A few weeks ago, the wife and I went to a used-books fair. We came back with a haul of some interesting finds from the “Old Books” tables. While there were too many others we had to leave behind, I’d like to draw your attention to those below, as I’ve bought them with the explicit intention of incorporating into my own future writing.

I love old books. The smell, the feel, the thrill of opening a book you know has been lovingly held a hundred years ago, and sharing that wonder with an unnamed person across the ages. Sometime they have dedications to the original owner or an ex-libris stamp, offering a titillating glimpse into past lives. While I read mostly on my Kindle these days for convenience, there’s nothing like opening a slightly musty tome of yellowing pages to discover the treasures within.

There’s something magical about books, the older the volume the more pronounced the magic is. From the way the hard-covers are embossed and bound, to the way the introduction and text are laid out. Not just hard-covers, by the way — we’ve seen a few “soft” covers, made of leather and feeling intimate to touch. There’s a sense of pride in the craftsmanship, both of the words and of the physical medium, that just isn’t there in modern mass-printing. They may on occasion be harder to read, true, but the effort and forced slowing down have their own rewards.

I used to have a magnificent collection, a library of books both new and old, with much sentimental value. It was lost in an incident involving a fiendish ex-wife, her psychotic mother, and a bonfire. There’s a special hell reserved for people like them. Happily, I moved on and have been working over the years on having a Library (capital-L) again.

Anyway, back to these additions, and how they might affect Felix and Jack — the characters you really come here for.

Starting from the left, I’ll skip Shakespeare as requiring no introduction. That particular printing dates to 1904. Next, Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is a wonderful addition, and I doubt there’s a reader of my blog who hasn’t heard about it. With all the modern research, by now it teaches us more about the mores of 18th century Britain than on Rome, but still good stuff.

Side Note: I occasionally review non-fiction on the subject. On my to-read list are Tom Holland’s modern translations of Suetonius and Herodotus, and probably a great many others of his. I came across him through the Rest Is History podcast, which I can’t recommend enough.

The really old book in the middle is “The Playground and the Parlour,” dating back to 1868. It’s a collection of indoor and outdoor games, from ‘I Spy’ to Cricket. I have no illusion about my expected success rate in inflicting them on my own children, but it’ll likely prove an invaluable resource in writing the ghosts of small Victorian children at play 👻

The Great Handbook of Thrillers is a 1935’s collection, with three sections: adventure and mystery, crime and detective, and the supernatural. From stories by Agatha Christie and Walter Scott to lesser known authors, covering the 200 years leading to the early 20th century. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of forgotten gems in there.

The last three are “Wrecks In Tasmanian Waters,” “Blue Gum Clippers and Whale Ships of Tasmania,” and “Sea Wolves and Bandits.” Tasmania has seen its fair share of pirating, whaling was a delightfully revolting but important industry, and of course plenty of ships wrecked themselves which didn’t make their sailors happy. All of the books date to 1946-1950 covering the 150 years or so of the British settlement. I want to do a haunted / whaling story with Jack, so I’m sure there will be plenty of resources in these.

All in all, happy finds and a good haul. I’m looking forward to delving into those pages, and sharing with you — through Jack and Felix — some new and enriched stories from the past.

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Curious about where all this leads to, or who the hell are Felix and Jack? Meet them in the Free Short Stories and Novels!