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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

From left to right:
Crossriggs, by Mary Findlater; Rhapsody, by Dorothy Edwards; The Happy Foreigner, by Enid Bagnold

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

If you follow my Mailbox Monday posts, you'll know I collect Virago Modern Classics, works by talented but often little-known woman authors.  I've had pretty good luck finding titles through Paperbackswap.  Not long ago, one of my wish listed titles became available and I entered into a bit of correspondence with the PBS member about the book.  I mentioned that I collect these books, and she threw a bonus VMC into the box.  But that wasn't all.  This PBS member had seen several VMCs in a used bookshop, and offered to do a little shopping for me.  Within a day or two she sent me a list of available titles, and I chose 7 that I needed in my collection.  She bought them, boxed them, and mailed them ... and I sent her some PBS credits in return.  These seven books marked a major milestone:  I now own 101 of the more than 500 published Virago Modern Classics! 

Reaching this milestone required a celebration of sorts:  reorganizing the bookshelf that holds these "enduring works by women novelists" !! 

And a close-up on the 7 books:

Back row, left to right:  The Three Sisters, by May Sinclair; Rumour of Heaven, by Beatrix Lehman; Selected Stories, by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Middle row, left to right:  Taking Chances, by M.J. Farrell; The Way Things Are, by E.M.Delafield; Mad Puppetstown, by M.J. Farrell

Front and center, the honorary #100: The Tortoise and the Hare, by Elizabeth Jenkins

I am fast approaching 100 Virago Modern Classics.  Two more arrived from Paperbackswapthis week:

 

From left to right:
That Lady, by Kate O'Brien; The Little Ottleys, by Ada Leverson

This was a GREAT week in my mailbox!  First, there were several more Virago Modern Classics from Paperbackswap:

From left to right:
The Caravaners, by Elizabeth von Arnim; The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen, by Elizabeth von Arnim; Union Street, by Pat Barker

From left to right:
Over the Frontier, by Stevie Smith; The Snow Geese, by William Fiennes; The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters; Sock Monkey Dreams, by Whitney Shroyer & Letitia Walker

Two more Virago Modern Classics; one from Paperbackswap and one from a fellow collector:

 

From left to right:
Told by an Idiot, by Rose Macaulay; The Brimming Cup, by Dorothy Canfield

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

I love swapping books with other readers.  This week's goodies came from Terri at Reading, Writing and Retirement.  The two of us pretty much keep the postal service in business just winging books to each other, across the US.  Thanks Terri for these great books!



 

From left to right:
Amy and Isabelle, by Elizabeth Strout; The Night Watch, by Sarah Waters

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

Slowly but surely, Paperbackswap is adding to my Virago Modern Classics collection, which now numbers 85.  I've added 15 just this year.  Not all came from Paperbackswap, but I have added about 100 to my wish list there and every once in a while, I get lucky.  There are over 500 Virago Modern Classics published, so collecting is pretty much a long-term project!

From left to right:
Together and Apart, by Margaret Kennedy; A Fine of 200 Francs, by Elsa Triolet; The Golden Arrow, by Mary Webb

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

Lots of goodies this week.  Three Virago Modern Classics (one of them with a newer cover design), and one I've been wanting to read for professional reasons.

From left to right:
Mary Olivier, A Life, by May Sinclair; Poor Caroline, by Winifred Holtby; The Old Man and Me , by Elaine Dundy; The Art of the Long View, by Peter Schwartz

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

This week brought two more Virago Modern Classics.  These were both from Paperbackswap.  I recently added many more VMCs to my wishlist.  Although they aren't posted often, it's been a great way to add titles to my collection, which now stands at 79.

From left to right:
On the Side of the Angels, by Betty Miller; The Judge, by Rebecca West

It was my birthday last week, and I found myself with an Amazon gift certificate just crying to be spent.  I tend to get most of my books from the library or Paperbackswap, so the gift certificate was an opportunity to buy a few "keepers" that I want to have in my permanent collection.  Here's what I found:

 

Two Virago Modern Classics arrived this week; my collection stands at 76 now. The first came from Paperbackswap, the second from a friend and fellow collector.  I have yet to be disappointed by a Virago Modern Classic and am looking forward to reading both of these someday:

The Third Miss Symons , by F. M. Mayor
The Amazon description reads, "Henrietta Symons is the third daughter in a large Victorian family, a misfit with neither charm nor beauty. Querulous and bad-tempered, she watches as her life passes aimlessly by, clinging to her one saving grace—she knows herself for what she is, and self-knowledge, however bitter, turns her life of defeat into a kind of victory." 

William , by Emily Hilda Young

I've been good lately, so it's been a few weeks since I've had anything arrive in my mailbox.  But on Friday, there were two:

 

This is a Virago Modern Classic, and the author's name is a pseudonym for Australian Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson.  This book is of the "girl goes to boarding school" book genre.  The back of the book reads, With results often hilarious, usually devastating, she learns to deal with life- and love- the hard way; and in doing so discovers, as thousands have before and since, that learning plays but a small part in the getting of wisdom.

 

This gem in my mailbox came as a complete surprise.  The package from Amazon turned out to be an early birthday present from a dear friend who apparently was clever enough to consult my wishlist.  I'm delighted; I've been looking forward to reading this book for quite some time.  Thank you, my wonderful friend!

 

 My Virago Modern Classics collection grew by two this week, thanks to Paperbackswap.  One was on my wishlist already.  The other was spotted by a LibraryThing member, who posted its availability on a talk thread.  I happened to be online at the time, and snapped it up.  Yea!

 

Joanna Godden, by Shelia Kaye-Smith  

 

 

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

 

 

My husband gave me a new slow cooker for Christmas, our original model having become lost either in a household move or the general debris of living.  It's a wonderful model with three different-sized inserts.  So naturally I needed a new cookbook.  I had found two vegetarian slow cooker books on Amazon; one of which I borrowed from my library and it was just OK.  My library didn't have this one, but I could "see inside" on Amazon and knew it would be good.  This book contains 200 recipes from dips, to soups & stews, to desserts like a pumpkin bread pudding that sounds lovely.  The first recipe I made was Indian Cauliflower and Chili Bean Stew with Coconut Milk.  Then I tried my hand at a rice pudding.  Both were decent so I think this is a good addition to my library. 

 

 

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

My new books this week were mostly found under the tree, not in the mailbox.  Is that true for you as well?

A Gardener's Journal: a Ten-Year Chronicle of your Garden, from Lee Valley Tools
This hefty book was a Christmas gift from my husband.  It is chock full of pages to record everything under the sun about each year of gardening:  garden layouts, purchase records, planting & harvesting dates, types of annuals and perennials planted, etc.  There are ten of each type of page so you can capture details of each year.  And then, the book includes diary pages for each day of the year where you can write short notes about what was happening that day -- again, over a ten year period.  I'm not going to try to write something every single day but I think this will be fascinating to look back on after a few years' time.  


The New Organic Grower: a Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener, by Eliot Coleman
The title is certainly a mouthful!  This was also a gift from my hubby.  It's a reference book on growing fruits & vegetables organically.  And it appears to be aimed at those with larger gardens, and/or those who want to market what they grow.  I fall into the former category, and definitely not the latter. But I think it will be useful to read about gardening on a larger scale since it often requires different tools, and labor-saving techniques would be most welcome, too!

 

OK, I admit it.  I mooched this book from Paperbackswap because I was interested in it, and when it arrived in excellent condition on December 23, I decided to wrap it and make it a gift for my husband.  Shhhh ... he doesn't know that!  So far we are both enjoying it.

 

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

 

From Terri's carrier pigeon, again.  Thanks Terri!

 

Happy holidays to everyone; I hope Santa leaves wonderful things in all of your mailboxes!






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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

 

This week a Paperbackswap member sent me The Ventriloquist's Tale, by Pauline Melville.  It's hardback and in absolutely pristine condition -- I'm impressed!  The novel's Amazon description says, in part, "Set in the Guyanese capitol of Georgetown and on its distant savannahs, Melville's first novel turns on the tragic absurdities of colonialism, capitalism, and fanaticism, not to mention a pair of very illicit relationships."  This novel is set in Guyana, where Melville was born.  I'll be reading this book early in 2009 as part of my personal Reading Across Borders challenge.

 

While I use Paperbackswap a lot, I've also found my LibraryThing friends to be great book swapping partners!  A case in point is the lovely Terri, who blogs at Reading, Writing, and Retirement.  I've lost count of the books that have travelled between us.  We could use our own dedicated book swapping carrier pigeon!  This past week Terri sent me two books to add to the growing TBR pile:

 

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka.  This was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and I'm working my way through the winners and shortlisted books.  I've read reviews that are all over the map, which intrigues me. 

 

An Artist of the Floating World, by Kazuo Ishiguro.   Terri and I are both Ishiguro fans; I wasn't really looking for this one but she offered it up, and I just had to give this book a good home.  I'll read it one of these days ...

 

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...

 

Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites, by the Moosewood Collective  

 

I first bought this book oh, probably 10 years ago.  At the time, I was looking for healthy recipes, and didn't realize Moosewood was entirely vegetarian.  I found a few recipes I liked, and used the book occasionally.  Now, since becoming vegetarian about 6 months ago, I find myself turning to this cookbook several times a week.  And suddenly big chunks of it had come loose from the binding.  I feared the loss of some of my now-favorite recipes.  Enter the wonderful selection of used books on Amazon.  I found a copy in like-new condition for only $4.  I paid just about as much in shipping, but Amazon sells it new for $17, and it retails for $25.

 

I just love used books, don't you?

 

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What landed in your mailbox this week? Visit Marcia at The Printed Page  to find out what others have received ...