The smell of books

I may have said it here before but I’ve always loved books. As long as I can remember I loved to read. On family holidays mum was always commenting on how I had my nose stuck in a book and not much has changed. While I don’t buy that many books I am a regular at the local library. I really don’t know what I’d do if this wasn’t available. I’d probably be stealing just to keep my book habit going.

At primary school we’d get the Scholastic catalogue and I was allowed to buy one, or two if mum was feeling really generous, books. They took what seemed like forever to arrive but when they did I would inhale the new book smell and I couldn’t wait to get home to stick my nose in my new book.

We grew up in the country and didn’t have a local book store so whenever we visited the city we’d go into the book shop and I’d get my fix of the new book smell. Even now, going into a large bookshop brings back those memories of a little country kid walking around a book shop inhaling the new book smell and dreaming of what I could buy if I only had the money.

I’ve kept pretty much all of my childhood books. When I moved from the country to the city my books outweighed my clothes and I’ve been moving those damn books ever since. I kept them for my kids, or when I thought I’d decided not to have my own, for my niece and nephews. One day – it must have been before JJ was born – my oldest niece and nephew were here and I invited them into my bedroom where my childhood book collection is kept and we went through them. They took a few and I wonder if they ever read them. Neither of them are great readers – not like I was anyway so I was a bit disappointed that they weren’t thrilled to have this vast supply of books on offer. I never opened up my collection to them again.

Now that I have a son, he probably won’t like most of my books as they’re girly, so I’m not quite sure what to do with them. Perhaps I can sell some of them to a collector.

I’ve been meaning for some time to share some of the books I’ve got and a recent post about MiscMum’s vintage young adult books inspired me to dust off the suitcases under my bed to see what gems I’ve got.

I might make this a bit of an ongoing feature because I can’t do it justice in one hit.

‘Our Own Schoolgirls Annual’ was published in 1958 and was given to my aunt in 1965. I don’t remember her giving it to me but I’m sure I was very grateful.

‘Mandy for girls 1977’ doesn’t have any publishing information but because it has 1977 on the cover that must have been around when it was done.

Even if I hadn’t mentioned dates it pretty obvious that the book above was published in the disco era of the 1970s.

Other obvious differences, black and white versus colour. Mandy for Girls had activities contained within while the Girls Own Annual didn’t. The stories in Mandy for Girls were all cartoons too and Girls Own Annual had some cartoons but the rest were mainly straight text with a few images here and there.

I remember reading these books all the time which is probably why the spine is a bit worse for wear on Girls Own Annual.

For your info I didn’t just have Girls annuals. Dad had kept some of his boys annuals as well which I was just as interested in.  Unfortunately I don’t have them any more and have no memory of what happened to them.

Do you remember girls or boys own annuals? Did you have any?