Congratulations on your treasures! If even one of them pleases you, you made out well.

I used to do well at used book sales, but have not so much in recent years. Perhaps I need to cast my net further afield.

Rosefolly

Quite a bargain, I'd say!

I enjoyed High Wind in Jamaica and hope you do too.

You did get a nice bargain! I haven't been to a library book sale in ages, and now I'm wondering when the next one might be.

The only book I've read from your list is Bath Tangle, and I really liked it. You can't go wrong with Georgette Heyer.

I go to a lot of book sales here in the city. Particularly, the Unitarian Church near me has rummage sales several times a year. I've even bought books there in mint condition that I've given away as gifts.

Sadly, our main public library is in the process of overhauling, weeding and dismantling its huge collection, due to what it deems "upgrades in other areas." They always hold an enormous bi-annual book sale. I no longer go to buy books new at "regular" bookstores.

Sheri, I've been meaning to try a Heyer book for awhile now. I am intrigued by how she seems to have an equal number of loyal fans and vocal detractors.

I feel guilty about not having read many classics for children and young people, hence my purchase of High Wind in Jamaica. I believe this book used to be taught in school until recently.

The books (at this particular sale) which are left over are sent to be pulped for recycling, so if you see something interesting you better buy it without hesitation. Sometimes it seems like no one has much use for old books anymore.

Woodnymph, that is too bad about your local library downsizing its collection of books. I can't help but think of how the titles of lesser known writers will slowly disappear as these may not be deemed worthy of being turned into e-books.

Very nice!

Tim, I'm a huge Heyer fan, so I particularly hope you enjoy the book. IMO, not all Heyers are created equal, and I think her best Regencies would include The Grand Sophy and Frederica. Please let us know what you think of Bath Tangle.

Tim, an interesting job-lot. I have read A High Wind in Jamaica. Quite an unsettling story, can't understand why is was ever chosen as suitable for school children. Lots of different works/melodramas about Maria Marten (a nasty murder in the 'Red Barn' in 1820's Suffolk) including one set to music. ;-)
Are you a cook/baker? The Elizabeth David will have you rolling your sleeves up and getting flour up to your elbows.

I must come clean here and say I am NOT a Georgette Heyer fan, although I did read a few as a teenager.
Some years ago I found a GH copy in a book sale and merrily quipped to the woman next to me "I used to read these when I was about 15." And she looked at me as though I had said Deep Throat or (at the other extreme) Little Noddy in Toyland were my favourite reads. I slunk away. But everyone to their own and at least GH isn't full of sex and violence.

Veer, the 'Red Barn' murder was the subject of a very early silent movie, so it must have been a familiar tale up until the early 1900s.

Your Heyer anecdote made me laugh. It reminds me of a similar experience when I bought my very old paperback copy of Peyton Place at a book sale. The ladies taking my money twittered naughtily and one told me how when she was a girl she had to hide her copy in the garage so her mother would not catch her reading it.

Alas, though a good (though not distinguished) cook I have yet to back a single loaf of bread. My sense of David's books is that they are filled with fascinating food history, even if some of the recipes are a bit esoteric for contemporary cooks. I have a battered copy of her fascinating slim book Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen. I love reading it, but it is not likely that I will be spicing and curing my own mutton in the foreseeable future.

Hmmmm, spicing and curing mutton sounds kind of interesting...must look for that book...

A few weeks ago I found a wonderful book that I have been coveting for years. Simply called Bird Songs, it contains large color pictures and descriptions of 250 North American birds with a good quality digital player on the side with audio from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I've been looking at it in regular stores for a few years now, but priced at $45 - $60, I have never bought it. I got it for $5 the day our local used bookstore opened for the season - what a happy memory that is!

The really funny thing is that my cats have learned how to turn on the player -