Tag: book hunting

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It’s Raining John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck is known as one of the greatest American writers of all time. A Pulitizer Prize and Nobel Prize winner, he’s best remembered for the Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. However, his Nobel Prize came with some controversy and years later when the Nobel archives were opened up, it was revealed that the selection for that year was not particularly outstanding, and that a compromise had been made. Steinbeck was reputedly very modest about his own writing and admired many others.

Wiki tells us that: ‘At his own first Nobel Prize press conference he was asked his favorite authors and works and replied: “Hemingway‘s short stories and nearly everything Faulkner wrote.”‘

Why don’t you decide for yourself! I was drawn to his short stories in The Red Pony, which remains one of my favourite collections.

In store now we have the following to choose from:

The Pearl – Reprint, 1951

The Winter of Our Discontent – First UK edition, 1961

The Wayward Bus – First US edition, 1947

Cannery Row – First UK edition, 1945

The Grapes of Wrath – Reprint, 1944

The Short Reign of Pippin IV – First UK edition, 1957

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Find Livre Eclectica Online

In case you weren’t aware, LIVRE ECLECTICA BOOKSTORE also has a home on ETSY. The pricing on the Etsy store appears to be slightly different because all prices there include flat rate postage. Whereas, here on the website the postage is itemised separately on check out.

We try very hard to keep the inventory exactly the same but occasionally there is a short lag between uploading products between one and the other. So if you see a book on one platform and not the other, it will be available from both.

To keep up with new products you can also find us on Instagram and TikTok. We love our bookstagrammers and booktokers – who celebrate their love of books online.

Livre Eclectica Bookstore sells mainly pre-1970 hardcover fiction. It’s Marianne’s love, and the niche that she understands. However, if a paperback or non-fiction book catches our eye, then we will list them too. For example, we currently have some Robert Heinlein SF paperbacks about to list. And we love our copy of Apparitions and Haunted Houses – A Survey of Evidence by Sir Ernest Bennett, which was published by Faber in 1939. It’s a rare and seminal book in the supernatural field.

So, is there anything else you’d like to know abut us?

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We Never Get Tired of Wuthering Heights Editions!

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is one book we always keep in store – a timeless classic that keeps having new life breathed into it with each generation of readers. I particularly enjoy seeing different vintage editions in all their precious glory. Below are some of our current covers. There is always an affordbale, collectible copy of Wuthering Heights within easy reach.

Fun fact: did you know that Emily Bronte cauterised her own wound after being bitten by a rabid dog. She was also an ace rifle shooter.

This above edition of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte was published by Russell Classics/ P.R Gawthorn in the 1940s. Lovely coloured frontispiece.

This rare Australian edition of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte was published by Dymocks Book Arcade in 1950.

But if you’re in the mood for a timeless understated look, you can’t go past the Heron Edition. This edition (below) was published by Heron Books in the 1960s and features a lovely inked likeness of Emily on the title page.

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Ordering Books from Livre Eclectica

Dear Customer and Fellow Book Lover,

Has your order been processed?

Our ordering form has one little quirk that can trip people up …

The field labelled Apartment needs to be filled in. So if you don’t live in an apartment, please just place a ‘0’ in the field. Otherwise, the order won’t process.

Please reach out through the contact form if you are having any problems, or visit our Etsy twin site to purchase throgh there.

Thank you for visiting our vintage and rare bookstore! Come again any time!

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Top Book Picks from Brisbane’s Lifeline Bookfest

The Lifeline Bookfest has been one of my key suppliers of books since I started Livre Eclectica. It happens twice a year and runs for a week at the Brisbane Convention Centre. I have lined up early to be among the very first in, and I have also gone on the last few hours of the last day. Either way, it never fails to disappoint me.

This week I have picked up a range of titles that you might like to browse:

I only select books that whisper my name. So, hopefully they might do the same to you! I’ll be loading these into the site over the next week, and will update the hyperlinks above.

Enjoy!

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The Magic of Elizabeth Goudge Books

Elizabeth Goudge wrote fiction and children’s books throughout the 1900s and still has an ardent fan base. Currently, in the store we have hardcover (no dust jacket’s) copies of Island Magic, The Heart of the Family (#3 Eliot books) and The City of Bells (#1 Torminster books).

The Elizabeth Goudge Society has penned a lovely biography that paints a picture of a different time and is a window into the writer’s life and how her upbringing impacted her work.

“Goudge’s books are notably Christian in outlook, covering sacrifice, conversion, discipline, healing, and growth through suffering. Her novels, whether realistic, fantasy or historical, weave in legend and myth and reflect a spirituality and love of England that generate its appeal, whether she wrote for adults or for children.” (Wiki)

I’m about to start with Island Magic, so I’ll get back to you on how I find it. In the mean time, if you’re a fan, I have some nice bargains for you to browse.

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Book Hunting – Saving Lives By Day

When I began collecting vintage books, I had no idea of the incredible pleasure I would get from the book hunting side of the business. I am never happier than when I am fossicking, uncovering discarded gems, and holding history and the memories of peoples lives in my hands.

I do source books from a variety of places, but my absolute favourites are secondhand book stores and secondhand book sales. All those wonderful worlds and memorable characters that should never be forgotten, clumped together and close to being discarded. It’s like saving a life.

What is even more fascinating is to see what people buy from my store. Many, many times I have browsed through my inventory and thought “I shouldn’t have brought that” or “that will never sell”, and then a few days or weeks later it does. Conversely, the books I’m sure will be snapped up can languish in the storefront indefinitely.

Recently, I sold a copy of Jerome K. Jerome’s (the author of Three Men and a Boat – To Say Nothing of the Dog) Three Men on the Bummel to a customer in Norway. Bummel was never as popular as Boat, but I spied a nice clean edition of it while I was living in Perth and couldn’t resist it.

I immediately thought I’d made a mistake, as there were so many copies of it available online for sale (scarcity can be a bookseller’s friend). So, I racked it up to experience and noted that I needed to check availability more throroughly in future.

Yet, somehow, this customer came to my ETSY store instead of to the vintage seller super-sites such as ABE and BIBLIO, etc. Maybe it was my photos, the price point, or the site reviews. Who knows?

But I was THRILLED.

It’s like reuniting friends across the world. And that feeling never gets old.

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The Pleasure of Collecting Book Series

One of the hardest apsects of running a vintage bookstore is letting go of the books again once they come in. Occasionally, I can’t and they find their way into my personal collection.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the most addicitve of all of these temptations is collecting series. Recently, I came across five L M Montgomery books from the 1940s Angus and Robertson edition. Then a few months later, two more in the same series. Some of them were the Anne of Green Gables books, but there were also Marigold and Pat and Emily stories. Seven in total! Some of the dust jackets were in better condition than others. But once they were dusted, covered in Mylar, and lovingly shelved, they look fabulous together.

Hard series for me to let go of include the Silver Brumby books that come and go, the Narnia series, Angelique historical romances, and James Bond.

In the store at the moment we have books in the Biggles and Tom Swift series. I’d love to hear what your favourite series are, so I can keep an eye out for them.

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The Death Rays of Ardilla by W.E. Johns – Rare Book Opportunity

The Biggles books are a well known childen’s adventure and aviation series of 30’s through to 70’s. My brother grew up on them. In fact, Biggles was an early catalogue item in the store from his old collection. However, W.e. Johns also wrote science fiction, and these are rarer and harder to find.

I came across the Death Rays of Ardilla (illustrated) in Perth, Western Australia, and despite it being an ex-library book (I generally don’t buy them, unless it’s a special and rare book like this), I added it to the list.

Here’s what we know about it:

The Death Rays of Ardilla is part of 10-volume science fiction series (1954–1963) that follows the interplanetary adventures of retired RAF Group Captain Timothy “Tiger” Clinton, his son Rex, scientist Professor Lucius Brane (who invents a spaceship powered by cosmic rays), and Brane’s resourceful butler, Judkins.

Synopsis: In their previous adventures, they encountered the planet Ardilla and its strange rays, which caused its inhabitants to develop thick skin in resistance. But reports are, the rays are getting stronger, and more deadly, and a mission to survey the planet has gone missing. The crew of the Tavona join the rescue mission – but what will they find? Meanwhile, a plucky young stowaway has hidden away on the ship, and finds himself seeing far more than he bargained for. It’s up to Tiger to get everyone home safely!

For a more detailed synopsis you can go to wejohns.com.

This copy is a baragin. Generally it sells for between $120 – 200 AUD, but I have priced it lower because it is ex-libris. If you’d like to see some of the other great John’s SciFi covers, then check these out.

You can grab this book now from the Livre Eclectica Etsy store! The illustrations are fabulous.

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The Secret Garden is in store!

It’s always a joy when a book comes into store that is a personal favourite. When I was a about eight years old, my darling sister read this entire book to me one summer holiday. She even assumed the Yorkshire accents to make it seem more entertaining. I still remember sitting in dad’s green armchair, one leg looped over the torn arm, rocking gently with my eyes closed, while she read chapter after chapter.

As I got older, I read and re-read this wonderful story of young people prevailing against odds and finding a place to belong, and the restorative power of nature. So when the book came into the shop last week, I revisited the story, and marvelled how Frances Hodgson Burnett had penned this in the very early 1900’s. Though there are now passages that are uncomfortable to read because they speak to racist and sexist beliefs of the time, and academics have dug deep into the problematic thematic elements of masculinty, femininity and the role of disability – the sweetness of the story still prevails, and it remains Top 100 as voted by Teachers. This 1956 edition is without a dust jacket, but it has some beautiful internal sketch illustrations.

The Secret Garden