overhaul

Has it really been a year and a half since I did an Overhaul post? How did that happen? For those who haven’t seen the others in the series (click the tag for more), I go through previous ‘haul’ blog posts and see how many of the books I’ve ACTUALLY read. It’s basically a form of self-reproach. Enjoy!

The Overhaul #8

The original haul is here.

Date of haul: April 2015

Location: Washington DC and environs

Number of books bought: 33 (!!)

One of my best friends moved to Washington DC for a few years in the mid-2010s, and I took a couple of trips out there to see her. While I was there I also got to meet quite a few bloggers, some of whom are still blogging and some aren’t. On my own, with my friend, and with those bloggers I bought a whole heap of books. Here’s what I got in my second trip, in 2015.

So, what did I buy, have I read them, and what are my excuses if I haven’t…

The World in Falseface – George Jean Nathan
I haven’t seen this book about the theatre for a while. Do I still have it?? Let’s assume yes, and I think I even started it once, but didn’t get very far.

The Small Room – May Sarton
I don’t think this is regarded as one of Sarton’s best works, but I liked this novel about a teacher facing a moral dilemma more than the other two Sarton novels I’ve read.

Last Leaves – Stephen Leacock
I have read more books by Leacock in the past few years, but I don’t think this is one of them.

Nabokov’s Butterfly – Rick Gekoski
A book about books – specifically book dealing with 20th-century classics – and I read it on the plane on the way home! I really enjoyed it, with the usual caveat that I don’t much care how much books are worth, or about first editions etc, and that was something Gekoski did care about.

The Pilgrim Hawk – Glenway Wescott
Haha, at some point I somehow ended up with three copies of this book? Well, clearly I thought it would be something I’d like – and I was right. A beautiful, sinister book about a relationship with a bird becoming all-consuming.

Alien Hearts – Guy de Maupassant
I didn’t read this, and I culled it when I realised I was just gathering NYRB Classics because they were beautiful and was hardly ever reading them.

Portrait of an English Nobleman – E.F. Benson
Janet – E.F. Benson
I’ve read lots of Benson since this haul – I’m reading one now! – but not these.

The Shelf – Phyllis Rose
Oh how I loved this book, about choosing to read books just from one shelf of a library. I read it while I was in DC and it was one of my best reads of the year – maybe my favourite of all.

Soap Behind the Ears 
Nuts in May
The Ape in Me 
Dithers and Jitters 
Family Circle – Cornelia Otis Skinner
This wasn’t a lucky stumble across a pile of Cornelia Otis Skinner books in a bookshop. I love her writing and she’s hard to find here, so I had a parcel of them sent to my friend’s apartment before I arrived. The problem is that they’re all so similar that I don’t really know which I’ve read. I know I haven’t read Family Circle, which is a memoir rather than a collection of sketches. But I’ve definitely read at least three of the others. Who knows which three.

Barrel Fever – David Sedaris
Naked – David Sedaris
Sedaris is another one who is readily available in the US, and a little less so here, so I bought up a couple – and I’ve read Naked.

Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House – Eric Hodgins
I watched the Cary Grant / Myrna Loy film the other day! And I read the book on a lovely holiday in January 2019.

Classics for Pleasure – Michael Dirda
WHY haven’t I read this book about books? But I have not.

Why I Read – Wendy Lesser
I think I have read this one, but I wouldn’t swear 100% to it. Except for sake of totalling up this blog post, in which case let’s say I’m certain.

Benefits Forgot – G.E. Stern
G.B. Stern had languished on my shelves for a long time, but last year I had a bit of a Stern binge and read a few – including this volume of her idiosyncratic memoirs. Which are really just a series of thoughts, references, memories, allusions tethered loosely around a theme, and very enjoyable.

Bookends – Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern
Another book about books which I have not yet read…

The Ironing Board – Christopher Morley
I must read more Morley. I have not read this one. But PLEASE believe I have bought others since. And not read those either.

By Nightfall – Michael Cunningham
Oh Michael Cunningham, PLEASE write more books. I have read everything he’s written now, including this one – not among his best, but still excellent. I particularly remember the affectations of the conceptual artist, and the moment when they come crumbling down.

Mr Whittle and the Morning Star – Robert Nathan
The Enchanted Voyage – Robert Nathan
Robert Nathan’s books are so easy to find in the US and so hard to find in the UK. They’re always short, light, fun and these two were no exceptions. I’ve read them both, and enjoy the wonder he can somehow bring to something as silly as ‘sailing’ a boat across land.

Absence of Mind – Marilynne Robinson
I’ve not read it, and now that I have read another book of Robinson’s essays, I can’t imagine I’ll race to it… I didn’t understand very much of When I Was a Child I Read Books.

Family Man – Calvin Trillin
Remembering Denny – Calvin Trillin
Yessir, I’ve read these! And particularly got a lot out of Remembering Denny, about a high school friend whose promise didn’t (in Trillin’s eyes) materialise.

Literary Feuds – Anthony Arthur
This was so fun! A non-fic book about different feuding authors through time. Gossipy and probably unnecessary, but I lapped it up.

Letters from the Editor – Harold Ross
Turns out you can be the editor of the New Yorker and still write incredibly boring letters. I read this, but I don’t have it anymore.

The Year of Reading Proust – Phyllis Rose
Another book by Rose that I bought and read while in America – as with The Shelf, she writes about a reading project in such an interesting way, bringing her life into the mix just as much as the books.

The Faithful Servants – Margery Sharp
Another author I’ve read a lot of in the eight years since this haul, but not yet The Faithful Servants.

Two-Part Invention – Madeleine L’Engle
A favourite of Claire the Captive Reader, I also really got a lot out of this moving memoir. The third in a trilogy, it turns out, so I’ll have to read backwards through them.

Overall, I don’t think I’ve done too badly from this haul!

Total bought: 33

Total still unread on my shelves: 12

Total no longer owned: 2

Let’s do another Overhaul! It’s where I look at some books that I bought, and see how many of them I’ve read, how many I’ve not kept, and how many are still to read. I basically shame myself for all of our entertainment. FUN!

The Overhaul #7

The original haul is here.

Date of haul: November 2012

Location: London

Number of books bought: 11

This is one of my more restrained hauls, and it even represents a whole range of bookshops – and some books I got at the annual book swap of my online reading group, but we’ll count it all to the haul. Here goes…

Mariana by Monica Dickens
I read this during Project Names last year – one of the very first Persephones, which I’d been intending to read for years. I enjoyed it but also remember nothing at all about it, and felt that I’d forgotten it as soon as I finished the last page. Do you ever get that?

Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks
I think I must have started this almost as soon as I bought it. It’s my favourite of Sacks’ books, all about different types of hallucinations, as you might have guessed. Shows his wonderful humanity, and it’s fascinating. I have lent my copy to someone…

The Crafty Art of Playmaking by Alan Aychbourn
Guys, I’m on such a roll, because I’ve read this too! Annoyingly, just before I went to see his wonderful play Relatively Speaking, and I didn’t realise this book would give away the plot.

At the Pines by Mollie Panter-Downes
Ah, here we go. Not read this, though I have read lots of MPD before and after this haul.

Adele and Co. by Dornford Yates
I even singled this out among the ten books with names in the title that I’d read during Project Names. Reader, I did not read it.

Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey
I’d already read this when I bought it – counting it though.

Money For Nothing by P.G. Wodehouse
I don’t think I’ve read this, but I’ve read a lot of Wodehouse and don’t particularly remember which…

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I read this for a book group, and I enjoyed it, but I think I sent it off to a charity shop at some point when I realised I probably wouldn’t re-read it.

Darkness and Day by Ivy Compton-Burnett
This was my final ICB book to buy – except for early novel Dolores, which is very tricky to find – and I have read it! It was worth tracking down – it’s a really good one.

The Man Who Tasted Shapes by Richard E. Cytowic
I love Oliver Sacks and it made me think that I wanted to read more popular neurology – I find synaesthesia fascinating, but started this book and didn’t get very far. Turns out not all neurologists write as engagingly as Sacks. But it’s still on the shelf with the intention of trying again one day.

Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
This one has hovered vaguely on the edge of my reading life for so long, but never quite to the top of the tbr. One day!

Total bought: 11

Total still unread on my shelves: 5

Total no longer owned: 1

It’s The Overhaul! The latest in a series where I look back on previous book shopping trips and see what I’ve read, what I’ve got rid of, and what is embarrassing me by the length of time it’s been on my shelves.

The Overhaul #6

The original haul is here – it was just before I did Project 24 in 2010 (only buying 24 books throughout the year), and I went out on a high!

Date of haul: December 2009

Location: The Bookbarn, Somerset

Number of books bought: 17

More Women Than Men by Ivy Compton-Burnett
The Last and the First by Ivy Compton-Burnett
Elders and Betters by Ivy Compton-Burnett
Men and Wives by Ivy Compton-Burnett
This was around the time I was buying up lots of ICB novels, as you can see. And the difficulty with ICB’s identikit titles is that I’m never quite sure which I’ve read. Well, I’ve definitely read Elders and Betters and More Women Than Men, and I’m pretty sure I’ve read Men and Wives. This might be the best start of an overhaul ever! Will it keep going?? I wouldn’t have thought so.

A Wreath of Roses by Elizabeth Taylor
I read this a few years ago when I was speaking at a literary conference on a panel with someone who was discussing this novel – and it’s such a good one. I don’t remember many details, but I think it had quite a gothic influence – along with Taylor’s beautiful sentences and profound insights, of course.

An Autumn Sowing by E.F. Benson
I have read a lot of EFB (and bought a lot of EFB) since 2009, but I have not read this one.

The Match Maker by Stella Gibbons
Another author overflowing on my shelves even though I’ve not actually read all that many. And I haven’t read this one.

A Child in the Theatre by Rachel Ferguson
I was so excited to find this book! And you can imagine that I read it super quickly after finding it. Erm, wait… *checks notes*… I have still not read it. This got off to such a good start?

Anne Severn and the Fieldings by May Sinclair
I have not read this. I didn’t even remember it existed until I saw this – but I do still have it.

Mary Olivier: A Life by May Sinclair
I have also not read this. How did neither of these become candidates for Project Names last year?

Staying With Relations by Rose Macaulay
I have read this! Sadly it is the worst Macaulay I’ve read – all about archaeology and being abroad and nothing much to grab in the narrative, I’m afraid.

Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum
I bought this after seeing the film, which is wonderful. I have not read it, and I haven’t seen it for a while… I think I must have given it away, possibly because I realised I was unlikely to read a book that long.

High Table by Joanna Cannan
I thought about reading this earlier this year, and that’s got to count for something.

Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton
Ha, you BETCHA I’ve read this! Several times, in fact, and I’m delighted to say it’s back in print with Persephone now.

Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondeley
I have now read this late Victorian novel and it is BONKERS and brilliant – sensationalist and over-the-top, but also pensive and New Womany.

The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
I’d already read this one when I bought it. Cheat!

The Silent Traveller in Oxford by Chiang Yee
Someone who worked at the Bookbarn was very keen to press this on me when he heard I lived in Oxford. I have not read it yet…

Total bought: 17

Total still unread: 8

Total no longer owned: 1

You remember the Overhaul? Where I look back at a previous ‘haul’ post on my blog and see how many of the books I’ve read. And it’s always a super embarrasingly low amount. Welp, here we are with another instalment!

The Overhaul #5

The original haul post is here, where you can find why I bought the books.

Date of haul: February 2011

Location: Edinburgh (lots of bookshops)

Number of books bought: 19

Right, let’s see how well I did with those 19!

• Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell – Their Correspondence
  I have not read this, but who actually reads collections of letters? They’re just there in case they’re needed. Right?

• The Grasshoppers Come – David Garnett
  It’s embarrassing how important Lady Into Fox was to my DPhil and how few other books by Garnett I read. I have not read this.

• Moor Fires – E.H. Young
  I was very lucky to find this scarce EHY but… I have not read it. I really must read some more Young, because they’re always great.

• The Loved and Envied – Enid Bagnold
  Why am I doing this to myself? I have not read this – or, indeed, anything by Bagnold. Is this a good place to start?

• Thunder on the Left – Christopher Morley
  I… have not read this. I look it at often, though, if that counts.

• Designs for a Happy Home – Matthew Reynolds
  This was one of the books I didn’t keep when I moved into my flat – and if you’re wondering if I read it before I got rid of it, the answer is no.

• A Model Childhood – Christa Wolf
  I have read a novel by Christa Wolf since, but this is not it.

• A View of the Harbour – Elizabeth Taylor
  Hurrah! I have read this! Yes! And it’s brilliant. Phew, that took a while, didn’t it?

• Our Spoons Came From Woolworths – Barbara Comyns
  I have read this, but years ago and before I bought this copy. But, you know what, I’m going to count it. I since got rid of the first copy I had, but I kept this nice Virago Modern Classic with its Stanley Spencer painting on the cover.

• Fraulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther – Elizabeth von Arnim
  I don’t think I ever review this, but I have read it and it’s brilliant – the way Arnim conveys both sides of a correspondence despite only giving us one side is masterly.

• The Caravaners – Elizabeth von Arnim
  And I read this! One of my favourite E von As – an extended satire of dry humour, it’s very, very funny.

• Three Came Unarmed – E. Arnot Robertson
  When I bought this, I had lots of E Arnot Robertson novels I hadn’t read already on my shelves. Well, in the intervening years I’ve read a total of one of them, and it was not this (it was Cullum).

• William: the Pirate – Richmal Crompton
  Another one I’d read before buying – good for this tally, if nothing else!

• Lady Rose and Mrs. Memmary – Ruby Ferguson
  I’d already read this as a Persephone, and I’ve since decided that I don’t need two copies, lovely as this one was.

• Maurice – E.M. Forster
  Nope, haven’t read it. I’ve still only read the three major novels, and only really liked one of them, so… we’ll see,

• Apricots at Midnight – Adele Geras
  One day, one day! Somebody else read my copy, so at least that’s something.

• How Can You Bear to be Human? – Nicholas Bentley
  I wasn’t sure if I’d read this or not, but apparently I did not long after I bought it.

• Joy and Josephine – Monica Dickens
  Somehow I haven’t read this even though it’s been on holiday with me twice, and I expressly determined to read it for Project Names last year.

• Violet to Vita – the Letters of Violet Trefusis to Vita Sackville-West
  See the first point about letters…

Total bought: 19

Total still unread: 11

Total no longer owned: 2

It’s time for another Overhaul! For those who missed the first three in the series – it’s where I look back at haul posts from the past on my blog, and see if I actually read the books.

And this time we’re going with maybe my biggest haul ever.

The Overhaul #4

The original haul post is here.

Date of haul: April 2011

Location: Bookbarn, Somerset

Number of books bought: 29

TWENTY-NINE BOOKS. Buckle up, and let’s see how well I’ve done with them… [and click through to the original post if you want to know more about the books and why I bought them – for some reason I thought it was thirty-one then.]

• Confessions of a Story-Teller: short stories by Paul Gallico
• The Small Miracle by Paul Gallico
• Ludmilla, and The Lonely by Paul Gallico
• The Adventures of Hiram Holliday by Paul Gallico

I have read plenty of Paul Gallico since 2011, but I think the only one of these I’ve read is the shortest – The Small Miracle.

• A Village in a Valley by Beverley Nichols

When I bought this, I wrote “I keep stockpiling Nichols books, and have still read none…” – well, readers of StuckinaBook probably know that the dam burst and I’ve read a lot of Nichols since then – including this one.

• Four Years at the Old Vic 1929-1933 by Harcourt Williams

I’ll be honest, I forgot I had this. It sounds great! I wonder where it is…

• The Theatre Since 1900 by J.C. Trewin

I have a better idea where this is, but I defo haven’t read a word of it since I bought it.

• Nonsense Novels by Stephen Leacock

I think I read this before I bought it? COUNTING IT.

• Countries of the Mind: Essays in Literary Criticism by J. Middleton Murry

I have no recollection of ever seeing this book before in my life. But I guess it’s here somewhere? This isn’t going well.

• Dreams in War Time: A Faithful Record by E.M. Martin

Nope.

• Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis

I still haven’t this, but – fun fact – I did accidentally buy another copy later, because I liked the way it sounded when it closed. A very satisfying thud.

• Letters to a Sister by Rose Macaulay

I’m not sure, but I’m going to say that I have read this. I’ve certainly read a lot of Macaulay letters, so why not this?

• After the Stroke: a journal by May Sarton

I’ve read a couple Sarton novels since I bought this one, but… not this memoir. Yet.

• Summer in February by Jonathan Smith

I did read this one! Though I have to say I didn’t love it. If you’re into that famous Cornish painting community that I can’t remember the name of, though, then you may well enjoy it.

• The Dud Avacado by Elaine Dundy

This is one of those novels I’ve been meaning to read for my entire adult life. Have I? You already know the answer. And apparently I got rid of it at some point, as it’s no longer on my shelves…

• Star Quality by Noel Coward

I can see this from my bed, and I often think ‘Hmm, should read that’. Does THAT count??

• The New Immortality by J.W. Dunne

I really should have read this for my DPhil but, y’all, I did not.

• Conversations in Ebury Street by George Moore

I read this for the very first ‘club’ year, the 1920 Club!

• My American by Stella Gibbons

When I bought this, I’d only read one novel by Gibbons. I’ve now read three or four more, but this is not among them.

• Her Book by Daisy Ashford

This is so short that I could have whipped through it, just to up my numbers here. But it’s a no.

• The Unspeakable Skipton by Pamela Hansford Johnson

I read this earlier in the year, as one of my 25 Books in 25 Days, and it was a really enjoyable character piece.

• The Strange Case of Miss Annie Spragg by Louis Bromfield
• Mrs. Parkington by Louis Bromfield

And I read The Strange Case of Miss Annie Spragg this year too! Imagine how badly I’d have done on this list last year. But haven’t read Mrs Parkington yet.

• The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Another one I’d read before I bought it – as a library copy – and another sneak tick from this haul.

• The Ginger Griffin by Ann Bridge

Why have I only read one Bridge novel? And it ain’t this one.

• Leave it to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse

As I wrote at the time, “You can never have too much Wodehouse: FACT.” But I haven’t read it.

• Wonderful Clouds by Francoise Sagan

I thought Sunlight on Cold Water was so annoying that I got rid of almost all my other Sagan novels, including this one.

• A Summer Bird-Cage by Margaret Drabble

I have read The Garrick Year and The Millstone since buying this, but not actually this.

• The Abbess of Crewe by Muriel Spark

At least we finish on a success! This take on the Watergate scandal, transposed to a nunnery, is the sort of wonderful, odd novel that only Spark could have written.

Total bought: 29

Total still unread: 17

Total no longer owned: 2

I’m picking up this occasional series where I look back at book ‘hauls’ of the past… and see how many of the books I’ve actually read. Yes, it’s an exercise in self-flagellation. Or, who knows, maybe I’ll have read all the books?! (Narrator: this will never be the case.)

I’ve gone back to 2009 and 2011 before – this time it’s 2012. And one of my many trips to Hay.

The Overhaul #3

The original haul post is here.

Date of haul: February 2012

Location: Hay-on-Wye

Number of books bought: 18

If you click through, you can even see the whole photo from which I took my Twitter banner pic. WHAT an incentive. Here, one at a time, are the books and whether or not I’ve read them – and why.

• Father by Elizabeth von Arnim

I’ve not only read this one, I gave a paper on it an Elizabeth von Arnim conference! I think it’s an unfairly neglected one – find out more about what I thought.

• Elizabeth of the German Garden by Leslie de Charme

Not read this one yet – and I did read a different biography of E von A by Jennifer Walker, so will probably hold off for a bit.

• Off the Deep End by Christopher Morley

I don’t think I’ve read any more Morley since this trip, let alone this one.

• The Iron Man and The Tin Woman – Stephen Leacock
  The Boy I Left Behind Me – Stephen Leacock

I have read some Leacock since this trip, but… not these.

• Borrowed Plumes by Owen Seaman

It all started so well, didn’t it? I was very intrigued by this signed book of parodies… and I remain intrigued.

• Concert Pitch by Theodora Benson

I did read this one! Sadly it was not very good. It was very confusing and a bit of a trudge. Still on my shelves, though I’m not entirely sure why.

• Daisy’s Aunt by E.F. Benson

And I read this one, with much better results. A total delight of a novel, not a word of which made any logical sense – but you can forgive it, and even revel in it, when a book is this fun to read.

• The Initials in the Heart by Laurence Whistler

I edged closer to reading this when I read Anna Thomasson’s excellent book about Rex Whistler – Laurence’s brother – and Edith Olivier. But I have to concede that I did not, in fact, read it.

• The Windfall by Christopher Milne

I’d read this before I bought it, so… free point!

• Surviving by Henry Green

Sigh, I really must read more than one single book by Green. I have not read this.

• A Casual Commentary by Rose Macaulay

I think I’ve read this? In fact, I think I read much of it before I bought it. I’m counting it as a yes.

• The Gentlewomen by Laura Talbot

Yep, read this Virago! Re-reading my review from last year, I’m reminded what an unusual and interesting style it had. Must look up more Talbot. Because, if this post has taught us nothing else, it’s that I need more books.

• Mr Scobie’s Riddle by Elizabeth Jolley
  Foxybaby by Elizabeth Jolley

I almost pick up Mr Scobie’s Riddle this week! But… I did not. I still haven’t read any Jolley novels.

• The Only Problem by Muriel Spark

Not only have I read this, I did so only a month or so after I bought it. It was during Muriel Spark Reading Week, and it remains one of my favourite Spark novels. It looks at hostages and the Book of Job…

• Stepping Heavenward by Richard Aldington

I still love Dolphin Books, but I have not read this.

• Ivy and Stevie by Kay Dick

Yes! Loved these interviews with Ivy Compton-Burnett and – to a lesser extent – Stevie Smith.

Total bought: 18

Total still unread: 10

Total no longer owned: 0

Thanks for the positive response to my first Overhaul, where I look back at previous book hauls and see how many I’ve read and how many I’ve kept. It’s a great way to see how things progress on my shelves AND to make me feel bad about myself. What’s not to like?

This time I’m going even further back – nearly a whole decade – and to one of my favourite bookshops for cheap finds, the Amnesty charity shop in Bristol. Plus a few books from Oxford that I piled into the same post.

The Overhaul #2

The original haul post is here.

Date of haul: August 2009

Location: Bristol

Number of books bought: 12

• Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

I read this in 2016 and I thought it was pretty good, but quite confusing and not at all the ‘haunting novel of a summer of terror and wonder’ that the cover alleged it to be.

• English Short Stories of Today ed. by E.J. O’Brien

This is the sort of collection I buy and put on my shelves and know I will never read. I have not read it

• The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch

This one I have read! In 2010, in fact, though sadly I didn’t much like it. Good set pieces but I found some of it quite dull – and a later attempt with The Sea, The Sea has confirmed that I am not a Murdoch fan. It’s not on my shelves anymore.

• Summer at the Haven by Katharine Moore

Guys, I’m killing it, because I’ve read this one too – in 2009, no less. I didn’t write a review of it, but I remember enjoying this tale of an old people’s home. Not the finest writing in the world, but very enjoyable.

• Howards End by E.M. Forster

And I’ve read this one! It was the third Forster I’d read, and third time lucky – because I thought it was brilliant, having not really liked the others. You probably know all about it, but here’s my review from 2011.

• Family Money by Nina Bawden

Ah, this one I haven’t read. After reading A Woman of My Age in 2013, I decided that maybe Bawden wasn’t for me. This is still on my shelves, but it’s a borderline case.

• Family History by Vita Sackville-West

I’ve read a few more VSWs since 2009, but this is not one of them. One day!

• The Shutter of Snow by Emily Holmes Coleman

I read this account of madness in 2009, and didn’t get on with it. Very experimental in form, which I found distracting and annoying rather than transformative. I decided not to keep it.

• Clash by Ellen Wilkinson

I decided to give this to a more receptive home! I might well have enjoyed it, but I felt like it would never quite be the time to find out.

• Writing Lives: Conversations Between Women Writers

Still waiting! Have I dipped into it? Maybe? Probably not.

• Among You Taking Notes: the Wartime Diary of Naomi Mitchison

I read this, and found it a bit disappointing. Sometimes diaries really click and sometimes they’re just a bit dull. It went to a charity shop.

• Behindlings by Nicola Barker

I never got around to this, and it got culled at some point because it’s an enormous copy, and I didn’t think it was justifying all the space it was taking up. Sorry Nicola B!

Total bought: 12

Total still unread on my shelves: 4

Total no longer owned: 5

One of my favourite varieties of blog post to write, or to read, is a book haul. It’s always interesting to see what sorts of books people select when many are on offer – and I love writing and receiving the comments that cheer on one of the books, or ask what a book is about.

But what happens next?

Well, I decided to start a series looking at previous book hauls, called ‘The Overhaul’. It’s a really clever pun if you don’t think about it for too long and discover that it’s kinda meaningless. In this intermittent series, I’ll be looking back at previous ‘haul’ blog posts, seeing what I have and haven’t read (and why), and generally chastising myself, I suspect. IS my brother correct that I should read the books I have on my shelves rather than buying more? All that to come. FUN.

Feel free to borrow the idea and the image, if you fancy doing anything similar. I’ll keep doing it if people like the idea and/or if I enjoy the retrospective.

The Overhaul #1

The original haul post is here.

Date of haul: July 2011

Location: Hay-on-Wye

Number of books bought: 19

Now let’s take a look at the books individually…

• Jenny Wren by E.H. Young

I have yet to read this, though I have read a handful of other EHY books over the years since 2011.

• The Vicar’s Daughter by E.H. Young

Er, see above. I should totally read some more E.H. Young. A couple have names in the title, so maybe they’ll come next.

• Through a Glass Darkly: the life of Patrick Hamilton by Nigel Jones

Not only have I not read this, I haven’t even read another novel by Hamilton since 2011. C’mon, Si!

• The Letters of Evelyn Waugh ed. Mark Amory

Erm, I’ve used it to rest my laptop on. Does that count?

• The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Hurrah! One I’ve read! Though sadly I hated it. Lots of people really rate this many-centuries look at a nunnery, but I’m afraid I found it really dull. I held onto it, because I want my STW collection to be in tact, but I’m not sure it’ll stay forever.

• Jill by Philip Larkin

Ermmm ok, I might read this for Project Names.

• The Second Mrs Tanqueray by Arthur Wing Pinero

OK, I’d actually read a library copy of this before I bought it, but I’m still putting it in the ‘read’ pile.

• The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski

I’d already read this too. This was a Penguin edition, which I have since discarded in favour of the Persephone edition.

• The Swan in the Evening by Rosamond Lehmann

Not read it – but I have read two of her novels now, whereas I was accumulating her in 2011 and earlier without having read a word she’d written.

• Safety Pins by Christopher Morley

I read this one, and in 2011 too! It’s delightful.

• Shaving Through the Blitz by G.W. Stonier

AND I read this one in 2011 – observational essays from WW2, from a very unusual character.

• The Ballad of Peckham Rye by Muriel Spark

I read this one in 2012, during the Muriel Spark Reading Week that Harriet and I held (maybe it’ll be time for another before too long?) It’s Spark on strong form, about a man who arrives in town and may or may not be the devil.

• A Reckoning by May Sarton

I haven’t seen this for a while, but I’m going to assume it’s on my shelves somewhere… unread.

• Messages From My Father by Calvin Trillin

I’ve read three books by Trillin since 2011, but this was not one of them.

• A Baker’s Dozen by Llewelyn Powys

While I never got around to blogging about this, I did read and very much enjoy Powys’ reflections on life growing up as the son of a Montacute vicar.

• The Shakespeare Wallah by Geoffrey Kendal

Unread. I did start watching the film and it was terrible.

• The Island of the Colorblind by Oliver Sacks

There are plenty of unread Sacks books on my shelves, but I *have* read this one! Not my favourite of his, but very interesting nonetheless – looking at an island where a high percentage of the inhabitants are colourblind.

• Gin & Ginger by Lady Kitty Vincent
• Lipstick by Lady Kitty Vincent

I think I read these almost immediately, and they’re great fun. When a book starts “No, my dear, I cannot say that I really know the Bishop of Runnymede”, you know you’re in for a treat, don’t you?

Total bought: 19

Total still unread: 9

Total no longer owned: 1