What obscure book have you recently discovered?

[Elspeth]

I found in our local library today a reprint A Story About Ducks which according to the cover was published only once in 1945 and quickly went out of print. It has been reprinted with copy-rite to the Estate of Townend.

In a way I am not surprised, as a historian I have been coming across digitised versions of books which had an original print run of say 100 copies. But those are court records or graveyard transcriptions.

This book is so sweet it is hard to think of it as a flop in its own time.
Made me wonder what other hidden gems are lying out there.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

It does look delightful.
I read lots of books like this, books I find in thrift stores etc. But it's not always easy to tell if a book was scarce, or just forgotten. I'll try to keep this thread in mind if I read or think of any others soon.

[LauraW]

Many years ago. Many, many years ago, that is, I read Half Magic by Edward Eager. I loved it. Then many years later, I was moving and was trying to cut down on my book collection. I looked at the publication date for Half Magic and thought to myself that it was so old, no modern kids would ever read it. But before I gave it away, I decided to read it again to be sure. I loved it. So I kept it. Then years later, I was moving again, and the whole scenario repeated. It has survived the test of time for me.

[Elspeth]

LauraW wrote: "Many years ago. Many, many years ago, that is, I read Half Magic by Edward Eager. I loved it. Then many years later, I was moving and was trying to cut down on my book collection. I looked at t..."

Thanks for that looks great. The be careful what you wish for theme reminds me of 5 children and It. I notice Half Magic is only £0.01 on Amazon ! Shall order a copy tonight.

[Andrea]

Religion Explained by Pascal Boyer... maybe it's not obscure, but it's not run of the mill either.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Half Magic has lots of printings - not so much obscure as forgotten - which is illustrative of the mystery of these older books... I find it fascinating to see which books we remember....