Book Buys December

With the coming of Christmas book numbers have gone up. I bought a copy of Tony Lane's Concise history of Christian thought in the Borders sale early on. Then, for Christmas I got hold of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and had from my wife some nice books - a Welsh phrase book and a book called Why is Q always followed by u a collection of articles on the English language by Michael Quinion
I also made a visit to my favourite Christian bookshop where I bought several books. These were
A biography of Katherine Parr by a Christian called Brandon Withrow

The new Banner collection of letters from John Newton to John Ryland "Wise Counsel"
Keller on Counterfeit gods
The festschrift for Dick Gaffin Resurrection and Eschatology
Hugh Martin's Abiding Presence
I also bought a Family Pilgrim's Progress. We have it in Welsh but not English and I want to use it for a series with the children next year.

Oh yes, I should add that one of my sons bought me the very enjoyable Judy Parkinson book Remember, Remember (The Fifth of November): The History of Britain in Bite-Sized Chunks and someone else bought me My God is True! by Paul D Wolfe a testimony to God's goodness in a time of cancer.

Book Buys September on

We had a nice little series going, which is complete until August, simply recording monthly book buys. It all went a bit quiet on that front and so I haven't reported for a while and am not entirely sure where we are. I did mention getting a copy of Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. I had wanted it for a while but having started it I haven't really got into it. I also bought on impulse one day P D James interesting Talking about detective fiction which I have almost completed.

For another five weeks The Times were giving away Penguin paperbacks again on weekdays so I have another 20 or so of those. Some are titles I already had (eg Tlast of the Mohicans, The Moonstone, Frankenstein) but most I didn't. I read Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep which I had never tackled some of the science volumes.

That's all very secular. I have also purchased Malcom McLean's book on The Lord's Supper for the John Owen Centre reading group.

Book Buys August

It has been a very busy month as far as book buying is concerned.

I bought three books over the net in connection with the John Owen Centre course

Francis Schaeffer An Authentic Life by Colin Duriez
Cornelius Van Til Reformed Apologist and Churchman by John Muether
Christian Apologetics by Cornelius Van Til (ed Bill Edgar)

In the EMW bookstall and the Alfred Place Bookshop I bought several volumes including

John Calvin Pilgrim and Pastor by Robert Godfrey
Living for God's Glory An Introduction to Calvinism by Joel Beeke
John Calvin a heart for Devotion, Doctrine and Doxology by Burk Parsons (ed)
Calvin's Teaching on Job by Derek Thomas
The Sovereign Spirit by Gwyn Walters

Why Johnny can't preach by T David Gordon
The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
Letters of Geerhardus Vos
The Family at Church by Joel Beeke
Heirs with Christ: The Puritans on Adoption by Joel Beeke

I also picked up the much praised Bruce Gordon on Calvin in Ystwyth Books

Then there was also a book on the British Empire and The invention of Dr Cake by Andrew Motion second hand in Aberaeron, and 3 Wordsworth Classics for £5 in Aber - Life's Little Ironies (Thomas Hardy), The Professor (Charlotte Bronte), The Three Hostages (John Buchan).

Book Buys July

Rather quiet on the book buying front this month in some ways. Almost no Christian books bought but two events piled up my supply of secular books.

First, The Times were giving away Penguin paperbacks free in certain places. By this means I picked up the following

1. Green (Adventure)
The 39 Steps by John Buchan
Treasure Island by R L Stevenson
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
(I missed Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne)
I've read the first two but not the second two. It would be nice to get round to them.

2. Pink (Romance)
The Lady with the Little Dog and other stories by Chekov
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Sons and Lovers by D H Lawrence
(I missed Madame Bovary by Faubert)
I don't think I've read any of these.

Then, second, I was on Oxford Street and they had a closing down sale in Borders (no surprise there, they never seemed to know quite what they were doing). For £1 each I got

Julia Pastrana: The Tragic Story of the Victorian Ape Woman/Gylseth and Toverud

Hans Christian Andersen/Jack Zipes
Will in the World: How Shakespeare became Shakepseare/Stephen Greenblatt
Text and Experience: Toward a Cultural Exegesis of the Bible/Ed Smith-Christopher

I also got in July for £1 each biographies of George Elliot and Chrisopher Wren in the very interesting people series from OUP (I have one on Ruskin already). The other buy was the very interesting

Why not Catch-21 by Gary Dexter