I have spent several hours trying to decide which books to keep and which to throw away. I am keeping the three books shown above. They are interesting to me because the two with the same name have different pictures; the two with the same picture are not the same title. Bursts my “heroine” bubble; I always thought I was reading about a real live character. How could she look different! Maybe these are both “Rose,” just on different days. Smiling at you, Friends. But a good author can make me believe I’m reading a bibliography of a real person. She loses the “fiction” and becomes a reality.
Mary Jane Holmes must have been that kind of writer. I took the following excerpt from googling online. Sorry I don’t remember on what web site.
Mary Jane Holmes (April 5, 1825 – October 6, 1907)[1] was an American author who published 39 novels, as well as short stories. Her first novel sold 250,000 copies; and she had total sales of 2 million books in her lifetime, second only to Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Portraying domestic life in small-town and rural settings, she examined gender relationships, as well as those of class and race. She also dealt with slavery and the American Civil War with a strong sense of moral justice. Since the late 20th century, she has received fresh recognition and re-appraisal, although her popular work was excluded from most 19th-century literary histories.
THE LEIGHTON HOMESTEAD, Mary J. Holmes, From Goodreads: We believe this pre-1923 historical work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed (material). Note from me: I don’t know why they say pre-1923. It definitely was pre-1907, since that is the year the author died.
ROSE MATHER a STORY OF WAR. The author would have been writing about the Civil War.
******My goal in selecting books is to keep books that are rare, that are in good condition, that made an impact on society, that are probably valued over twenty dollars and some just have sentimental value.
Sweet aroma 
I love old books, I regret getting rid of some because I moved around so much in my younger years.
I have lived here almost 25 years so most of my books have come into this home. I had a large library at my last house so I bought a lot of books at garage sales. Mostly boxes for five dollars, or something like that. Not old, rare, or interesting; just “shelf setters.” I probably sold them the same way when I moved here. Thanks for your comment. I like knowing who shares my interests.
I started giving away some books a few years ago, but not seem to be buying new ones at a faster pace!
“Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” Ecclesiastes 12:12
❤️& 🙏, c.a.
Of course, we have to know the context of that scripture. Solomon was bored with everything! Even books and libraries. He finally got around to acknowledging that only God satisfies. And that is the truth. Meanwhile, there are books calling to me. LOL
not = now (If you can, please edit the comment. thanx.)
Umm-huh. I read ideas. I did notice the word, but placed it into the right context. I don’t know a way to edit it, but I am sure it will not be misleading to any reader. If so, let them tell us; we can explain. Good night.