Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Old Book Treasures

I love old books. Their lovely cloth covers and brown-edged pages remind me of the time before television and smartphone addiction. This past weekend, Andrew and I found some second-hand book treasures that made my heart happy:

Old Books

Oh, so exciting! I've read all of the Lewis books before (of course), but have yet to read The Swiss Family Robinson or the Five Little Peppers And How They Grew. I also picked up David Copperfield, Jo's Boys, and The Wind in the Willows.

Also, I added to my small, but ever-growing cookbook collection:

Adding to the cookbook collection

The Best Bread Machine Cookbook Ever: I've heard Jessica Fisher highly recommend this book...so I picked it up, even though I don't have a bread machine (yet!).

The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook: I already have The Silver Palate Cookbook (it's the source of an out-of-this-world carrot cake and what I've dubbed THE Chocolate Cake!) and The New Basics Cookbook by the same authors. Love these cookbooks, though they are a bit more on the gourmet side.

Better Homes and Garden's New Cook Book: I found the 1965 edition and it has these fabulous old-fashioned pictures!

And, my golden find....a hardback edition of Julia Child's The Way to Cook! Oh. My. Goodness.

Oh Julia

{Swoon}

swoon...

It is complete with color photographs!

Color photographs

I'm so eager to try my hand at a Julia Child recipe. :)

Do you have any of these cookbooks? If so, please recommend your favorite recipe to me!

Do you love old books, too? My dream is to have a personal library filled with them one day...with cozy chairs and large, sunny windows. *sigh*




Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are Amazon Affiliate links.
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17 comments:

  1. I *love* old books. But only have a few that my grandfather gave me. And after the girls were born I put them away because I didn't want to risk them being damaged {as they were just sitting on a coffee table as decoration}. You will love Jo's Boys. I read it a really long time ago, but it was so good. It really goes into Jo's life and her marriage, etc. I remember being very fond of it.

    I don't have any old cookbooks, other than my Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook that is technically old, but reprinted. And your Julia Child find makes me a little jealous. ;) I've been wanting her French Cooking set for a while, but at nearly $100, I'm not sure it's going to happen any time soon.

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  2. Oh yes, I've read Jo's Boys before and LOVED IT. Maybe more than little women.

    Can you believe my dad found Julia's 1st French cookbook at Goodwill? I've been keeping my eyes out ever since (what ARE people thinking?).

    I paid $15 for the Julia Child cookbook pictured in my post.

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  3. Fantastic! The Lewis books are the stuff of great childhood adventures and imaginations...
    I never read Swiss Family Robinson but I did see the old movie... *Iknowthatsnotthesame*
    SUPER excited for you regarding the Julia Child book!! You must blog your results for your first recipe!! :)

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  4. You're making me want to go raid our Goodwill bookshelves and see if I can find any treasures! They are always so disorganized that it takes a LONG time and I usually get discouraged and give up... Speaking of cookbooks, I have a 1st Edition of the Betty Crocker cookbook, complete with black and white photographs, that my great-aunt gave me :) It's been well "loved" over the years but it's neat to have!

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  5. I love old books but don't own any that I love. I bought a few when we first got married to put out as decoration but since they didn't have real meaning, we have since given them away.

    I'm going to chime in here and say I wasn't a huge fan of Jo's Boys but perhaps I need to give it another go because it's been a while since I tried. I do however, love Little Women and have read it 4-5 times!

    I don't have any old cookbooks but great finds, cant' wait to see what you make of Julia's!

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  6. I have an old cookbook that belonged to my grandmother, from 1893. Never cooked a recipe from it, bot LOVE to have it! Loved Little women and didn't know there was a book called Jo's boys. :-0 Need a trip to the library now!!!
    Love Amelie (so that's what you're decluttering for; to make room for these books!)

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  7. Haha, Amelie, yes...I got rid of books just to gain more! Books are my weakness. :D

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  8. Wonderful!!! I saw a bunch at a yardsale Saturday for $1...beautiful old books. :)

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  9. A woman after my own heart. My husband has often told this joke to others, "Some men have to deal with wives and shoes. Me on the other hand have a wife who goes crazy for books." I too hope to have a little library some day. I often feel like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. :) I would have bought every single one of those books if I had seen them ... oh, and from the pulpit our husbands were told to give their wives an unlimited book budget, hehe! They say if your wife desires to read and learn for the glory of God, then by all means give her some money and let her go crazy! ;)

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  10. Leigh Ann, your pastor is a kindred spirit. :D God bless that man.

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  11. Your Narnia books are the same edition my parents read over and over to me when I was a kid. Brings back great memories to see them in your photo! My paperback copies don't have nearly the same character. Aren't the illustrations in those copies just gorgeous?!

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  12. Looking forward to some of those recipes you'll be trying. I have to try pretty hard to not buy books too. Bookworms unite! haha

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  13. What a great find. I love finding older books like that. I really like that Better Homes and Gardens cook book. It was one of the ones I received as a wedding gift years ago and it is still one of my favorite go to cook books.

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  14. You know, I don't have the Silver Palate yet. ;)

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  15. Oh, I love book treasures! What great finds! I'm looking for a my own copy of the Five Little Peppers, too. I loved that book as a child. Of course, C.S. Lewis is always a classic!

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  16. Hi there!

    Those books look wonderful. The photos in the cookbook remind me of a book my mother has, I wonder if it's the same one. I'll have to ask her.
    I loved reading through the recipes in her book. And it has such beautiful and helpful photos too.

    Thanks for sharing your treasures!
    Happy Easter!

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