Every spring, the boys’ school in my neighbourhood hosts a massive May fair. It is always a fun event but, for me, the highlight is the book tent: I always come away with great finds and this year was no exception.
The real fun of any large used book sale like this is spotting all of the random books that I might otherwise never have known existed. The cook books are always fun and extraordinarily outdated, though if you’re looking for 1970s entertaining tips you’d be well set. Someone had donated a large number of Cherry Ames books, about a mystery-solving nurse, and there were quite a few buyers clearly excited about this. I even saw a few of Noel Streatfeild’s children’s books (including Thursday’s Child) in one of the piles.
I only bought five books this year but I could so easily have grabbed two or three times as many. Will I be kicking myself for not buying that Father Brown omnibus? The old orange Penguin editions of Nancy Mitford’s Pigeon Pie and Monica Dickens’ One Pair of Feet? The intriguingly massive Best-Loved Folktales of the World? Maybe, but I only have so much room at home so I had to be ruthless. Here’s what I came out with:
Laughing Gas and Meet Mr Mulliner by P.G. Wodehouse – Laughing Gas is an old favourite while Mr Mulliner is one of the only Wodehouse characters I’ve yet to encounter.
Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich by Stephen B. Leacock – impossible to go wrong with Leacock.
1066 and All That by W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman – always a favourite and this little 1954 edition was too cute to pass up.
Period Piece by Gwen Raverat – the find I’m most excited about. I haven’t read this yet but I’ve only heard praise for it.
All in all, a good morning’s work!
The Captive Reader 
Lovely finds Claire – the temptation to buy more must have been incredible!!
Oooh, I bought Period Piece at a university book sale some years ago. I’m afraid it’s still on my TBR shelf. Also Pigeon Pie at some random sale table. And I have Laughing Gas ancient edition complete with jacket, bought back when it was probably easier to find such things for next to nothing
Nice finds.
Laughing Gas is one of those I haven’t read yet, but I love Mr Mulliner – I think he’ll remind you of the Oldest Member.
I used to be an avid reader of the Cherry Ames books, and I was very excited to find them at a used-book store a few years ago. Sadly, I didn’t enjoy them this time around – though I never got to the boarding-school story.
I’ve had Period Piece on my shelves for more than 20 years and still not read it … but there are just so many books and only so much time …
I love Book Fairs and you have some great finds. I remember those Cherry Ames books from many years ago.
Our library recently held their annual book sale of items culled from their shelves or donated by friends of the library. I missed the book sale–was attending the International Record Store Day celebration with my vinyl-loving husband! Truthfully my shelves are overflowing always.
Lovely selection, Claire! I don’t think I could have fought the temptation to buy more really.
The tricky bit is always taking everything out of my bag and figuring out what I want to keep and what I don’t want to keep. It’s easier now that I live in New York and have pretty intense space restrictions, but in the old days when I had my own apartment and what seemed like limitless space, it was hard to resist just buying everything. Looks like you got a good haul!
I dream of attending a book fair like this!
Something happens to me when I see piles and piles of books all over the place!
Period Piece is lovely. But I would also have come away with the Cherry Ames books – they are wonderfully earnest and almost (almost!) beyond parody.
I probably would have been greedy and bought the Pigeon Pie but still – it was nice of you to leave it for someone else to be thrilled about. Sounds like a super day, Claire!
You’ll love Period Piece! I found it on the bookshelf in my bedroom when I spend a summer with friends in Bath, England in 1988, and read it while I was there. I’ve since found two copies at book sales here, and bought them both. It’s one of my go-to comfort reads. If you love memoirs, this is a wonderful one by one of Charles Darwin’s granddaughters.
What fun! I always like big sales like that because the books are so inexpensive that I am always more willing to take a chance on something that looks interesting that I might not otherwise go for.
I’d like to try one of those Cherry Ames books sometime. I’ve read about half of the Nancy Drew books (all of the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift Jr and Chip Hilton and other boy’s series, of course) but none of those, it would be interesting to compare them. Love those Wodehouse books. Enjoy!
Ah, a second-hand book fair is my idea of heaven! You’ve got a great little pile there. I, too, need to introduce myself to Mr Mulliner. I’m tempted to buy some Mulliner Wodehouse immediately, but alas, I’m on a temporary BBB (book-buying ban) while I attempt to save funds for my forthcoming Transatlantic holiday. (I know, life is rough. ;))
Cherry Ames! I read those!!! 🙂
The cover to the Cherry Ames’ book delights me. The tennis racket, the look on the nurse’s face, the guy raising his hat. I believe my grandmother’s house used to have some of those lying around and I may have tried to read one once.