I mentioned that over the weekend we took some books to Half Price Books and walked out with some too. I actually didn’t get too many but here they are:
- Schooling by Heather McGowan. From the book jacket: Catrine Evans is a thirteen-year-old American who is sent to an English boarding school after her mother dies of cancer. Thrown into a strange world, Catrine quickly discovers that the fine schooling promised by her Welsh father may be nothing but show.
- The Ballad of West Tenth Street by Marjorie Kernan. In a fairy tale set in modern-day Greenwich Village, where even native New Yorkers can get lost amid the diagonal streets, in one of a matching pair of brownstones lives the eccentric widow of a rock star and two of her children.
- The Rose of Sebastopol by Katherine McMahon. In 1854, beautiful, adventurous Rosa Barr travels to the Crimean battlefield with Florence Nightingale’s nursing corps. A headstrong idealist, determined to break out of the rigid confines of life as a young lady, Rosa is determined to make a difference in the world.
Have you read any of these? Thoughts?
I was actually hoping to find some NYRB or Virago editions as Half Price Books is sometimes a great source for those but I didn’t find any this time. I actually did see some Persephone books but I already had the ones I found. Oh well, I guess this just calls for another visit soon right?
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I haven’t read any of those but they sure sound good, Iliana! 🙂
The Rose of Sebastopol by Katherine McMahon. In 1854, beautiful, adventurous Rosa Barr travels to the Crimean battlefield with Florence Nightingale’s nursing corps. A headstrong idealist, determined to break out of the rigid confines of life as a young lady, Rosa is determined to make a difference in the world.
This is the one that caught my eye from that list.
I have had Schooling on my TBR list for years. I am anxious to hear how you like it!
Oh, they sound so good! I’ve not read any of them but I have heard good things about The Rose of Sebastopol. You find Persephone books at your HPB? I’ve never seen any at mine. Lucky you!
Great finds!
Enjoy your summer.
Sebastopol – You have to let me know what they ate out there.
Haven’t read any of these either, but a couple caught my interest!
I really liked The Rose of Sebastopol when I read it earlier this year, so was surprised to hear several people tell me they were disappointed by it (or parts of it). I’m curious to see what you make of it. I also have Schooling on my piles. It’s probably better to come home with a smaller stack than the one you went there with, right?
Maybe with ebooks taking over everything, the buying, selling, and trading of real books will become part of a Thomas Pynchon-like underworld….
You always snag such good-looking books, Iliana, and they’re not the ones being overly hyped which I love because I find so many new titles. And I guess I should lighten up on over-hyped books since I’m reading The Passage. Ahem! lol
I haven’t read any of these but Schooling sounds really good. Enjoy reading your book bargains!
I haven’t heard of any of those. You always find the most interesting titles!
I actually really like the sound of all of them! Especially the second. Also, I got your lovely, lovely journal today! Thank you so much 😀
The Ballad of West Tenth Street sounds interesting. I’m really looking forward to your thoughts.
(I won’t be able to post pics of the camping trip, but Serena might be able to. She was the one with the camera. LOL)
I went to Half Price Books yesterday and could not find one book to buy. Of course I have not yet loaded my list of books to look for into my new Iphone so I was stuck trying to remember titles and authors – a tactic that never works for me.
I am anxious to read Katherine McMahon’s book The Rose of Sebastopol. I read The Crimson Rooms and never posted the review. Ooops. It was published elsewhere and I just never put it on my blog. I am getting so forgetful..That worries me. In any case, I loved The Crimson Rooms and I will post it this week, so if you want to check it out it will be up soon.
Thanks for the reminder.
Happy reading..they all sound good to me.
I guess I really have lost my mind…here is the review from this month. It must be from all the worrying with my dogs.
http://bookwormsdinner.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-crimson-rooms-by-katharine.html
The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon is so well written and by using the first person McMahon is able to get ‘under the skin’ of the Victorian lady and the social set up of the time. Made me want to find out more about the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale and Mary Secole. Perhaps the ending is rather abrubt but can you ever write the perfect ending about the lives and time of people? Well written, good techniques for keeping the reader interested, educational and, I am sure, well researched.
I have discovered a Half Price Book store in my new town. Yeah. I had never been in one until yesterday. You are the responsible person for making me do such a thing. I fear for my wallet but smile at the prospect of new books to discover. By the way do you know that the new Tana French is finally out? I am getting my copy today. Thank you once again Iliana.