Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
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Archived Chit Chat & All That
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What Book(s) have you just Bought, Ordered or Taken Delivery Of?

meanwhile...
yesterday received lovely condition 1984 edition of A Canticle For Leibowitz

and very excited to have just bagged on eBay a reasonably priced copy of
The Battle of Blair Mountain: The Story of America's Largest Labor Uprising


Ordered The Seventh Cross by Anna Seghers, A Certain Plume by Henri Michaux (translated by Richard Sieburth), and Compulsory Games by Robert Aickman from NYRB Classics today...



And I don't know what it is, but ever since I started to use my GR account with any regularity I've been having some serious luck whenever I'm on the prowl at my local bookstores/libraries.
Some major highlights:

Irving Feldman's Collected Poems: 1954-2004. (!!!)

The Complete Poetry: A Bilingual Edition of César Vallejo, with an all-too-brief forward by Mario Vargas Llosa. (!!!)

Critical Prose and Letters by Osip Mandelstam. (!!!)

Less Than One: Selected Essays by Joseph Brodsky. (!!)
And last but OMG in no way least...

Writers From the Other Europe, general editor Philip Roth, in 4 volumes:
1. A Tomb for Boris Davidovich by Danilo Kiš, intro: Joseph Brodsky. (!!!)
2. Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass by Bruno Schulz, intro: John Updike. (!!!)
3. Laughable Loves by Milan Kundera, intro: Philip Roth. (!!)
4. This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen by Tadeusz Borowski, intro: Jan Kott. (!!)

Henry and June: From "A Journal of Love"--The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin - Anaïs Nin
Poison Penmanship: The Gentle Art of Muckraking - Jessica Mitford
Mauve Desert - Nicole Brossard (!)
Coffee Will Make You Black - April Sinclair (!)
The last two were already on my TBR, and I did not at all expect to acquire them today, so I was very pleased by that. The first two are nice bonuses, as I was thinking while reading Nin's first diary that I'd be interested in reading the unexpurgated version, while NYRB Classic editions are always welcome. I really do need to read what I have of the Mitford sisters, as I'm now up to three books between two sisters.

Henry and June: From "A Journal of Love"--The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin - Anaïs Nin
Poison Penmanship: The Gentle Art of Muckraking - Jessica Mitford"
Poison Penmanship is a real coup.
I thought it was fantastic (I haven't reread it in years), but if you can get your hands on a copy of the NYRB's edition of her Hons and Rebels, don't hesitate. If anything, I enjoyed it even more than Poison Penmanship, plus there's a great introduction by Christopher Hitchens.
If I'm being honest, when I first picked up the book I was at a stage of my reading life when I was more interested in Hitchens than in Jessica Mitford. Reading Hons and Rebels quickly changed all that for me.


Grace Randolph's Supurbia Vol. 1


(nice condition and preferred cover too!)

being the Nunnally translation of the second in Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy
just in time for the buddy read of The Wreath in June... :oD


Alan Rickman narrates
I may play it every night when I sleep"
I have this in my wish list, but haven't bought it yet. I really should though because I love Alan Rickman's voice.

Alan Rickman narrates
I may play it every night when I sleep"
I just looked at my email. I see now it's the Daily Deal, so no reason not to get it now!

No no no, just ambitious and optimistic :)




Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves and Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art from Egypt to Star Wars by Camille Paglia.
I remember reading some stupid list not long ago, I can't remember from which publication, that listed "alternative" books to read instead of any number of widely regarded "classics."
Generally I regard all lists that applied to books and reading with extreme suspicion and contempt, but this list I remember as being egregiously stupid. One of the books it claimed I "didn't have to read" (that was the subtitle to the piece, "books you don't need to read" or something like that... as if I needed their obnoxious, moronic permission to read anything) was Goodbye to All That.
So naturally I had to buy it when I had the chance and it's not like I need much of an excuse when it comes to the Everyman's Library, anyway.
As for the other one, I'll read anything Paglia writes. Absolutely anything.

This group is by far my favorite I’ve yet joined on GR! Everyone thank you for welcoming me

Boy do I relate to that feeling of accomplishment after doing book related stuff instead of working. I'm pretty sure it's part of the addiction! Glad you're enjoying yourself here, BAM.

On the other hand, the new volumes I was most excited about purchasing for myself this year include:
Ulysses - specifically wanted this edition for the extensive notes (and I love the cover)
The Phantom of the Opera - specifically wanted this edition for the translation, but I also love the cover

April, could you elaborate on that? Why this particular translation? (My husband is a HUGE "Phantom" fan so I'm curious!)

The only two translations that are truly unabridged are the Wolf and Coward translations.
The de Mattos and Blair translations are both abridged, although Blair claims to be unabridged. The de Mattos cuts out about 80-100 pages of material from the original Leroux text, and the Blair was based on a shortened nonstandard text rather than Leroux's original text.
The Lofficier and Ribière translations are both adapted to some degree. Reviewers have generally recommended avoiding the Lofficier, but the Ribière (Penguin Classics) is regarded more favorably. Ribière's annotations are the real gem, but the translation itself, even though it contains some glaring errors and has a habit of condensing and paraphrasing Leroux's words, is still better than most.
The Wolf translation is unabridged, but the translation is lacking. Among other things, he has a tendency to translate idioms literally, which makes for awkward reading. His annotations are rubbish. If you want good annotations, buy the Ribière.
The Coward translation (Oxford World Classics) has rubbish annotations, and the translation itself is not without problems, but it's the most accurate unabridged English translation currently available. Since I only wanted to purchase one edition, I chose the best translation over the best annotations.


And I picked up a copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston at the library bookstore just yesterday. Loved this book, and now I have my very own copy.

I can't believe this. I actually WON a Goodreads giveaway! I got The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories by Penelope Lively. I am so excited! Now I can read the stories slowly. :-)




It's generally compared, at least in anglophone countries, to Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, but that comparison is fairly simplistic.
If anything, having survived six years as a slave in the Kolyma goldmines, Shalamov endured an experience even more harrowing than Solzhenitsyn's and his (Shalamov's) prose is often compared to that of Chekhov's.

My recent purchases have been Independent People, The Grass is Singing, the audio for Kristin Lavransdatter, and a TON of Graham Greene.
Now I just have to find time to read, cause at the moment my purchases are far outpacing my ability to read them.

Sexual Politics - Kate Millett
The Mismeasure of Man - Stephen Jay Gould
Precious Bane - Mary Webb
I'm glad I picked up the last one on a whim, as I'll be able to use it for the 1924 slot in my 101 years challenge.

A Fortunate Grandchild
Village Diary
A Painted House
Wolf Hollow
Circe
No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters
The Ladies of Seneca Falls: the Birth of the Women's Rights Movement
La Belle Sauvage
Pack My Bag
The Overstory
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Truth and Beauty
Oh, and a cookbook, because she knows I hate to do dishes: One Pan & Done: Hassle-Free Meals from the Oven to Your Table :)

That's a nice haul your mom gave you. Happy reading. 😊

I think I've bought a GR deal every day this past week. My bank is telling me those add up! I wish I could remember all of them. And THATS why I don't need any books I don't remember what I own. I do know I bought Thrawn and The Golden Notebook

Kathleen wrote: "Aprilleigh, Their Eyes Were Watching God is a favorite of mine--the kind of book you want to own. Congrats ..."
I hope to get to this one of these days. I loved Mules and Men and Tell My Horse. Though I think my next Hurston book will probably be her autobiography. She was such an interesting person.



Michael G. Coney's Hello Summer, Goodbye
considering its cult status among sci-fi/fantasy fans there are surprisingly few editions available, so well pleased to get this early (1978) paperback :oD

BAM wrote: "Michelle it's like Christmas!!! So exciting! "
I know, it really is an embarrassment of riches. I hardly know where to start!! First I have to finish Our Lady of the Forest, though...

I'm out of control people OUT OF CONTROL
I will not die happy until I've read ALL the books
Speaking of which, I saw a hitchhiker with a book sitting on. Guardrail today.

Better to decide that you won't die, period, until you've read ALL THE BOOKS :)

Great Expectations
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man / Dubliners
The Complete Stories of Truman Capote (hardcover)
Dreamcatcher (hardcover)
The Call of the Wild
The Night Journey
Boy of the Painted Cave
The Watcher
Lost in the Labyrinth

Particularly considering all but one was in great condition.

Valley of the Dolls
A Short History of Myth
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
Despair
The Sound and the Fury
Cancer Ward
I received these yesterday from Thriftbooks. Each cost about $3.79 free shipping. It’s an app. I have ordered about 7 more this paycheck, mostly to finish out the bookshelf. I also am starting the Canongate Myth series.

What I'd really like is to ..."
Oh yes! Pure bliss! If I could actually OWN every book I’ve ever read I’d pee myself. I tease that I’m going to buy a house and turn it into my library and just traverse from my apt to trade books out.

OK, that made my spit wine onto my keyboard, thank you so much lol

Alan Rickman narrates
I may play it every night when I sleep"
Oooooo I bet that’s fabulous.
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Ha! Thank you :) What an interesting and eclectic assortment. Yay Dorothy Dunnett!! And The Last Samurai - I loved that book, ..."
I'll be sure to put 'King Hereafter' and 'The Last Samurai' further up on my TBR, although neither of them being on my challenge approved list means it'll be some time before I get to either of them. Both 'Secondhand Time' and 'River Ki' came from my having read other books by each author, namely Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster and The Doctor's Wife, both of which I liked enough to seek out more of. Againeither of those are in my challenge list, but I will try to let you know how they go, Michele.