Somehow for me there is not the same “frisson” about finding a book on Amazon or Alibris or any of the other book search engines. Recently, in Victoria B.C., I was browsing casually in Renaissance Books, a “fine books” used book store. Lots of books of great interest – I could have bought more than a few if the mood had been right. I was nearing the end of my browse when I happened to glance at the shelf labelled collectible paperbacks. Frisson moment. There were several My Friends paperbacks – the My Friends books were written back in the 1960’s. The author was Jane Duncan, a Scottish author, possibly more famous for her children’s books about Janet of Reachfar.
It was my mother who discovered the My Friends books years ago and recommended them to me. They are charming. In more recent years I have spotted a few here and there and have bought them for old times sake. I paid nominal amounts for them and they are sitting on my bookshelf.
Now each of the ones sitting on the shelf at Renaissance Books has a price of $15. The proprietor there told me they are now rare and have become collectibles. So now I find that I have several collectibles on my shelf. Fun. I plan to keep them on my shelf for a while longer. But just think, I could go over to Victoria again maybe and finance the trip with my books.
My “My Friends” collection
Janet's thread 