Post-Christmas, with all the new bookish arrivals, I got into that slightly overwhelmed frame of mind, with all the books all over the place and clamouring for attention. As I shared on social media, I decided to have a bit of a reshuffle – this always tends to clarify the mind as well as reminding me what books I actually own! But there was an added impetus to this, as a Twitter conversation with Retroculturati had reminded me that I had two boxes of Penguin collections somewhere in the house… A bit of digging about revealed them and this is what I found:
Penguin Great Loves box set
Penguin English Journeys box set
The observant amongst you will be aware of my Penguin Reading Projects: I’m gradually making my way through the Penguin Moderns box as well as the Penguin Modern Poets and the Penguin Great Ideas. These are not projects that will be completed any time soon… However, the temptation to add the English Journeys and Great Loves to my Penguins was immense and after a lot of shuffling I ended up with this:
Please excuse my rubbish photography skills – the unit is not lopsided, I’ve just made it look so….
I was pleased to discover that all the various Penguins for the projects fit nicely on this little bookcase and this will help me keep my mind clearer about them. To look more closely at each shelf:
The top shelf has my Penguin Modern box set, alongside the Little Black Classics. I’ve read a lot of the latter, but I by no means own them all. So that’s going to be a long-term project!
Next up the middle shelf. This houses the Penguin Modern Poets and the Penguin Great Ideas. Once again, I am far from owning all of these! Another project is actually going to be getting hold of all of the missing books!
Finally, on the bottom shelf, we have the Penguin English Journeys and the Penguin Great Loves. Both fit nicely on the shelf, with a bit of space, which is very convenient…. Because the conversation I had with Retroculturati started when they shared an image of some Penguin Great Journeys books, and I wasn’t sure if I’d come across that set. A quick online search revealed that they might be another series I would be interesting in reading. And as I had a Christmas gift card lurking – well, this happened:
Ahem. I’ve only got four of the titles so far (with one more on the way) but I think this will be an equally lovely set of books to make my way through. This one and the English Journeys are particularly appealing during these times when we’re not allowed to travel!!
So now the bottom shelf of the case looks like this:
And pleasingly, there’s plenty of space to fit in more Great Journeys. Having done all this, I suppose at some point I’ll have to update my Penguin Projects pages to reflect the new sets. Gulp – I hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew! 😀
Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings 
Jan 11, 2021 @ 07:39:08
Ooh lovely! And they are quite small, all of these, so you can tick them off pretty rapidly when you get to them. What lovely collections – enjoy!
Jan 11, 2021 @ 09:18:52
Well, that’s the theory. Slim reads in between chunkier books. It could work! ;D
Jan 11, 2021 @ 07:48:15
You are so bad for me – now I want all of these!
Seriously, I know exactly what you mean about having a sort out. It’s enjoyable to find out what you’ve actually got sometimes, as well as the pleasure of reorganising. My husband has just looked over my shoulder and said ‘if only you were that tidy’….
The English Journeys series looks especially interesting.
Jan 11, 2021 @ 09:18:16
Oh dear – sorry to be a bad influence! I do love shuffling the book stacks, though, and it was very satisfying getting this little lot onto a neat pile. Oddly enough, Mr. Kaggsy’s reaction was to wish I was that tidy round the rest of the house…. ;D
Jan 11, 2021 @ 08:20:02
I’ll look forward to your English Journeys explorations. I’ve a feeling this may be the second year of my adult life that I’ll not be setting foot outside the UK.
Jan 11, 2021 @ 09:17:01
I’m not a great traveller, but I certainly miss going *anywhere* at the moment. Even into town, or up to London, would do…. So vicarious travel will definitely be the thing this year!
Jan 11, 2021 @ 08:21:59
Lovely collections. Great Journeys look interesting.
Jan 11, 2021 @ 09:15:55
It’s an intriguing set, and I shall look forward to collecting it! ;D
Jan 11, 2021 @ 09:39:43
You temptress, you. You made me get the Penguin Modern box set. 😊
I was lucky to find it at a very reduced price. And I also got the English Journeys. That’s not a recent purchase though. Im always tempted to turn these into projects as well.
Jan 11, 2021 @ 09:43:41
Oh, wonderful! It’s such a lovely set that I’m sure you won’t regret it! I’m loving reading my way through it. These sets *do* lend themselves beautifully to being projects, don’t they?? 😀
Jan 11, 2021 @ 09:46:33
Yes, they do. I got another one called Penguin Great Food. I wanted to turn that into a project as well.
Jan 11, 2021 @ 10:27:37
Oh, don’t tempt me – I don’t have that one!!!
Jan 11, 2021 @ 11:46:48
Ooh these look so lovely! Enjoy x
Jan 11, 2021 @ 11:59:04
They do look pretty on the bookcase, don’t they? I’m hoping the fact that they’re so pretty and neat and unmissable will spur me on to read more of them!! 😀
Jan 11, 2021 @ 12:08:53
Imagine having a whole bookcase just for these Penguins special projects – wonderful!
Jan 11, 2021 @ 13:28:41
I felt they deserved it, and they were so scattered and hidden up they needed pulling out and shelving together. Very happy with the result!!
Jan 11, 2021 @ 12:37:02
I had to smile at how a project designed to organise books scattered everywhere has ended up with reasons to buy more books…..
Jan 11, 2021 @ 13:27:58
LOL! That’s my kind of result, and at least *one* of my bookshelves looks tidy!!
Jan 11, 2021 @ 12:59:47
Beautiful books, Kaggsy! Love the rainbow theme! I have a few books from the Penguin little black classics, but the others are all new to me. So many beautiful writers and books! Love all the pictures you shared! Happy reading!
Jan 11, 2021 @ 13:27:04
Thank you Vishy! It’s probably the tidiest bookcase in the house, and it *is* very colourful! Lots of wonderful titles to enjoy – and I thought you might like all the pictures! 😀
Jan 12, 2021 @ 13:40:50
Loved the pictures, Kaggsy 😊 Hope you enjoy getting into these beautiful reading projects! Happy reading!
Jan 12, 2021 @ 14:54:47
Super! I’m looking forward to getting going with these projects! 😀
Jan 11, 2021 @ 13:56:21
Ah, a woman who cannot resist a Penguin project…😄
Jan 11, 2021 @ 15:57:37
LOL! I certainly can’t! 🤣🤣🤣
Jan 11, 2021 @ 17:20:09
Wow, your book collecting is amazing. They look fabulous all shelved together and at least each look fairly slight.
Jan 11, 2021 @ 18:46:14
They do look lovely together! I’ve had the English Journeys and Great Loves for absolutely ages, and I’m glad I remembered them! 😀
Jan 11, 2021 @ 17:47:06
ooh I love all this and hadn’t heard of these series. I’m intrigued by the English journeys in particular. It’s great when tidying reveals all that we’re missing isn’t it?
Jan 11, 2021 @ 18:45:24
It is! And they all sound marvellous and as usual I want to read them all at once… ;D
Jan 11, 2021 @ 18:46:41
nice selection i have a few of the travel penguins from a few years ago
Jan 11, 2021 @ 19:05:29
It was a real treat to rediscover these box sets. And the Great Journeys I’ve got sound fab!
Jan 11, 2021 @ 20:35:16
I have both these boxed sets and they are lovely. I should read them too. I have several old boxed sets from Penguin. I just love them. 🐧❤
Jan 11, 2021 @ 20:54:25
They are! These Penguin sets are just great and you’re pretty much guaranteed a good read! 😀
Jan 13, 2021 @ 05:22:51
So let me get this right – You are making your way through the Penguin Moderns box as well as the Penguin Modern Poets and the Penguin Great Ideas. Now you have “re-discovered” your other two Penguin Sets of Great Love and English Journey. Then you bought some more books of English Journey that is a different series. On top of all this, you are reading your BAU books. Ok….I should not any longer feel bad about the number of books I am signing up to read! lol! All the best! I completely understand the temptations and I totally would have given in as well!
Jan 13, 2021 @ 08:59:36
Yeeeesss…. As I said, I may well have bitten off more than I can chew! But at least I will have fun *trying* to read all those books!!!! And they are all very pretty….
Jan 15, 2021 @ 11:56:48
I love box sets of books, so I had quite a vicarious thrill looking at yours. So many nice sets and — room to expand! Does life gete any better?
Jan 15, 2021 @ 11:57:56
Probably not – pretty bookshelfs, pretty box sets and books to hunt down – lovely! 😀
Jan 15, 2021 @ 23:07:35
Ohmigosh, those are just so lovely. I’m sitting with the person who’s saying “noooo, stop, cuz now I want them too”. Technical question: in that case, do you normally have things double-stacked, or do you keep everything just one layer so you can easily spot books and spines? (This is a trap: if you never double-stack, I’ll be doubly envious.)
Jan 16, 2021 @ 11:39:38
Hahahahaha! The majority of my books are double stacked or else I would never fit them in the house or on shelves and they would be lying about on the floor in heaps…. But for these ones, they looked so lovely, and I want to keep them in focus, so I created a space on that nice little shelf. In a perfect world with a big enough house and enough shelves, I would have my books stacked in single rows – now that would be heaven!!