Book Collecting Q&A | How To Build Your Home Library

Hello! I hope you're all having a good week. Today, my Mum and I are answering your questions on book collecting and building a home library. Please see links below for my recommendations on buying vintage books and some favourite publishers. Do let me know if you consider yourself a book collector and what type of books you collect. Or are you tempted to build a collection now?
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BOOK CLUB: I host the Comfort Book Club with my Mum, and every month we pick a comforting read and discuss it on the last Friday of the month (along with a baking session!). Everyone is very welcome to read along with us. The August comfort read is 'China Court' by Rumer Godden. See our other chosen reads for Autumn - Christmas here: / mirandamills
Join in on instagram, tagging @TheComfortBookClub #TheComfortBookClub
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GENERAL VINTAGE / SECONDHAND BOOKS:
I mainly shop from ABE Books (abebooks.co.uk - sells around the world), but also use eBay and Etsy
VINTAGE CHILDREN'S (AND SOME ADULT) BOOKS:
I personally recommend the below UK-based book dealers:
Caroline O'Sullivan (Encore Books): www.encorebooks.co.uk/
Sally Dore (Topsy-Turvy Books): www.topsyturvychildrensbooks.c...
Gill Bilski: gillbilski.com/catalog.php
Sarah Key at The Haunted Bookshop: www.sarahkeybooks.co.uk/
Children's Bookshop, Hay on Wye: childrensbookshop.com/
I also recommend checking the list of book dealers on the Girls Gone By website: www.ggbp.co.uk/dealers/
BUYING BOOKS FROM ABROAD:
I recommend Blackwells (affiliate link): blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/hom...
PUBLISHERS I LOVE AND COLLECT:
Girls Gone By Publishers: www.ggbp.co.uk/
Fidra Books (no longer publishing)
Persephone Books: persephonebooks.co.uk/
Greyladies Publishers: www.greyladiesbooks.co.uk/
Slightly Foxed: foxedquarterly.com/
Little Toller: www.littletoller.co.uk/
Dean Street Press: www.deanstreetpress.co.uk/
Virago Modern Classics (hardbacks and paperbacks)
Virago Editions of Angela Thirkell, Rumer Godden, Elizabeth Taylor etc
British Library: Crime Classics: shop.bl.uk/collections/crime-...
British Library: Women Writers: shop.bl.uk/collections/britis...
Pan Heritage Classics: www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/bo...
BEAUTIFUL EDITIONS OF CLASSIC BOOKS:
Penguin English Library (clothbound hardbacks and paperbacks)
Chiltern Publishing www.chilternpublishing.co.uk/
The Folio Society: www.foliosociety.com/uk
Wordsworth Collector's Editions: wordsworth-editions.com/colle...
Thomas Nelson 'Seasons' editions with laser-cut dust-jackets: www.thomasnelson.com/blog/201...
V&A Collector's Editions of Puffin Classics: shop.penguin.co.uk/collection...

[@lindahenderson1625]

With a cup of tea in hand, this video was an enjoyable visit with two absolutely charming bibliophiles ! Sadly my friends don’t read as I do. Finding your channel is a gift to myself. I look forward to more visits with two lovely ladies. Best wishes, from Huntsville, Alabama. USA 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@lisabailes1065]

I naturally collect books because I love them, but I am not a professional book collector. :) Books in my home are a natural overflow of my personality and interests. They are often moving around the house as well as in and out of the house as I borrow from friends and the library. Sometimes I do regret letting them go, but it is a matter of space. I have recently started reading Rosamunde Pilcher again and regret I had given away all the copies I once owned. They are surprisingly hard to find in libraries (as are some of your suggestions, Miranda), but ABE has been helpful and other US retailers like Better World Books. Overall, books are the best home décor, as well as the best items to share and discuss!

[@nancyfritz1827]

Thank you, Miranda and Donna. If my Mom was still alive she would have loved your You tube videos. We also "bonded by books", always recommending favorite authors to one another and shared many spirited conversations about what we were reading. I have a philosophy that the right book finds you at the right time, so my bookshelves contain books that speak to my heart in some way. Just looking at my books makes me smile.

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you for sharing, Nancy! So lovely to hear you had a similar bond with your mum. My bookcases make me smile too & it’s the best feeling!! Xxx

[@janefaceinthewind6260]

I love the idea of collecting different editions of a single book. Thank you for this beautiful video. ☕📖💝

[@MirandaMills]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you xxx

[@bettedubois9925]

I have a shelf of delight for my absolute favourite books. I love to look at them. All the little superstars on the same shelf.

[@teenabrown9786]

Hi Miranda & Donna, I had a lovely surprise seeing this vlog. I’m such a nosy person when it comes to books & peoples bookcases! An you have answered so many of my nosiness questions. I would absolutely die without a book in hand. I work in a public library & own many,many!🙀. I love the fact I have found your channel, & I have sooo many books you also own. Kindred spirits! Thank you for sharing your both a joy to watch. 🙏🇦🇺🦘🇦🇺🌻

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you very much! So glad you found me too xxx

[@karenhaire5451]

Glad to see the Miss Reads right behind you, front and center! I see you have a few ex-library editions, as I do.

[@MirandaMills]

Those aren’t Miss Read books (they’re in a different bookcase!). I think you might mean my Elfrida Vipont / Lorna Hill books? Xxx

[@karenhaire5451]

@@MirandaMills Oops. Spines so alike. You have some rearranging to do! Ha!!😊

[@sydneysomer9958]

The title alone, book collecting and building a home library DREW ME IN !!!!! I am slightly obsessed with collecting books . Great video!!!!!

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you so much! xxx

[@abigailhortencia5901]

Great and lovely video I am a book lover👌🏾❤️

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you! 📚😊

[@DianeC1975]

It's just so much fun to hear you talk about books and collecting. I found myself nodding like an idiot at all your advice. Totally agree with what you and your mom said. I've been collecting for decades. Haven't kept them all because of different seasons of reading. My tastes in books have changed. Also now that I'm older I'm more into reading copies then collecting copies. I shared my love of books with my mother, but she's been gone a long time now. So it's just me and my books. My husband reads a lot now, but can't really talk with him about them. So that's why I enjoy your channel so much. You make me happy. Thank you. 💕💐📚😘

[@MirandaMills]

That’s so lovely Diane, thank you. I love that comment about ‘different seasons of reading’ - so true! 😊📚❤️

[@carrie-leehurzeler7413]

I find if there’s a book I can see myself re-reading every couple years it’s worth buying. Also I’m not a fancy book person, I’m in it for the “meat” of the book and not really for it’s outsides, however I don’t particularly want a book that’s falling apart.

[@angelakneller2880]

I used to look after a friends children and they had many many books all over their home. Over doors, piled high etc. It was here I first noticed the Anne of green gables series. But they had more sci fi books. This fuelled my passion for books and reading; though I was also left in bookshops as a kid with the owner looking and reading books. I plan on sorting out my books once we’ve renovated and will have more bookcases to fill them up. X

[@MirandaMills]

How lovely to be surrounded by so many books! Good luck with your renovating and book sorting xx

[@tiffanycorsello1886]

I love (and collect) books about gardening and homes- I have the same BEAUTIFUL Beverley Nichols series right behind your head here! Hardly anyone reads him- I think he's a treasure.

[@juliaforsyth8332]

Grew up Pony mad so collected pony stories which I still have! I love Thomas Hardy and Charles Dicken, so collect those. And...and....

[@marty9011]

What an enjoyable episode. All my Georgette Heyers & Barbara Pyms are second -hand, found over the years. I only keep books that I know I'll re-read. Others I will read & pass on again. I have almost never bought new books due to lack of money but finding books you like over time, is a lot of fun. How wonderful to have a book from Dorothy Sayers' library ! You mentioning " The Nonesuch " by Heyer, prompted me to read it again. I actually regulalrly re-read my Heyer books. I also collect biographies . memoirs & travel books.

[@MirandaMills]

Heyer is always a good idea! xxx

[@kitchentablecrafting7111]

I love books. But as I have a very limited space I only keep the books I absolutely love and re-read. Oh to have the space for a library room!

[@pollys6192]

The first few minutes of your video took me back to my childhood. I was a sickly child with very important hearing problems that made me live between the hospital, my parents house in town and my grandparents farm in the country (the silence only disturbed by the little noises of the farm animals) so that is one of the reasons why I've always been surrounded by books. My mother taught me to read when I was 3 and my aunts who were teenagers at the time had all of these Enyd Blyton books which were increased by my mum who bought me and my sister all of the Mallory books and St Claire too, those were translated into Spanish thank God. I don't recall my childhood as a sad one, there were very painful moments but the pain would go away and the books were there, they never left me. Today I was able to find one of my favourite Maria Gripe's (don't know the title in English, sorry, but the protagonists' father worked with glass) this morning at a second hand and vintage book fair in town this morning and I thought of the both of you while I was at it. Thank the both of you for reminding me the importance of one's childhood books. Hugs.

[@MirandaMills]

Hugs to you Polly! Thank goodness you found joy and comfort in books when you were young ♥️

[@pamelapoet9]

How fun would it be to find a used book with 9 or 10-year-old Miranda's signature inside? Among my most cherished finds are a 1st edition (American) of Virginia Woolf's Death of the Moth essay collection and a limited edition, small press publication of Sylvia Plath's undergraduate thesis. I just love playing detective when it comes to finding used books. Thank you for all of the wonderful links and tips!

[@MirandaMills]

Oh you must have been so excited to find that Virginia Woolf, Pamela! What a treasure! xxx

[@bookprincess612]

What a WONDERFUL Q&A !! Loved and enjoyed all your thoughts around books - collecting, reading and keeping them. Thank you so much 📚📚📚

[@MirandaMills]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you very much 📚💫💕

[@crazypatterns93]

Love the video! I collect everything Jane Austen and have been for the past 15 years. The dream is for a 19th century edition of any of her books.

[@MirandaMills]

Oh, that would be wonderful!

[@heidikuijer3612]

Always love my visit with you Miranda and Donna. We had to downsize from an historic farmhouse to an apartment due to health problems. I had to downsize everything including more than half of my book collection. It was so hard to do and it broke my heart. Needs be...but I kept things like my Angela Thirkell, Miss Read, Elsa Beskow, Beatrix Potter, The Bronte Sisters and my antique and vintage books to name a few. As you can maybe guess, I too had many many books.

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you very much! I understand how hard it is to downsize & give up precious books! Glad you were able to keep some of your favourites xxx

[@marybeth8788]

I collect my favourite editions of Tolkien, Lucy Maud Montgomgery, Sigrid Undset, The Bronte Sisters, Jane Austen and C.S Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia 📚

[@catherinepatterson4720]

Thank you Miranda and Donna. This was an interesting vlog. Like my home, I like an eclectic mix of the old and new. I have a lot of interior decorating and design books (although this isn’t my career) and I’ve got a lot of Laura Ashley’s interior books (13 hardbacks in total). In the last couple of years, I’ve been meeting unmet childhood needs, one being reading the Children's classics I never read such as, Anne of Green Gables, Black Beauty, A Secret Garden, A Little Princess etc etc. I’ve now read each of these & loved them all. I didn’t realise kindness was a strong value the author was trying to portray in Black Beauty. I had only watched the movie which doesn’t really emphasise this value: the book is 100% better. I now have a shelf of these Children’s classics, which brings me such joy to look at. I’ve recently added, ‘The Little House on the Prairie’ box set. I bought these second hand on eBay. I watched this series growing up, so I look forward to reading the books. I have learned that even though I live in the modern world, I’m drawn to the old, where the content matches more of my morals and values (including Christian values). And I’m highly influenced by a book cover. I will pay more money, just for the cover. As always, I enjoy your vlogs 📚

[@sandyokey7728]

I have loved books always, I often think how nice it would be to have every book I’ve ever read, but I’d have to live in a library, a multi storied library. Right now I have collections of Christmas themed books, books about books, I have some of my paperbacks from favorite mystery authors like Sayers, Christie, Marsh, Dorothy Simpson and a few others. I would love to own all of their books someday. I have a shelf of classics that I love, mainly Austen and the Brontes. But so many shelves of just books to be read yet, whether or not I’ll keep them remains to be seen.

[@MirandaMills]

Your collection sounds lovely! I also keep all my Christmas books together; they make a lovely seasonal collection! xxx

[@april091965]

When I stumble upon a beautiful old book at a rummage or estate sale and it's priced well I can't help but buy it. It almost feels like a rescue mission! Even if I don't read them all I think they look lovely displayed around my home. My last discovery was a Sherlock Holmes Edition of Conan Doyle's Best Books Vol III. It's very old but undated and has a linen cover with a gold and back engraving of Sherlock's profile (with pipe, of course). It's so much fun to find and bring home these little artful treasures. I enjoyed your insights on collecting very much!

[@MirandaMills]

What a great find! I love the Sherlock Holmes books xxx

[@pennymiller225]

This was so much fun and very thought provoking. I can feel myself sitting up straight with pride in my new status as a 'book collector'! I collect books I love in as many editions as I want to (budget permitting) and never feel guilty donating a book that I have either enjoyed but will never read again, or have not enjoyed. Sometimes I read a book in paperback, and if I love it, I donate the paperback and buy a beautiful hardback edition to keep. I look after all my books too, and one tip for preserving the covers is not to put your finger in the top of the cover and pull it out of the bookcase at an angle. That squashes both ends of the cover very effectively! I remove my books by holding then in the middle of the cover and pulling them out straight, parallel to the shelf. Thanks for such a fun q&a! X

[@MirandaMills]

That's a great tip, Penny - thank you! xxx

[@RoseannePetersen]

I am so excited..... China Court arrived in the mail today! I can't wait to read it.

[@Veganmylocsarereal17]

Hello Miranda and Donna…I love this video Miranda!!!! I didn’t have books growing up but in elementary school as young as 3rd grade, I could be trusted to check out 5 books at one time 😂 which was actually a privilege .. and I knew then I would have lots of books, one day….I have a small library in my living room that I’m Super Proud of..but you’re so right, you have to collect books that you truly love not someone else’s favorite, because when I first started watching BookTube most of them spoke extremely positive about “fantasy” so guess what I went out bought a particular Author’s books all in the series, without testing them out, read the first book after I acquired the whole collection and Did NOT!!!!! Like them…. I should’ve gotten my money back but I didn’t… so I put them on the bottom shelf my least favorite shelf 🤷🏾‍♀️… but guess what this will sound like flattery but it’s not… when I first started watching your Channel you were doing a video about comfort reads… I bought several of those books and LOVED them ALL 💕so fast forward, now I’m Bragging… I have a very diverse library 🥰🥰🥰sorry about the long comment believe it or not I actually shortened it.😊😂

[@MirandaMills]

I always so enjoy your comments, Kiki! I know what you mean about the fantasy set!! I was worried about coming on youtube without reading fantasy 😂 Also, you made me laugh about reserving the bottom shelf for your least liked books - that would be quite a fun way to organise - from least liked at the bottom to the very best at the top!! Thank you for your kind words, and I'm so glad you've discovered some favourite reads through my channel xxx

[@heatherpickle]

I found your site yesterday and have been binge watching and have already added about 15 books to my wishlist and have bought two books. 😁 I am definitely a collector. My main collections include Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, Beatrix Potter, Charles Dickens, nature books about birds,wildflowers and butterflies and cookbooks about tea time. Well and a whole lot more! 😁 I really love your videos and your relationship with your mum! ❤ It reminds me of mine with my daughter.

[@MirandaMills]

So glad you're enjoying the videos, Heather!

[@ingertsvard6731]

Thank u!! Love the content of this film. We have books all over the house and Ivar is the only really sturdy book cases at IKEA that can all my books. I have used them for over 35 years and they came with us over the sea. They still going strong and I can buy more shelves at IKEA to this day! Just love them and I can fit so many books - too many if u ask my husband😂

[@leticia3541]

I don't write in my own books but I have been collecting the Puffin 'cloth' hardbacks classics for my daughter each Christmas and I do write a message from Mummy& Daddy as I always remember seeing a note in a second hand book I picked up; 'To Effie, Happy Christmas, Love Mother and Father' and I loved it! Another lovely video, love watching you and your Mum together you have such a great relationship x

[@MirandaMills]

I think it's lovely to write in books when they're gifts - I do that a lot! xxx

[@aekorfker]

What a fun topic! It’s very hard for me to think about book collecting as daunting, I just love it, for me it feels like an organic process, but I got a lot of new ideas out of this video📚! I’ve got one book case for all my favorite authors (Christi, Sayers, Lewis, Potok etc) and self development books, one for vintage children books and one for everything ‘making’ related ; from cooking to handlettering to notetaking to art. Lately I have been keeping a bit more track so I won’t settle for some deal that is good but the book just okay. I buy the majority second hand ☺️

[@MirandaMills]

Your book collection sounds lovely! I agree it should be a fun, organic process 📚💫💕

[@sue488]

What a great video! I tend not to collect books as I literally have no space. However, I do have hard copies of just a few books that are special to me and some cookery books. Otherwise I use my kindle which goes everywhere with me and I do like to collect and organise my books on there into genres and groups using the folders on there.

[@joysedgwick812]

I had no idea I could do that, I hate looking for my books on the Kindle, though I love it otherwise! Thank you I will look to see how to organise them better.

[@ellenannmarie]

Thank you for the tips.I enjoy your videos. I like to collect a variety of books, fiction and non-fiction. My favorites are the classics, vintage fairy tales from around the world and mysteries.

[@spinstercatlady]

Fantastic topic and discussion, Miranda & Donna! I adore curated, personal libraries. I do collect books, and my collection consists of a lot of neo Victorian, historical fiction of the Victorian gothic sub genre, regular Victorian classics, and illustrated children's books. I also collect editions of favorites like A Little Princess, Alice in Wonderland, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I'm not a professional collector, just an avid reader/bibliophile who turned a spare room in my home into my library. Have a wonderful week 🐦💜

[@janetpinhorn803]

Thank you Miranda and Donna, this was a lovely video. Every time I watch one of your videos I feel like I'm with friends. Yes, I do consider myself a book collector, not professionally, but it is what brings me happiness. I feel like I'm surrounding myself with new friends and stories, with each new purchase. My husband often teases me that the next step will be building onto the house to accommodate my collection. I'm very eclectic in my choices...fiction, memoir/biography, cooking, gardening, poetry. I have to admit, you've introduced me to new/older authors, who I am enjoying very much. Like you, I have many books on my shelves that I have yet to read...however, the hope is, I will find the time to enjoy each one at some point. So, thank you and please keep sharing your wonderful insights and knowledge on your passion for books.

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Lovely to hear about your collection too xxx

[@karenwhite2601]

I collect quite a lot of childrens fiction other than the Chalet School series: Dorita Fairlie Bruce Dimsie books, Gwendoline Courtney, other EBD titles, Mollie Chappell, L M Montgomery, Stephen Mogridge, Robina Beckles Wilson, C S Lewis, M Pardoe, Monica Edwards, Mabel Esther Allan & J K Rowling. Then adult fiction: Georgette Heyer, Mazo de la Roche (Jalna series), Pamela Belle, Gerald Durrell and James Herriot - though some of those last two have sadly been culled. I have many single titles by numerous different authors too and also have a huge collection of 'dog' books both fiction and non-fiction.

[@Tinahgirl83]

It’s so amazing to own a book that was previously owned by Dorothy L. Sayers. I actually quit breathing for a second when you said it because it just blew my mind. I also mostly listen to Agatha Christie. I’m looking just to own my absolute favorites of hers. I listen to Wodehouse and Patricia Wentworth exclusively on audio. Jonathan Cecil and Diana Bishop are excellent narrators. What are your favorite Wodehouse novels? I have three copies each of Pride and Prejudice, Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. I also love collecting British Library Crime Classics, Persephone books, Penguin English Library ones, and some of the Clothbound ones. I’m on the hunt for copies of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights that I really love, because I don’t own them anymore.

[@deannab9511]

I love to collect books, mostly mysteries, but lots of others as well. Thanks for sharing!

[@MirandaMills]

It’s such a fun hobby to have!

[@Bearcub599]

Thank you Miranda and Donna, this was very helpful!

[@Emmie4497]

Some great tips, ladies :) and lovely to see your beautiful bookshelves in the background! I especially liked your advice about curating a collection of books that have shaped you as a person. I've never really thought about it like that. My main thing is female poets - I love collecting poetry. I also like to pick up anything by Barbara Pym and I'm steadily building up my Virago modern classics and Persephone titles. You inspired me to get the Marlows series! I love them!

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you Emma! Fun to hear about your collection! Do you mean the Antonia Forest Marlow series? So glad you’re enjoying them!! Xxx

[@Emmie4497]

Yes, sorry I meant to say Antonia Forest's Marlows! I remember you mentioning Peter's Room once in a video and I was fascinated so I tried Autumn Term. I practically ate the rest! x

[@MirandaMills]

@@Emmie4497 oh fabulous!! She deserves to be so much better known; that’s such a terrific series! Xxx

[@Emmie4497]

@@MirandaMills It is! They are so well written for children's books :) x

[@julierogers1155]

@@Emmie4497 "I practically ate the rest!"! LOVE your turn of phrase, description here, and sentiment.

[@tiffanycorsello1886]

For PG Wodehouse, the Overlook Press Wodehouse Collection is gorgeous! Also: they are small little hardcovers- so even though there are lots- so don't need too much space to store the whole collection.

[@jackiewheaton4199]

I've collected books ever since I owned my own home in 1970s. I collect many different kinds. Probably I value my Fairy Tale and Nursery Rhyme books the most, especially Russian volumes as they have lovely illustrations. I prefer to read paperback as they're easier to hold and I don't mind if they get dirty and I do write in them. But most vintage books I buy are hardcover. I collect certain authors and books from certain geographic areas, like Canada, Ireland, Scandanavia...and I group them on the shelf according to place, fiction and nonfiction. I love antique bookcases and that's how I store my books. I love books and have a Little Free Library so I can share them (at least some of them:). Oh! Culling. I take my culls to an antique store called The Chicken Barn. They give me credit toward books I may want to buy from them. They don't take everything, but I donate the rest to charity shops or put them in other LFLs. Thanks for sharing with us. I look forward to your videos.

[@madeirateresa1624]

Great video Miranda and Donna, thank you! So many wonderful questions and inspiration. I completety understand that sometimes we have to make choices: last week, while shopping, I made the choice of buying 2 books instead of a dress😂📚 Apart from portuguese authors and Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, Rosamunde Pilcher… my library as mainly contemporary authors but you have inspired me to discover some english authors like Nancy Mitford, Barbara Pym, Katherine Mansfield, P.D. James… I have to thank you for that! 💕🌸

[@MirandaMills]

I have definitely made the choice of books over a new dress many times, Teresa 😂

[@GinaStanyerBooks]

This was wonderful! I love hearing you talk about your collections. I never really considered myself a collector, since I always bought books that had (what I considered to be) little resale value, but now I definitely consider myself as a collector! I love the hunt, I love finding things at thrift shops and used bookstores. I just found a wonderful 'haul' of vintage books at a store about an hour from me. They gave me a bulk discount at checkout because I bought so much LOL. It was glorious.

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you, Gina! So glad you enjoyed the video & it made you realise you are indeed a collector! What a fantastic haul that sounds!! The stuff book dreams are made of! Xxx

[@animalsonhawdon8130]

I did a big cleanse of my book collection in the first Covid lockdown. I realised I was holding onto books I didn’t even like. This has freed up space for more of the ones I love. I’ve started a list on my phone of books I ‘need’ to finish of my collection of certain authors. In my town there is a twice yearly book fair run my a mental health charity where over the year people donate their books and then in two ENORMOUS warehouses they sell them for super cheap (generally $1-5). All organised into themes. The book fair days are my favourite days of the year.

[@yumiari2469]

I completely agree with everything both you and your mum said about starting a collection. I might have been strayed a few times getting too many books that I’m not particularly familiar with. These days I borrow books from the library first and then buy more from the author if I fancy collecting books from the same author. Thank you both. Always a joy watching your videos ❤️

[@emmas7045]

What a fun video. It was so wonderful to watch, as it brought back lovely memories! I remember hunting through the book tables at jumble sales for a new (to me) Enid Blyton when little! I had a huge collection of her books and still have many of them. Although they are very fragile now. My favourite author is Emily Brontë, so luckily I only have one novel and some poems to look out for! I've collected a few editions and they're all very special to me. I also love Persephone books, and the Penguin English Library editions, and enjoy looking out for those in secondhand bookshops.

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you Emma! Oh that is very handy to love Emily Brontë- definitely saves the shelf space!! It’s so fun to hear what other people collect xxx

[@kira5612]

Thank you so much Miranda and Donna. I feel as though I am a newbie to reading for fun. As a child I read quite a bit (but after university reading became very stressful). I am a hopeful book collector, and I am hoping to bring books into my life as a sort of bibliotherapy/self care. I have recently joined your book club and am also going back and reading the previous books (especially because comfort books are what I am leaning more towards). At the moment I am feel drawn to read books from my childhood like The Wind in the Willows. I am very excited to start allowing myself to buy books because in the past up and up until now I always felt very embarrassed or greedy wanting books for myself (or people around me would judge me for wanting to spend my time reading or wanting my own library), but I am slowly working on reminding myself that there is nothing wrong with wanting to be surrounded by stories I love. Also I moved around quite a bit as a child and never really felt at home in most places I have been, and books have always been a sort of home for me or a found family of sorts. So I was very inspired by listening to your chats with your mum and about your love of books

[@xcherry.inkx1950]

Such a lovely video ❤️ I enjoyed every minute of it. I love that your mum use to write to Blackwell's! My thoughts exactly when you said it was like '84, Charing Cross Road' 📚 I am also a book collector ❤️ And as you said, the search is as exciting as the actual purchase ✨

[@MirandaMills]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it xxx

[@pilarmartin1933]

Hi Miranda! I love this videos with your mum, she is adorable. I have some old books but not a signed one, I would like to own one some day. I love to buy some conmemorative edition of some books that I already own.

[@Lora.Crawford]

Great ideas, Miranda and Donna! I tend to use the libraries in the closest city but if they don't have a vintage or classic book I want I buy second-hand from eBay or antique shops. So my bookshelves are mainly filled with vintage British books, my childhood books, and my children's books. My library is getting larger thanks to you lovely ladies! 📚🥰

[@MirandaMills]

Your bookshelves sound fabulous! 📚💕

[@karenwhite2601]

I also began with the Chalet School series. My two sisters and I always asked for the latest CS books for birthdays and Christmas until we temporarily 'grew out of them' at some point in our teens - my sisters before me as they were a lot older. Even so, when I came back to them later I found we had a lot of paperbacks and a lot missing altogether. I then made it my mission to get the full series in hardback, and finished collecting the series a few years ago. My copy of 'School at the Chalet' is signed and very precious! Edited: the most I've ever spent on a book is £95 - Prefects at the CS, the final one to complete my collection. At the time there was a copy on Abe for £350 so I felt I'd done quite well but I've never spent anything like that since!

[@orglancs]

I find it hard to imagine it being a problem starting to collect a home library. If you like reading and have a passionate interest in something (and it doesn't matter what the subject is, (as Miranda says) you soon find yourself buying books on the topic or in the case of fiction, books by your favourite author(s), and before you know where you are you've got a little library. A child of eight who owns 20 or 30 Ladybird books has got a library going. I've got a passionate interest in non-fiction and explaining the world to myself. When I was eight or nine I asked for an encyclopaedia for Christmas! I had clearly made up my mind that I would find the truth about the world in books. I'm still following that interest and I'm well over eighty! Sometimes I think my books get together while I'm asleep and start breeding. I've got about 2,000 volumes now and the oldest item was published in France in 1750. I possess one title that not even the British Library possesses a copy of. It's all just grown of its own accord. My interest has now developed into the study of libraries and important book collections and ensuring their survival over the centuries.

[@teresaparkins1255]

Hi Miranda and Donna, thank you for sharing lots of fun information about book collecting and building a library. How lucky we are to enjoy such a wonderful world of books and reading, Teresa 📚💙

[@MirandaMills]

Very true, Teresa! 📚 ♥️

[@mariat.3961]

I’ve bought a few books from Blackwells with your link and am very impressed by them Just have to keep control of myself though 🙃

[@missppresents1139]

Absolutely gorgeous as always! Thank you Miranda and Donna for making me smile 😊

[@indydriven2596]

Lovely video and so interesting to hear your book collecting thoughts. Very nice to see your mom too 😁

[@juliavasquez82]

Hello Donna and Miranda! Thank you for the great advice! Have a nice week!

[@marybeth8788]

you are both lovely! this is very interesting- i could listen to you both chat for a long time! :) how special that you and your mom share this love of books together!

[@lauragranda-mateu5810]

Such a good and inspiring video! thank you for sharing and including all the wonderful resources. I collect non-fiction History books, and women’s Middlebrow Fiction.

[@ArtBookshelfOdyssey]

Lovely video! I like collecting Charles Dickens books, and I like getting ones that have a pretty or beautiful cover/design, or old ones that might have writing or notes in the cover from previous owners. I love the little peek into someone's life back in the late 1800s early 1900s.

[@sandyokey7728]

One of Dorothy L Sayers’ s books! I love her Lord Peter Wimsey books and to own something she owned would be marvelous. Your answers and Donna’s are so interesting. This was such a great topic for a video, thank you both so much💕

[@MirandaMills]

Oh thank you! It is so special to have a book that DLS once owned - a real prize in my collection! xxx

[@morningdewacademic]

I collect classics, antique books, signed copies, and some of my favorite authors I want the actual books and not just an ebook. Everything else is ebook or audio.

[@colorswordsandlearning]

Love this ❤. Thank you !

[@CestKevvie]

Hi Mum! Great Q&A!

[@janebaily3758]

Have you ever done a shelf tour? I am new to the channel. Thank you!

[@MirandaMills]

Welcome! I have done a couple, I think. One when I was living in London, and the other just after I moved to Yorkshire. Will have to do another one at some point 😊

[@janebaily3758]

@@MirandaMills Thank you I will go back to find it.

[@garyrobinson8665]

I've started collecting in the past few years. I'm interested in cosy stories. I purchase one book by the author if I like it I'll buy more by the same author or similar. If I don't like the book I'll donate it. I will keep my favourite books and get rid of the books im not so interested in.

[@watchmanonthewall77744]

i wish i had enough time and money to take a holiday where i travel around the world to all the second hand bookstores aka treasure stores .

[@dianesellepedrosa1876]

I like Thriftbooks

[@silviamileto9401]

💚

[@ms.pandalove3312]

👋😊