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I had a bad night last night. My mind wouldn’t settle, and nothing I tried got it to shut up. I suppose I should be glad it was just giving me details of stories, some bits for things in progress and lots of stuff for things I’ll never start. It could have been anxiety stuff. Then again, I think this is a manifestation of anxiety for me because the last time it happened I was pretty darned stressed out. It wouldn’t be such a huge deal except that I have an appointment downtown at 10:00 and so actually had a specific time when I had to be up.

I have three partial boxes of books that I don’t want to seal up quite yet because I might find more books to go in them. Unfortunately, I can’t consolidate them because of the sizes of the books and empty spaces involved. It’s more than a little frustrating. I suppose three out of twelve isn’t terrible.

Cordelia wants to get rid of a Boynton songbook and a Boynton CD. Unfortunately, they’re not a matched set, so I have to hold onto both until we find the other part of each set. One is Dog Train, and the other is Blue Moo. I can’t remember which is which at the moment, and they’re not handy to check. We had four Boynton songbook/CD sets, and I don’t think Cordelia’s interested in any of them any more. It’s just a question of finding all of them. I’m not sure I’m willing to part with Philadelphia Chickens, however, because there are songs on that that I love (and even the ones I don’t love, I mostly like enough to sing along with).

I’m throwing away one old Nancy Drew because, while it has all the pages, the front cover and spine cover are gone, and what’s left of the spine looks kind of like a toddler chewed on it. I know that no one did, but that’s what it looks like. I suppose that having all of the pages makes it readable, but it really looks completely terrible. I wanted to check the title before I pitched it, but the dratted thing has vanished and doesn’t seem to be in any of the waste baskets or in the recycling bin. Scott must have done something with it, so I guess I’ll never know which volume it was.

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Ah. This may explain my difficulty sleeping— My period started this morning (which also explains yesterday’s migraine). That won’t make staying awake today any easier, but it makes the whole thing a little less worrying. It’s not a usual thing with my period, but I’ve been warned that, due to the tamoxifen, some things around my period might change, and this could certainly be one such. I’m not enthusiastic about it, though, and if it is a side effect, I hope it’s not a lasting one.

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Since I’m discovering that people on my FL are interested in old children’s books (mainly mysteries), I thought I’d mention some of the odd ones that I’ve got in hand, just in case someone is interested.

Brains Benton
Wyatt, George. The Case of the Stolen Dummy. MCMLXI. Western Publishing Company, Inc. I’m pretty sure this was issued without a dust jacket. The cover is colorful but scuffed and dented. The front shows two boys running from a bearded man, probably in a graveyard. The end sheets are orange, and someone wrote '.25' on the inner one, possibly in pencil, possibly not.

Wyatt, George. The Case of the Roving Rolls. MCMLXI. Western Publishing Company, Inc. Probably also issued without dust jacket. Front cover shows about half a a careening car that has no driver. Next to it, there is a boy who seems to be jumping and about to come down (unfortunately for him) on the spokes of the front wheel of a fallen bicycle. There are two additional cyclists riding further back. Someone has written '5 [cent mark]' on the front cover, and there are the remains of a small round sticker covering part of the N and S in BRAINS. The cover is less scuffed than the above book but still somewhat so. There’s a crack in the binding just before the first page of the first chapter. Things have not detached completely, but netting is visible. End pages are olive green.

Dana Girls
Keene, Carolyn. The Clue of the Rusty Key. 1942 (maybe). Grosset & Dunlap. Illustrated by F. Warren. No dust jacket. The cover is a dusty pink, very dark, with black print and a circle on the front with two girls (shoulders up), one holding a magnifying glass and one holding a necklace. The cover is very faded, irregularly so. The pages are all yellowed and pretty certainly brittle.

Hardy Boys
I’ve got six of these. One is a withdrawn library book. One is oldish with a tan cover. The others are all the blue binding with pictures on the front and not in great shape. I will list the specifics if someone’s interested in them but not otherwise.

Judy Bolton
Sutton, Margaret. The Name on the Bracelet. 1940 (maybe). Grosset & Dunlap. Illustrated by Pelagie Doane. No dust jacket. My first name, in ink, is inside the front cover. There’s also some writing that I think is in pencil. The cover is green with maroon lettering and a little box showing a woman standing between a tree and a bush and looking at a partially open door. There’s a lot of wear around the edges of the cover. The end sheets are pink with a woman on a stairway; the picture is entirely white outlines, including a crosshatched shadow.

Sutton, Margaret. The Clue in the Patchwork Quilt. 1941 (maybe). Grosset & Dunlap. Illustrated by Pelagie Doane. No dust jacket. My first name, in red ink, is inside the front cover. The cover is green with maroon lettering and a little box showing a woman standing between a tree and a bush and looking at a partially open door. The end sheets are pink with a woman on a stairway; the picture is entirely white outlines, including a crosshatched shadow.

Kay Tracey
Judd, Frances K. The Murmuring Portrait. 1938. Cupples and Leon Company. Hardcover with yellow boards and red print on cover. No dust jacket. 'JAC' written on back cover, possibly in pencil, but I’m not sure it’s removable. A previous owner filled in the ’This is my Book' section inside the front cover, probably in pencil but also likely not removable given the age. There’s a small (less than 1 cm) scrape in the back cover near the bottom outside corner. The cover is well attached, and, as far as I can tell, all the pages are there and attached firmly.

Judd, Francis K. The Mystery of the Swaying Curtains. 1935. Cupples and Leon Company. Hardcover with very damaged yellow cover. The front is missing a little less than 1/4 of the cover. The back cover is damaged but much less so. No dust jacket. The ’This is my book’ section has been filled in in red ink (not by me). Up through p.22, the pages are just barely attached. The page block appears damaged, possibly chewed on? It’s all still readable, but… The end sheets are black and white with a geometric pattern. I’m inclined to throw this one out.

Nancy Drew
I’ve got 20-30 Nancy Drews of varying ages and conditions (no dust jackets on any). If somebody collects them, I’m willing to list them but, otherwise, not. If there’s a particular title you’re looking for, feel free to ask. I probably don’t have it, but who knows? Maybe we’ll be mutually lucky.

Tahara
Sherman, Harold M. Tahara Among African Tribes. 1933. Goldsmith Publishing Company. Hardcover. No dust jacket. From what I remember, this one is probably as appallingly racist as the date and title might indicate. I just didn’t notice when I was eight. The front cover and spine cover are peeling away from the page block but are still sort of attached. Only one page has separated completely, but many feel a little loose.

Sherman, Harold M. Tahara in the Land of the Yucatan. 1933. Goldsmith Publishing Company. Hardcover. No dust jacket. Partially peeled away book plate inside front cover. Also, 'McAlpine' written inside front cover. Binding seems sound, and all the pages seem to be attached.

I thought I had a third of these out of a possible four books, but I can’t find it, and well, I haven’t read them in at least thirty five years, so my memory is likely to be faulty.

Tom Swift Jr
Appleton, Victor II. Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space. 1955 (maybe). Grosset & Dunlap. Hardcover. Probably issued without a dust jacket and almost certainly more recent than the date inside the book. The front cover shows men in space suits and a space station and (I think) part of a space ship. The cover is a bit scuffed. The listing of the series on the back finishes with Tom Swift and the Mystery Comet. There are three names written inside the front cover. The end sheets are illustrated with a man looking out of a window and watching a space ship fly by. He’s surrounded by lab equipment and research materials. It’s all in shades of blue.

Uncle Wiggly
Assuming no one here wants this, I’m planning to ask Books By Chance if this might be an exception to their rules about older children’s books because the pricing makes it look like something collectible rather than likely to be purchased for children. I just copied my query to them and pasted the text here without editing.

Garis, Howard R. Uncle Wiggly and His Friends. MCMLV, MCMXXXIX. Platt & Munk, Publishers. This is a children’s book, but I think it might be collectible, so I thought I’d ask. This looks like the picture of the green cover edition (no dust jacket) that Sutton Books is currently selling on AbeBooks for $65 with $4.50 shipping, but the description doesn’t quite match up. Other copies (there are only six listed), not necessarily this edition, range in price from $11.97 with no added shipping to $120 with $3.50 shipping. My copy is worn at the edges and corners of the cover. The pages are all intact, and I couldn’t find any marks except a child’s handwritten inscription of her name and street address, upside down, inside the back cover. I think that’s in pencil, but the end sheets are green, and I’m not sure that attempting to erase the inscription wouldn’t do more damage.