Ye aulde invaluables

Je suis thrilled. No, Harper, Random House and Penguin haven't been begging me to write novels for them, it's just that a secondhand book fair has started near my home and will be on till December. Mostly ex libris, but some tatty ones too. And yours truly has been spending every last penny she earns, right there.

Secondhand books are not merely a cheaper way of expanding your collection. Each book has a history of its own. Many were awarded as prizes, or gifted for birthdays or Christmas. Some changed many hands over the years. Some have yesteryear cricket scores jotted down in some pages. Others have interesting bookmarks, including old newspaper cutouts. Secondhand books are also the only way we'll ever get to read many gems.

My old school and college had a massive collection of vintage children's books. Boys' and girls' library, The Children's Press, Allen and Unwin, Blackie and Son, Chiswick Press, Lutterworth Press... Elsie Oxenham, Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, Angela Brazil, Decie Merwin, Jane Shaw, Biggles by Capt. W.E. Johns, Dorita Bruce, Richmal Crompton... my old college was rife with Hardbound FIRST EDITIONS of these authors and publishers. And then I left. When I visited my college a couple of years ago, I was told that the books were no longer there and they had been "disposed of"--possibly burnt. In order to make way for new books. It seems yours truly was the only person to have borrowed or even touched most of the books in years. This is true. Each book's record showed that I was either the only person to have ever borrowed them, or that the person to read them before me did so in the 1960s!

Then lit a spark of ambition in me -- to own every book I had read and loved and those brainless gits had burnt. Preferably, the same editions. And here are some results:

Jane Shaw's Susan's Helping Hand and Susan Rushes in. Terrific books. Susan is a memorable character you simply fall in love with. These are both hardbound -- not sure about the edition though. There's a third book in the series, called Susan Interferes. If anyone knows where one is easily and affordably available, give me a shout.



Here is Dorothea Moore's Judy, Patrol Leader. This falls into the school stories genre as well as girl guide books. In excellent condition, with original dust jacket, those who did their schooling anywhere in the British Commonwealth must be familiar with this book. It was the favourite of kids in the 1970s or so, especially guiders. One of those insufferably nerdy swots, I did not join the Girl Guides. Something I regret very much now, although my teachers were happy enough to let me spend time improving my report cards.


This is my favourite secondhand book ever. Capt W.E. Johns' The Boy Biggles. I grew up in love with the Biggles series, much to everyone's surprise. Generally, boys are expected to be Biggles fans, not girls. I was that exception that challenged the stereotype. I wanted to be a fighter pilot, perform daring escapades, be captured by the enemy, have innumerable dogfights (google dogfight plane. I can't be bothered to explain right now) and be an international aviation hero. The Boy Biggles doesn't really go into the career of Britain's greatest RAF hero in fiction, but deals with his childhood in India. The book has not been reprinted although Red Fox is bringing out Biggles books now. There was some controversy about racial stereotypes, although I disagree. The book is rife with leopards, serpents, gorges and thugs, all of which are easily surmounted by the young Bigglesworth. Find a copy somewhere? Fight to make it yours!


Michael Gibson's Danger in Dynwich is a nice adventure for middle-graders. Somehow, this book and others of the time are so much more readable than the stuff on the MG shelf today. Better prose, less slang, true-to-life characters you'll see around you, believable plots and dialogue that's actually alive, in my humble opinion, make these books far more valuable than Babysitter's club, Angelina Ballerina and whatever else is being fed to middle-graders now. The exception, of course, being the Princess Diaries. Mia is very real, and very likeable. We all have a Lana, a Lily, a Boris, a Tina and a Michael in our lives.


Bernese Adventure is a simple story about diamonds and a holiday in Europe. The dust jacket has a small tear, but the book is otherwise perfect. Trust me, this is THE book you want to read curled up with a plate of pineapple gateau on a plate. Some books can be read with chilly, some with crisps, some with quiche, others with a kiwi fruit and yet others with soup. But this is definitely a dessert book. [READERS' QUESTION: Does anyone else read while they eat?]

So those are *some* of the books I read at college, and have managed to buy over the last three years. I haven't posted pictures of Crooks tour, Jenny and Co in the Haunted Wing and many more. EBay is an excellent source for secondhands, and as long as one is careful about postage and seller feedback, there are bargains out there for the taking. I've set my sights on Valerie Hastings' Jill Investigates and am negotiating with the seller even as we speak.

Would love to hear about secondhands books in your life. Next up is a personal challenge -- to write a complete post without using the word 'I'. Repeat: the word 'I', not the letter 'i'!