Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

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Archived Chit Chat & All That > What Book(s) have you just Bought, Ordered or Taken Delivery Of?

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message 651: by Luke (new)

Luke (korrick) Tammy wrote: "I have pretty much written off buying books but that doesn't mean I don't like getting them as gifts now and then. I received some last weekend that my library doesn't have (and that makes me happy..."

I have both The Obscene Bird of Night and A Personal Matter, and I am hoping to get to them sooner rather than later.


message 652: by Tammy (new)

Tammy | 352 comments Aubrey...I want to read them so badly but I have 15 library books that I have to get to first. Books are like food. Everything looks so good that I just want to try them all. If you read them let me know how you like them!


message 653: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments Tammy - Wasp Factory is one of my faves, so enjoy - and Extinction is nearing the top of my TBR pile so we might be able to compare notes on that one...
Extinction by Thomas Bernhard


message 654: by Tammy (new)

Tammy | 352 comments Darren wrote: "Tammy - Wasp Factory is one of my faves, so enjoy - and Extinction is nearing the top of my TBR pile so we might be able to compare notes on that one...
Extinction by Thomas Bernhard"


I forgot to bring in Nabokov's Pale Fire for lunch time reading so I guess I'll just have to read The Wasp Factory instead!


message 655: by Michele (new)

Michele | 935 comments I recently used up a B&M gift certificate and ordered the following:
The Price of Salt, by Patricia Highsmith
The Line Between, by Peter S. Beagle
Mythmakers and Lawbreakers: Anarchist Writers on Fiction

And then I got a birthday package from my mom with these!!
Archive Everything: Mapping the Everyday
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts
Wonder

Good stuff...


message 656: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments few more recently
one where I've been biding my time waiting for an inexpensive copy:
Mihail Sebastian's For Two Thousand Years
For Two Thousand Years by Mihail Sebastian

and three where I was keeping my fingers crossed for the cover I wanted: Mother London, The Feast of the Goat and The Forever War
Mother London by Michael Moorcock The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa The Forever War by Joe Haldeman


message 657: by Pillsonista (last edited Feb 09, 2018 05:36AM) (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments Darren wrote: "few more recently
one where I've been biding my time waiting for an inexpensive copy:
Mihail Sebastian's For Two Thousand Years
For Two Thousand Years by Mihail Sebastian"


Good stuff. Really, really good stuff. I hope more of his work will be translated into English.

Also The Feast of the Goat is another great choice. I will read literally anything written by Mario Vargas Llosa, and The Feast of the Goat is one of my favorites of his.

Yesterday I actually found a used copy of Rafael Bernal's noir masterpiece The Mongolian Conspiracy at the monthly book sale put on by my local library.

This is one of those books that I've heard about for years but never actually expected to read, least of all because I didn't know that it had been translated into English and I just about bowled over a woman in crutches to get to it before anybody else did.


message 658: by Noah (new)

Noah (teatalksreadsbooks) | 2 comments Hello, probably my first comment in this group! I have just read 'Life of Pi', which was fascinating. Over the half term, I am planning to read Jane Austen's first book 'Sense and Sensibility.' Obviously, she didn't write many books, so I will be interested to see how the works she did write make her so popular to this day. :) Enjoy your day.


message 659: by Pink (new)

Pink | 5491 comments Hi Noah, thanks for taking the time to post :)

I enjoyed Life of Pi too. Have you seen the film? It chokes me up every time!

I hope you enjoy Sense and Sensibility. You're right that she didn't write many books, compared to how enduring she's become. I'm a fan of her work overall, but like some of her books more than others.


message 660: by Katy, Quarterly Long Reads (new)

Katy (kathy_h) | 9544 comments Mod
Hi Noah, I've wanted to read Life of Pi for a while, but for some reason I just haven't picked it up. Good to know that it is a good read.


Shirley (stampartiste) | 1008 comments I just received The War Bride's Scrapbook by Caroline Preston. It takes place during WWII. I absolutely LOVED her first book, The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, which took place during the Roaring 20's. Both of these novels by Preston are I guess what could be called graphic novels. She wrote both novels using memorabilia from the stories' eras. They're both so unique!

I also just ordered the Folger Shakespeare Library version of Macbeth for our February Old Schools Classics read.

The War Bride's Scrapbook by Caroline Preston Macbeth by William Shakespeare


message 663: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments another book I was keeping fingers crossed for cover, but this time didn't get the one I wanted :o(

but instead got a cover I'd never even seen before and which is the first edition paperback of the first English translation of Georges Perec's Life A User's Manual
Life, A User's Manual Fictions by Georges Perec
it is a large page-size and has wide margins, so the whole thing is like a giant brick/doorstop and really does look like some sort of text-book manual!


message 664: by [deleted user] (new)

I became stupid at my local bookshop and got these:

Vimy: The Battle and the Legend by Tim Cook
Vimy by Pierre Berton
The Halifax Explosion: Canada's Worst Disaster by Ken Cuthbertson
Le Collier de la Reine by Alexandre Dumas This Dumas book, I've been looking forever for, but when I saw that for once my little town's bookshop had the books (they are separated in three books). I bought them. I don't even know if I got the entire book, or if there are more.

I also got these:
The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien
King Arthur in Legend and History by Richard White
The Discovery of King Arthur by Geoffrey Ashe
1066: A New History of the Norman Conquest by Peter Rex
La Chanson de Roland by Pierre Jonin (the edition through Gaillimard)
La Belle et la Bête by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
The Old Regime and the French Revolution by Alexis de Tocqueville

The last book I bought, I am a little unsure of as it is an English translation of the work. If anyone knows about the Old Regime and the French Revolution, then please tell me if this copy is worth the read.

I have another book haul coming later this week. The library had alerted me yesterday that they have weeded out the French history shelves, and that I am allowed to go through the boxes to get what I'd like before they are sent to the monthly Friends of the Library book sale. I admit that I am a little excited, but at the same time, a little peeved that so many good books are being thrown out just because they are French history books.


message 665: by Michele (new)

Michele | 935 comments Tiffany wrote: "I became stupid at my local bookshop and got these..."

LOL! I get stupid at the bookstore all the time XD That's a great combination of titles.


message 666: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments bagged a copy of La Regenta on eBay recently (Leopoldo Alas ''Clarín'''s classic of 19th century Spanish literature) and it arrived yesterday - in absolutely superb condition! :oD
and with alternative cover to the Goodreads listing for the ISBN
this is mine:
La Regenta
supposedly a cross between Madame Bovary and Barchester Chronicles, and deemed an "irreligious abomination" in Spain for many years after its initial publication - so quite looking forward to it!


message 667: by Renee (new)

Renee | 727 comments Darren wrote: "bagged a copy of La Regenta on eBay recently (Leopoldo Alas ''Clarín'''s classic of 19th century Spanish literature) and it arrived yesterday - in absolutely superb c..."

Sounds interesting, and I like the cover for your book much better than the GR default! Where do you find these?


message 668: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments Renee - do you mean
where do I find the actual books (careful monitoring of eBay and Amazon!) or
where do find the awareness of the title in the first place? (that varies, usually some sort of list (hooray for lists!) and sometimes just a GR suggestion)
in this case, the "Guardian 1000" list (which is the main one I'm working from) did NOT have La Regenta on, but when the list was originally published in 2008 they obviously had people writing in complaining that their favourite books hadn't been included, so a supplementary "Ones That Got Away" list appeared... and La Regenta was in that extra list!


message 669: by Katy, Quarterly Long Reads (new)

Katy (kathy_h) | 9544 comments Mod
I've seen the Guardian List, but am unfamiliar with the Ones That Got Away list. Do you have a link?


message 670: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments there are links to the seven "Ones That Got Away" lists near the top of the main page here:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/ser...


message 671: by Renee (new)

Renee | 727 comments Darren wrote: "there are links to the seven "Ones That Got Away" lists near the top of the main page here:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/ser..."


Thanks for the link to that list Darren.


message 672: by Luke (new)

Luke (korrick) I'm hoping to one day read enough books to be able to compile a 1000 list composed entirely of my five star books. Maybe a few fours if my list is found lacking on my death bed.


message 673: by Katy, Quarterly Long Reads (new)

Katy (kathy_h) | 9544 comments Mod
Thanks Darren


message 674: by Pillsonista (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments Did pretty well this week...

Finally got my hands on Carlo Levi's Christ Stopped at Eboli and I was able to pick up Mr. Mani by A.B. Yehoshua, The Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer, and A Fifth of November by Paul West at the same time.

And a couple of days before that I'd found Mary Morris's The Bus of Dreams: Stories , The Writing Class: A Novel by Jincy Willett, Dirt: A Novel by David Vann, and Ron Hansen's Mariette in Ecstasy at the same bookstore. And Jorge Volpi's Season of Ash .

So yeah. Really well, actually.


message 675: by Darren (last edited Feb 16, 2018 03:15PM) (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments O
M
G
just unwrapped:
Phantom Lady
1944 edition of 1942 noir crime thriller Phantom Lady by Cornell Woolrich (writing as William Irish)
so happy :oD


message 676: by Michele (last edited Feb 16, 2018 03:52PM) (new)

Michele | 935 comments Now that is cool :) "Cherchez la femme" lol


message 677: by Michele (new)

Michele | 935 comments Darren wrote: "supposedly a cross between Madame Bovary and Barchester Chronicles, and deemed an "irreligious abomination" in Spain for many years after its initial publication "

You had me at "religious abomination" XD


message 678: by Patrick (new)

Patrick Darren wrote: "O
M
G
just unwrapped:

1944 edition of 1942 noir crime thriller Phantom Lady by Cornell Woolrich (writing as William Irish)
so happy :oD"


Ahhh. Those old Pocket Books can be surprisingly sturdy.


message 679: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments 'nother one yesterday, with cover I was hoping for:




Shirley (stampartiste) | 1008 comments I just bought the Kindle version of The Brontës: Wild Genius on the Moors: The Story of a Literary Family by Juliet Barker. It was offered as a Goodreads deal today for $1.99. At 1,184 pages, this book is deemed the definitive biography of all the Brontes (father and children). It sounded really interesting!


message 682: by Pillsonista (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments Ordered it today:

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin

I've waited years to get my hands on an unabridged English translation of this book.

And even though I'm currently (technically) reading something like a dozen books at the moment, I'm going to add one more to the stack, because I won't be able to wait once it arrives.


message 683: by Pillsonista (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments Made one of my best purchases of all time today: I was able to pick up Graham Robb's lavishly praised Victor Hugo: A Biography , which won the 1997 Whitbread Award, for 75¢ today. It's almost a shock to see a trade paperback in such good condition on sale for so cheap, but that's why I'm forever prowling my local library's permanent 'for sale' section.

In addition, I was also able to pick up The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols and Edith Wharton's biography A Backward Glance for the same price. And to cap it off, I also found John Ashbery's April Galleons: Poems .

So today was another very good day.


message 684: by Rosemarie (new)

Rosemarie | 1567 comments Not only did you get great books, you also supported the library.


message 685: by Sarah (new)

Sarah | 468 comments I ordered The Alienist and am waiting (not particularly patiently) for it to come.


message 686: by Michele (new)

Michele | 935 comments Rosemarie wrote: "Not only did you get great books, you also supported the library."

Yay libraries!! I recently got (and started) Mythmakers and Lawbreakers: Anarchist Writers on Fiction.


message 687: by Erin (new)

Erin (erinm31) | 565 comments Recently bought from Amazon:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

I do wish that I could find some stylish editions of books by Daphne du Maurier!


message 688: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments Erin wrote: "Recently bought from Amazon:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

I do wish that I could find some stylish editions of books by Daphne du Maurier!"


those are groovy covers Erin!
I quite like my 1990's compact hardback for Rebecca:
Rebecca (Compact Books) by Daphne du Maurier


message 689: by Michele (new)

Michele | 935 comments Erin wrote: "I do wish that I could find some stylish editions of books by Daphne du Maurier!"

The Folio Society did a pretty cool edition of Rebecca.

Easton Press also did a nice leather-bound version.


message 690: by Pillsonista (last edited Feb 22, 2018 06:22PM) (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments Darren wrote: "I do wish that I could find some stylish editions of books by Daphne du Maurie..."

I think NYRB Classics produce some of the best looking trade paperbacks around. They are by no means cheap, but they're worth every penny if you're willing to pay the money.

They also just happen to publish a collection of her short stories, selected and introduced by the excellent Patrick McGrath called Don't Look Now: Stories .
Don't Look Now Selected Stories by Daphne du Maurier


message 691: by Linda (last edited Feb 23, 2018 02:59AM) (new)

Linda Dobinson (baspoet) | 25 comments Erin wrote: "Recently bought from Amazon:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

I do wish that I could find some stylish editions of books by Daphne du Maurier!"


I love Daphne du Maurier but I have never seen her mentioned until now. I was thinking about re-reading Frenchman's Creek which is my fave by her.


message 692: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen | 5478 comments Michele wrote: "Rosemarie wrote: "Not only did you get great books, you also supported the library."

Yay libraries!! I recently got (and started) [book:Mythmakers and Lawbreakers: Anarchist Writers on Fiction|657..."


Thanks for mentioning this, Michele--I gotta read this one!


message 693: by Linda (new)

Linda Dobinson (baspoet) | 25 comments Miss Buncle Married by D.E. Stevenson and The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson finally arrived.


message 694: by Liz (last edited Feb 26, 2018 01:33AM) (new)

Liz Treacher | 13 comments I was given A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson for my birthday. The cover on my copy is a wonderful azur blue. I haven't read Suzanne Joinson. Isn't it great when someone chooses a new author for you? Looking forward to it.


message 695: by Erin (new)

Erin (erinm31) | 565 comments Today I received this lovely book after reading several recommendations of this particular translation:
The Odyssey of Homer by Homer

In other news, I really need to get an additional bookshelf... 😅


message 696: by Linda (last edited Mar 01, 2018 03:04AM) (new)

Linda Dobinson (baspoet) | 25 comments Taken delivery of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson


message 697: by Michele (new)

Michele | 935 comments Erin wrote: "In other news, I really need to get an additional bookshelf... "

Time to buy, order, or take delivery of some storage space?


message 698: by Pillsonista (new)

Pillsonista | 362 comments Finally, finally it arrived in the mail today: Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin

So that's yet another added to the currently reading shelf...


message 699: by [deleted user] (new)

I finally got my hands on the final two books in the Templar Trilogy by Canadian writer, Jack Whyte.

I got Standard of Honour and Order in Chaos. I am the sort of person that if I feel like I'll enjoy the series (even if I don't) that I need the entire series before I tackle the first book. That way if I like the first book or not, I can get everything out of the way and binge read, especially since I know I'll grow attached to one or more of the characters, and I want to see how everything ends for them.

It's a nasty excuse for getting books, but there you go. Those books are going to be my next reads after I am done with Macbeth.

I also got myself a new edition of The Woman in Black by Susan Hill and the last three books in Maurice Druon's 'The Accursed Kings Series'. I mean, I am a huge fan of Druon, and his seven book series focused on the last Capetian kings. Which is kind of funny as it sort of ties into the Templar Trilogy.

I also got myself a new copy of The White Company by Arthur Conan Doyle. I don't have Nigel, and I wonder if I should because I don't remember The White Company, and of course I worry about missing things if it is part of a series.


message 700: by Darren (new)

Darren (dazburns) | 2164 comments Pillsonista wrote: "Finally, finally it arrived in the mail today: Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin

So that's yet another added to the ..."


I have my eye on this too!
maybe go on my xmas list or might just get it on Kindle as it's reasonably inexpensive...


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