Book lover’s leap

You may remember that at the start of 2020 I’d decided, in a bid to reduce the number of unread books I’d accumulated, to see how long I would go before forking out hard cash for new.

Now, at the end of February, on this intercalated leap year day, it might be interesting to see how I’m managing. And the answer is…

I haven’t bought any new books in the first two months of this year! That, as far as I’m concerned, is a cause for celebration, because I’m an inveterate browser in bookshops and rummager in secondhand book stores. But …

… I’ve carried on reading or dipping into books completely new to me. How’s that come about? Well, I’ve continued to use the local library, of course, and even have two reviews in preparation for books from there — one from Jan Mark and another from storyteller Daniel Morden. However, that’s not all.

A number of readers previously agreed that using book tokens I’d been given wouldn’t count towards my moratorium on buying books. After all, what I’d be doing would be exchanging a virtual portion of a plastic card for several sheaves of actual paper with dried ink arranged in complex patterns — none of my own money would have left my pocket. And to reject the gift of a token would be very bad form.

So these are what I’ve swapped for a generous token presented by the choir I regularly accompany:

1. Eleanor Fitzsimons’ new biography The Life and Loves of E Nesbit. I’m more than halfway through this.
2. Maria Sachiko Cecire’s literary study Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century. Saw this mentioned on Twitter.
3. Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel of the Brontë siblings Glass Town. At least two review blogs favourably noted this hardback.
4. Tove Jansson’s classic Comet in Moominland, which I’ve already read and reviewed.

And I still have some virtual change left, even if it’s only a few pennies. All of these were recommendations from bloggers or tweeters I follow: look out for my thoughts on the remaining three books during the coming (fingers crossed) few weeks, or possibly months.

In other news
Tomorrow sees the start of three reading events I’m hoping to take part in. March Magics focuses on works by Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett (who both died in this month). There’s also Reading Ireland Month because 17th March is St Patrick’s Day. Finally I’ll be participating in the Wales Readathon and, tomorrow being St David’s Day, I shall set off March with a review of a collection of tales by Welsh storyteller Daniel Morden.

And I don’t plan to spend any money for any of them. (No, you didn’t hear an exultant *Result!* emanating from my direction, it was just your imagination.)