Powell's City of Books

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Last week my fiancée and I went to Portland to visit friends and family and while we were there he took me to Powell's bookstore. Not only that...he let me spend two whole hours there. :) I could have spent much much longer but there were other things to see and do. We've decided though that we should go there every time we visit Portland. It's probably one of my favorite places.

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While perusing the shelves for books to take home Britton ran across this one:

Which he immediately fell in love with and HAD to buy. It's a really cute and funny book! However if you have a particular fondness for fairies you may not like Tollins as they are rather careless of them. We read the first story together and then he read the other two over the phone to me. They are really funny. :)

And then I found the beautiful clothbound Penguin Classic Cranford which was used so it was much cheaper but it still looks like brand new:

Can you tell I'm in love with it? :)

And Britton also bought Brisinger, so we now have the whole Eragon set until the fourth book comes out. I need to finish this series!
Going to Powell's can be overwhelming and you suddenly seem to forget what books you've been looking for so we've decided next time we're taking a list. In the meantime...I'm going to get some reading done. ;)

~Elizabeth~

New Old Books

I did it again. I went to a used bookstore. I caved. I bought books. Oh well, they are fabulous! See for yourself....

Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag by Louisa May Alcott

I couldn't believe it when I found this. I've never ever seen this in a book store. In fact I wasn't even aware that it existed. What kind of Alcott fan am I?? The funny thing is, Lizzie found the exact same book at another store just a few days after I found this copy!

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

I've been wanting to read this book so I was glad when I found it. Can anyone tell me if this is an abridged copy? It's a World's Classic edition. And it says it's edited by so and so (name escapes me). Does that mean it's abridged? Help! If I'm going to read a Dickens I don't want to read a stupid abridged copy. It was only a few dollars so I picked it up anyway.

The World of Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse
I'm reading this right now. It's hilarious! If you ever find a P.G. Wodehouse book at a used book store...BUY IT!!!

Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott
Another Alcott book to add to my collection! Isn't this a beautiful copy?

Not pictured: Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery to add to my collection and a beat up copy of Martin Chuzzelwit by Charles Dickens.

Where am I going to put all of these books you ask? Ta-da!

My brother-in-law made me this awesome bookshelf! Each part is separate so that you can arrange it anyway you want. Sim designed it and built it himself. I love it so much and can't wait to fill it up with all my new old books.

I also got a lovely book from Lizzie!!! I need to take a picture of it so that I can show you.

Have you guys gotten new books lately?
♥ Jane

What was on Lizzie's Bookshelf

So, I did a very silly thing. It was indeed my idea to see what was on our bookshelves and I truly was intending to participate...but then I had a loss of all memory and packed all my books up before I made my list. Thus, I no longer have a bookshelf. *sigh*
So all I can give you is a picture of what was...

I did keep a few books out that I'm reading which are:

-My Bible

-The Complete Sherlock Holmes Vol. 1 by Sir Authur Conan Doyle

-Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

-Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller

-Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

-Dictionary and Thesaurus

Anyway...I apologize for my stupidity. I hope you are all having a lovely week and getting some reading done! I'm just 16 pages away from finishing Mansfield Park...whew. I will probably be done with it today. :)

~Elizabeth

What's on Jane's Bookshelf

What a fabulous idea Lizzie! I hope a lot of you will do this. It's really fun. You may even discover (or rediscover) some books on your own shelf that you haven't read before. Go here to read about her idea.

Alright, here goes.

Aren't they pretty? These belong to my mom. She has a lovely collection of books and these are just a few of them. Here is what's on the shelf:

The Beacon Primer
This is from 1912!

The Story of a Candy Rabbit by Laura Lee Hope
Sounds cute doesn't it? Or, maybe it sounds sad...

Oral and Written English
This is a gorgeous book. Look at it! Wouldn't you like to learn English from a beautiful book like this? I think that text books we have now are just so ugly. And you should see what is in this book. It has things in it like "How to read a poem aloud" and "Making Your Meaning Clear"

A Court of Inquiry by Grace S. Richmond
Written in 1901 or thereabouts. I haven't read this but my sister Aimee has. She loved it. No one in it has actual names but has the most delightful nick names like "The Philosopher" (Philo for short) "The Gay Lady" or "The Skeptic". It also has great illustrations, Gibson Girl style.

The Trail of a Sourdough: Ballads and Rhymes by Charles E. Royal
This is full of intellectual and thought provoking poems like "The Immortal Cootie".

Prairie Tales

Keeping Fit for Fun
What this looks like is a bright and colorful book from the 50's that tries to make exercising look fun. I'm not buying it. ;)

More Friends and Neighbors
A very old reader

Little Fox by Francis Frost

Betsy Ross and the Flag by Jane Mayer

Yipe by David Malcolmson
Has the most adorable picture of a little black puppy on it!

Matilda and her Family by Miriam E. Mason
A story about cats! :)

Commodore Hornblower by C.S. Forester
I read the first in this series this year. So good! If you want to watch the BBC adaptions of these classics go here to my other blog The Three Spinsters.

The Little Lame Prince by Miss Mulock
This story starts with a wonderful beginning: "Yes, he was the most beautiful Prince that ever was born." And I love how the author goes by "Miss" Mulock. Charming!

The Real Book about Christopher Columbus
Not to be confused with the fake books about him. ;)

The Story of Leif Ericson by William O. Steele

Booker T. Washington by Shirley Graham

Charlemagne by Manuel Komroff

The March of Muscovy by Harold Lamb

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

You know, it's strange. I read this book when was probably 15 or 16 and I LOVED the first half of the book and DETESTED the second half. I think because it was such a hilarious story up until the the middle of the book and then it just takes a turn for the worse and goes downhill from there. At least, that's what I thought back then. 10 years later, I might think differently. Maybe someday I'll give it another chance.

Well, that's all! I hope that you all will play this game with us. It's quite fun! I'm looking forward to what Lizzie will write! :)

♥ Jane

What's on your bookshelf?

Hello lovely bookworms! This is Lizzie. Amazing, I know. How long has it been since my last post? Well I have no very good excuse except for the fact that I haven't finished any books so I haven't posted about any. Silly, I know. I seem to be reading rather long books at the moment and it's taking some time. So in the meantime, I thought it would be fun to play a little game. :)

Here's how:

Pick any random bookshelf in your house that you love (or don't) and write down a list of the books on it and post a comment with the list. I thought it would be fun to see what's on your shelves and sometime next week I will post a list of what's on mine (and if Jane participates, what's on her's). You can pick a small shelf or a whole bookcase if you want. You can even tell us what sort of nick knacks decorate your shelves. Whatever you love about your shelf, tell us.

I look forward to reading about your collections!

Cheerio,

~Liz

The Mysterious and Interesting Pasts of Used Books

Don't you just love it when you find lovely books at the used book store? I was so excited when I found this one! I've been looking for it for awhile. Our library doesn't have it so I asked them to order it but they never did! Consequently, I've been scouting around for it everywhere. Wow, It's a hard one to find! Until the other day! We hopped into the used book store to look for a present for a friend and I thought to myself, well, I'll just look again for that Thomas Hardy book. I went straight for H and found a bunch of Hardy books. ALL the wrong ones. So I was off looking for another book and my sister called me over and said hey, weren't you looking for a Thomas Hardy book? Which one was it? Then I said, Oh, I'm still looking for Under the Greenwood Tree but they don't have it. As soon as I said that she pointed to it and I snatched it off the shelf and clutched it for dear life! Oh happiness!

It's not even a great copy. Kind of ugly actually with it's weird green and gold cover but it's in pretty good shape and (best of all) has tons of markings and underlining and notes by the previous owner. :) The first page says
To Gram
Love Wendy

Gram (or Wendy?) underlined this passage and then wrote "Hardy the poet." underneath. Yes, Gram, you are right! I love that passage too. :)


Ooh, and look! I found this lovely book in the kids section. It's the sequel to Pat of Silver Bush which I have yet to read. I'm going to make myself wait until I find the first book before I read this one. Have any of you read these books? Did you like this series?

Do you want to know what the best thing about this book is? It belongs to...get ready...Shirley Ann Cook!!!! Shirley Ann?! What are the odds? :) And look at the surprise I found after I got home!

Little Shirley Ann Cook was using this sweet little paper doll as a book mark. Do you think the doll minded? I don't think so. She probably loves to read. I should move her to a new page. She's most likely tired of reading page 120 over and over! I'll find a really interesting one for her to read. :)
There, she can now read about the lady who mistakenly put rat poison in the family pancakes instead of baking powder!

I would love to hear if you have any interesting old books with odd names written in the front or other such things. Do tell!
Happy Reading!

Jane

I Asked for Books for Christmas...

And oh, did I get some lovely ones!

The Chronicles of Narnia

I got this beauty from my sis. It has the entire Chronicles of Narnia plus excerpts from Beyond the Wardrobe and notes about C.S. Lewis.

I love it that it includes all of the original illustrations from the beloved books. In spite of the recent movies, (which I love) I think that I still see the characters the way they are depicted in the imaginative illustrations. They were what first brought Narnia to life for me. That and C.S. Lewis' amazing knack for descriptions.

Isn't it beautiful? I am in love with the gold edged pages and ribbon bookmark. *sigh* Stories of Narnia will always hold a warm and secure place in my heart. My sister used to read them out loud to us while we drew pictures and paper dolls and we would BEG for "just one more chapter" after each and every one. We were insatiable!

A Girl of the Limberlost

Isn't this book gorgeous? My mom got me this one from a lovely little antique store. I had spied it there a few weeks before Christmas and must have gushed enough about it for her to decide to go back and get it for me. I love it because it's beautiful but also because it is the exact same edition that my mom owns herself and it's the same one that my mom remembers my grandma reading. I love it that books can be enjoyed by so many different generations. I plan to save this for my daughter.
I think that this will be my Summer read this year. I need to get a hold of a copy of Freckles as well...hmmm...

The Swiss Family Robinson

My dear friend Beck bought this for me for Christmas! Isn't it wonderful? Oh, I just love it and the illustrations are to die for! When she gave it to me she said that she saw it and thought immediately of me and she bought it right then. Yes, it IS the perfect gift for me. Don't you think she did well? :) And what's more, I've never read this classic (which is kind of strange). So, I'm very excited to read it! Have any of you read it before?

Jack and Jill

As most of you know, I collect Louisa May Alcott books. This is my second copy of Jack and Jill and I think it's a dandy. I love the colorful dust jacket. Jack and Jill is a sweet and innocent book about learning lessons and growing up.

This print was nestled inside. This is a picture of L.M. Alcott's home. Isn't it lovely? The quote says, "Housekeeping ain't no joke!" -Louisa May Alcott
Isn't it the truth?

Sense and Sensibility

And look, look! My sweet sisters got me this book! I suppose you remember my shameless hinting about these books awhile back... Heh heh. Well, they got one for me. And they really did good. They got me my favorite one. Sense and Sensibility has been my favorite Jane Austen ever since I first read it. And getting to read this edition makes it even more enjoyable. Isn't it beautiful? This edition is based on the very first edition that was printed. Most copies that are in print today are based on the second publication of this book. They say that Miss Austen was more influential in the first printing as opposed to the second printing which was overseen by one of her brothers and the publisher. They made a few minor changes but in doing so changed the original feeling of some of the paragraphs and sentences that were crafted with extreme care by the authoress.


I couldn't stop touching this book when I got it and smelling it. :) Don't you love the smell of new books? Ooh, and old books. Well, books for the matter.

"I never liked the smell of books." -Fannie Ferrars

Cranford and Other Stories

Lizzie gave this to me! Oh, I'm so exited to read these stories. I read Cranford and loved it. I've also seen the mini series that they came out with. In fact, we just finished watching "Return to Cranford" last night on Masterpiece Classic. As you probably know, the mini series is actually a jumble of books and stories by Elizabeth Gaskell. So, I am excited to see which stories are in the series and to see where they got their ideas for some of those hilarious characters. :)

Here's the list of content. Doesn't The Doom of the Griffith's sound thrilling? And I'm tempted to skip ahead to Curious, if True. :)

The Ne'er-Do-Well

Here's another beauty Mom picked up at the antique store. I love these old books with the picture pasted on the front. This book is dated 1911. It once belonged to a man with impeccable handwriting by the name of Charles Horne who lived at 912 E.D. Wondruff. Don't you love old books with inscriptions or just addresses? I love looking at their handwriting. People used to take pride in their handwriting skills. Now, we just jot stuff down regardless of neatness, order, legibility and spelling...

This book has gorgeous illustrations! I love the romantic Gibson Girl look of the women and the clean cut styles of the men. Lovely.


Did you get any interesting books for Christmas? Have you read any of the ones I've listed here? What did you think of them?

Love,
Jane

Speaking of Books

If anyone wants to buy me a Christmas present...



I want this

and this

and this

and this

Oh and especially this!!

Aren't these absolutely gorgeous? They are from Anthropologie.
I am so in love with these.
*swoon*

~Jane

***EDIT: They also sell these at Amazon.com!! Gasp! For cheaper! And free shipping!

Past, Present and Future

Books I got to read this Summer:

Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
Freddy and the Popinjay by Walter R. Brooks
The Sackett Brand by Louis L'Amour
The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
The Tutors First Love by George MacDonald


What I'm reading right now:

Wulf the Saxon by G.A. Henty
The Musician's Quest by George MacDonald

Next on the reading list:

Bleak House by Charles Dickens (Thank you Lizzie for the birthday gift!!!!)
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (also from Lizzie.. :))
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien (I want to read these again. I haven't read them since the movies came out. My sister is reading The Hobbit to me and my sister Aimee. So good!)

What's on your list of "To Read"'? Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing Summer!
Love,
Jane
P.S. Don't you want a library like one of the ones above??

Little Women

I just wanted to let you know that I am still here reading away at my new copy of Little Women that I got for Christmas! Oh, I love it so much. I love the ribbon bookmark and the feel of the pages is delicious. You know how some paper is just soothing to look at and to touch? Well, the pages in this book are silky smooth and have a perfect thickness. :) Thanks "Marmee" for giving it to me!


I am currently reading the part of the book that makes me cry. And I will most likely cry through every chapter until the end. Why do I like this book? Why would I like something that makes me cry for 11 chapters straight? Because it is so real. I think that Mrs. Alcott perfectly describes the feelings that all the girls go through. It is constantly reminding me of...well, me. :) Each girl has something about her that I understand, either because they are like me, my mom or one of my sisters. Of course, it's not all sad. But so touching and beautiful.

Is anyone else reading this book right now? What part are you at? What is your favorite part so far?

I hope that all of you are having a lovely January.
~Jane

Used Book Store Find

I love this old copy of Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott! I think it a very charming edition. I love the sweet illustrations and the colors on the cover. I'm always excited to find L.M. Alcott books in good condition. Especially Little Women. I have a small collection of them right now and I would love to find more in the future. That's usually the first book I look for in used book shops.



So, now I just need to read it!
~Jane