Life must be filled up

Yesterday, yet another Cath Kidston catalogue appeared in the letter box. It’s been given a bookish theme, with photo shoots in Hay-on-Wye and some apparently randomly selected quotes scattered about. There are book recommendations (Cath Kidston’s favourite book is Frenchman’s Creek), advice on starting a book club and an interview with Jilly Cooper. “Now I’m 72, when it’s hot I type topless at the bottom of the garden.” Go Jilly!

There is rather a ‘books do furnish a room’ attitude in all this. Anyone who looks at books on eBay has seen some listed as ‘suitable for vintage décor’. What interests me is how little the content or even the condition of the book matter, so long as it’s old. On the many vintage or shabby chic sites on the net, you’ll soon notice that sellers there can get a higher price for a book (an old Ladybird, a children’s annual) than they would if they put it up on Amazon or eBay; it’s the age and the look which matter. Curious!