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

Out With the Old and In With the New!

Well, hello there! Since I haven't posted since LAST year I thought I'd post something. Ha ha! I know....old joke! But I love it...and it's my blog so I can make whatever kind of jokes I want.

I really want to keep track of what books I have read and want to read this year so I decided to make a list of books I finished reading in 2009, books I started reading in 2009 and books I hope to read in 2010!

2009: Finished
('*' means read for the 2nd time or more)

*Little Women by L.M. Alcott
*Sense and Sensibility by J. Austen
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
Mansfield Park by J. Austen
The Deerslayer by J.F. Cooper
The Mojave Crossing by L. L'Amour
Lando by L. L'Amour
Riders of the Purple Sage by Z. Grey
*The Fisherman's Lady by G. MacDonald
*The Marquis' Secret by G. MacDonald
The Highlanders Last Song by G. MacDonald
The Musicians Quest by G. MacDonald
Freddy and the Poppin Jay by W.R. Brooks
James and the Giant Peach by R. Dahl
The Min Pins by R. Dahl
Esio Trot by R. Dahl
Part of the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
*Anne of Avonlea
*Anne of the Island
*Anne of Windy Poplars
*Anne's House of Dreams
*Anne of Ingleside
Northanger Abbey by J. Austen
To Kill a Mocking Bird by H. Lee
The Old Man and The Sea by E. Hemmingway
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester
The Series of Unfortunate Events books #1-#13 by L. Snickett
The Bad Beginning
The Reptile Room
The Wide Window
The Miserable Mill
The Austere Academy
The Ersatz Elevator
The Vile Village
The Hostile Hospital
The Carnivorous Carnival
The Slippery Slope
The Grim Grotto
The Penultimate Peril
The End
Pygmalion by G.B. Shaw
Bleak House by C. Dickens


2009: Started
*The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
*Emma by J. Austen
*Little Women by L.M. Alcott
The Cat Who Went Banana's by L.J. Braun- Not sure if I like this or not..we'll see.
Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
My Fair Lady by A.J. Lerner- I'm not going to finish this one. I read Pygmalion (which is the book that My Fair Lady is based on) and liked it and then started My Fair Lady but did not enjoy it and decided that I wouldn't waste time reading something that was not enjoyable.



2010: Want to read

Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
*The Fellowship of the Ring
*Two Towers
*The Return of the King
I Capture the Castle by D. Smith
Martin Chuzzlewit by C. Dickens
Daniel Deronda by G. Eliot
The Princess Bride by W. Goldman
Shirley by C. Bronte
Agnes Grey by A. Bronte
The Pickwick Papers by C. Dickens
*An Old Fashioned Girl by L.M. Alcott
*A Rose in Bloom by L.M. Alcott
Cranford and Other Stories by E. Gaskell (thanks Lizzie!)
Master and Commander by P. O'Brian
The Ne'er Do Well by R. Beach
The Girl of the Limberlost by G. Stratton-Porter
The rest of the Anne books by L.M. Montgomery
*Rainbow Valley
*Rilla of Ingleside
Little Dorrit by C. Dickens
The Swiss Family Robinson by J.D. Wyss (thanks Beck!)
*The Narnia series by C.S. Lewis

What books did you all read last year? What books would you like to read in the coming year?

Happy 2010 my friends!
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!

Reading is a hobby!

Some of you have been admitting that you are slow at reading books and that you think it's a sad or bad thing. I disagree. I think of reading as a hobby and as you can see, a hobby is...

Hob-by

1. An activity or interest pursued
for pleasure or relaxation and not
as a main occupation.

It should never be a drudgery! I know that sometimes we have to read books that aren't quite to our taste like some books for school but most of the reading we do is for the pure pleasure of reading and getting transported to another time or place. The important thing is not how long or short of a time it took you to read but whether you enjoyed it or not. You should read what you want and enjoy it at whatever pace you read!

Some people read 30 books a year, some only read 3 or even 1. Me, I'm a voracious reader. If I'm not reading a book I feel....well, I'm always reading so I don't know how I feel when I'm not reading! But, I just love to read and I will stay up all hours and read, read, read to the detriment of my sleep and health! Now, my sister Marg doesn't read near as many books as I but that does not mean that she doesn't enjoy books or reading as much. She enjoys reading every bit as much as I do!

The lovely thing about books is that they will always be there for you to read. They wont expire, die or fade away over time. So, when you get to them, whether it's tomorrow or years from now, they will be there waiting for you to pick them up and get lost in their pages.

Reading is not a chore or a test with a time limit, it's a hobby! It's a joy!

Happy reading!
Love, Jane

'Tis the season...

...to read Little Women again! As most of you readers know, it's my tradition to read Little Women every year. I always read the first chapter "Playing Pilgrims" on Thanksgiving night.

So, any of you that what to join me, please do! And I would love to know how you are coming along, what your favorite parts are and everything else. Leave comments! ;) My sister Aimee is going to read it at the same time. Yay!

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving day!

Love,

Jane

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Every once in awhile I love to wander through the children's section in the library and randomly pick up some books I've never heard of that sound interesting and take them home and be surprised.
My most recent find was 'The Mysterious Benedict Society' by Trenton Lee Stewart.
It was a fun read, kept you curious until the end and you came to love all the quirky characters and I was quite sad to leave them by the end. But I wont give too much away as to keep it a mystery. ;)

Currently I'm reading through the Lemony Snicket books, Little Dorrit, Mansfield Park, and a lovely book of Keat's poetry.

What are you reading?