Red Sky at Morning by Margaret Kennedy : I seem to remember this was on a list of books about twins that abebooks published a while ago? Does anybody know anything about this? I haven't read a word by Kennedy yet. This came from the lovely Ripping Yarns bookshop, where I had the chance to say hello to shop manager Jen
Awakenings by Oliver Sacks : this is my token non-literary book of the haul. I'm a fan of Sachs', and I enjoyed Harold Pinter's plays based on these cases - where people were awakened from years of being in a coma.
Diaries and Letters 1930-39 by Harold Nicholson : as Darlene said, the dates alone would make me want to grab this book - but combine that with Vita Sackville-West's husband on the cover, and I couldn't leave it behind.
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset : this is a hideous cover but a book I've been intending to secure for a while. It came from an astonishing little shop (pictured below) near Archway tube station, run by an ancient Irish gentleman. Books were piled at least forty high, in twelve stacks (four wide; three deep). Teetering is the word. Claire and I worked our way through as many as we could see without covering the floor, furniture and ourselves in paperbacks...
The Expendable Man by Dorothy B Hughes : I don't know much about this Persephone book, but I was lucky enough to come across one I don't have for only £3 in the wonderful Notting Hill Book & Comic Exchange. Indeed, most of these books came from there...
Mr. Tasker's Gods by T.F. Powys : I greatly enjoyed Mr. Weston's Good Wine and have been hoping to find this one for a while - finding it in this lovely Chatto & Windus edition was rather a treat.
The Topsy Chronicles by A.P. Herbert : while I know APH's name from A.A. Milne's autobiography and other similar sources, I haven't actually read anything by him. These look good fun, and (as a bonus) I discovered APH had signed and given this book himself. I love it when these things happen...
Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald : I've had luck finding these beautiful editions...
The Golden Child by Penelope Fitzgerald : ...and here's another! Which Penelope Fitzgerald should I read next?
Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann : I've heard good things about this novel, and wasn't about to leave it behind with a pricetag of fifty pence... (have I mentioned how much I love Notting Hill Book & Comic Exchange?)
The Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Spark : how many more Spark novels am I going to stumble across?? The woman seems to have been unstoppable.
Don't Look Round by Violet Trefusis : having loved her novel Echo earlier in the year, I was more than happy to add to my Bloomsbury Group library.
Here's How by Virginia Graham : this is the book I was most excited about - indeed, I've already started it, and it's hilarious. I adored her faux-etiquette guide Say Please a couple of years ago, and this one is a faux-instruction guide. So far I've read How To Sing, How To Dance, and How To Play the Piano. It would be going too far to say I've learnt anything practical, but I've certainly laugh. I'll quote some for you all soon...
The Celestial Omnibus by E.M. Forster : I read the title story from this collection when it was published by Penguin in their short story series, and now I'm keen to read some more. And such a nice little edition...
Fair Stood the Wind for France by H.E. Bates : chivvied on by Lyn's recent review, I grabbed this when I saw it on the shelf. This'll be my first Bates...
The Devastating Boys by Elizabeth Taylor : I've heard all-round good things about this collection, not least in Nicola Beauman's biography of Taylor - and which of us Virago-fans can resist a VMC?
My Career Goes Bung by Miles Franklin : see above...
Across the Common by Elizabeth Berridge : this is the other book I bought in Ripping Yarns, on the basis that Berridge is a Persephone author. Not that I've read anything by her yet... Pictured above are the beautiful shelves in Ripping Yarns, which made me go a ltitle weak at the knees...
Stately as a Galleon by Joyce Grenfell : I need a little more Joyce in my life. This might be my next dip-in dip-out book...
So, there you go! As always, I want to hear your thoughts - on which books you've enjoyed, or think you would enjoy, etc. etc. Over to you!
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