Skip to main content

Five

Saturday trip to an Oxfam bookstore and could have come away with more, but thankfully I managed to get online (via N hotspotting me) and so avoiding buying a bunch of duplicates.

Pleased to spot the two Rivers of London novellas. I thought that I was doing well with getting these, as this brings me up to nine, but it turns out that I am a tad out of date as we are up to 16 now. Oh well, I will keep plugging away.

As for the Jane Gardam, loved Old Filth and have started to pick up her books when I spot them. This is one of her earlier novels, and was nominated for the Booker, so much hope.

Lee Child - 20 short stories - they will get devoured!

A Sebastian Faulks paperback. I have the first edition, but now I have a reading copy too which was missing from my paperback shelf, as evident from the photograph. I've just finished his 'Fires Which Burned Brightly' which, as a series of essays, I picked up and put down over a quite a while. More of that another time.


  

Popular posts from this blog

Finds

A slow start to 2025 for posting, but certainly not a slow start for reading. More of that later, but this post is a report of Saturday afternoon's excursion along Rochester High Street and some pleasing finds. A separate post will be required for the previous weekend's trip to Hythe and Dymchurch. Along the High Street in the charity shops, in Baggins, and in Shop 104, I was lucky enough to find: The latest Kate Atkinson Jackson Brodie in brand new paperback, in a special independent bookshop edition with sprayed black edges. Yes, I know I was lucky enough to go and get a 'signed' edition (well, stamped due to wrist problems) of the hardback first edition from the author herself, but that's hardly the point. Certain books need to be owned many-times over. Three more Elly Griffiths paperbacks for the collection - two Brighton Mysteries and one Ruth Galloway and, as it turns out, the first Ruth Galloway, which was a bonus. A first printing of Trigger Mortis in paperb...

Hooked

Ian Fleming publications released the first chapter of the forthcoming Felix Leiter book on Tuesday this week. They could have waited for a day and released it on Fleming's (117th) birthday, but never mind. Their post includes both the first chapter and the author, Raymond Benson, reading it. I am reminded of this post from 2023 when I was pleased to report on a successful eBay purchase from Mr Benson. Last year, I was able to repeat the trick by purchasing, directly from the author, another set, this time of the US first edition signed paperbacks of his Bond works. As for The Hook and the Eye, I don't think I'm going to sign up for the digital serialisation, but will look forward to the hard copy later this year.

Wisley

On my previous return from far away, N took me to the Hyde Hall RHS gardens in Essex and, because it was such a warm and sunny day and we enjoyed ourselves so much (and the jetlag cure seemed to be so successful), we signed up for membership on the spot. Determined to extend the benefit, we toddled off to Wisley today, narrowly avoiding a satnav disaster along the way, but making it into an adventure instead. And, once again, it was glorious. I can see why Mum loved it so much, and I only wish I'd had the chance to enjoy it with her. We had a great visit, mostly contemplating what we will be doing with the couple of Norfolk acres we don't have yet. They are going to be superb. They already are in our imaginations! Saturday in the sunshine was topped off with barbecue organised by J whilst we were out. So, no time for book shopping, so I can but reflect on the charity finds from the week just finished, in amongst which we have a first of V2 to help the Harris firsts collection a...