I took a trip to the excellent bookshop in Wantage this morning and, as ever, came away with a lovely little haul. Here’s what I bought…
Aftermath by Rachel Cusk
I have to admit that I didn’t love the only Cusk novel I read, which had beautiful writing but seemed almost determinedly aimless – but I was more drawn to this memoir about the end of her marriage.
Long Distance by Penelope Mortimer
This is one of Mortimer’s novels that I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody talk about – having discovered how brilliant The Home was last year (coming out very soon from British Library Women Writers!) I am intrigued. It does sound very experimental – a woman who is ‘without a past, or without any clear memory of her past’ who is ‘taken into a strange community living in the mansion of a huge estate. Are these people part of her forgotten life? Is she part of theirs? Or are they meeting for the first time, as strangers?’ Colour me interested!
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
I’ve been meaning to get hold of this for years, and really enjoyed Heartburn last year – this is the one I hear people talk about most when they celebrate Ephron.
The Fly on the Wheel by Katherine Cecil Thurston
I hadn’t heard of this until I heard that Manderley Press were reprinting it in a beautiful new edition. I may well end up with one of their editions, but this Virago Modern Classic can be testing ground if I want to spend a bit more on something lovely!
Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton
As I just wrote earlier this week, I really loved The House by the Sea – and had gone to my shelves intending to read Journal of a Solitude. Turns out I didn’t own it, but I was pretty confident that I would stumble across a copy soon. And hey presto, I did!
London Street Games by Norman Douglas
I collect the Dolphin editions – by which I mean I buy them when I stumble across them, rather than anything more purposeful – so I was pleased to find this one. My first dustjacket in the collection, in fact!
Not a huge haul, but really pleased with everything I found. Have you been buying anything recently? And which of these books would you go to first?