I’ve had a very relaxing weekend with a stroll through a large and mesmerizing antique store and dinner with a friend on Saturday and doing absolutely nothing but try to read and lounge around the house today.
Despite being in a massive reading slump I have still bought books, maybe in the hope that I would be inspired to actually read one of them. Here are my recent arrivals:
The Ladies of Lyndon by Margaret Kennedy – I bought this shortly after learning about the Margaret Kennedy Reading Week coming in October. I’ve never read Margaret Kennedy and I am looking forward to experiencing her work for the first time.
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust – I’ve never thought I wanted to read this before, but Mimi Thorisson, a woman I highly admire, wrote about it on her blog a while ago and she made it sound enchanting and something I now must read.
The Collected Stories of Elizabeth Bowen – Another addition to my Elizabeth Bowen collection.
Here Be Dragons by Stella Gibbons – I’m still reading and liking Westwood and I know I will want to read another of her novels at some point so I snatched this one up. Don’t you love the cover?
Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge by Evan S. Connell – I’ve always heard wonderful things about these two novels so I couldn’t pass them up when I saw them in my library’s used book sale.
What have you purchased lately?
Mary Stewart Reading Week starts just three weeks from today!
A Certain Fondness 
Oooo, these al look good! I’ve not purchased anything recently, mainly because I know how many pre-orders I made that will come to my Kindle come September. That shall be a poor month for me.
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I forget that you can pre-order eBooks! I usually just check new books out from the library, but it would be nice to have them appear on my device the minute they’re released.
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They all look good! I’ve never read Margaret Kennedy, but am very curious. There is a copy of Mrs. Bridge on my shelf from a library sale a few years ago. Love the cover of Elizabeth Bowen’s collected stories. Enjoy.
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Hmmm…I wonder what it is about Mrs. Bridge and library sales?
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I’m absolutely loving those two books Fleur/Jane recommended – Mona and True Love’s Reward by (Mrs) Georgie Sheldon, and best of all, they were free ‘purchases’. I have the Bridges books in an omnibus – they sound fabulous, so I don’t know why they are sitting on the shelf unread thus far. Too much choice, I suspect.
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Jane always recommends the most wonderful books – I love her reading taste. I think we are all just completely spoiled when it comes to our reading choices!
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I remember Here Be Dragons is about opening a tea shop – one of my favorite kinds of stories (any small business really, but tea & cakes are a bonus). I bought a copy of The Ladies of Lyndon last week as well, though I was lucky to find a used copy – though it isn’t as nice a cover as the Vintage reprint. I’ll admit, I’ve always been intimidated by Proust (only reading about him).
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Here Be Dragons sounds good to me but it hasn’t impressed many of our fellow bloggers – I’ll give it a go anyway, I think. I’m intimidated by Proust, as well, but I do like to try those intimidating authors even if I end up not really liking them. We’ll see…
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I love those Vintage editions. I have The Ladies of Lyndon in Virago – though I agree with Lisa that the new edition is prettier – and that particular Stella Gibbons is high on my wishlist. At the moment I’m reading a crime novel while I wait for Edith Olivier reissues to arrive at the end of the week.
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I love the Vintage editions also – too much probably!
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I also have The Ladies of Lyndon as a recent arrival – isn’t the cover gorgeous? I’d be happy to add the rest of your books to my shelf as well. Hope something will help to restore your reading enthusiasm.
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I think I have broken out of the reading slump! I finished an Elizabeth Taylor in 2 days and am now flying through the new Ian McEwan.
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I haven’t purchased anything lately but oh how I have been craving a good bookshop visit. I want to buy a shiny new hardcover and read it all in one sitting. That is the kind of mood I am in. Your new purchases look beautiful!
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That’s a good mood to be in Jenny!
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I have purchased books lately, but I couldn’t find a Mary Stewart and a Margaret Kennedy. So I think I might just go online and indulge that way. I will never be ready for the Mary Stewart reading week otherwise.
And it will be nice to have some books to look forward to being on my doorstep now I am back at work.
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I haven’t purchased any books lately as I have a big stack of books to be read on my nightstand. I am almost finished with The Secret History by Donna Tartt and I am so happy to hear you are flying through the new Ian McEwan. That will probably be my next purchase. Glad to hear your slump is over!
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I’m excited about the Margaret Kennedy reprints! And the MK Reading Week, of course.
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