New To My Bookcase
by Charlotte Reads Classics
I went to a book fair today and here are my spoils: Cousin Bette, Selected Poems, Lady Chatterley’s Lover and French Life and Ways. I am particularly pleased about the Ted Hughes collection because it has my favourite poem in it.
A cover shot of Lady Chatterley’s Lover has to be included because it is so iconic – I am really pleased to own a copy. French Life and Ways is a fun purchase: published in 1906 it is a series of conversations written in French and English. Basically it is a phrase book, but not like one I’ve ever seen before. It is very lyrical, very old worldly, very amusing and pretty much a piece of social history. I suppose I don’t technically need to know the proper way to ask for tea in a salon, or which seats in the theatre will have their views blocked by ladies’ hats, but I want to know all the same.
In the last week – not at the fair – I picked up some more classics: The Diary of Samuel Pepys: A Selection, War and Peace (I want to re-read this and my other copy fell apart), A Vindication of the Rights of Women and The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling. In conclusion, my Classics Club list has crept up to over a hundred!
I also got Night Walks, Wigs on the Green, Any Human Heart and Vanished Kingdoms.
What a week! In reading news, I’m still managing to keep to my Clarissa Schedule and have finished the second week’s pages but am holding off on a post about them until I get to the end of the June letters.
Happy December everyone!
Charlotte Reads Classics 
Oh, I think you’re the third blogger now who I hear is about to discover “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” for the first time (is it right?). I wish I could unread and fall in love with it again and again! And I envy you your new books. Two hours ago I bought “Barnaby Rudge” online, from the lovely Vintage Classics, and I keep kicking myself because I shouldn’t be spending money right now. But I had to get it… I wonder when I will eventually get round to “War and Peace” and “Clarissa”. I can’t wait, but those two are just simply too long.
Well I can’t think of a better recommendation than that – and yes I will be reading it for the first time. I know how you feel, December isn’t the month to be buying myself books but I just can’t resist!
Lovely books for your collection Charlotte! I have yet to embark on any D.H. Lawrence although my Middle Child keeps telling me I must!
He is one of those authors I feel guilty about having never read!
Glad I’m not the only one!
Lovely 😀 I’m going to start Samuel Peyps tonight. And, you know, I am more and more ashamed each day that I have not read any Balzac yet.
Fab, I think I am going to have Samuel Pepys as my bedside table book once I finish Clarissa.
that is quite an astonishing haul. Will be interested to hear what you think of the Balzac. I have never read anything by him though he is on my classics club list. I have been li stoning to an audio version of a biography of Pepys by Claire Tomlin. What an extraordinary life he had. I can recommend this as prep for reading his diaries.
I’ve heard that the Claire Tomalin book is good and I like the idea of listening to it as an audio book. I haven’t read anything by Balzac before and to be honest I hadn’t considered it before – a completely chance find!