Why I chose these books in Hay-on-Wye

I’ve been away in Hay-on-Wye for a couple of nights, staying in a lovely airbnb cottage with some friends. I’ve stayed overnight in Hay once before, but I’ve never done two nights. It was lovely to have a whole day without having to worry about driving there or back.

Friday was a beautiful day, and then The Storm hit. I’ve never seen Hay so empty on a Saturday as it was today! But I did my bit to keep the bookshops going – though, having gone in February, there wasn’t as much turnover as there would usually be between my visits. Some of the books below are ones I’ve picked up more than once in the past, and finally succumbed to…

Country Boy by Richard Hillyer
My LibraryThing catalogue told me I didn’t have this Slightly Foxed edition, which turned out not to be the case. Indeed, I even reviewed it back in 2013. But it will make a nice present for someone!

Modern English Fiction by Gerald Bullett
I wouldn’t normally pick up this sort of pocket intro to English literature, even one coming from 1926, but I was intrigued by his very personal take on the big names of the period – and the chapter ‘Eccentricities’, which I see includes May Sinclair.

Doctor Serocold by Helen Ashton
Rachel often talks about Ashton’s novels on Tea or Books? podcast, and so I was really pleased to stumble across this fairly hard-to-find copy of one of her early novels.

A Gentleman of Leisure by P.G. Wodehouse
Do I need more Wodehouse novels? Arguably no, given how many unread I have on my shelves. But I was in a shop where the paperbacks were £1 each and… you see my predicament.

People in the Room by Norah Lange
Someone recommended Lange’s childhood memoir to me, which put her name on my radar. This one is about a women spying on three women in the house opposite – unsure what their relationships are or what they’re doing. It sounds fascinating, and I hope it lives up to the intriguing blurb.

Twice Round the Clock by Billie Houston
A British Library Crime Classic that I don’t have was on the £1 shelves. Again, you see my predicament…

Confessions of Mrs Smith by Elinor Goulding Smith
Mrs Smith is apparently the wife of Robert Paul Smith, a humorist I have not heard of – flicking through this, it looks like a comic take on being a wife and mother, and for some reason that is totally my jam.

The Friend in Need by Elizabeth Coxhead
Barnham Rectory by Doreen Wallace
Out of Tomorrow by Stella Morton
Love Thy Neighbour by Sally Benson
Hush, Gabriel! by Veronica Parker Johns
I’ve grouped these because I basically don’t know anything about them, and they’re all mid-century novels (or, with Benson, short stories) that I’ve decided to chance my arm on. I’m particularly interested by The Friend in Need, which the blurb says is about social work – so could be one of the earliest novels about the modern social care system.

Ammonite and Leaping Fish by Penelope Lively
I’ve not enjoyed Lively’s non-fiction as much as her fiction, but I thought I’d give this one a go – Lively says it’s not a memoir so much as a book about old age.

Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri was the only author I went hoping to find, after loving her stories Interpreter of Maladies earlier in the year. I thought there would be armfuls of Lahiri books about but I only found a couple – and the other was such a massively tall hardback that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to hold it. So it was these recent Roman Stories that came home with me – translated from Italian by Lahiri herself.

Man With A Blue Scarf by Martin Gayford
And finally, one that’s been on my wishlist for a long time, though I don’t remember where I first heard about it – a diary about sitting for a Lucian Freud portrait. I think it also looks at his work more broadly, but there’s something I find fascinating about recording the process that leads to the still image.

Ok, there we have it! As usual, I’d be interested to know if you’ve read any – or where you’d start. I’m doing my restricted book buying Project 24 next year, so finishing 2024 on a haul high.

22 thoughts on “Why I chose these books in Hay-on-Wye

  • December 7, 2024 at 10:06 pm
    Permalink

    Sally Benson was a frequent New Yorker contributor best known for the autobiographical stories that were the basis of the movie Meet Me in St. Louis. Doctor Serocold is a circadian novel (Ashton was fond of structural frames).

    Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:21 pm
      Permalink

      Thanks!

      Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:21 pm
      Permalink

      Oh that’s lovely! What a wonderful connection.

      Reply
  • December 8, 2024 at 3:33 am
    Permalink

    I loved Doctor Serocold. It is the story of the day in the life of a physician who is nearing retirement. As a family physician who retired five years ago, I could empathize with many of his musings.

    Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:21 pm
      Permalink

      Excellent, thanks Diane! For some reason I’d assumed Doctor Serocold was a woman, but I’ll go into the novel with better info now. And especially good to hear it has the approval of someone from the same field.

      Reply
  • December 8, 2024 at 12:46 pm
    Permalink

    good day to you, I have on the shelves here A Gentleman of Leisure as one cannot go wrong with Wodehouse although my affections for his work are concentrated on his fine novels about the Empress! a finer pig not to be found anywhere!
    My Slightly Foxed edition of Country Boy by Richard Hillyer is in one of the tbr stacks …
    I have read Twice Round The Clock and a fine period mystery it is … and a battered copy of Barnham Rectory is also in a tbr heap …

    Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:20 pm
      Permalink

      Good to know! Turn out, oops, I had A Gentleman of Leisure already – but I’m sure I can find a good home for it.

      Reply
  • December 8, 2024 at 2:22 pm
    Permalink

    Oh, I am a big fan of Elizabeth Coxhead! Her book “One Green Bottle” is my favorite but I loved this one too.

    Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:19 pm
      Permalink

      Oh excellent, thanks so much for the encouragement on that one, Erin.

      Reply
  • December 8, 2024 at 4:45 pm
    Permalink

    Glad you managed to support the bookshop despite the Storm! We have just had the electricity restored after 30 hours without any (what a relief not to face another night in the dark and cold)! I have read the Penelope Lively but none of the others. I am most jealous of the Helen Ashton as I have loved all of hers that I’ve read so far.

    Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:19 pm
      Permalink

      Oh gosh, 30 hours without electricity is rough – especially going without heat. So sorry to hear that, and glad it’s back!

      Reply
  • December 8, 2024 at 5:29 pm
    Permalink

    A mighty haul! Well done you for making the booksellers feel it was worthwhile to stay open through the storm. I’ve read the Ashton (didn’t love it, but I think it suffered from being read alongside some of her other, better books) and the Lively and am now very intrigued by the Coxhead.

    Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:18 pm
      Permalink

      Ah I’ll make sure to read the Ashton is isolation! I was mostly surprised to find her in the wild at all.

      Reply
  • December 8, 2024 at 8:10 pm
    Permalink

    What a lovely set of books! Where are the paperbacks £1 now? Glad Hay is still going strong. I have Martin Gayford’s book on British art written with Hockney, which I really enjoyed, so imagine his book will be excellent.

    Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:17 pm
      Permalink

      This was quite a small section of the Book Centre – it turns out I already had the Wodehouse, oops!

      Reply
  • December 8, 2024 at 8:24 pm
    Permalink

    A wonderful haul, Simon! I read People in the Room and it’s a very unusual and unforgettable book. Will be interested in your thoughts when you get to it!

    Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:16 pm
      Permalink

      Good to know, thanks Karen!

      Reply
  • December 9, 2024 at 7:29 pm
    Permalink

    Lucky you getting the town mostly to yourself. Where was the cottage you stayed in? I’ve done a couple of different Hay Airbnb’s and I’m curious if it was one of the same ones. Good to know that 10 months is too soon for a repeat visit re: stock turnover. I’ll probably stick to every 2 years.

    Reply
    • December 10, 2024 at 8:15 pm
      Permalink

      Yes, I think once every 2 years is probably perfect. We stayed at a place called Smallbrook House (/Cottage?) next to The Globe. Very lovely – sleeps 6.

      Reply
    • December 17, 2024 at 11:18 am
      Permalink

      It’s an absolute must

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *