A precious find

One of my most precious finds from bargain bookstores is this book by Collette, The Complete Claudine. The four novels in this collection are somewhat autobiographical. It's hard not to notice the autobiographical theme of these novels if you read the titles -- Claudine at School, Claudine in Paris, Claudine Married, and Claudine and Annie. I've only read the first novel, but I fell in love with Claudine already. She's French in every sense of the word and the novels are quite charming.

I bought The Complete Claudine at Booksale for a measly 20 pesos (about 50 US cents). Yes, the pages are almost brown, but it's a hardback, so it'll still last on my shelf. Also, it was published in 1976, which makes it almost my age.



On the other end of the spectrum, this is what I had for my afternoon snack today. That chocolate bar costs more than 10 times as much as the Collette book. Nevertheless, I found myself satisfied with both.