I make my dashing Summer return to the blog with a Spring book haul, ie, all the reads I picked up from March to May. Much time and money was happily spent at a nice handful of bookstores. Here we go…
Phoenix Books, SLO
March saw us making our way to my darling, beloved central coast once more for my sister’s 20th birthday. We absolutely could not resist a return to Phoenix Books, a discovery from last summer.
For my sister, I purchased the works of Emily Dickinson (no pic rip). For myself, Sallust’s accounts of the Jugurthine War & Catiline Conspiracy, and Atonement, a read I’ve been meaning to pick up for years and years. (It was another accidental I-watched-the-film-first-because-I-didn’t-realise-there-was-a-book.)
A quick note on Sallust: I’ve mentioned Detectives and Togas, a beloved childhood read, before, and in it, the characters have to read Sallust. In the same way that Rachel Pye of Ginger Pye likes the way that Boston sounds because of its round letters and feeling of importance, I have always attached significance and weight on the works of Sallust. Furthermore, as a history graduate and enjoyer of Roman and Greek civilisation, society, and history, I really needed to add some genuine primary sources to my shelves, so getting this copy of Sallust was a way to satisfy both of these needs at once. (idk if that made any sense, but hey ho, we move.)
Two Birds Books
This lovely little shop we discovered back in 2020, and unfortunately we didn’t get to stop there on our family trip to Mt. Hermon back in November like we planned. As such, it was lovely to be back in April, during Easter break.
I got a gorgeous edition of Middlemarch; I’m obsessed with these Penguin classic special paperbacks. I also acquired Charlotte Brontë’s Villette, which I am extremely excited to read. Finally, I got my hands on Dune. I am so ready to sink my teeth into it this summer. (Really need to keep working on Les Mis before I can justify getting into such a thicc boy…oops.)
Barnes & Noble
I picked up C.S. Lewis’ The Weight of Glory on a day out with my cousin! I am, of course, very ready to dive into more of his fantastic writing and his thought processes as they relate to Christianity.
honourable mention bc i forgot to include it in this stack: The Westminster Shorter Catechism: For Study Classes, by G.I. Williamson, which i ordered off amazon. The ladies group at my church is going through this right now, très epic!
Tattered Cover
I went to visit my friend in Denver this past month (post w/pics incoming!), and I had to visit Tattered Cover. I saw it at the Denver airport when I landed, and I knew I wanted to have a browse. Luckily, there was a gorgeous TC less than a mile from Meg’s apartment, so on my last full day there, we walked over, and I walked out with Alexis DeTocqueville’s Democracy in America and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Fin
Even as I write this, I accidentally spent money on books just yesterday, so I reckon a June book haul is likely on the way… :’) Anyway, here are all the books from my Spring book haul! I’ve already read some, and I am certainly looking forward to reading the others! What are some books you’ve picked up and/or read recently?