Saturday, October 20, 2007

Another Book Sale Binge



I blame Danielle. If not for her praise of Elizabeth Taylor's novels and her general enthusiasm for Virago books, I might have been able to resist the four pristine Virago editions of Taylor’s novels and short stories. Mind you, there's plenty of blame to go around. It's on account of a review by Dorothy and excerpts posted by Terry that I've long had my eye out for copies of Mary McCarthy's The Groves of Academe and Graham Greene's Travels with My Aunt respectively. It was a mention by Litlove that piqued my interest in the work of William Maxwell. Before Imani's Outmoded Authors Challenge, I'd never even heard of Olivia Manning. And, of course, it's Sharon's Russian Reading Challenge that has Dostoevsky in the front of my mind. You're enablers of my book buying habit, every last one of you, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

Here's a complete list of today's acquisitions:

Elizabeth Bowen, Pictures and Conversations;
A.S. Byatt, On Histories and Stories: Selected Essays;
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes From Underground;
Alasdair Gray, The Book of Prefaces;
Graham Greene, Travels with My Aunt;
Doris Lessing, Walking in the Shade 1949-1962;
Olivia Manning, The Levant Trilogy;
William Maxwell, So Long, See You Tomorrow;
Mary McCarthy, The Groves of Academe;
Anthony Powell, Books Do Furnish a Room;
Jean Rhys, After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie;
Jean Rhys, Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography;
Stevie Smith, The Holiday;
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Scottish Stories & Essays;
Elizabeth Taylor, Angel;
Elizabeth Taylor, The Devastating Boys;
Elizabeth Taylor, In a Summer Season;
Elizabeth Taylor, The Soul of Kindness;
Claire Tomalin, Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life; and,
Eudora Welty, The Eye of the Story: Selected Essays & Reviews.

8 comments:

Rebecca H. said...

Wonderful list! I hope you like The Groves of Academe ...

Kate S. said...

Thanks Dorothy. On reflection, I think you bear a good part of the blame for those Elizabeth Taylors as well. What a marvellous community of readers the blogosphere has wrought, and how lucky I feel to be part of it!

Melwyk said...

What beautiful Elizabeth Taylor books! I am envious of your ability to go to such great booksales!

Kate S. said...

Melanie,
They're pretty fabulous all of those U of T book sales. I've never failed to come home from one laden with many good books. Next fall, you should make a field trip to Toronto for a book sale weekend...

Heather said...

Quite a list and very long!! Good for you!

Anonymous said...

I've had this post saved in my bloglines for ages now. Lucky you to find such lovely ET Viragos--and in such good condition! Actually your whole list looks great. I also want to read the Manning book and have it checked out from the library!

Melwyk said...

I've just heard that the Brits are making a film of "Angel", I can't remember where I saw it, though!

Unknown said...

Chiming in late to say that I love Elizabeth Taylor, though it's been a few years...I'm hoping you get to reading her soon so I can hear your reactions...

I just finished Kate O'Brien's *Talk of Angels* which did not hold up well on re-reading though Virago has reissued her in lovely editions. I'm told that O'Brien's Land of Spices is better...