New to re-read

I may have mentioned the Book Depository web site before (if not, may I recommend it).

These three books arrived in two packages - TheDouble Helix on Monday and the other two today. I've read them all before, and I'm pretty sure they were among the attic contents which were thrown out earlier this year to make way for insulation. I've finished The Double Helix already (it's short), and have to say that I was less impressed than when I originally read it in the '60s.

The Quest for Corvo will probably be the first of that I'll turn to. It's a brilliant book, which takes a highly originally approach to biography and was a very rewarding read before. Unlike the other two, The Quincunx is a novel. Not just any old novel, though. It was Charles Palliser's first book and made a big impression on me the first time round. I'm saving it until the end because it's the longest of the three (1200-odd pages), and it's something to get my teeth into.

One thing the two smaller books reinforces for me is the excellence of American paperback publishing. The Quincunx is printed in the UK and is nowhere as beautiful an object as the other two: with them, the quality of paper, print and binding is far superior, and makes turning the pages a real pleasure.