They say that every cloud has a silver lining.
And if the cloud is a hospital appointment at Treliske (nothing serious, but a cloud nonetheless) then the silver lining is a jaunt to Truro and a trip to the lovely library there.
It’s always lovely to browse some different shelves and what makes it even better is that Truro library houses the literary collection for the county.
I was exceeding restrained and brought home just four books: la creme de la creme!
Two from fiction downstairs:
The Opposite of Falling by Jennie Rooney: I loved her first novel and this, her second, had been on my radar for a while. In Victorian England an orphan from Liverpool becomes the travelling companion of an adventurous lady and finds herself travelling to Niagara Falls… I love the cover and I am enchanted by the opening chapters.
The Music at Long Verney by Sylvia Townsend Warner: A fairly recently published collection of “lost” short stories from the archives. This has been on my wishlist for so long but I hadn’t quite got round to buying a copy and, because I wanted a copy of my own, I hadn’t checked the library catalogue to see if I could order it in. I still want a copy of my own, but that didn’t mean that when a library copy appeared before me I wasn’t going to bring it home.
And from the collection upstairs:
Sculptor’s Daughter by Tove Jansson: I didn’t know that this one even existed and I was thrilled to find it. Vignettes from childhood, a mixture of the real and the imaginary. What could be more wonderful?!
Out of The Woodshed: The Life of Stella Gibbons by Reggie Oliver: A biography written with the full cooperation of Stella Gibbons’ family – indeed Reggie Oliver is her nephew – and with access all of the archives, including two unpublished novels. Intriguing to say the least.
A wonderful haul of books – now I just need to find a little more reading time.
Fleur in her World 
I’ve seen The Opposite of Falling around. It looks good. Enjoy your loot.
I hope all went well at your appointment and that you enjoy your books!
How nice that you were able to do something enjoyable & not just go to the hospital. The books you brought home sound wonderful. I hope you are feeling well and enjoy your books.
~ Amy
Ooh – I am keen to read The opposite of falling. I hope your appointment went ok Jane – I must try to incorporate some library tourism into my next trip to the hospital.
Hi Fleur
Nice piece and enjoyable blog, which I discovered while checking out Norman Garstin. I enjoy library tourism but I tend to do it the other way round to you, Truro being my “home” library. The area around Penzance library is one of my favourite parts of the world and I enjoy browsing the library’s art section. Falmouth is good too, combined with a visit to the art gallery.
Hope everything went well at Treliske.
The Music at Long Verney is one of the books I’ve bought this year under Project 24… not read yet, though, of course…
And I didn’t realise there was a biog of Stella Gibbons – what fun!
Oh, and what luck finding the Tove Jansson – it’s incredibly scarce. Lovely.
Didn’t know a Stella Gibbons biog was available, that sounds interesting. Many years since I visited Truro but I remember how charming it was.
I hadn’t realized there was a biography of Stella Gibbons. Shame about the unpublished books, though. She’s an author I’d love to read more of.
Looks like you got yourself some really great books! Good reading 🙂
Just stopping by to say hello… hope all is well.
Libraries always make far-away doctor’s trips worth the while, don’t they? = )