We’re nearing the end of January and I’ve just realised that I never shared with you all what books I got for Christmas! There were quite a few acquisitions over the holidays, both as gifts from friends and family and personal purchases – 15 in total! Here they are:
The Christmas Loot
At Home with Madhur Jaffrey by Madhur Jaffrey
From my brother ,who clearly knows how to read a wish list. He’s a bit of a foodie too so this was a very appropriate offering.
George, Nicholas, and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to War by Miranda Carter
My brother’s girlfriend knows my reading tastes so well she bought me two books I already had! I exchanged them and used the credit towards this. Still counts as Christmas, right? Even though I just picked it up this week?
Miss Buncle’s Book by D.E. Stevenson
From my father, who listened well when I was explaining Persephone books and which ones I particularly longed for.
The Priory by Dorothy Whipple
Ditto.
The Voucher
When I left Calgary my work mates pitched in and gave me a $50 voucher to an online bookstore. Since I’d been lusting after the Oxford World’s Classics for some time (and longing to replace my hideous editions of both Wives and Daughter and Vanity Fair) I splurged on these four:
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
The Treats for Myself
A good haul of Eva Ibbotson novels bought second-hand off Amazon. Rereading them this winter has reminded me how enjoyable they are – just the kind of books I like to have close at hand!
A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson
A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson
The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson
The Treats for Myself, cont.
Do you ever need a reason to expand your Persephone library?
House-Bound by Winifred Peck
Making Conversation by Christine Longford
The Winds of Heaven by Monica Dickens
Manja by Anna Gmeyner
Aren’t they all lovely? I had a very nice reread of A Company of Swans right after it came, have flipped through and been delighted by the cookbook, and have gazed adoringly on all the Persephones. As much as I’ve longed for Miss Buncle’s Book I think I’m most excited to read Manja though I shan’t rush anything. Anticipation is a wonderful part of reading and I like to draw it out for as long as I can!
The Captive Reader 
When I first opened up this post I thought these were your acquisitions for this week and I was about to sit here and weep with envy. I can just about cope with the fact that these were Christmas gifts, but you still need to beware the green eye’d monster. You are very lucky.
I usually don’t accumulate this many books in a year, nevermind a week, so I completely understand the jealousy that emerges when others glory in their new purchases!
I am taking this post into my TBR pile as some of them I would love to read.
Excellent! I’m quite excited to read all of these!
That is a wonderful pile – I hope you may be able to join in the Persephone weekend with some of those…
Oh I am well prepared for the Persephone weekend and already looking forward to it!
I love these sort of posts – it’s always fascinating to see what books other people read, and hear about what they can’t wait to read. Several of these (esp. the classics) are already on my list of ‘books to read’, but Eva Ibbotson is a new author to me and will be going on the ‘books to look for in the library’ list! (I have a lot of book related lists!)
Eva Ibbotson is very fun so I’m quite excited to have these all readily available now! I hope you’re able to track down some of these at your library and that you enjoy them!
I love to watch books in series or in sets. Makes me feel complete! 😉
They are beautifully uniform and calming, aren’t they?
Goodness what a great pile of books. Love the Persephones, Mss Buncle’s book is wonderful. You make me think I should try Ibbotson! 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever heard one word said against Miss Buncle’s Book which gives me great hope for it! Ibbotson’s books and fun, light reads – a perfect afternoon’s entertainment.
Beautiful additions to your Persephone collection! And I will definitely have to try Ibbotsen as both you and my sister recommend her highly.
Getting so many Persephones over such a short period was incredibly exciting, I must say! And do try Ibbotson, particularly if your sister also likes her (two endorsements are always better than one)!
Nice haul! Miss Buncle and The Priory are two of my top three Persephones so far! I also received The Winds of Heaven for Christmas so I’m hoping to read it soon. Can’t wait for Persephone reading weekend so I can read everyone’s new reviews. I look forward to your thoughts on Manja since I don’t know anything about it.
2 of your top 3! That bodes well for these books! Manja doesn’t seem to have been much read – or at least reviewed – so I’ll be sure to post on it once I read it!
What a lovely pile – lucky you!
Thank you!
Well look at you! I am jealous! You’ll love Miss Buncle, and I can’t wait to read your thoughts on Manja because I’ve had my eye on that for a while.
Everyone seems obsessed with Trollope at the moment. I’ve never read any of his novels. I’m daunted by the length and the series aspect of them – I don’t know where to start!
I haven’t read any Trollope either and I’m determined 2011 will be the year I start. I chose to start with the first of Palliser novels – it seemed as good a place as any!
The universal praise for Miss Buncle has me quite excited to finally get to know her and I’m terribly eager to read Manja!
That’s quite a nice haul – happy reading to you!
Thanks Susan! I’m looking forward to all of them.
Oh I love those grey covers! What lovely Christmas presents to have forever. The Priory I think has been my favourite although its hard to pick the best Dorothy Whipple. Enjoy reading them.
I still haven’t read any Whipple which seems negligent given that she’s such a Persephone favourite!
How quickly do you read? How long did it take you to work through that stack? I don’t think I could finish it in a decade.