The pleasure and treasure of books.

I'm a big reader and have to have some books on my bedside table at all  times.

Usually there's another few dotted around the house in various corners too.

This is the current state of my side of the bed...



Bit of a theme going on I here I think!

I had a bit of a Jane Austen spurt at the local library last week. I typed her name in the search catalogue and all these related books came up. I have read a few of the Rebecca Collins sequels to Pride and Prejudice but had no idea there were quite so many other spin offs - there were pages and pages...

The Amanda Grange books are the classic Jane Austen stories retold in diary format from the male character's viewpoint. The plot follows the familiar tale of Emma  in Knightley's diary,  Sense and Sensibility  with Colonel Brandon's diary and of course Pride and Prejudice through the eyes of Mr Darcy. Fascinating reads.  You get to glimpse some expansion of the sub plots of the original and I'm lapping it up.

Knightley is still my absolute favourite Austen male though...a true romantic.

Are any of you Austen fans? Do you have a favourite?

I don't think I've ever seen Neil read a fiction novel. He's a scientist - just a 'facts and figures please' kind of man! Look at the contrast....

 I bought him the "Help I'm turning into my Dad!" book. It's pretty funny and we've had a giggle at the accuracy of many a topic.

Then there's Sibs...
Her bedside table doesn't always look this tidy. It's school holidays, so the bedroom has had a major clean up. There's usually pencils and a school diary and three or four other books there.

I devoured the Enid Blyton St Clare's and Mallory Towers books when I was her age and I'm so delighted that she's got the same reading bug.

Talking about Enid Blyton...

When we were on holiday last year exploring a bit of the Queensland coast we stumbled upon a bit of a junk shed. There were some interesting things there but being confined to a small camper van we couldn't buy much and I couldn't persuade Neil that the old ladder was an essential item to get!

Anyhow, Sibs and I found some old Enid Blyton books and even though I thought that they were a little pricey at $6, we'd spent so long there that I felt obliged to buy something. So we picked up a few and that was that.

Recently I was looking for something online and came across some second hand Enid Blyton books.

They were how much???

I rushed upstairs, had a look at our little collection...and it turns out after a bit of research we have a 1st edition! All of a sudden $6 was a steal!

There's a name in the front and someone has crayoned a few of the illustrations so it's not pristine, but still... what a lucky find!

You see - books are real treasures!

Easter school hols here, so we're loving the change of pace and routine. We're off to the dentist this afternoon. There was lots of cake eating happening yesterday as we went for a high tea. I'll get sorted with the photos and share - it was quite spectacular!