More books...

Today was my mother's fete (not hers personally, of course), and I snuck in a few minutes to hit the book stall (equally of course!) A fete, for those not in the UK or Ireland, is a church fair, aka a jumble sale (for those who happen to have read To Say Nothing of the Dog). They're varied, of course, and my mother's one is big on cakes and garden stand, very big on clothes and not so good on books. Most of the problem is the layout, as they have to be under the tent, and don't have half enough room. I'd hoped to get there early enough to have a rummage in peace, but though it wasn't that crowded, not all the books had arrived either. Kept seeing tantalizing glimpses of books in boxes in the middle, where we couldn't go! I didn't find anything particularly exciting, but grabbed a few which I figured could be passed along on BookCrossing, or just kept for our own fete. I got two Bill Brysons, Down Under and Mother Tongue, as he seems to be in demand. I had a look at Mother Tongue today as I was waiting for tea to brew (study break - perfectly legit!), and think I'll end up keeping that one - fascinating information on Webster and the original Oxford dictionary, and funny too. Also got The Alienist, again heard about on BC, The Amateur Marriage, by Anne Tyler, as I've liked a lot of her books, though it's been years. One called Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson, about which I've heard nothing whatsoever, but the cover looked intriguing. The last one I got is a Sparkle Heyter hardcover, which I found was the only one of hers I'd already read. I'd really hoped to find some or all of the Jasper Ffordes for Dorian (whom I hooked) - €2 per book or 3 for €5 can't be matched anywhere else!

Yesterday I ended up having to kill some time while waiting to bring my mother home from an eye appointment, and there was nowhere to go except the book shop! I found that The Tale of Despereaux, which all three of us have been wanting to read for ages, was finally published over here. It's beautifully done, and was on special price, so all good. Except for the ever-growing piles of books and the problem of where to put them all.

Also gave them four pans of brownies (daughter baked two) and an hour taking money for the teas and coffees. One very nice old lady sympathised with me over my 'sore eye', as she'd had them too. At least outside I could wear dark glasses.

All this was much more fun than working on the essay from the netherworlds...