Another Reading Project!

There are people who love a project, and then there's me and I think I must have some kind of special ability to start unparallelled amounts of projects. I previously posted about my Persephone Reading Project, and here I am with another project (and another book collection to add to...)

This one is difficult to describe and also difficult to compile a list for, because as far as I can see none exists, and the parameters of the challenge are very vague. Since childhood I've been really intrigued by Puffin paperbacks, especially the ones with the illustrated covers. My childhood editions of E. Nesbit, Arthur Ransome and The Chronicles of Narnia were all these editions, as well as other favourites like Charlotte Sometimes, Tom's Midnight Garden, The Growing Summer and The Silver Sword. I have always loved the way that they look so unassuming but yet contain such amazing worlds. All books do this, of course, but these ones, probably because they were often the ones through which I discovered how amazing books are, have really stuck with me.

For a while I've been thinking about starting a collection, but today I found myself in one of my favourite second hand bookshops (the Fleur de Lis Bookshop in Faversham, in case you're wondering) where I picked up two of these editions for 50p each - The House in Norham Gardens by Penelope Lively from 1986, and The Bookshop on the Quay by Patricia Lynch from 1964, and my vague wondering turned into a solid plan to collect and read as many of these lovely books as possible, and so discover all sorts of brilliant new things!

I've just been through my current children's book collection to see what I have already, and I've decided to put some parameters on it. I have many reissues of similar types of book from 1990 and beyond, but they don't have the same kind of atmosphere to them, so I've decided to contain my search to 1941, when puffin books began, to the end of 1989 or so, we'll see how we go.

this little lot, plus a couple of other Noel Streatfield's and another Moomin book which are hiding somewhere in the house, are my current collection. Generally, although I do terribly with reading challenges, children's books are a different matter and so I have high hopes for this. We shall see...