10p Book Haul

I went along to a local car boot sale on bank holiday Monday (how very British), hoping to pick up some good second-hand books.

However, though there were a lot of sad cuddly toys and mismatched kitchenware there weren't that many books.

I was going to give up and go home but I managed to strike lucky on my way out. I'd forgotten that the village hall that the boot sale was held at has second-hand books for sale in the foyer.

I got eight books, all for only 10p each, in the end T (fiancé) had to drag me away because I couldn't carry any more.

I thought I'd share what I got.

First I’ll get the slightly embarrassing ones out of the way, I bought two Jackie Collins books. I’ve never read any Jackie Collins, I know they’re basically bonk-busters and don’t have much literary merit but I’ve had a bad cold recently and wanted something easy to read and, dare I say it, trashy. So, when I saw Lovers & Players and Hollywood Divorces for only 10p each I grabbed them.

Hollywood Divorces follows three beautiful and talented women and the inevitable downfall of their marriages, while Lovers & Players is another Collins classic about the Diamond family, headed by billionaire Red Diamond.

I haven’t read either of them yet as the cold cleared up and now I feel guilty whenever I look at them. But I think they’re perfect sunbathing books so will crack them out soon if the weather holds.

Another slightly embarrassing purchase was Jump by Jilly Cooper. I am actually a big fan of Jilly Cooper’s old books, but it’s embarrassing to admit because I’m a bleeding heart liberal and Jilly Cooper is definitely on the right (dark) side. But, damn it, I enjoy her books; she has engaging characters, complex love stories and a glimpse into how the other half lives.

Well, her old books do, Riders, Rivals and the like, but with her more recent ones I think she’s lost the plot a little, like Wicked which is full of over-sexed 13 year olds and unimaginative working class characters. But when I saw Jump at the village Hall I decided to give Jilly another chance. Like several of her older books Jump has a plucky horse-loving heroine, Etta Bancroft, high society and her lovable rogue Rupert Campbell-Black making an appearance. It also has a classic Jilly Cooper embarrassing front cover which means I can’t read it in public.

On to the less embarrassing purchases. I was really pleased to pick up Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey as I have wanted to read it for a while. It’s about a middle-aged couple who are living in the wilds of Alaska and trying to escape their sadness about not having a child. On a whim they build a child out of snow, the snow child disappears the next day but a mysterious blonde haired girl comes into their lives.

I’ve already started reading this and am planning to review it soon, so won’t give anything away here.

Another find is Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks. I read his famous book Birdsong years ago but have never read any of his others. Charlotte Gray becomes involved with the French Resistance in her efforts to track down her RAF pilot lover, and uncovers a secret that will change the rest of her life.

If this is anything like Birdsong it promises to be powerful, moving and have an alarming level of realism.

I got The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. I read The Lovely Bones and I did think that it lived up to the hype, and thoroughly enjoyed it, if enjoy is the right word for a book about a murdered child. I’m looking forward to reading this one, her second novel, even though it got really bad reviews. I prefer to judge for myself and try not to compare it to The Lovely Bones.

  

I also picked up a couple of classics including Cranford, which I realised I don’t have. I do like a small town life story and being written by Elizabeth Gaskell pretty much guarantees this to be a good read.

I also grabbed The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy. I love Tess of the d’Urbervilles but I haven’t read many of his other books. The Woodlanders looks at class and society through the rivalry of two vastly different suitors for the hand of Grace Melbury. I had a glance through Goodreads and a lot of the reviewers have used the word “lovely” to describe this book, so that bodes well.

So, that’s my book stash, which I now have to try and fit on my overflowing book shelves.

I’ll put reviews of these up soon, along with some from my crime book bundle.

I have a lot of reading to do!

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