Two books did come into my house last week in time for Mailbox Monday and In My Mailbox. I got Roger's Version by John Updike and Passing On by Penelope Lively, both from Second Glance Books.
But my long list is the box of books I culled from my sister's garage sale inventory last week, most out of the hands of early bird customers who wouldn't wait for me to get the books out of the boxes. I warned them that I had first dibs on anything they found.
It is a crazy mixed up batch of books, including some I wanted to read, some that had sentimental connotations, and some that just struck my fancy. I didn't have time to post the list last week, so here it is:
A Russian Gentleman by by Sergei Aksakov (My sister read it for a Russian history class in college, I suspect, although it is a novel.)
Letitia Baldrige's Complete Guide to a Great Social Life by Letitia Baldrige (Oh, the promise of the title!)
The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook by Anne Barr and Peter York (It's the British version of that 1980's classic, The Preppy Handbook. I got this for my sister when I was at school in England.)
More Die of Heartbreak by Saul Bellow (This was the first Bellow book I ever read, but I cannot remember it so it is time for a re-read.)
Echoes by Maeve Binchy (The queen of the "Aga saga" -- I'm a big fan but have not read nearly as many as my mother and sister.)
Sartor Resartus by Thomas Carlyle (This is an old, very pretty little edition. I've never heard of the book, but it claims to have Tristram Shandy in it's literary ancestry, so that was enough for me to want to give it a go.)
Twenty Select Colloquies of Erasmus by Erasmus (OK, so I'm not likely going to sit down with this any time soon . . . )
My Aunt Lucienne by Rose C. Feld (I have no idea what this might be, but it has a great 1950s dustjacket with a definite Auntie Mame look)
Alphabet of Love by Solar Forst (It's a novelty book, but I just love these Peter Pauper Press books.)
Her Best Known Rhymes by Mother Goose (A pretty little edition, too cute to let go.)
Bistros of Paris by Robert Hamburger (My sister used it on her frequent trips to Paris, but I suspect it will be a while before I do the same.)
Buch der Lieder by Heinrich Heine (This is a beautiful, old book. It's poetry in German, so it has little practical use in my house.)
Joy Street and The Royal Box, both by Frances Parkinson Keyes (My sister and I are both big fans of FPK, inspired by our mother, who read the books when she was growing up.)
In Celebration of Wine and Life by Richard Lamb (great pictures of wine-related art works)
Be Cool by Elmore Leonard (the one mystery writer my husband will read)
The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham (I know I read this, but have no memory of it at all.)
Hungry Hill and Rule Britannia, both by Daphne du Maurier (Why have I never read any of her books?)
The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch (I thought I owned this, but I didn't.)
An Italian Education: The Further Adventures of an Expatriate in Verona by Tim Parks (I read his first one, Italian Neighbors, but not this follow-up.)
Weird Tales by Edgar Allen Poe (I've read all of the stories in this, but it is really pretty, so I wanted it.)
Milan & The Lakes (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (It may be out of date, but the pictures are still inspiring.)
Hangover Cures by Ben Reed (It could come in handy!)
A Certain Smile, Dear Sarah Bernhardt, The Heart-Keeper, Lost Profile, and Those Without Shadows, all by Francoise Sagan (Who know my sister was such a Sagan fan? Apparently from her college days, given the age of the books. I am going to read them to understand more about my little sis.)
Panorama Italiano by Charles & Carlo Golino Speroni (This was an Italian textbook of my sisters, which is not very practical, but I like its vintage charm and all the pictures.)
Image of Josephine by Booth Tarkington (If I am ever in a Tarkington mood again after Alice Adams, at least I won't have to spend money.)
