My Finds at a July Book Sale

At a recent library book sale I wen to I found a whole bundle of books that I'm very excited about! I devoured their tables labeled "Antique" and "Literature". I'm so pleased to add to my small collection of classics!

Take a closer look at my finds:

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

I've really been wanting to try reading one of Wilkie Collins' mystery novels so I was excited when I found this like new Oxford World's Classics edition of The Moonstone. It's 522 pages long and much less thick than the volume of The Woman In White that I had considered purchasing at a local bookstore recently. This fact is good because I tend to get discouraged in the first few chapters if the book is too long. This I'm going to enjoy reading!

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis

I've really been wanting to acquire my own C.S. Lewis books lately. I have all of The Chronicles of Narnia books but wanted my own copy of Mere Christianity and Surprised By Joy. My father has an audiobook of C.S. Lewis reading excerpts from 'The Four Loves' which I enjoyed listening to as part of my high school curriculum. So I was delighted when I found this Harvest Books paperback edition of The Four Loves and knew I had to take it home! In this book C.S. Lewis explains the four basic kinds of love and the Greek words for love used in the Bible. A must read for any Christian!

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

I really enjoyed watching The Barchester Chronicles TV series based on Anthony Trollope's books The Warden and Barchester Towers. So I've been wanting to try reading some Trollope and I think reading a story of Barchester is the best way to start! Even though this is the second book it will help that I have seen the TV series and know the basic story. This volume is older but the spine looks like it's barely been cracked! 

There was also a lovely set of Anthony Trollope's The Pallisers series. Unfortunately I didn't have enough money to buy all of them, also I don't know the story at all. 

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Dickens' novels is something else I've really been wanting to add to my collection. I really don't know the story of A Tale of Two Cities and film adaptations are difficult to put one's hands on so I'll be glad to read the book for myself. 

At the sale there were about 20 copies of A Christmas Carol which I've read and one day I want to own my own copy, preferably illustrated. Also I found a paperback version of Bleak House and a large hardcover illustrated edition of Martin Chuzzlewit all of which I wish I'd had money to buy as well. But I decided that I might not read them because they are very long.

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

This is another book that I've been wanting to try reading. I found several copies of Ivanhoe at the sale but this Signet Classics edition looks brand new! 

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

I enjoy the story of The Scarlet Pimpernel so when I found this interesting volume on the "Youth" table I was delighted! It says it's complete and unabridged but I can't remember if the story was originally written in another language or not. 

Now, this last book was my find of the day and my newest prized possession! I found this beauty on the "Antique" books table among similar books that aren't so weren't so well taken care of. 

This is what I saw first and it piqued my interest "Tennyson's Poetical Works". I immediately snapped it up and examined it closely!

The Poetical Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson

Just wow! This book had ALL of Tennyson's poetical works printed in order from his Juvenalia to his latter works. It also includes a lovely face page with a pencil drawing of the author, an introduction that tells about Tennyson's life, and in the back historical notes about several of the poems! 

As my brother said, this volume also has a lovely feel to it. It has a hard fabric cover, little wear and tear to the edges and yellowing of pages but no rips and the pages open so nicely to the spot you want. All of this and it only cost me three dollars! 

I was particularly delighted because I've been very interested in the older poets lately and collected volumes of their works are expensive and difficult to come by. What a blessing to have this volume of my very own and how delightful to read his poems for myself (and not just on a computer screen)! 

Tennyson's poem Lady Clare has always been a favorite of mine. Such a sweet story of true love!

And of course The Lady of Shallott is another favorite. I definitely feel like Anne of Green Gables when I'm reading my book of Tennyson! 

I've also found a few new favorites! I hope to share some of my favorites on Rather Bookish from time to time. Do you have any favorites of him poems?

I dearly love book sales like this and am so blessed my all my wonderful finds! Thank you for taking a look at these newest editions to my shelf of classic literature. I hope you've enjoyed it!

God Bless,

Miss Laurie :)