Of Books Borrowed And Bought

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As night yesterday (Monday) fell my wife suddenly noticed the pile of books on the coffee table (which in this house should be called a tea table but I digress).

"What are they?" she asked.

Clearly darkness and impending sleep had clouded the obvious in her brain. I was happy to help.

"They're books I've bought today".

"Well there's no shelf room left"

She is actually wrong. There is shelf room. And when the shelves are full then I will create more room. That is what collectors do.

As it happened for other reasons I had not actively sought out books for a while. The last Penguin paperback I bought was the collection of J B Priestley plays, and that was only because the nearby village was holding a fete. The last non Penguin/Pelican I'd bought was The American by Martin Booth which as I've explained in an earlier post is worth the read. It was time to buy more.

Things seemed to coalesce themselves into buying books on Monday. I needed to go to Porthcawl library anyway. My daughter in her "I'm a teenager and it's a summer holiday so don't wake me up" mode didn't actually get out of bed until 10:45am (so a trip to Neath/Ebbw Vale etc was pointless). Porthcawl it was then. Lunch,shopping buying books and then the library. Such is the glamorous life this family leads I was surprised that we were not tailed by paparazzi.

The weather in Porthcawl amounted to acceptable this summer. That is to say cool and cloudy but dry. We had lunch on the seafront. I gazed at the relatively calm sea. My daughter just ate her sausage rolls. Bored you could tell. Suspect that true appreciation of what at first glance seems like a nothing view happens when you're older.

Anyway after lunch we went to the best charity shop in Porthcawl for books (Porthcawl Animal Welfare Society - PAWS) which has a whole floor devoted to them. I was in my element. Unfortunately I was with a daughter who wasn't in hers. Quickly she suggested every Penguin paperback she could see. It appeared to be helpful but in fact was to get me out of the place as quickly as possible. There would be no time to make a considered decision. I'm the adult.Knew it was a bit selfish of me to be here in this shop whilst she stood around watching Dad indulge his hobby as she just hung around so decided to choose promptly.

So five books were quickly picked. They were as follows:

1717 - Jamaica Inn - Daphne Du Maurier

This is the only pre ISBN numbered book amongst the five. I've only ever read one other book of hers before (not a famous one) but it had such an effect on me can't even remember it's title.

Jill Tweedie - Eating Children

This orange spined Penguin is on the face of it the most intriguing of all the books I bought. Written by the late Guardian writer this is an autobiography about her troubled childhood. 

Now in the spirit (as explained in an earlier post) of my position as the slight hypocrite comes the next book.

Penguin Plays - Four English Comedies

This is as shown a collection of English Comedic plays by Ben Johnson,William Congreve,Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Sheridan. 

Albert Camus - The Plague

You know all true readers will say that there are certain writers that they have not got round to reading purely because life interferes and/or there is already a pile of the great unread to go through. For me Albert Camus is one of those writers. I'm happy I got this book.

And finally.

Dirk Bogarde - Great Meadow 

Towards the end of his life Dirk Bogarde became just as known for his writing as he was for his acting. This is part of his autobiographical series of books.

Five books for just £2. As they would say in Cardiff. Barrgain,

Before we went home we went to the library so that I can pick a football book. This was the one I chose.

Alan Stubbs - How Football Changed My Life

Alan Stubbs, ex manager of Hibernian and now manager of Rotherham was also a useful player in his own right. This is his autobiography (written before his managerial career) which also includes his battles with cancer. Suspect it'll be worth a read.

I enjoyed getting these books. Both as a reader and a collector.

Until the next time.