And Teresa reminded me that this is the next read for Slaves of Golconda.
- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke - Love, love this book. Psyched for the upcoming BBC series. Own the black covered edition but a friend made off with my red cover. A replacement was required.
- Still Life by A.S. Byatt - Same story as the Fitzgerald one above.
- The Night Watch by Sarah Waters - Teresa practically pushed it in my bag.
- Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym - Just recently read my first Pym novel and was mightily entertained by it. I would read another Pym in hopes of more clothing and food descriptions alone.
- Zeitoun by Dave Eggers - Don't know. Peer pressure from the bookish all around. And I think that I saw someone else eyeing it which made it more attractive.
- Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor - Huge fans of her short stories. We have the same birthday. I appreciate her weirdness.
- A Frolic of His Own by William Gaddis - I wanted to shake up the hormonal composition of the bag.
Ironically enough, given his earlier remarks, my most estrogen-infused acquisitions of the day came from Thomas over drinks after the sale. The titles you see above. He is a truly generous soul.
Recommendations from the haul?