Blyton plus others picked up today...

[manzanita]

Oxfam once again... Secret Seven Mystery in Knight paperback, The Secret of Grange Farm by Frances Cowen, We're In The Sixth! by Carol Ann Pearce and The School On The Moor by Angela Brazil, all HB and with dustjackets, not sure if they're 1sts.

Never read the others but they seemed in a similar vein so thought I would give them a try.

[Kate Mary]

It is all good stuff, Manzanita. The Secret of Grange Farm I read as a child and it's a jolly good mystery story. I love We're in the Sixth too, it is one of the the St Kelvern's Bury School series, keep a look out for the others "Summer Term" and "St Kelvern's launches out". I haven't read The School on the Moor but I think Angela Brazil's book are great fun. You had a good haul in your Oxfam shop, it's been a long time since I found anything worth having in a charity shop, maybe they are better in your neck of the woods!

Kate.

Oh! and Secret Seven Mystery is one of the better SS titles I think. Happy reading.

[Anita Bensoussane]

You had a good haul in your Oxfam shop, it's been a long time since I found anything worth having in a charity shop, maybe they are better in your neck of the woods!

The charity shops near me never seem to have any really old books either. I can't help wondering if they keep back the best stuff to sell to dealers.

Your books sound good, Manzy. I read The Secret of Grange Farm as a child but can't remember much about it now except that it had an attractive dust-jacket showing a girl up a tree and that I enjoyed the story.

Anita

[Lucky Star]

The charity shops near me never seem to have any really old books either. I can't help wondering if they keep back the best stuff to sell to dealers.

Hmm I never thought of that Anita. Its the same around my town. We have six charity shops and I never find anything other than paperbacks in them. Very rarely do I get an old hardback in bad condition without dustwrapper but never anything worth having.

[Julie2owlsdene]

I've never found any hard backs in the charity shops I've looked in either. Maybe they all end up on Ebay

[Mollybob]

I think a lot of good books end up in the hands of dealers. However, I have even read (on another book forum) that some of the more ignorant charity shops put "old, tatty" books straight in the bin, as they don't look good on the shelves
If this is true, I don't like to think what they might have thrown away over the years.

I love it when I come across a charity shop with old books, but they are getting rarer and rarer. It sounds like you have a good Oxfam near you!

[Kitty]

However, I have even read (on another book forum) that some of the more ignorant charity shops put "old, tatty" books straight in the bin, as they don't look good on the shelves
If this is true, I don't like to think what they might have thrown away over the years.

This definitely happens. They're supposed to have a book expert to sort the wheat from the chaff, but I don't have much faith in this working. I find the small. independent charity shops have the right idea - shove it all out on the shelves and let the customer decide what is worth saving. I tend to find books at church sale type events, rather than charity shops these days.

[Moonraker]

I tend to find books at church sale type events, rather than charity shops these days.

Definitely. The local United Reformed (sounds more like a meat product than a house of God) Church has a regular book sale; I have picked up many bargains there. We also have an Oxfam Book Shop, again, I have picked up a couple of good buys there too. The rest of our charity shops are more like jumble sales.

[Rob Houghton]

Oxfam bookshops are the best charity shops to find old hardback books, although they do seem to be a little expensive sometimes. there are a load of Famous Fives without D/W's in our local Oxfam Bookshop and each one is about £6.00, which i think is a lot without a dust wrapper.

Lots of Biggles and Just William too, but equally as expensive! I think everyone is jumping on the bandwagon!

[Mollybob]

I managed to get a Just William book with dj for £0.99 in an Oxfam bookshop on Portobello Road once. I was surprised at the price, as they do generally seem to be overpriced.

[manzanita]

Yes, I certainly was lucky! I think the ladies in my Oxfam are pretty clued up but yes, they do mark collectible items up. I'm a My Little Pony collector and they had a common pony in bad condition with a £7.50 price tag on it. She's worth perhaps 50p in the condition she was in, so you do have to watch them!

It was nice to see the old dear behind the till looking all wistful at my purchases Somethings do go across the generations

Manzy

[Jen-Jen]

My brother is working once a week in an oxfam-like charity shop and he says that the people who work there full time, go through all the donated things and take what they want before the stuff even gets to the shelves. It's quite awful really - these people are stealing!!!

I told him to watch the shelves for Blyton's for me - but sadly he doesn't know what a Blyton is - the horror!!!! - he's never read a book in his life aside from the ones they make him read at school! I've tried to get him to read some, but to no avail. He can tell you about the famous five though because he's watched them on tv!! At least that's something!

[Kitty]

My brother is working once a week in an oxfam-like charity shop and he says that the people who work there full time, go through all the donated things and take what they want before the stuff even gets to the shelves. It's quite awful really - these people are stealing!!!

I expect they end up looking like Twit the baker's cousin, Miss Kay. 'All bit and pieces... Hung about with all the jumble nobody else buys - bead necklaces, a torn scarf, a belt with its embroidery spoilt, and that awful red comb in her hair!'

[bilgewaters]

We have 7 charity shops by us and you couldn't catch a cold in any of them.They NEVER have any hardbacks at all, one doesn't even stock kids books at all !the last E.B. hardback I found was "Secret Room" 5th ed no D.J. for 30p,at a carboot in North Wales. It took about a week to stop smiling.Wallasey is a desert book wise.Sadly.

[manzanita]

*grins* If this carries on I shall start getting very smug!

Went into the second hand bookshop and came out with Five Have A wonderful Time, Five Have a Mystery To Solve, Five Are Together Again. If I've read these, I don't remember doing so - which could be significant! Knight paperbacks so in keeping with what I think are the "right" versions.

He also had some of the centenary editions but I couldn't remember if they were unabridged but since they're anniversary editions, I would have thought they were.

I'm really after the Jean books by Doreen Swinburne now from reading the back cover of "Grange Farm". Have found the first one on eBay for a couple of quid so just might grab hold of it!

Manzy