Call number
FIC COL
Collection
Publication
Bloomsbury USA (2004), Edition: Reprint, 224 pages
Description
"Paul Collins and his family abandoned the hills of San Francisco to move to the Welsh countryside - to move, in fact, to the little cobblestone village of Hay-on-Wye, the "Town of Books," boasting 1,500 inhabitants...and forty bookstores. Antiquarian bookstores, no less."."Hay's newest residents accordingly take up residence in a sixteenth-century apartment over a bookstore, meeting the village's large population of misfits and bibliomaniacs by working for world class eccentric Richard Booth - the self-declared King of Hay, owner of the local castle, and proprietor of the world's largest and most chaotic used book warren. A useless clerk, Paul delights in shifting dusty stacks of books around and sifting them for ancient gems like Robinson Crusoe in Words of One Syllable, Confession of an Author's Wife, and I Was Hitler's Maid. Meanwhile, as he struggles with the final touches on his own first book, Banvard's Folly, nearing publication in the United States, he also duly fulfills his duty as a British citizen by simultaneously applying to be a peer in the House of Lords and attempting to buy Sixpence House, a beautiful and neglected old tumbledown pub for sale in the town's center."."Sixpence House is an engaging meditation on what books mean to us, and how their meaning can resonate long after they have been abandoned by their public."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)
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Media reviews
Kirkus
Entertaining memoir....A treat for the bibliophile.
User reviews
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
This book is billed on the cover as "The Bookworm's answer to A Year in Provence." It's not nearly as good. It has moments of mirth, wedged between pages of boring 'where is this going?' blabber. The characters, including the author/narrator were not well developed, there was no plot, nor was there
It wasn't even really very much about books. It was set in a famous real life town in Wales, Hay-on-Wye, where there are 1500 permanent residents and 42 bookstores. But....trust me, after reading this book, I have no more picture of this town, its inhabitants, or its obsession with books than I know how to make homemade sausage.
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really an indication of what the book was supposed to be. If I had to describe it I'd say "notes from an adult adolescent looking for a way to enjoy life w/o working for a living" The first 8-10 of the 20 chapters were not too bad, at least I thought there was something that might be going to happen. But it just kept getting worse.It wasn't even really very much about books. It was set in a famous real life town in Wales, Hay-on-Wye, where there are 1500 permanent residents and 42 bookstores. But....trust me, after reading this book, I have no more picture of this town, its inhabitants, or its obsession with books than I know how to make homemade sausage.
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LibraryThing member SandDune
The story of the author's brief relocation from San Francisco to Hay-on-Wye, on the English-Welsh borders, and his discovery that living somewhere and holidaying somewhere can be a very different experience. This fell between a sub-genre that I like (non-British author looks at British society with
I do think that if an author is going to make the sorts of general points that were being made in this book about what Britain is like then he needs to be able to look at his own experience constructively, to see whether it is characteristic of the country as a whole or specific to the particular circumstances in which he finds himself. And this was the area which I found quite annoying. For, instance, there's quite a lot of discussion about the paucity of what Collins can find in British shops compared to what's available in the U.S. But as he has no car he does his shopping in the small convenience stores that most British people only use to pick up the odd pint of milk or some chocolate on the way home from work, and that are used for a main shop only by those who can't afford the transport to go elsewhere. It would be like me moving to a small town in one of the less propsperous and cosmopolitan states of the US, limiting myself to shops within walking distance and then complaining that US shops didn't have a good a selection of French cheese as you can get in the UK. And I definitely didn't get this comment:
The kitchen, like a bizarrely high proportion of British kitchens that I have seen, is distinctively of 1950's vintage
The one thing that all sections of British society seems to agree on on moving house is the necessity of ripping out the kitchen as soon as possible, and replacing it with something new. I haven't seen a 1950's kitchen since about 1980. In fact, I think a genuine 50's kitchen would be a real selling point at the moment as it would be fashionably retro.
So while I might try something else on a different topic by this author, this one didn't work for me.
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an outsider's perspective and offers some interesting insights on it) and one that I don't (author moves to another country because he thinks he'd like the lifestyle and then spends all his time wondering why it can't be more like home). Unfortunately, in this book I didn't find that the insights offered were very insightful, and that the prevalent theme was wondering fairly superficially why Britiain wasn't more like the US. And my problems weren't particularly because it's a US writer writing about the UK: there's a distinct sub-genre of books about British writers moving to France and discovering that it's all too ... well ... French, and I don't like those either.I do think that if an author is going to make the sorts of general points that were being made in this book about what Britain is like then he needs to be able to look at his own experience constructively, to see whether it is characteristic of the country as a whole or specific to the particular circumstances in which he finds himself. And this was the area which I found quite annoying. For, instance, there's quite a lot of discussion about the paucity of what Collins can find in British shops compared to what's available in the U.S. But as he has no car he does his shopping in the small convenience stores that most British people only use to pick up the odd pint of milk or some chocolate on the way home from work, and that are used for a main shop only by those who can't afford the transport to go elsewhere. It would be like me moving to a small town in one of the less propsperous and cosmopolitan states of the US, limiting myself to shops within walking distance and then complaining that US shops didn't have a good a selection of French cheese as you can get in the UK. And I definitely didn't get this comment:
The kitchen, like a bizarrely high proportion of British kitchens that I have seen, is distinctively of 1950's vintage
The one thing that all sections of British society seems to agree on on moving house is the necessity of ripping out the kitchen as soon as possible, and replacing it with something new. I haven't seen a 1950's kitchen since about 1980. In fact, I think a genuine 50's kitchen would be a real selling point at the moment as it would be fashionably retro.
So while I might try something else on a different topic by this author, this one didn't work for me.
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LibraryThing member BookWallah
“Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books” is a refreshing first person account of life in Welsh (UK) town – a book town – perhaps THE quintessential used book town. Wonderful anecdotes highlighting the contrasting American and British worldviews. Multitudinous quotes from very obscure
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books. Recommended for all who love browsing for used book treasures. Show Less
LibraryThing member libmhleigh
Paul and his wife and young son decide to leave their San Francisco home and move to a small town in the countryside of Wales called Hay. This town specializes in selling books- mostly really, really old books. The books are sold if they are valuable- if not, they are gradually priced lower and
Quote: "To look for a specific book in Hay is a hopeless task; you can only find the books that are looking for you."
I thought this was a fabulous book. It is half a book about Paul's life and half a book about books, so the author references this or that interesting work he has stumbled across in the town of books (not that I need to be adding anything else to my to-read list at this point, but that's okay). The author is very entertaining, particularly because he is working on getting a book published and on the shelves (Barnvard's Folly) while writing this book and while surrounded by this graveyard for books. I am also entertained by the fact that each chapter is given a persona which is reflected in the title (such as "Chapter Fifteen Beholds the LORD").
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lower, given away free with the purchase of any other book, or finally burned in huge bonfires that rain bits of other peoples' thoughts on the town's inhabitants. This book is not just about the town, it is also about the humor of the family's adjustment to life in Britain, the hopes of a new writer, and the struggles of a young couple to buy their own home. Quote: "To look for a specific book in Hay is a hopeless task; you can only find the books that are looking for you."
I thought this was a fabulous book. It is half a book about Paul's life and half a book about books, so the author references this or that interesting work he has stumbled across in the town of books (not that I need to be adding anything else to my to-read list at this point, but that's okay). The author is very entertaining, particularly because he is working on getting a book published and on the shelves (Barnvard's Folly) while writing this book and while surrounded by this graveyard for books. I am also entertained by the fact that each chapter is given a persona which is reflected in the title (such as "Chapter Fifteen Beholds the LORD").
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LibraryThing member karieh
Right now I seem to be in this wonderful cycle of delightful books about books. I started the year with “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore”, then I caught up with Thursday Next in Jasper Fforde’s wonderful books, then “Village Books” by Craig McLay (which might only be available as an
This wonderful book about Paul Collin’s visit/move to a small town in England, Hay-on-Wye (population: 1500. Number of bookstores = 40) was so enjoyable to read. Not only does he describe and delight in the written world, the joy of reading, the texture and smell and heft of books, he gives the reader a colorful and meaningful look at this small town – including some very insightful contrasts to life in the United States.
As much of the story deals with a search for a house in Hay-on-Wye, he spends a good deal of time talking about architecture. The look and feel of the buildings and homes in small town England.
“…most building materials today will not age gracefully and were never meant to. They are only meant to be new. Perhaps the ancient brick walls in London weren’t built with much more foresight for their aesthetic future than any structure today; yet by their very nature they succeeded perfectly as ruins.”
The humor in this book is wonderful as well. As obvious as it is that Collins adores the British and many aspects of their way of life, he does poke gentle fun at them…or maybe I should say, with them. “No situation is so dire that it cannot be interrupted for tea. It is particularly important to the British when it is cold and damp outdoors, which is often, or when it is cold and damp indoors, which is always.”
And, “The fellow roots around and walks us to an oaken side door of the castle, producing from his pocket a skeleton key so weighty that he has clearly stolen it from Vincent Price.”
Collins gives the same treatment to American life, though possibly with just a bit more edge. (This made it all the more funny, as far as I was concerned.) “The fresh milk is gone too. It just seems so strange to be denied this; to an American, finding empty shelves in a market, to be told that you can’t buy something, is a little like waking up and being told that gravity has been switched off until further notice.”
And yet, the most wonderful aspect of this book, is his underlying love and fascination with books. He writes them, reads them, collects them, organizes them…is surrounded by these wonderful chronicles of human dreams, ideas, history, ideas of the future.
And here, too, his gentle humor shines through. Surrounded as he has been for his life by books, he knows them well enough to poke a bit of fun at them as well. “If a book cover has raised lettering, metallic lettering, or raised metallic lettering, then it is telling the reader: Hello, I am an easy-to-read work on espionage, romance, a celebrity, and/or murder. To readers who do not care for such things, this lettering tells them: Hello, I am crap. Such books can use only glossy paper for the jacket; Serious Books can use glossy finish as well, but it is only Serious Books that are allowed to use matte finish.”
(And one delightful coincidence between the last two books about books that I’ve read? Both mention the English cider “Scrumpy” – though with wildly differing opinions of the drink.)
I loved “Sixpence House” and dreaded finishing it – I can only hope my luck in books continues.
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e-book but was fantastic)…and then “Sixpence House”.This wonderful book about Paul Collin’s visit/move to a small town in England, Hay-on-Wye (population: 1500. Number of bookstores = 40) was so enjoyable to read. Not only does he describe and delight in the written world, the joy of reading, the texture and smell and heft of books, he gives the reader a colorful and meaningful look at this small town – including some very insightful contrasts to life in the United States.
As much of the story deals with a search for a house in Hay-on-Wye, he spends a good deal of time talking about architecture. The look and feel of the buildings and homes in small town England.
“…most building materials today will not age gracefully and were never meant to. They are only meant to be new. Perhaps the ancient brick walls in London weren’t built with much more foresight for their aesthetic future than any structure today; yet by their very nature they succeeded perfectly as ruins.”
The humor in this book is wonderful as well. As obvious as it is that Collins adores the British and many aspects of their way of life, he does poke gentle fun at them…or maybe I should say, with them. “No situation is so dire that it cannot be interrupted for tea. It is particularly important to the British when it is cold and damp outdoors, which is often, or when it is cold and damp indoors, which is always.”
And, “The fellow roots around and walks us to an oaken side door of the castle, producing from his pocket a skeleton key so weighty that he has clearly stolen it from Vincent Price.”
Collins gives the same treatment to American life, though possibly with just a bit more edge. (This made it all the more funny, as far as I was concerned.) “The fresh milk is gone too. It just seems so strange to be denied this; to an American, finding empty shelves in a market, to be told that you can’t buy something, is a little like waking up and being told that gravity has been switched off until further notice.”
And yet, the most wonderful aspect of this book, is his underlying love and fascination with books. He writes them, reads them, collects them, organizes them…is surrounded by these wonderful chronicles of human dreams, ideas, history, ideas of the future.
And here, too, his gentle humor shines through. Surrounded as he has been for his life by books, he knows them well enough to poke a bit of fun at them as well. “If a book cover has raised lettering, metallic lettering, or raised metallic lettering, then it is telling the reader: Hello, I am an easy-to-read work on espionage, romance, a celebrity, and/or murder. To readers who do not care for such things, this lettering tells them: Hello, I am crap. Such books can use only glossy paper for the jacket; Serious Books can use glossy finish as well, but it is only Serious Books that are allowed to use matte finish.”
(And one delightful coincidence between the last two books about books that I’ve read? Both mention the English cider “Scrumpy” – though with wildly differing opinions of the drink.)
I loved “Sixpence House” and dreaded finishing it – I can only hope my luck in books continues.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Paul Collins moved his wife and baby from San Francisco to the small Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye. He wanted to give his son the chance to grow up as he had – in the country, free to roam the hills, exploring as any boy would love to do. But Hay-on-Wye is not just a small Welsh village. It is “The
Collins was born in America, of British parents. He had frequently traveled to England and Wales and was familiar with Hay-on-Wye. Still, living in a place is different from visiting it, and Collins soon finds himself immersed in the world of books in ways he hadn’t anticipated. His memoir includes thumbnail sketches of some of the eccentric inhabitants – including Richard Booth, the self-proclaimed King of Hay, who bought the ancient castle ruins and turned it into the least-organized bookstore imaginable. (Although Collins does cite one of my own local favorites – Renaissance Books in Milwaukee WI – as “the closest thing the United States has to Booth’s.”)
There are passages that would merit 4 stars, but overall the book gets 3 stars from me. I enjoyed it, and some references to obscure, long-forgotten books make me want to hunt those volumes down and read them, but I wasn’t particularly moved by this book.
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Town of Books” – with only 1500 residents and forty bookshops (almost all of them specializing in used / antiquarian books). This is a memoir of their family adventure.Collins was born in America, of British parents. He had frequently traveled to England and Wales and was familiar with Hay-on-Wye. Still, living in a place is different from visiting it, and Collins soon finds himself immersed in the world of books in ways he hadn’t anticipated. His memoir includes thumbnail sketches of some of the eccentric inhabitants – including Richard Booth, the self-proclaimed King of Hay, who bought the ancient castle ruins and turned it into the least-organized bookstore imaginable. (Although Collins does cite one of my own local favorites – Renaissance Books in Milwaukee WI – as “the closest thing the United States has to Booth’s.”)
There are passages that would merit 4 stars, but overall the book gets 3 stars from me. I enjoyed it, and some references to obscure, long-forgotten books make me want to hunt those volumes down and read them, but I wasn’t particularly moved by this book.
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LibraryThing member ValerieAndBooks
Can you imagine living in a town with forty bookstores? And this is a small town with about 1,500 inhabitants, not a huge metropolitan area. Hay-on-Wye in Wales is this town; and author Paul Collins lived there with his wife and toddler son for a couple years. This story is told in “Sixpence
Paul, his wife, Jennifer and son Morgan leave San Francisco to live in Hay-on-Wye. This book is also the story of Mr. Collins going through the editing and publication process of his first book (“Banvard’s Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn’t Change the World"). So, each chapter is titled as such: “Chapter One Begins Both the Book and the Journey”, “Chapter Twelve is Crap that Nobody Reads Anymore”, and so on.
I like Mr. Collins’ humor, and how he shares with us the quirky characters that he encounters in Hay-on-Wye. Mr. Collins has a penchant for discussing obscure books he finds in the bookshops there, and also shares arcane information with us. He even becomes an employee when the “King of Hay” (owner of the local castle which houses the town’s largest bookstore) insists that he needs Mr. Collins to set up an American section of his bookstore.
Mr. Collins also enjoys comparing the difference between Britain and America — some of them may be sweeping generalities, however, such as this one:
“…I am in the next room taking a bath. This is because there is no point in taking showers in Britain. In the United States, water pressure presses; in Britain water pressure sucks. Every shower in Britain has some sorth of Heath Robinson mechanism — he is their equivalent of Rube Goldberg, only Robinson had to work with metric wrenches and 220 current….”
I really like the chapter about unspoken rules in publishing and how books are judged by the dust jacket style that they end up being encased in. Mr. Collins state that publishers feel that chance buyers don’t really look at the jacket copy or blurbs; but that they mainly make their decisions based on the cover design.
“There is an implicit code that customers rely on. If a book cover has raised lettering, metallic lettering, or raised metallic lettering, then it is telling the reader: Hello. I am an easy-to-read work on espionage, romance, a celebrity, and/or murder.”
Then there are the colors chosen for covers. Mr. Collins point out that “a work of Serious Literature will have muted, tea-stained colors. Black is okay here too, but only if used to accentuate cool blues and grays and greens”.
And this:
“Finally, on Serious Books and crap alike there will be a head shot of The Author sitting still while looking pensive or smiling faintly into the indeterminate distance — the one pose that has no existence in the author’s daily life. The size of the photo will be in inverse proportion to the quality of the book. If this photo is rendered in color, it is not a Serious Book. If there is no author photo at all, then it is a Serious Book indeed — perhaps even a textbook”.
Okay, one more. This is about books that end up in remainders:
“Among the many banes to a secondhand dealer’s existence, four unloved genres reign supreme: textbooks, theology, celebrity autobiography, and military history.”
This is a book that is mostly about books, but not just that. If you enjoy thoughts on the reading life, quirky real-life characters, and a taste of what it’s like to be an ex-pat, you will enjoy “Sixpence House”. It does not seem to be currently in print, which is a shame, but still seems to be found online at reasonable prices.
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House”.Paul, his wife, Jennifer and son Morgan leave San Francisco to live in Hay-on-Wye. This book is also the story of Mr. Collins going through the editing and publication process of his first book (“Banvard’s Folly: Thirteen Tales of People Who Didn’t Change the World"). So, each chapter is titled as such: “Chapter One Begins Both the Book and the Journey”, “Chapter Twelve is Crap that Nobody Reads Anymore”, and so on.
I like Mr. Collins’ humor, and how he shares with us the quirky characters that he encounters in Hay-on-Wye. Mr. Collins has a penchant for discussing obscure books he finds in the bookshops there, and also shares arcane information with us. He even becomes an employee when the “King of Hay” (owner of the local castle which houses the town’s largest bookstore) insists that he needs Mr. Collins to set up an American section of his bookstore.
Mr. Collins also enjoys comparing the difference between Britain and America — some of them may be sweeping generalities, however, such as this one:
“…I am in the next room taking a bath. This is because there is no point in taking showers in Britain. In the United States, water pressure presses; in Britain water pressure sucks. Every shower in Britain has some sorth of Heath Robinson mechanism — he is their equivalent of Rube Goldberg, only Robinson had to work with metric wrenches and 220 current….”
I really like the chapter about unspoken rules in publishing and how books are judged by the dust jacket style that they end up being encased in. Mr. Collins state that publishers feel that chance buyers don’t really look at the jacket copy or blurbs; but that they mainly make their decisions based on the cover design.
“There is an implicit code that customers rely on. If a book cover has raised lettering, metallic lettering, or raised metallic lettering, then it is telling the reader: Hello. I am an easy-to-read work on espionage, romance, a celebrity, and/or murder.”
Then there are the colors chosen for covers. Mr. Collins point out that “a work of Serious Literature will have muted, tea-stained colors. Black is okay here too, but only if used to accentuate cool blues and grays and greens”.
And this:
“Finally, on Serious Books and crap alike there will be a head shot of The Author sitting still while looking pensive or smiling faintly into the indeterminate distance — the one pose that has no existence in the author’s daily life. The size of the photo will be in inverse proportion to the quality of the book. If this photo is rendered in color, it is not a Serious Book. If there is no author photo at all, then it is a Serious Book indeed — perhaps even a textbook”.
Okay, one more. This is about books that end up in remainders:
“Among the many banes to a secondhand dealer’s existence, four unloved genres reign supreme: textbooks, theology, celebrity autobiography, and military history.”
This is a book that is mostly about books, but not just that. If you enjoy thoughts on the reading life, quirky real-life characters, and a taste of what it’s like to be an ex-pat, you will enjoy “Sixpence House”. It does not seem to be currently in print, which is a shame, but still seems to be found online at reasonable prices.
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LibraryThing member coolmama
Just a delightful read.
Paul Collins, his wife Jennifer, and toddler Morgan decide to relocate to England to experience an idyllic English countryside life. But, where to go? As they both have mobile careers (he - writer, she - artist) -- they pick Hay-on-Wye on the Welsh/English border, a town of
The story is about their experience of being ex-pats (one I know well), attempting to buy a house with the bizzare English estate system, and live and work in town without driving a car.
Paul Collins, his wife Jennifer, and toddler Morgan decide to relocate to England to experience an idyllic English countryside life. But, where to go? As they both have mobile careers (he - writer, she - artist) -- they pick Hay-on-Wye on the Welsh/English border, a town of
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more bookstores than people.The story is about their experience of being ex-pats (one I know well), attempting to buy a house with the bizzare English estate system, and live and work in town without driving a car.
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LibraryThing member skraft001
I learned about the book town of Hay-on-Wye which was the most rewarding aspect of the book. The author appeared to want to impress his audience with his knowledge of American literature so digressed repeatedly to prove that point.
LibraryThing member mstrust
Loved this book! How a tiny Welsh town has become the second-hand book capitol of Great Britain. Collins actually moved his family from San Francisco to spend a year in Hay-on-Wye. At first it sounds crazy, then I began envying him. He describes the weird inhabitants , including a local King, and
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deals with housing problems-BUT the town has more than forty bookstores. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mooose
Quick read that I enjoyed, chuckled at some funny bits, wrote down titles/authors. Sometimes I get tired of hearing things like, "Why do you read so much?" or "You've read everything!" and it can be nice to read about people who would never even think of saying such nonsense.
LibraryThing member mrn945
Hay-on-Wye is my idea of the ideal vacation place! 1500 people, 40 bookstores, millions of books to discover!! Plus, they do a book festival every spring which I'm really hoping to get to next year.
Sixpence House is a memoir written by a British-American who decides, along with his wife and young
Sixpence House is even better however because of Mr. Collins writing. He's funny and observant, and the little bits of literary trivia make this one of the most interesting books I've read in quite awhile! I think I've added about thirty new books now to my wishlist thanks to this book, including Mr. Collins first novel about people who disappeared into the footnotes of history.
This is a great little travel memoir. I've read it a few times, and yet I still love to come back to it. I absolutely recommend you give this book a try!!
Sixpence House is a memoir written by a British-American who decides, along with his wife and young
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son, to move to Hay-on-Wye to pursue an ideal countryside life and work on his novels. Unfortunately, they realize that it's hard to break into the housing market there, and ultimately some dreams are best left as dreams. Although they end up moving back to the USA, it still gives me hope that my crazy dream of moving to the South of France and opening a bookstore might come true!Sixpence House is even better however because of Mr. Collins writing. He's funny and observant, and the little bits of literary trivia make this one of the most interesting books I've read in quite awhile! I think I've added about thirty new books now to my wishlist thanks to this book, including Mr. Collins first novel about people who disappeared into the footnotes of history.
This is a great little travel memoir. I've read it a few times, and yet I still love to come back to it. I absolutely recommend you give this book a try!!
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LibraryThing member lycomayflower
Collins recounts his stay with his wife and infant son in Hay-on-Wye, a town in the Welsh countryside with well over thirty used bookstores. He and his wife consider settling there, and the book tells of their search for a house and Collins's encounters with the local residents and book-lovers as
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well as relates anecdotes from Collins's wide-ranging reading (particularly from forgotten texts of the 19th century) and his experiences as a writer. Pleasant, sometimes informative, and a nice twist on the usual material one usually sees in a book-about-books. Show Less
LibraryThing member ricefun
Having read this book - I wish that I would have heard of it from a glowing book review and then chosen to buy it at list price from a groovy local bookseller. But, instead, I picked up a copy from the local library book sale - because of the cute cover and sub-title. I've fallen in love with Paul
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Collin's dry humor and observations spanning American and British idiosyncrasies. I hope to read more of Collins, either from across the pond or in the states Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Sixpence House by Paul Collins is a rambling reflection on his life, books and the time the family spent in the fascinating town of books, Hay-on-Wye. I was looking forward to this book hoping for a nice comfortable story of how he and his family set off from America and found their true home in
At times he rants against all things American and perhaps with a view to equal time, he then turns and rants against all things British. This pointing of fingers at these two countries to me felt very mean-spirited. He writes of his love of this particular town, but I never felt that love in these pages.
Overall I found Sixpence House to be a little too disjointed and cerebral for me. I would love to visit Hay-on-Wye as I am sure it is a delightful place, especially for book lovers but I certainly don’t feel like I was able to get a clear picture from this book.
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this small Welsh town. Unfortunately I had my expectations raised a little high as this was not the book I read. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate this book, there were some interesting tidbits, but they are scattered and you must wade through a lot of useless, trivial detail to get to them.At times he rants against all things American and perhaps with a view to equal time, he then turns and rants against all things British. This pointing of fingers at these two countries to me felt very mean-spirited. He writes of his love of this particular town, but I never felt that love in these pages.
Overall I found Sixpence House to be a little too disjointed and cerebral for me. I would love to visit Hay-on-Wye as I am sure it is a delightful place, especially for book lovers but I certainly don’t feel like I was able to get a clear picture from this book.
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LibraryThing member extrajoker
Collins's account of his time in Hay-on-Wye, a small Welsh town with a proliferation of booksellers, is consistently witty and engaging.
LibraryThing member Oreillynsf
Megareaders will love this sweet tale of a small family that moves to Wales and the small town of Hay, which is the world's capital of second hand books. Each week tractor trailers of titles came from estate sales and bookstore closings to this small village, where they were snapped up, priced, and
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resold by more than 40 stores. Naturally, most of these books, like most books in general, were flashes in the plan, and failed to get followings when ey were first made available. IBut for the author, that's what makes this town so great - the opportunity to read forgotten words and ideas and by doing so expand his appreciation for writers and literature. In addition to his travelogue synopsis of the famiy's adjustment to a new country, the author sprinkles in lots of meaningful and irreverent quotations for forgotten books, magazines, and journals he finds seemingly at random in the shops. It was a great days diversion for me, and I definitely recommend you give it a read. It may make you think twice about picking up a used book you've never heard of as well. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cariola
Maybe I was expecting too much, having heard high praise for Sixpence House from a number of fellow readers that I generally trust. I imagined a sort of booklover's 'Doc Martin,' a charming town of quirky characters. But I found the book to be more of a rambling, rather disjointed personal essay.
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I'm not a regular reader of memoirs, so perhaps I'm just not used to the style and tone. I didn't feel that I got a very good picture of Hay or the locals or why, exactly, Paul had decided to move his family there in the first place. Because the residents seem to care more about books than Americans? (A rather lame reason, even for a book lover.) Show Less
LibraryThing member horacewimsey
Another book about someone who loves books. This one's no better or worse than the rest. If you find a good cheap (or free!) copy, you might read it, but I wouldn't spend serious cash on it.
LibraryThing member cabookguy
This book is a pure delight. Yes, for all the reasons that many other reviewers have put forth, but also for this one: It shows that the true value of reading books is how it makes one observant, well-rounded and introspective. Paul peppers his story with asides and funny digressions that highlight
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what one might ordinarily miss while tramping through life and that serve to connect things more than any straight forward story could. His sense of humor is self-effacing as much as it is directed at anyone or any culture so even when biting, it is never less than beguiling. Like Abe Lincoln, he cannot but see the ludicrous in life and distills his observations into quips and anecdotes that enlighten and entertain. Show Less
LibraryThing member Zmrzlina
This book is a gem. For one thing, the author and his wife don't own a car...one (I forget which) doesn't even have a driver's license. That makes them heroes for me to start. And the author has such a lovely way of inserting obscure tidbits about odd books he has come across in his life (which is
And of course, there is Hay-on-Wye, one of the places I visited while in Wales in March 2003. I adore this little book village, and all of Wales actually. I wish I had Brit heritage (as the author does) that would allow me a Brit passport and a chance to try my luck at living in Wales....
And the author's prediction that second books are always a disappointment is completely wrong. I didn't read his first, but for sure it can't be better than this one. But, maybe I am seeing through Wales coloured spectacles.
Collins often makes the British, and British life, seem out-of-touch with reality, but not in a way that puts me off. It does some, though.
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why this is shelved in Lit Crit). He also manages to get in a bit about the publishing process as his first book is just about to go to press as he is writing this one. And of course, there is Hay-on-Wye, one of the places I visited while in Wales in March 2003. I adore this little book village, and all of Wales actually. I wish I had Brit heritage (as the author does) that would allow me a Brit passport and a chance to try my luck at living in Wales....
And the author's prediction that second books are always a disappointment is completely wrong. I didn't read his first, but for sure it can't be better than this one. But, maybe I am seeing through Wales coloured spectacles.
Collins often makes the British, and British life, seem out-of-touch with reality, but not in a way that puts me off. It does some, though.
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LibraryThing member Limelite
A family relocates from San Francisco to Hay on Wye, Wales in pursuit of their dream of owning a bookstore. But they are frustrated in that dream by being unable to find an affordable house to buy.
This memoir is filled with charm that makes me ache with nostalgia to revisit Wales and get to Hay on
Chock full of literary references, including – to my delight – a scene from Jerome K. Jerome’s "Three Men in a Boat," a book I just finished. I love when literary serendipity happens!
Plenty of cogent comments on the state of nonliterate-ness in the USA as well as architectural observations on ruins (“natural” and “artificed”), public buildings, and private houses. Frequent bejeweled sentences like this one: "The street smells like it is paved with kidney stones," satisfy. What an elegant and original way to describe the pissoire scent of a derelict neighborhood. Constant reference to rare, out of print, and quirky books with little snippets from same included. All around armchair read. I’m envious of Mr. Collins.
This memoir is filled with charm that makes me ache with nostalgia to revisit Wales and get to Hay on
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Wye that I missed on my last trip. A gentle read about an American writer (Paul Collins), his wife, Jennifer and their toddler son, Morgan.Chock full of literary references, including – to my delight – a scene from Jerome K. Jerome’s "Three Men in a Boat," a book I just finished. I love when literary serendipity happens!
Plenty of cogent comments on the state of nonliterate-ness in the USA as well as architectural observations on ruins (“natural” and “artificed”), public buildings, and private houses. Frequent bejeweled sentences like this one: "The street smells like it is paved with kidney stones," satisfy. What an elegant and original way to describe the pissoire scent of a derelict neighborhood. Constant reference to rare, out of print, and quirky books with little snippets from same included. All around armchair read. I’m envious of Mr. Collins.
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LibraryThing member vlcraven
A true story of bibliophile and writer, Collins moving his wife and toddler to the Welsh village, of Hay-on-Wye, pop. 1,500, 40 Antiquarian bookshops. A delight for Anglophiles, bibliophiles and writers. I laughed, I learned, I underlined whole pages.
LibraryThing member VeritysVeranda
As much as I am a bookaholic, I am glad I do not live in Hay-on-Wye as I believe that I would have no money left for food! It reminds me though of all the remainder books that libraries cannot sell but need to get rid of to make room for new books, or at least books that will actually be
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read/checked out. It is unfortunate that these books get passed along to the dumpster. Show Less
LibraryThing member Fliss88
It was the cover that made me pick up this book and take it home to read, and I'm so glad it did. I loved it, but then i think any book lover would! Sixpence House is a book about books, about the people who read them, sell them, write them, store them and most of all, love them. Set in the Mecca
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of the book selling world, Hay-On-Way, Paul Collins gives us a small glimpse of a town with 40 book stores, and of the people who live and work in them. Show Less
Pages
224
ISBN
1582344043 / 9781582344041