BOOK THOUGHTS
My Goal to Read 425 Vintage Penguin Green Tribands
I wonder how many bookish goals we set with no intention of actually following through? One of my book goals -- more of a book fantasy -- is to read straight through my collection of vintage mysteries in Penguin green triband editions.
For context, early Penguin paperbacks were issued without illustrations on the cover, just a band of color at the top, the title on an off-white band in the middle, then another band of the same color at the bottom. Hence, "triband" editions. They were color coded. Orange is the most common because it was used for general fiction. Green was for crime fiction -- mysteries, thrillers, and, less commonly, true crime. These early Penguins were not sold in the United States (for copyright reasons I don't understand). You can now find them here used, but not often.
(Also, Penguin has, more recently, reissued some books with triband covers, along with triband coffee mugs that match the books. Those are cool in themselves, but not what I collect. I go for the vintage editions.)
I don’t have nearly all the original green tribands, but I have 425 of them. Almost all of mine (421) came in one job lot that I bought on eBay from a seller in England. A few are first Penguin editions, most are Penguin reprints, all are pretty tattered. It was during the covid lockdown and, like others, I did some retail therapy when I was cooped up at home and couldn't go anywhere. I had a set of shelves built in my little home office just for my collection of vintage Penguin paperbacks.
But that was almost five years ago and I have only read a handful of them since I got them. This is why I fantasize about reading straight through the entire collection. I figure I could read them all in about two years if I really made an effort. But as much as I love vintage mysteries, I think doing so might have a deleterious effect on my brain chemistry. I’d see clues everywhere, always suspect foul play, and never be able to attend a dinner party without denouncing a guest as a murderer.
So I think the better plan would be to read them steadily, but salted in among other books. I just need to get going! The picture above shows a random selection of ten that should inspire me to get reading.
Coroner’s Pidgin by Margery Allingham
Hag’s Nook by John Dickson Carr
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts
Stealthy Terror by John Ferguson
That Yew Tree’s Shade by Cyril Hare
He Laughed at Murder by Richard Keverne
The Twenty-Third Man by Gladys Mitchell
The American Gun Mystery by Ellery Queen
The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer
The Hatter’s Ghost by Simenon
The Department of Dead Ends by Roy Vickers
See any you’ve read or would like to?
So I think the better plan would be to read them steadily, but salted in among other books. I just need to get going! The picture above shows a random selection of ten that should inspire me to get reading.
Coroner’s Pidgin by Margery Allingham
Hag’s Nook by John Dickson Carr
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts
Stealthy Terror by John Ferguson
That Yew Tree’s Shade by Cyril Hare
He Laughed at Murder by Richard Keverne
The Twenty-Third Man by Gladys Mitchell
The American Gun Mystery by Ellery Queen
The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer
The Hatter’s Ghost by Simenon
The Department of Dead Ends by Roy Vickers
See any you’ve read or would like to?
