Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Happy Mail/Book Haul!

 Last week, Bill got me a voucher for Kenny's, an independent bookshop in Galway (free worldwide shipping). Since we have never had a local bookshop in the Irish towns/villages we've lived in, that serves as ours. I had a great time thinking about what books I wanted and clicking around on the site. Today, my happy book mail arrived. Yay!
For the last few years, I have really been into classics with regard to fiction. I read a few more current fiction books, but it doesn't take long for me to want to get stuck into a classic again. Some of these I could get for free at Project Gutenberg but for books like this, I much prefer having a physical book instead of an e-book. Also, I really like the Wordsworth Classics editions. They have very informative introductions, but I don't read those until after I've read the book because there are spoilers. When a Wordsworth Classics edition was available, I chose that. When that wasn't available, I happily chose whatever copy they had.
each of these volumes contains 3 novels



I also got a couple of nonfiction titles.
Fanny Trollope was the mother of Anthony Trollope. She was also a writer, but while I've read a fair number of his books, I don't know anything about her. She was apparently a big influence on him, so I was happy to find this biography of her. 

The hat book was my last pick. I was looking at the bargain books and was intrigued. I make a lot of hats myself (knitted, crocheted, and occasionally, tatted) and the idea of hats changing the world seemed kind of hyperbolic. But it did look like a fascinating book. After looking at it in person, I can say that I am glad I decided to get it! It has a picture of a person wearing a certain style of hat on one page and a page of text opposite that provides information about the hat style and its importance. I think this will be a fun read, as will the rest of them. Now to decide which one to read first! 


8 comments:

Rostrose said...

Oh, dear Shari, I can understand that this mailing makes you happy! On the subject of hats, I can offer you a very special example in my post today: A hat made of glass, presented by the "lady of the glass castle" :-)
All the best
and have a wonderful time!
Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/11/internationale-glastage-in-der.html

Shari Burke said...

And a very fine hat it is, too! What a talented woman Frau Kuchler is--and the rest of her artist family, too!

Brenda said...

Have read many of these and enjoyed..l

Shari Burke said...

That's good to know, Brenda! Pretty sure I read Barnaby Rudge decades ago, but that would be the only re-read and I remember nothing about it. All the rest will be new to me. I've heard good things about all the fiction and I think the nonfiction will be fun, too.

Vicki said...

Bill sure knows how to give a great gift! I hope you love all the books!

Shari Burke said...

He definitely does! Many happy hours in that pile!

My name is Erika. said...

This was definitely happy mail. Let us know how Barnaby Rudge is. It's one of a few Dickens' novels I haven't read. Have fun!

Shari Burke said...

Thanks, Erika! I will post about Barnaby Rudge. I think I probably read it decades ago, but if so it was thousands of books ago and I don't remember it. Oh well, it'll be a new experience all over again ;-)