Monday, September 08, 2008

pardon the mold and dust

I found a ton of classic... for some definition of classic... Old Skool romances at a library sale, and as always, am really curious about the backstory of how they got there, since it was clearly someone's once much-loved collection. Did they die? Get widowed? Discover feminism? I've heard from a number of people that losing a husband destroyed their ability to enjoy romances, and Eva Ibbotson stopped writing them after her husband died. (Romance's loss is children's book's gain.)

There's something very poignant about reading these old books, which are so horribly dated now, yet have had such strong appeal to countless readers. It feels a little like stepping into a time machine and living in someone else's past.

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5Bligs:

Anonymous Anonymous bligged...

my grandma used to horde them under her bed in old shoe boxes....

9/09/2008 3:25 PM  
Blogger web bligged...

I have a few shoe boxes of my own. ;-)

9/09/2008 7:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous bligged...

I will admit to buying the Betty Neels reissues from Harlequin. I love these books.

9/12/2008 12:55 PM  
Blogger Charlotte bligged...

Any D.E. Stevenson's? These are both great reads, and collectable...

9/12/2008 2:37 PM  
Blogger web bligged...

Sadly no, though there were a few collectibles in the mix and I made some people at paperbackswap very happy.

I have never read any Neels, but she seems to still have a following.

9/12/2008 6:43 PM  

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