This post was supposed to be about Thomas Hardy's A Pair of Blue Eyes, but when I went to check it out from the library I discovered that they no longer owned a copy of this Hardy classic. (Although they did when I made my list last January.) Talk about frustrating. And while I really want to read this book, I'm not sure I want to buy it ... so I put in a request to have the library either purchase or borrow a copy. I was really hoping they'd borrow a copy through inter-library loan so I could get it quickly, but they decided to buy a copy instead. Good for the library; not so good for me. Now it'll take weeks for the newly ordered book to arrive and who knows how much longer for it to be processed. So, even though I'm at the top of the hold list, I doubt I'll get to actually read A Pair of Blue Eyes any time soon. Certainly not in time to write a post about it before the end of this year. It's disappointing--coming so close to reading all twelve of the classics on my list only to fall short at the very end--but I guess that's life. So, I'm waiting (impatiently!) for my last classic of 2014 to come in. Until then...
Happy Reading!
What? That is weird. You could get a really cheap used copy -- Thriftbooks has it for $3 (free shipping). But maybe you don't even want to spend that much.
ReplyDeleteDo I lose my bookish label if I admit I was not aware of Thriftbooks? I did check Powells and Amazon for a copy, but their copies were more than $3, AND I'm trying to not buy a lot of books right now, so I'm waiting for the library copy to come. With my luck, it'll come in the middle of January when I'm not supposed to be checking any books out of the library. I'm not sure what I'll do then... :)
DeleteI think you deserve a waiver in that case!
DeleteI might need one. :)
DeleteIt frustrates me when libraries get rid of copies of classic books. I know they have to purge in order to continue adding books, but certain titles deserve to be kept on the shelf, whether they have been checked out recently or not.
ReplyDeleteHave you read The Mayor of Casterbridge? It might make a good Hardy substitute and most libraries have copies because it is so often taught in high school and college.
I haven't read The Mayor of Casterbridge ... only seen a PBS adaptation of it ... but I think I'll hold out for this other Hardy. And I know what you mean about libraries getting rid of too many classics. If they'd stop buying 1,000 copies of the latest Danielle Steele and Sandra Brown they'd have more room on their shelves to keep more of the older books around.
DeleteThat must have been very frustrating when you were so close to finishing your list. I loved A Pair of Blue Eyes, though, so I think it will be worth waiting for!
ReplyDeleteIt's one I've wanted to read for awhile. I just get impatient when I can't read the book I want to read right when I want to read it. :)
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