Thursday 23 January 2014

Great excitement today!

I don’t often buy books without first viewing them, but I couldn't resist this collection.

I'm offered books on an almost daily basis. Many are not for me, but when they are I either pay a visit or ask the seller to post them. Once I'm happy with condition I send a cheque.  If they are not up to scratch they are returned, with an appropriate amount to cover the seller's costs.  


On this occasion, the collection comprised over 250 books, and the seller lived several hours away. I could hardly ask him to post them, but on the other hand, I didn't want to ask Terry to make the six-hour round trip, to collect them. So I found a courier who could collect and deliver – and hey presto here they are.


I’ve had several conversations with the seller, so I know what's in the collection, but I have no real idea of condition – so fingers crossed!

Essential supplies to hand, a nice blank page in my stock book, and here we go - 
Thanks for calling in, I always enjoy your company. Please help yourself to a ginger biscuit!

Crossposted at The Ibooknet Blog

48 comments:

  1. Barbara!What a lovely thing to do on a chilly day such as this...to sit with a good cup of tea, biscuits, and thumb through what I HOPE will be a delightful experience! How MARVELOUS! And what a large collection as well!

    It is so cold outside that I don't even want to think about going to work today, so your activity here sounds more FUN!

    Enjoy my friend, Anita

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    1. Dear Anita, I wish you could come and join me. We would keep warm with tea and biscuits and enjoy a good old natter!
      Wrap up well before you step outside. Barbara. xx

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  2. Oh Barbara, how nice of you to trek across the pond to come see me! I just learned that my school district is CLOSED due to our severe cold. We are not getting as much snow as the east coast (New York, etc...) but our cold weather is beyond understanding! So I shall have my pot of tea today with a biskie or two, and think of you.

    XOXOOOXOX Anita

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    1. I'm glad you are in the warm and not venturing out onto frozen streets. The weather is crazy! Our family in Australia are on fire watch and here in the UK, we have flood warnings (again!) Enjoy your tea and have a lovely day. xx

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  3. Boy, those books look like a lovely find. And how did you know that that is exactly how I take my tea and that I do enjoy a nice biscuit with it. Thank you, I'll be right over.

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    1. Hi Alex, you are obviously a tea connoisseur – just like me. The kettle is on, see you soon!

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  4. Oh, I'd love to be there with you having a look through that little lot. I wonder if you'll find any little notes or forgotten bookmarks in them ... I love it when that happens. Have fun and I hope you find a few 'gems' among them. M x

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    1. Hello Marina, I could certainly do with the help – one lump or two? I will be looking out for anything hidden among the pages. It is always so exciting when a that little added extra turns up! xx

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  5. How exciting. I'm sure 250 books will take some cataloguing and thus plenty of supplies of tea and biscuits are required.

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    1. Hi Tracy, it will take ages and ages because I find myself reading when I should be cataloguing not to mention stopping for tea. But I don’t mind a bit because I can’t think of anything I would rather do.

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  6. Ahh, it is the best bit of bookdealing that is ... opening a new box of books and not being quite sure what you might find. Sometimes the things that drop out are as interesting as the books. My own favourite was finding a letter about Wilfred Owen by his brother.

    The second best bit is the biscuits ...

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    1. Hello Catherine, thank you for visiting! I haven’t found anything yet, but I’m always hopeful. You had a wonderful find! Did you blog about it?
      Right now where did I put those biscuits…

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  7. A cup of tea, ginger nut biscuits and a hoard of books to rummage though.

    Barbara, welcome to heaven :) x

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    1. Thank you very much Yvonne! How wonderful to think of books & tea and biscuits in heaven – I for one would be very content. Enjoy your evening. xx

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  8. Fingers crossed on the books' condition, Barbara. And enjoy the tea and biscuits! (Aw, that pup on the mug ...) I agree with Anita. This sounds like a wonderfully cosy way of spending a cold day.

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    1. Hi Claudine, that’s my favourite mug, mainly because the little dog looks just like Rosie. She used to love tea and biscuit time because she always managed to snaffle a little bit!
      The books I’ve looked at so far are in pretty good nick, so I think I’m going to enjoy myself. Thanks for your visit.

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  9. Oh my, how I wish I was sitting there with you going through those books. It will be a lot of work, but you know there's wonderful treasures among them.

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    1. It will be a lot of work Donna, but I don't find it a hardship. I'm looking out for those treasures and will be sure to share them.

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  10. Oooooh lovely, I wish I was there too
    Julie xxxxxxxx

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    1. Hi Julie, I could certainly do with the help! Come on over we will drink tea and chat while looking for forgotten bookmarks. I love my ‘job’. Have a lovely evening. Barbara xx

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  11. You will have so much fun going through this pile of books. It's like a late Christmas! I love your puppy mug BTW.

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    1. How right you are Donna! It feels just like Christmas. Thanks for your comment. Barbara.

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  12. Look at all those books! Wow! Sifting through them will take lots of time, as you examine each one and catalog it. But- I bet it will be such fun to check out all the surprises that await you in those piles! It is like a wonderful mystery unfolding before you. Enjoy and I can't wait to hear about what you discover. :)

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    1. I will be sure to share some of the excitement once I crawl out from under the pile! Thanks so much for calling in.

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  13. Well .....I am a great tea lover, you see I am having my evening tea this time , the stuff you bought looks good lets see what you have in your treasure this time for us :)

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    1. Hi Aunt Mary, I can't get through a day without tea - and biscuits! I hope to share some bits with you asap. Enjoy your tea. Barbara.

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  14. Ooh Barbara, I do hope you've saved me a biscuit! I can understand your excitement and hope you have a really amazing weekend. Marilyn :)

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    1. Oh sorry I’ve eaten all the biscuits but there is a piece of cake with your name on!
      Thanks for your good wishes; I hope your weekend is full of nice things.

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  15. Happy exploring, Barbara! I'm excited to learn about what you find. xx

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    1. Thanks Sophie, I will be sure to share some of them here.

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    1. Yes, it will keep me busy for a while. Thanks for your visit Joleene, it's always nice to see you.

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  17. Oh how delicious those ginger biscuits look...and that TEA!

    Thank you sweet one for coming by to visit. DREAM, DREAM, DREAM...

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    1. Visiting you is always a pleasure Anita. The tea and ginger biscuits were rather good, sadly they are all gone now so I’ve moved onto shortbread!

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  18. That looks like quite a collection! I think I could spend hours looking through those books and I think my niece & nephew would love them too.

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    1. Hi Nikki-ann, not much listing going on – I’m having far too much fun just looking at them. I wish I could keep them all but would need to win the lottery to be able to do that! Thanks for calling in, Barbara.

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  19. Barbara, enjoy your treasure trove. How much fun to browse through them all! Thank you also for you kind comments on my blog. ~ Diane

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    1. Hello Diane, I was very saddened when I read your latest posts. I can’t begin to image how you are feeling, but my thoughts are with you.
      Thanks for calling in, keep looking for treasure - it will turn up! Barbara

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  20. Tea and biscuits are the perfect marriage with a good book! I also usually do not buy books that often. I usually buy used books or when they are on sale. I find that sometimes bigger bookstores sell them for a bit too expensive. And I am a huge fan of the library! =)

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    1. Hello Sadaf, indeed they are! I agree about libraries. Some of my happiest times are spent there. I also love browsing in bookshops but Amazon and eBay plus massive rates, rent and staff bills are making it difficult for many of them to survive. It will be a sad day when only libraries and Amazon are left. Thank you for calling in, it was lovely to meet you; I hope we get to chat again soon. Barbara.

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  21. There must be some really good ones in that bunch! :-)

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    1. I’m certainly hoping so, but either way I’m having fun! Thanks for calling Barbara

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  22. Wow, that's like a library full. Congrats and I'll toast with the biscuit and tea! Oh btw I have a new blog but it still kind of under construction: http://evegaal.blogspot.com/

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    1. Hi Eve, I've missed your blog - I'm on my way over right now! See you soon. thanks for calling in.

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  23. Congrats for the books. The bunch certainly looks like a treasure trove. Specially with the uppermost ones with green and blue shiny covers.' Excited ' is the word !A big mug of tea and ginger biscuits are inviting.Thanks for the treat :) ginger biscuits are my mum's fav. Hoping to chat nicely someday... Love Kokila.

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    1. Hello Kokila, your mum is obviously a very discerning woman. Ginger biscuits are my favourites too! There are some treasures it will take me a little time to get them all listed, but I will be sharing some of them here. Have a great day. Barbara.

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  24. Oh, Barbara, how exciting, having so many books to look through. I wouldn't know where to start. I wouldn't get anything done at all. Well done.

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    1. It is difficult when there are so many scrumptious books around. It would be very easy to curl up in a chair and forget all about listing for a day or two. Don’t tell anyone I said that! :-)

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I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
Barbara xx