Monday, October 19, 2015

Fall Bookstore Pilgrimage

With the Corvair in front of Books on the Square

The hubby wanted to take a trip to Route 66 in "his" 1966 Corvair. I was agreeable--especially when I found out that my reward for being an agreeable wife was a trip to one of my favorite used bookstores: Books on the Square in Virden, IL. We took a long weekend for a lovely fall drive (about 500 miles round-trip) and Bev came back a very happy girl. I tend to have great success finding my beloved pocket-size editions in Virden and this trip was no different. I am now 39 books richer....


Here's the run-down of the haul:

The Gorgeous Ghoul Case  by Dwight V. Babcock (Avon #320--"specially revised & edited")
Charlie Chan Carries On by Earl Derr Biggers (Pocket Books #207; 3rd printing)
Death Against Venus by Dana Chambers (A Handi-Book Mystery; abridged)
The Camera Clue by George Harmon Coxe (Dell Mapback # 453)
Murder with Pictures by George Harmon Coxe (Dell Mapback #441)
No Time to Kill by George Harmon Coxe (Dell Mapback #182)
Another Woman's House by Mignon G. Eberhart (Bantam #849)
The Velvet Fleece by Lois Eby & John C. Fleming (Dell Mapback #272)
While the Wind Howled by Audrey Gaines (Dell Mapback #51)
The Case of the Silent Partner by Erle Stanley Gardner (Pocket Books #468; 2nd printing)
The Body Missed the Boat by Jack Iams (Dell Mapback #274)
Death Draws the Line by Jack Iams (Dell Mapback #457)
If I Die Before I Wake by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich) [Avon #104]
Phantom Lady by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich) [Pocket Books #253; 9th printing]
Puzzle in Petticoats by Samuel Melvin Kootz (Black Knight Mystery)
Death of a Doll by Hilda Lawrence (Pocket Books #540; 1st printing)
Death Takes a Bow by Frances & Richard Lockridge (Avon #131)
Murder Within Murder by F & R Lockridge (Dell Mapback #229)
House of Darkness by allan MacKinnon (Dell Mapback #237)
Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh (Pocket Books #351; 2nd printing)
Who's Calling by Helen McCloy (Dell Mapback #151)
Said With Flowers by Anne Nash (Bart House #19)
The Clue in the Clay by D. B. Olsen (Bart House #35)
The Day He Died by Lewis Padgett (Bantam #306)
Mayhem in B Flat by Elliot Paul (Bantam #850)
Halfway House by Ellery Queen (Pocket Books #259; 5th printing)
The Tragedy of X by Ellery Queen (as Barnaby Ross) [The Reader's League]
Murder at Arroways by Helen Reilly (Dell Mapback #576)
The Big Midget Murders by Craig Rice (Pocket Books #528; 2nd printing)
The Corpse Steps Out by Craig Rice (Pocket Books #476; 2nd printing)
The Thursday Turkey Murders by Craig Rice (Pocket Books #461; 2nd printing--poor copy, reading copy only)
The Fourth Postman by Craig Rice (Pocket Books #651; 2nd printing)
Yesterday's Murder by Craig Rice (Popular Library #253)
Too Busy to Die by H. W. Roden (Dell Mapback #185)
Alphabet Hicks by Rex Stout (Dell Mapback #146)
Cold Steal by Alice Tilton (Phoebe Atwood Taylor) [Dell Mapback #142)
The Greene Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine (Pocket Books #256; 2nd printing)
Dangerous Ground by Francis Sill Wickwood [Dell Mapback #248]

7 comments:

Peggy Ann said...

What a great week next!

Geoff said...

So many books and you look so HAPPY!!! :-D

Jacquie said...

Treasure hunting for books is the best fun ever! Congratulations on your latest haul. I am curious though if you buy these as collector copies or as reading copies. I have some very old ones, but the paper is beginning to crack and I'm afraid they're reaching a point of not being readable.

Gram said...

What a great haul...I didn't know you could find George Harmon Coxe anymore...and Helen McCloy and Helen Reilly and the lockridges...I'm drooling :-)

TracyK said...

Once again I am very envious. I never find any bookstores or book sales with the old vintage paperbacks you find. Some wonderful books there.

Dorothy N said...

Yikes! What a fabulous haul! Enjoy!

Bev Hankins said...

I"m sorry to make you all drool and envious...but when I find so many good ones I just have to tell everybody!

John, the owner of the shop, told me that he had just picked up a "trunk load" of these pocket-size editions at an estate sale in a nearby town and that he had thought of me when he brought them to the shop. Very fortunate timing for me.