Spring book sale loot II: the sequel

I really wasn't planning to do a follow-up to my post from last Friday on the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library Big Book Sale. It was quite long and self-indulgent enough, I thought.

I forgot to post our pics from the line last time. Initially, I tried
to get by without the granny cart, carrying only a shopping 
bag. Andy had to run back to the car to bring in the cart 
within twenty minutes...

But then we decided to make a quick return trip on Saturday morning, when the crowds are far sparser and the browsing more relaxed and pleasant. We've occasionally made return visits in the past, and they very rarely pay off with any big finds, so I wasn't expecting a lot—perhaps some more recent titles that I've meant to read, maybe a handful more mysteries.

Our selfie from the book sale

Which is pretty much what I got, but with one very big exception. Who would have expected, when the books had been picked over for several days already, an American first edition of Angela Thirkell's wonderful early novel, The Brandons? 

But there it was, in a box under one of the tables (and I was only half-heartedly perusing the boxes, to be honest, so it's just dumb luck that the Thirkell happened to be lying almost on top).

I can't resist sharing every bit of its lovely dustjacket, of course.

Apart from that lucky find, I did some across two more Ngaio Marsh books, a beat-up old copy (but with dustjacket) of Clutch of Constables, and a recent hardcover reprint of Artists in Crime—which is just as well, since I've already finished one of the ones I picked up on Tuesday and am well into another. I seem to be a bit obsessed...

Andy also came through with another harder-to-find title from my mystery wish list—Christianna Brand's Suddenly at His Residence (1946), which is apparently set during WWII, and which I've been eager to read for some time.

It was also Andy who brought me a lovely copy of a book indirectly relevant to my blog—Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey's sequel to their bestselling Cheaper by the Dozen, Belles on Their Toes. 

The bright, charming dustjacket caught his eye, as it did mine, and I couldn't resist it, even if it is American. 

The gratuitous jacket flaps, of course:

It also included a Book-of-the-Month Club flyer from when the book was a selection, and I'm always interested in those.

And Andy also remembered that I had previously asked him to look for Georgette Heyer books, so when he came across Jane Aiken Hodge's biography, The Private World of Georgette Heyer, he grabbed it for me. If nothing else, it contains irresistible photos throughout.

I'm not sure how I first came across a mention of a recent novel called Crooked Heart, by Lissa Evans—perhaps it was a runner-up for one or another of the numerous literary prizes given every year? At any rate, as it's set during World War II, it piqued my interest, and I picked up a copy on Saturday. After finding one of Margaret Yorke's non-mysteries on Tuesday, I couldn’t resist a nice ex-library copy of one of her mysteries, also just $1.

Two Iris Murdochs, one more Anita Brookner, and a pristine paperback of A. S. Byatt's Possession (which I read when it first came out a quarter of a century ago—can you believe it?—but have been meaning to re-read for a while now) also leapt into my shopping bag.

And that was that for our return visit. Hardly enough to fill a post, but how could I resist sharing the Thirkell find?!