My New Preciouses

Took a trip to the used bookstore tonight with my oldest and, boy, did we find some treasures!
First to the foreign language section. I was hoping to find a beginning French reader, but instead I found a copy of La Jument Verte (The Green Mare) which my good friend Debra in Mozambique highly recommended when she discovered I was reading Le Petit Nicolas.

Next, we headed to the fiction and literature aisles, where we discovered How to Travel with a Salmon & Other Essays by Umberto Eco. As much as I love stories, I’m beginning to appreciate humorous essays. They’re short enough to fit into my schedule and can really brighten my day. And I love sharing them with my kids.

My friend Jenny in Michigan had mentioned Tempest-Tost by Robertson Davies to me over a year ago. Alas, they didn’t have that title, but they did have many of his others. I bought The Deptford Trilogy (Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders), and The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks. I read a couple of excerpts from the last to my daughter as we sat there on the floor and, as we laughed together, I knew I had to buy it.

I turned to see what was on the shelf behind me and saw an interesting title among Dickens’ works: The D. Case or The Truth About the Mystery of Edwin Drood by Dickens, with a bit of help from Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini.

We then headed to the kids’ section where we found two copies of Johnny Tremaine for my middles’ literature reading. I also found Theater Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. I’ve had Ballet Shoes and Dancing Shoes for a few years now and, as a dyed in the wool thespian, was thrilled to finally find this at such a good price.

I also found Village School and Village Diary, both by ‘Miss Read’, in the children’s section! I could hardly believe it and wonder who put them there?

Last week, we went to another used bookstore and I found an anthology of Anthony Trollope’s shorter fiction, some of which haven’t been published since their first appearance over 100 years ago. I also found a copy of Stone Soup in French.

SDG!