When I was in the Lake District recently, I paid a visit to a couple of bookshops. In fact, I made a day trip to visit one – Michael Moon’s Bookshop in Whitehaven. My goodness, what a wonderful place. It sprawls on and on, rooms piling out of rooms, and has a great and affordable stock. If it weren’t for Project 24, I’d have bought a lot more. I’ll have to go back.
The other shop was a secondhand bookshop in Keswick – a smallish stock, with some interesting things. Curiously the bookshop was closed except on Fridays and Saturdays, which doesn’t make a lot of sense for a week of the Keswick Convention with hundreds of people visiting the area, but there we are.
Anyway, here are the three new books I’ve added to my shelves this week, and why I chose them:
The Old Moat House by Eleanora H. Stooke
I was drawn to the lovely dustjacket on this one, and the fact that I love books about houses. From some investigation online, it looks like it was previously published as The Moat House, in the early 1900s. There is very little information about this book online, but Michael Moon’s had two copies. Curious! Stooke seems to have been mostly a writer for children – flicking through this one, it didn’t feel like a children’s book, but that may be what it transpires to be on closer inspection.
The Comfort Tree by Stella Martin Currey
I found One Woman’s Year – a non-fiction journey through a domestic year, reprinted by Persephone – to be totally delightful. So of course I couldn’t resist when I stumbled across one of her novels.
War Isn’t Wonderful by Ursula Bloom
This is a volume of memoirs by Ursula Bloom, aka Mary Essex of Tea Is So Intoxicating fame. I was interested enough to take it off the shelf, whereupon I discovered it was signed by Bloom! A fun addition to the shelves.
I’m 14 books in, and that takes me to the end of July, so I’m on track. I’ve definitely been helped by a handful of interesting review books arriving of late, and finding a tree Michael Innes novel in a box at the side of the road – which, by my not entirely logical rules, I’m allowed to have.
I love that shop in Keswick (if it was the one above the street). And yes odd hours.
that’s the one, yes!
Green with envy! Looking forward to seeing what you think of these.
I can imagine we’d have been fighting over one or two of these!
All worthily obscure picks!
Definitely nothing mainstream yet :D
Of course you can have free books that are looking for a good home.
Who needs logical rules?! That cover on the Moat House one – wonderful! And you’ll like Elizabeth Fair’s The Marble Staircase, another “house book”.
The cover is definitely what pulled me in! I am intrigued about the Fair novel – I’ve felt a little lukewarm to her other novels, which tend to have too many characters IMO, but I do love a house novel…
I really liked this post. I enjoyed seeing the photo of the second hand book purchases. Thank you! I also like your idea of restricting your book buying. It is a good discipline and one I aspire to emulate!
It is testing but overall quite an enjoyable challenge :)
Oooh, interesting finds Simon!
I think they’ll be fun!