The Whatnot of TJ

Lust, books I want to read for their cover:
I'm not particularly drawn by book covers, actually. I suspect it comes of growing up reading through piles of Golden Age detective fiction with appalling 1970s covers. Don't get me wrong, there are some gorgeous covers out there. But, publishing being what it is, the moment a lovely one comes out, there are a dozen others riffing off it by the time I get round to reading it, which rather dilutes the effect.

Pride, challenging books I've finished:
My e-reader got me through Le Tour Du Monde en Quatre-Vingts Jours and Vingt Milles Lieues Sous Les Mers in French, and War and Peace (in English, except for the bits that are in French).

Gluttony, books I've read more than once:
Oh, goodness. I think I used to re-read more than I first-time-read when I was a child and a teen. I've slowed down since but there are still plenty I return to for comfort. A non-exhaustive list: almost all of the Agatha Christie mysteries; ditto Sayers; the Sadlers Wells series up to Principal Role; most of Swallows and Amazons (I don't think I've ever returned to Great Northern?); a lot of Noel Streatfeild (favourites: probably The Bell Family and White Boots as well as Ballet Shoes); the three Zenda novels; some of Jane Austen; some of John Buchan, particularly the Dickson McCunn series; I Capture the Castle; Cold Comfort Farm; early Libby Purves; Starbridge and St Benet's... Things I've first encountered after leaving home and returned to: the_comfortable_courtesan; Eva Ibbotson's romances; The Count of Monte Cristo. What I used to do when I was a child, and don't do so much any more, is re-read and re-read favourite scenes within a book.

Sloth, books on my to-read list the longest:
Les Misérables. countertony and I had a pact to read each other's favourite French door-stoppers. He read an abridged translation of The Count of Monte Cristo, and I stalled quite early on, so we both failed. I've done quite well this year at clearing out the Guilt Books, mostly obtained via BookCrossing, that I don't actually want to read but have been sitting on my shelves because somebody else thought I should. The exception is the Emma Donoghue historicals which I do want to read but which I suspect of being depressing. But I have acquired all my father's Anthony Hopes and Francis Brett Youngs so am feeling guilty about not reading (most of) those instead.

Greed, books I own multiple editions of:
I have a few duplicated across ebook and hard copy: either I have enjoyed the ebook version and found the paper version cheap in a charity shop (e.g. Acts and Omissions, or the book has maps or family trees or something else I want to keep flipping back to (e.g. The Duke is Dead), or conversely I have discovered that the hard copy is huge and unwieldy and I am much more likely to finish it in pixel format. As far as duplicated paper versions go, I'm not too bad. Usually I find a nicer copy and pass the nastier one on. But I have two copies of The Jungle Book because they are both inscribed by different ancestors. I seem to have duplicates of Huntingtower and The House of the Four Winds because I don't have Castle Gay in the red hardback Nelson edition. And I have a paperback Greenmantle because it is the same edition that my father had as his travelling copy. (Greenmantle is an excellent travelling book. However appalling the weather or the Bahnchaos, Richard Hannay is having to deal with something worse.)

I also have a duplicate copy of Above Rubies: Eliza Ferraby's Story volume 2, which I would be delighted to pass on, but I want it to be appreciated and it doesn't feel like the best jumping-on point for the Comfortable Courtesan saga. If anyone would like it, please shout.

Wrath, books I despised:
The Henchmen of Zenda. I was looking forward to this so much - I have enjoyed every other K J Charles that I've read; The Prisoner of Zenda is one of my favourite books - and I was so disappointed. ( Read more... ) Anyway, it's little more than, but still something more than, "ships the wrong guys".

Envy, books I want to live in:
Hmm. The problem with living in books is that generally things are all set up very nicely and then something happens and you have to go and sort it out. It might be fun to visit Ruritania and Evallonia, but I've had plenty of fun elsewhere with an Interrail ticket. The food and the scenery are very tempting in Mary Stewart and the Chalet School, but in both you have to dodge deadly peril and coercive men trying to marry you. I wouldn't mind being a grumpy Tove Jansson artist and living on a Finnish island. I'm pretty sure I actually live in a Catherine Fox novel*. Could be worse. Could be Starbridge.

*Overheard yesterday:
Verger 1: We'll add it to the long list of things that need fixing.
Verger 2: It wouldn't be the Church of England if it wasn't held together with gaffer tape.