Wednesday 3 June 2020

Oh Dear - I Bought More Books

Why on earth I should be feeling guilty about it - I've no idea. Guilt about book buying dates back years .....from the time my Mum would give me money for my birthday and say "for goodness sake don't spend it on books". But they bring me Great Happiness and anyway I'd saved £150 on heating oil!


This one had been on my wish list for ages - ever since I read about it on the WWII book list on Scott's blog - Furrowed Middlebrow.

Pamela Hansford-Johnson - Winter Quarters. Fiction from 1944.
 Quite a rare book because it's never been reprinted since it was published in 1944 and  was once over £20 on amazon but a copy from the US had come down to £8. I was expecting it to take a month to arrive - but it got here in 2 weeks.  I found it fascinating because it  looked at a little bit of WWII that I'd not ever read about before.
 Waiting to be posted abroad during WWII in 1942 an artillery battalion is stationed in a small English village. This book looks at the interaction of soldiers and civilians. Through the book we get to know some of the people who live in the village and the members of the battery from the Major and Captain to the junior offices. They have personal and psychological troubles, wives, girlfriends. The men spend a lot of time in the pubs and are bored and tense waiting for the off.
When I wrote this in my Book of Books Read I discovered that I'd read one of hers before, a long time ago.... "The Honours Board". I might have a look at some of this authors other titles.

This is the one I feel most guilty about as its a Brand New Hardback Fiction and I NEVER buy brand new hardback fiction but I'm miles down the library waiting list and this popped up on the amazon Used bit for £5.99 . I grabbed it because it was £5 cheaper than the rest - very strange.
Cover
I haven't read it yet but know it will be brilliant just like the first 3 in the series.


The book below kept appearing up on my "recommended for you list", it sounded intriguing and I knew who I could pass it on to after reading.

Janet Corke - A Hidden House in the Gwydyr Forest. Non Fiction. (Published 2019). In 1955 a young English civil engineer working on a new Hydro Electric facility, finds an empty cottage 1,000 feet above the Conwy Valley. There is no vehicular access and the only amenity is a nearby stream. Charlie Corke bought the cottage and gradually renovated it. When he married, his new wife struggled with the minimum facilities and soon a new baby moved in too. This story is told by his Welsh wife Janet who was training as a solicitor in Llanrwst when Charlie came into the office to purchase the house. At the end of the book the family move abroad for Charlie's work and never return to live in the cottage.
I enjoyed it and it's been passed on.


This week my flowers on the table are Cornflower - self seeded in the cutting garden from ones first sown in the spring of 2018. Beautifully Blue.

Back Tomorrow
Sue

42 comments:

  1. I love cornflowers Sue - such a beautiful blue. You have prompted me to buy some seed and scatter it around then (if they like me) they should keep returning here too.
    It is years since I heard of Pamela Hansford Johnson - in her day she was a popular figure.

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    1. I've looked up more of her books - not sure any appeal - the library have some- when they get going again and several were reprinted fairly recently. I'll see

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  2. Never feel guilty about buying books, they enrich your life. Besides, it sounds as though you got some bargains.

    The beauty of Cornflower blue always takes me by surprise; they look great in that pretty jug.

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    1. Books and plants for the garden were considered a waste of money by my mum - she would have liked me to buy new curtains or something like that!

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  3. Funny isn't it - our birthday present money was specifically for buying books. Loving the dark blue of those cornflowers.

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    1. I had to rely on aunts to buy me books when I was younger!

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  4. Ooh, so interesting looking books there, they all sound like the are good reads. I have just started a 'Little Free Library' at my gate for people in my road which has been fun so far to see it being used with books coming and going.

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  5. cornflower blue is my favourite colour, beautiful x good for you for buying yourself some books, we all need a treat now and then x

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    1. Such a gorgeous colour, I'm glad I left the plants to self seed

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  6. Pamela Hansford Johnson was quite an intellectual - she later married C.P.Snow.

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    1. Some of her books sound a bit heavy going. This wartime one is much lighter

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  7. A Hidden Home sounds a bit like Hovel in the Hills.

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    1. That's what I thought when it popped up in my suggested reading on amazon

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  8. Laughing. For me, replace books with more paints. I think it's more important than ever to have treats of things we enjoy.

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  9. Now is not the time to feel guilty about buying books, IMO.

    What lovely cornflowers! I must have some next year.

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    1. I've stopped feeling guilty now.
      The cornflowers self seeded quite well.

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  10. And I thank you for the book, it is now on my bedside table next in line to be read. It sounds just my cup of tea, once I've finished Jack Monroe's latest I'll be right on that.

    Those Cornflowers look gorgeous, I don't usually like blue flowers but they are the exception.

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    1. I've also got loads of Love in a mist - also blue. With the lack of rain here I'm just grateful for any flowers!

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  11. I always enjoy your posts about books. Thank you for sharing.

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  12. Another interesting post, I would like to read Janet Corkes book someday. I got up very early day for I wanted to do the freezer my daughter is bring my shopping.
    It's a lot cooler today.
    I have a lovely poppy out today i will be posting it to my family, we have been sending something from our garden each day.
    Hazel c uk🌈🌈

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  13. A Hidden House in the Gwydyr Forest sounds right up my street. Enjoy your books you deserve a treat. I have just added Cornflowers to my list of seeds I want to get. Helen S.

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    1. The cornflowers are a nice surprise as they self seed each year

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  14. My mother belonged to World Books and used to get a book a month which would be read by all of us as time went on, things like Kon Tiki and Nevil Shute and later Gerald Durrell. I read things that I am sure I never understood a word of what was really going on. When I was about 11 she enrolled me into the children's section but the books were always either Biggles or books written specifically for children and I didn't like it so we stopped it after a year. I joined the local library instead which was much more exciting because it involved going out and I was allowed into the adults section. I don't think the books you mention will be up my street although the Hidden House sounds interesting.

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    1. One of the first things I did when I started work was to join one of those postal book clubs. They always had a amazing bargain introductory offer. I'm sure my mum still tutted - even though it was my money.
      We were never taken to the library - I didn't even know such a thing existed until I was about 15!

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  15. My mom would always say to people "Oh she's off somewhere with her nose in a book" she'll turn up eventually."
    Just picked up this week's Amazon order - 3 new books!

    Laurie Colwin: More Home Cooking - a series of essays about food

    Jacqueline Winspear: The American Agent - latest Maisie Hobbs (I'm a few books behind on this series so need to catch up)

    Camilla Lackberg: "Gilded Cage" - I'm a wee bit annoyed as I though this was the latest in the series I've been reading but it's a stand alone - oh well, she's a good writer so I'm sure I'll enjoy it.
    Happy reading!

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    1. I keep checking Fantastic Fiction to see if there is any sign of a new Maisie Dobbs book from Jacqueline Winspear but nothing yet

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  16. The hidden home books sounds really interesting. The cornflowers are beautiful and the jug is perfect for them. xx

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    1. It was a good read - not wow amazing but still good

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  17. You should not feel guilty about buying books, besides you did save all that money on heating oil! You deserve a treat of the things you most enjoy! Those cornflowers are beautiful. I love the deep blue color.

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    1. I'm going to stop feeling guilty but it's hard to change after all these years!

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  18. That third book sounds interesting! Just my sort of thing!

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    1. The house certainly needed a lot of work but they weren't able to stay long

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  19. I'm a book a holic, too, and this lock down has done me little good. I have no qualms purchasing a good book, and even a bad one. The authors are artists, too, and need to earn a living. Then I pass the books along to my little local library.

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    1. It's lovely that you are able to pass them on for other people to read

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  20. You shouldn't feel guilty about buying a book, they really do enrich your life. The cornflowers were a delight, such a stunning shade of blue.

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    1. So many years of being told that books are a waste of money - hard to change

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  21. Thank you for the review of Hidden Home. I was born in Llanrwst and my mother still lives there, I bought a copy for her and for my uncle and downloaded it on Kindle for myself. It is making me very homesick as I now live in France and don't know when I'll get back to Llanrwst.

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  22. Dear Sue - I'm not sure if you'll ever see this, but many moons ago you were kind enough to review my first book (as above) - A Hidden Home in the Gwydir Forest - and several of your followers made comments and hopefully read the book! In fact, it's now out of print despite having been reprinted once. My second memoir is now out, and tells the tale of our next adventure in Malta. If you're interested, I now have a website with all the details: www.janetcorkebooks.co.uk
    I hope you're keeping well and many thanks!
    Best wishes,
    Janet

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