Oh dear! I was wittering on in my last State of the TBR post about how “good” my TBR was looking and how I was re-reading this month and would try not to acquire many more new books. Then I went on holiday. Now, I do recall that I bought a number of books last time I went on holiday, and so it happened again. Except that that time I came home with three new books and had released some via BookCrossing that I’d read on the trip: this year I came back with a whole bag of 11 books, plus the ones I’d been re-reading on holiday. Oops!
The first lot – Simon Reynolds’ “Rip it up and Start Again”, “The J.M. Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society” by Barbara J. Zitwer (noticed after a brisk discussion about “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” in which Paul and I discovered that we liked and disliked the book respectively for pretty well the same reasons) and Patrick Hamilton’s “The Slaves of Solitude” were bought on a trip to Fopp in Manchester with Paul and Jeremy. I didn’t know there were any Fopps left and I could have bought loads of CDs. I’ve certainly looked at the Reynolds book a few times, so it was time to pick it up.
The two F.M. Mayors, “The Rector’s Daughter” and “The Third Miss Symons”, E. Arnot Robertson’s “Ordinary Families”, Ellen Glasgow’s “Virginia” and Jane Aiken Hodge’s “The Double Life of Jane Austen” were bought in the delightful Beckside Books in Penrith. I had a lovely chat about hayfever, TBR piles and all sorts with the bookshop lady, and I couldn’t resist these Virago Greens (and one in a different edition) and a book about Austen when I was reading “Emma” at the time. Again, I could have bought more there. Many more.
Matthew had run out of books, even after reading one of my Barbara Pyms, so wanted to go to the charity shops to get a new one. And that’s where I found a Persephone! (Noel Streatfeild’s “Saplings” which I already have) with a bookmark, now earmarked for a friend, and another Virago Green, George Gissing’s “The Odd Women”. One last charity shop and I found the interesting looking “Waterloo” by Roger Deakin, all about wild swimming. I know someone who might like this once I’m done with it, and of course Iris Murdoch loved what wasn’t yet called ‘wild swimming’ when she was dipping into odd pools and bays.
All well and good, but then I got home and ran into our neighbour, who had a parcel for me. I’d forgotten that the kind people at Bello Books had offered me the pick of their catalogue of print-on-demand reprints: I’d mentioned a few authors and they generously sent me these three lovelies!
Gillian Tindall wrote a marvellous book about a village in France, so her short stories, “Journey of a Lifetime” should be good, and Vita Sackville-West should need no introduction to readers of this blog, and here are her first novel, “Family History”, and “Heritage”, which a few of my friends have read.
So, 14 books, although one will pass straight out of my hands and at least two others will be passed along … Do you do this kind of terrible thing on your holidays, too? And have you read any of these new acquisitions?
Verns
Jul 18, 2013 @ 08:30:43
I remember on one occasion, when my children were young, we went shopping and they begged to go to McDonald’s as a special treat. Hannah tried bargaining – ‘if we can go to McDonald’s, you can go to Waterstones.’ Children recognise addiction from an early age, don’t they?
So the answer to your question is ‘yes’ – if my holiday takes me anywhere near a book shop, I buy a book; I accept it is a Pavlovian response.
Waterlog is wonderful – a beautifully written and fascinating journey through the UK’s rivers, lakes and ponds. On the other hand, The J M Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society is dire, the only thing in its favour being the correct use of the apostrophe in the title. Comparing it to the far superior Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society would be a travesty. Erm, in my opinion, of course.
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Liz at Libro
Jul 18, 2013 @ 08:34:45
Glad it’s not just me! I wasn’t aiming to compare the two except remarking on the similarly long titles. Might be fun and I’ve got someone I can pass it along to afterwards …
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Nordie
Jul 18, 2013 @ 08:40:14
I didnt buy any whilst on holiday but did get through 6 ebooks during that week which was good. I still have a stupid number of books to read so have been fairly good in not buying new paperbooks (I did order the new Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett books however)
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Liz at Libro
Jul 18, 2013 @ 09:43:42
I only read 2/3 of one e-book in the end, which was annoying as I always get stressed carrying my Kindle around, but I put in more Pym books at the last minute so I could read as much as possible before the conference!
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gennytun
Jul 18, 2013 @ 09:37:09
I do the same on holiday: just back from a short break in London with 9 books! I’m envious of the Persephone especially; I’ve never yet found a second-hand one, let alone with bookmark.
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Liz at Libro
Jul 18, 2013 @ 09:45:11
Oh, that is reassuring. I have found one other Persephone in a charity shop, I think it was Few Eggs and No Oranges, another I already had. The bookmark was on about p. 70 of this one so they can’t have liked it (why???).
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melbrocklehurst
Jul 18, 2013 @ 12:17:08
Yes! Surrounded by books all the time in the day job, with my pick of the book sale made up from donations and withdrawals, I am much better at not buying “new” books, mainly because I try and avoid bookshops. But that’s not always the case on holdiday: our recent four day trip to Baltimore, Gettysburg & Amish country yielded four new books (albeit from the bargain section of Barnes and Noble). And then there was the first time I went to Toronto, still travelling to and from the UK, and stumbled across a glorious independent bookshop and had to be dragged out, but only after a record-breaking haul of lovely new books had the young man on the cash register asking “Don’t you have bookshops in England?”!
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Liz at Libro
Jul 18, 2013 @ 13:23:10
Ha – marvellous! Hm, I bet you reserved and ordered through ILL as many books as I did in those long-distant days of working as Saturday library assistants …
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Ste J
Jul 18, 2013 @ 16:36:35
I haven’t rad any of these….yes and in fact haven’t even been into a book store since the middle of May. I love a good collection on holiday though…ten for me on the last one and forty two was the sum i treated Christina to.
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Liz at Libro
Jul 18, 2013 @ 16:53:53
Goodness, well done. I do go in fits and starts. 42 books????
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Ste J
Jul 18, 2013 @ 16:56:16
Yup, I was eager to share all my book loves and well, went a bit mental lol. It was worth it though for the free copy of a 1940’s Reader’s Digest they threw in as I spent loads.
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heavenali
Jul 18, 2013 @ 16:52:46
rather envious of those Bellos : ) nice collection and some great finds.
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Liz at Libro
Jul 18, 2013 @ 16:54:26
Yes, they are nice, and it’s good that they supported the Barbara Pym conference, too, with postcards in the conference packs. When will I read them all though???!!
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BookerTalk
Jul 18, 2013 @ 19:40:38
Luckily you were not on one of those holidays where there is a very strict luggage allowance otherwise you’d be in trouble. I’ve been working hard at resisting temptation for the last few months but we’ve just decided to take a week’s holiday in the UK so I have a feeling my good intentions will go out of the window
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Liz at Libro
Jul 22, 2013 @ 11:52:07
Oh, gosh no, just what I could carry (and I did have a whole extra bag of books to carry on 2 trains and a bus on the way home) so it was fine. You can always post stuff back to yourself anyway …
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vicki (skiourophile / bibliolathas)
Jul 19, 2013 @ 05:41:59
Oh yes, I’m a holiday book-buyer — it’s generally in holidays in other cities that I go to lots of bookshops, as we’re not over-endowed in my hometown. You have some great books there – I recently read the Gissing and really it was an excellent read.
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Liz at Libro
Jul 19, 2013 @ 05:44:45
Excellent – these comments are making me feel MUCH better! I’ve heard about the Gissing for years and I’m glad All Virago All August is coming up in the LIbraryThing Virago Group so I can promote it up the TBR shelf!
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kaggsysbookishramblings
Jul 22, 2013 @ 09:49:21
What beautiful books Liz! I read and loved “Rip it up and start again”. The Viragos and Persephone are lovely. I too have Slaves of Solitude on Mount TBR and I *will* get round to it soon! I think you couldn’t possibly have passed up these lovelies – great finds!
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Liz at Libro
Jul 22, 2013 @ 11:52:57
Excellent, that’s good to know. The Persephone I did have already but nice to find one anyway. I will be reading a lot of the Viragoes next month, hopefully. I have at least a month’s worth there!
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alex daw (@luvviealex)
Aug 02, 2013 @ 19:41:14
You found a Persephone at a Charity Shop? Sigh…..
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Liz at Libro
Aug 02, 2013 @ 19:55:18
I’ve done it twice now – both ones I already had. I have got around 40 but it does seem a bit unfair when that happens!
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