...with this...
All of sudden I don't mind being surrounded by people who love contempory fiction, people who would have brushed these aside. They will have a very nice home with me!
...meandering through twentieth-century England while filling my bookshelves along the way
They were being discarded?! What a pity, but lucky for you, Darlene.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a massive weeding project underway lately as the shelves are full to bursting. Honetly, I could stage a stake-out at all of the locations.
DeleteHow wonderful for you! I've found a couple of Pyms through library sales as well. At least these books go to good homes and appreciative owners.
ReplyDeleteWe all get possessive about our favourites and can't believe others don't feel the same way. I could happily throw away a load of old westerns but that would make some elderly men quite cross indeed!
DeleteOh gosh! What fiend would throw away such beautiful books!
ReplyDeleteI know, Simon! Her name starts with an 'M' - that's all I will say.
DeleteOh, that's just criminal!! :) I feel like one of those people who would chain themselves to a fence to stop a wrecking ball.:) I was reading a little about what happened to Miss Pym, when her long-time publisher refused to publish her nth book because it was too old-fashioned. (He goes to book jail, too.) Looking forward to June, especially because of all the other people who are coming to the party.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt Thomas will keep things lively! You have me thinking...I own a copy of 'A Very Private Eye' which is full of Barbara's letters and diary entries. That just might be my read for June so we can all cover as much material as possible. Thanks, Audrey!
DeleteDISCARD BIN!
ReplyDeleteWords fail me.
I know, Susan. Unbelievably there is one particular senior librarian who has said right to my face that I read 'old books'. You have to pity them, don't you.
DeleteOh how could they! Thank goodness you were there to rescue them. K x
ReplyDeleteIf I had been away on vacation who knows where they may have ended up?! I shudder to think...
DeleteI am very nearly speechless. I'm so glad you were in the right place at the right time, and I'm also pleased to be able to report that my library's Virago edition Barbara Pyms do seem popular.
ReplyDeleteOh I do like the image of people standing at the check-out desk with a Pym novel under their arm, Jane. Hooray for your library and its members!
DeleteI have just discovered the joys of Barbara Pym. I'm a huge Miss Read fan and her books were always compared to Barbara Pym's so I was curious to read them and absolutely love them! Adore your copies - thrilled they've gone to an appreciative home!
ReplyDeleteOh you are in for such a treat, Victoria! My books look even nicer now that the yellowed jackets have been carefully removed.
DeleteBless you for saving them! I recently bought two of Ms. Pym's books - Crampton Hodnet and A Glass of Blessings - at a used book store. They were paperback editions but I was happy to find them. Oh, to have hardcover copies. The mind boggles!
ReplyDeleteI remember finding a stack of Pyms in a second-hand shop but my heart sank once I realized that the pages were full of underlining and notes. I'm glad someone enjoyed them but that sort of thing is just too distracting for me. Enjoy your books, Belle!
DeleteI agree. I try to be very careful when buying used books that the previous owner wasn't A Book Marker! I for one rarely make even the lightest pencil mark on a page.
DeleteWell caught, my local branch keeps selling off their overview history books - the multi-volume History of England type titles - which really, really vexes me as they're exactly the sort of reference material they should hoard for students/self educators not the endless swathes of Anne Boleyn books. I'm very grateful to have them cheaply but it makes me feel very out of sync as a reader... More to the point though, can't wait for Pym week now!
ReplyDelete