Monday, October 18, 2010

Books!



So last week, Tom and I drove past a Methodist church with a large sign: Huge Used Book Sale.

Oh my! Made a U-Turn, parked, tried a few doors before finding the correct one and then wow. We stood in the doorway of the fellowship hall and beheld what resembled an acre of books. Books upon tables for as far as the eye could see.

What a rush! The stuff my dreams are made of.

And more, the books were organized. Genre signs hanging from each table and since each book stood spine-side-up it was a cinch to peruse what probably added up to 2,000 books. There were even boxes of books beneath the tables, each book, again, spine-side-up so to be easily read.

Those Methodists were cool. They surely knew how to hold a book sale.

Hardbacks were all 50 cents and paperbacks were just 25. I bought five books, Tom bought three.

I've read three of mine so far and each was a delight. Perfection.

If you like kids' lit. you'll probably like these, too.

The Secret of the Marmalade Cat by Milton Lomask.
A daughter and her mother travel to the old motel they've inherited only to find many things going wrong, as though someone hopes they'll sell.

Pastures of the Blue Crane by H.F. Brinsmead
A 16-year-old girl in Australia, raised only in boarding schools, graduates then immediately meets the grandfather she never knew. They both have inherited a small old farmhouse on the Gold Coast from the father/son so they travel by train to the house-- one is determined to keep it, the other wishes to sell it for the money. (I loved this book! Positively devoured it.)

The Exiles by Hilary McKay
Four young British sisters (I believe the oldest is 13) are sent to live with their grandmother for the summer, a grandmother who they barely know and do not like. What's worse, the girls are voracious readers but they discover their grandmother has only four volumes of Shakespeare and a handful of cookbooks and there's no library or bookstore in town.

Oh wow. The Exiles was one of the best kids' lit. books I've read, ever! And a first novel, even, by the author. Each page was a delight, a perfect book to make my eyes twinkle anytime, any season.

Just thought I'd mention these latest finds.



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I also bought The Day Must Dawn by Agnes Sligh Turnbull, which at a glance, looked similar to A Lantern In Her Hand.

Also, Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner, a story which takes place in Berlin.





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3 comments:

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I was able to request The Exiles and its sequel The Exiles at Home from my local library and am looking forward to reading them! Thanks!

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Ohhh thank you. I love books ideas. And I love the sound of "The Exiles"! And guess what? My library has it! -clapping hands- :-)

Btw, I know we don't always like the same books, but I too, have become addicted to younger-than-adult lit! I have and I'm proud of it. ,-) It sounds kind of funny for a 73 year old 'Nana' to have fun with 'Young Adult' lit, I know. But....

No, not the standard HS meanness-fights-romance-troubles-gets the hot guy kind of books. Yes, all YA have to have a romance of some sort. But I like some para-normal, etc. thrown into the mix too. Etc.

Anyway, we who read "different" books that a lot of adults do... Need to stand tall and say; "Don't knock it till you've tried it!" -giggles- But I don't need to tell you that, I know.

Gentle hugs...

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Oooops, not enough proof reading. Above sentence should read.....

we who read "different" books THAN a lot of adults do...