Thrifted Reading Matter

I'm a fairly voracious reader and one of the good things about buying books second-hand (apart from the price, of course) is that I come across books that I would probably never consider reading if I were buying them new and I've come across some really interesting reading matter lately. 

I've recently  read The Farm by Richard Benson

which tells the story of one farming family in Yorkshire and what happens when they are forced to sell up because big business was wiping out a way of life they had known for generations.  This book was quite a revelation for me as I have never been overly sympathetic with farmers, it seemed to me that they had been bemoaning their lot for one reason or another all my life, but I was really quite moved by this particular farming family's plight and I now have a lot more sympathy for the farming community as a whole.

Next up was this excellent Icelandic thriller, Silence of the Grave, by Arnaldur Indridason.

I do like a good thriller and this was a writer I had never heard of.  I'm also very interested in anything Icelandic (except, perhaps, some of Bjork's more 'avant-garde' work), particularly since P and I had a great holiday in Reykjavik five years ago.  This thriller is set in Reykjavik, and usefully there is a map of the town at the beginning of the book, so I was able to recognise some of the locations mentioned.  It was a cracking good story and I've ordered a second-hand copy of the first thriller in this series from Greenmetropolis.

Last night I started on The Conjuror's Bird by Martin Davies

which had previously featured on Richard & Judy's book club (as had The Farm) and, judging by the few pages I've read so far, it's also going to be a really good read.

The total cost of these three great books was £1.60, the total cover price is £26.97.  No way could I afford to spend that sort of money, and I would never take a chance on spending that amount on books that I wouldn't be sure I would really enjoy.  Thank goodness for charity shops and car boot sales.

Comments

[Denise]

I love a good book bargain too - but sadly some of our local charity shops charge far too much for secondhand books, and with the bad weather we've had this summer there have been hardly any boot sales. I am lucky to be able to swop books with people at work, and that way I get to read books I might never have bought and discover new authors.

I so agree with your previous post too - I've outgrown feeling any pressure to conform to "fashion" and now love finding bargains - most secondhand clothes aren't discarded because they're worn out but just because they are no longer this season's colour or style.

(Love your blog by the way and visit you often).

[Gill]

I love buying second-hand books too, trouble is I take so long to get through a book these days (a couple of pages in bed at night before my eyes start to droop) that I have a shelf full of books waiting to be read and more being added all the time! I do pass on the books once I've finished, I very rarely read a fiction book twice so see little point in hanging on to it. Now non-fiction, that's another matter, I love looking at shelves full of cookery boos, style books, children's book with pretty illustrations, the list goes on....
I've read a number of Richard and Judy's book club books,some were very enjoyable (If you haven't read it, I'd recommend "The Time Traveller's Wife") but I have to say some I just didn't "get"! Just goes to show books are a very presonal choice.