Today, Folio Society's list of Christmas books came out. One of them was Diana Wynn-Jones' "Howl's Moving Castle," which I've never read, though I've seen the Miyazaki movie based on it.
I decided I wanted a copy, and have thus far held off of purchases of ruinous amounts of yarn (though I am also telling myself that I may permit myself one fall trip to Quixotic Fibers to just buy stuff - maybe after Thanksgiving, as consolation/reward for making it through the memorial service)
So I ordered it. (It's already on its way, but if it's coming from the UK, it will take a little while).
And I realized - most of the Folio books I have (which are the ones I think of as "permanent" books, as in, if I had to downsize my books to 1/10 of what I currently own, the Folio ones would be among the ones I keep) are "childrens"" books. Or at least YA books - The Dark is Rising Sequence (which is excellent and will definitely bear re-reading at some point), and the Roman Trilogy by Rosemary Sutcliffe, and The Little White Horse (which I still haven't read), and Moonfleet (also excellent) and The Ghost of Thomas Kempe and all the various-colored Fairy Books...
And I don't know. I don't know why, but it seems like those kind of classic "children's" books go especially well in good fancy editions. I don't know if it's because they tend to be books I love (though several of those, I bought with never having read them before - I did buy "The Hobbit" in a Folio edition because it is one of my favorite books of all time). I suspect part of it is the "formality" of the book for me. And having illustrations. And being heavy and big; somehow there is something comforting about that, as opposed to the small paperback editions of most "grown up" books I own.
I also admit I splurged on a "HQG1C" pony after seeing many pony blogs talking about them. This is someone who manufactures "High Quality" (professionally-made) G1 (first-generation of My Little Pony Style) Customs (so: not reproductions of original characters in the series, but new ponies in the style).
I ordered "Kitty Love," who is a peach-colored pony with a cat cutie mark. I got the pearlized version of her (it was no more money). Yes, they are a bit pricier than my usual Etsy buys, and I admit this one is a trial - if they are high quality there are one or two more I have my eye on (Pepperjack, a boy pony, is one).
They shipped it *this morning* after I ordered it about 8 pm last night. That tells me that hopefully the company is really on the ball - too many small online sellers I've heard about have not been. So this gives me hope. (I ordered through the "eCrater" webpage. If I am happy after the pony arrives I will provide a link).
Also, I like supporting what are apparently small niche-type businesses in a world of "but you can get it cheaper from wal-mart/amazon/where-ever." Oh, I will still use Amazon but sometimes getting something special and nice is specialer and nicer...
3 comments:
Have you read any of Elizabeth Goudge's other books—most of them are for adults (though her children's books are EXCELLENT). They are my go-tos for comfort reading, especially Pilgrim's Inn and The Rosemary Tree—I reread them once a year or so, and they make me feel safe. Not in the sense that everything is rosy, but things work out, and the characters are real.
Also, Terry Windling has a lovely post at Myth and Moor this morning, about the real-life place on which Moonacre Manor is based. She also includes lots of links, most of which I'd never read.
(These books might help you through your grief for your Dad. I don't know; it's different for everyone, but . . . )
There are children's books - Seuss but also others - my daughter never really took to but I still have. And they are MINE!
I still have my mother's ancient John Martin books (referred by us as "the Red Books." I think there were a dozen or two published; she had only seven.), and her copy of Kipling's Just So Stories. And a good portion of my book-buying money goes for children's picture books with illustrations I enjoy.
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