I had an errand in town this afternoon and decided to stop at the Book Basket which is a used book exchange. Our friend Joe mentioned he had seen there a copy of Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" which he considers required reading for anyone headed to live in Kentucky.
Someone else had bought the book, but [so I reasoned] I need to use my trade credits before I leave town and I remembered I had by-passed a paper-bound copy of "Lark Rise to Candleford" thinking that I didn't want to spend $10.00 for a paper-covered book.
Given the need to use my credits, it now seemed like a good choice.
The book wasn't on the shelf where it was displayed before Christmas. Crouching creakily on the floor to see the bottom tiers of a section labeled "Britain" I spied the familiar red spine. A hard cover copy and for only $6.00! Nearby was the intriguing "The English Year--A Personal Selection from Chambers' Book of Days."
These came home with me as well as two paperbacks---a mere novel and a book of essays by Canadian writer Sharon Butala.
I need absorbing reading to keep my mind off the perils of a house-hunting trek to Kentucky!
[And I transferred my remaining book trade credits to Joe.]
One of the photos and colored illustrations from the book.
There is a whole page at the back of the book giving, in tiny letters, credit for all the illustrations.
This is an abridged text, but a treasure to amplify my small paperback edition of the trilogy.
J. on his way to bed, has just stood gazing around this room of mine. I felt that the expression on his face was not a compliment to my hours of sorting and packing.
As he glanced about him in obvious astonishment, I barked, "And whatever are you looking at in such a dismal way?"
He shrugged. "How can you have filled so many boxes and have so much left to pack?"
"We will discuss that," I retorted loftily, "when you begin to sort and pack your stuff in the barn!"
That's a lovely edition of Lark Rise, my copy only has small line drawings in it but now I think I shall have to look for the illustrated version! As for packing books - I would spend more time reading books I'd forgotten about than packing I'm afraid. This is what happens when I clean out bookshelves and bookcases.
ReplyDeleteOh yes! I expect he looked guilty and backed at out of the room.
ReplyDeleteThat VERY copy of LRTC is on my sofa right now and I was reading it last night! We have the latest series on tv at the moment - last week's programme, dealing with a measles epidemic, was very poignant.
ReplyDeleteI "think" I have the other book too - "somewhere" . . . and I have the Barbara Kingsolver book! Oh dear, this addiction is bad - I didn't realize how bad until I started going through the books to sort them out pre-moving . . .
MM, I'm (selfishly) glad you can find some time to write for us in the midst of all the moving preparations! And a good book is absolutely neccesary for escaping for a little while from the horrors of moving. And helps you forget the superior stares of those cats that you are greatly inconveniencing with all that tossing about of stuff in all directions...Best of luck in Kentucky with house hunting!
ReplyDeleteBack again. I've just been picked to take part in a my favourite song meme. I wondered if you'd like to pick yours too? Only if you have time of course.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comments--they are what make blogging fun.
ReplyDeleteThe house is a welter of boxes and displaced items and with a deadline of two weeks left to sort and pack, I feel a bit guilty if I spend time on the computer.
When we are moved and settled, responding to comments and leaving comments on my favorite blogs will be at the head of my to-do list.
Hello there ...I have just had a quick catch up of your blog ...I have missed SO MUCH. That will teach me to get a virus I couldn't shake ... should have gone to the Drs ...its still lingering but I feel more like blog hopping at last.
ReplyDeleteI will need to reread the bits about the move incase I missed some thing ....where will you be living for the time being ...how will the animals cope ...how will you cope ??????
You have taken some wonderful scenery shots this year too.
Will get blogging again soon ...I have missed it and my blog friends. xx
thanks for visiting my blog! i was going to email you back, but looks like you don't have an email attached to your profile. Yes, Lake George, NY! We used to spend a week every summer at Cape Cod Village in Hague, NY...saw that you have ancestors from there!
ReplyDeleteTalk about superior looks...when my father moved to his lovely retirement apartment in May, he had paid for a crew to help pack at one end and unpack at the other. The unpacking crew was highly critical of the packing crew...and then one of the unpackers said to me as he was unloading a box onto a book shelf "why did your father bring so many books with him?" I looked at him aghast and he blithely continued "no one could read all of these books in one lifetime" as if that were the final word on the topic. I didn't bother to tell him that my father had given away or sold more than 3/4 of his books, that he had read almost all of those books, and the other ones were reference books... I felt a cold rage building in me and all i could sputter was "what a bizzare question--those are his books and he chose to bring them with him...please unpack them carefully!"