My First (well-thumbed) Persephone Catalog

  

PERSEPHONE READING WEEK

My entrance into the world of Persephone has been well documented previously on My Porch so I won’t go into it all again. (Those of you who are new to Persephone might find it helpful.) But I thought I would share with you my first Persephone catalog. It has been much used since I received it.

You can see from the crease in the lower right corner that it has been subject to much use.
On an early pass I circled the ones that looked interesting to me. Then, after some time and further perusals I went back and assigned dots to each book that I had previously circled. You can see Bricks and Mortar got the maximum five dots. That  means it was part of my first Persephone order. (I have not read it yet.)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s book The Home-Maker only got three dots, which meant I was interested, but not enough to make it part of my first order. Well, Claire at Paperback Reader was my Persephone Secret Santa and sent it to me and I absolutely loved it. To date it has been my favorite Persephone and certainly deserving of more than three dots. Oddly enough other books that I rated more highly and ordered, didn’t live up to their dots.
All of the studying and dotting of the catalog led to my initial order. I have gotten a few additional ones since this first order, but I am holding off until we are moved into the new place before I order any more.

13 thoughts on “My First (well-thumbed) Persephone Catalog

  1. Elise May 4, 2010 / 7:21 am

    Gosh there is nothing more fun than going through a catalogue, finding books, placing an order, and then the moment of arrival and unpacking the box!! Amazing!!

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  2. verity May 4, 2010 / 7:24 am

    I love catalogues and deciding what to buy – I do like your system! I hope you odn't end up like me – buying the ones you want, and then deciding to collect all of them!

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  3. Paperback Reader May 4, 2010 / 7:27 am

    As you know, I am a great admirer of your system. I love perusing the catalogue (and Bi-annually); I also find it curious how some of the back-catalogue can completely pass you by and it is until you pick up on something on a review or in a comment during PRW, or until somebody gives it to you as a Persephone Secret Santa gift that you suddenly “see” it for the first time (that happened with me and Brook Evans and Every Eye, respectively).

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  4. Nadia May 4, 2010 / 7:57 am

    I love looking through catalogues and marking up what items I want to get. I like your system of dots – I tend to just put an X by the item I want. Oh and I loved your pic of all those persephones – lovely! I only have two persephones, so my stack pales in comparison :)

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  5. madbibliophile May 4, 2010 / 8:06 am

    I really want some Persephones!! Your stash just made my heart melt. They're so stylish and beautiful, inside and out.

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  6. skirmishofwit May 4, 2010 / 8:52 am

    Loved seeing all your circles and dots! I always get so excited by the latest Persephone catalogue. What a delicious pile of books you have. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on Mariana as it's the one I'm reading this week.

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  7. Danielle May 4, 2010 / 1:53 pm

    It's been too long since I have ordered anything–I think I have even been dropped from their mailing list (eek), so I am contemplating which three books to order now…Lovely photos–my catalogs are also well thumbed!

    Like

  8. Mlle Paradis May 4, 2010 / 2:09 pm

    you've been busy this week! your penguin and persephone posts are making me long for a lazy english vacation with just such a stack of books.

    someday some way.

    Like

  9. Nymeth May 4, 2010 / 5:21 pm

    I got my first catalogue last year and also circled the ones that interested me the most. Now I just need to get to the actually acquiring them part…

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  10. Darlene May 4, 2010 / 6:42 pm

    Sometimes when I'm too tired to read a book at bedtime, the catalogue is just the thing. And it never fails that some title or another intrigues me when it may not have before. A pen should always be close by for drawing stars, my symbol of choice.

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  11. Kathleen May 4, 2010 / 7:57 pm

    That stack of books in the picture is a work of art!

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  12. Thomas at My Porch May 4, 2010 / 11:22 pm

    Elise: It is a pretty fun process I must add. Especially since the Persephones arrive one by one.

    Verity: I am starting to drift towards your way of thinking. But I have a lot more I want to read before I give in entirely.

    Paperback Reader: I completely agree with you on the back-catalog. Sometimes I look back at it and wonder why some of the older titles suddenly seem brand new to me.

    Amanda: You will have lots of drool going on when Atticus arrives.

    Nadia: The problem is I had so many circles I had to move beyond single marks to prioritize. After all not all circles (or in your case Xs) are equal.

    Madbibliophile: I am glad the picture entices. Definitely worth a little splurge.

    Skirmish of Wit: I actually read Mariana back in late December. You can go into the archive and see what I thought–but you might want to wait until after you have finished it. It wasn't so much a review as a riff on art history.

    Danielle: Persephone Reading Week and all the reviews out there will give you a good basis for your selection. I say go for Dorothy Canfield Fisher's The Home-Maker.

    Mlle: I would love that kind of vacation as well. I think the trip to Sonoma at the end of the month will have to do.

    Nymeth: If you could only order one, which one would it be?

    Darlene: I totally agree. It offers just enough literary stimulation without requiring much effort.

    Kathleen: Thanks. They are very photogenic.

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