What Book(s) have you just Bought, Ordered or Taken Delivery Of? Showing 1,051-1,100 of 2,344

[ALLEN]

Can you propose a schedule?
Nothing too rapid, but early Sept. is a good kickoff time for me.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Oh that sounds like a great book! Just added it to my list
Let me see if I can find a copy

[Darren]

there was a buddy read for The Magic Mountain a couple of years ago, so there's already a thread:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

So with a severe migraine I seemed some shopping therapy. I found thru Cratejoy a monthly book club in England called simply Book and Chocolate that for $25 I get an award winner, some chocolate that somehow relates to the book, and a hot drink. This box has several genres from which to choose, but I’m always interested in “who won the prize?”, so this one sounded perfect for me. I’ll let y’all know what I get in my first box at the end of the month!

[ALLEN]

Please do, especially now that the weather is cooling off and chocolate is less likely to melt enroute (this is no snark -- it really can happen).

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Oh good point!

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

I just grabbed to daily deals
I Contain Multitudes: the microbes within us
The General V.S. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War

[Michele]

Aprilleigh wrote: "I've never heard of a library keeping a book that hasn't been checked out in that long unless it was a special collection item, in which case it would be for in-library use only."

Nicholas Basbanes, author of a number of wonderful "books on books" (e.g. Every Book Its Reader: The Power of the Printed Word to Stir the World and others), tells a story in one of his introductions about finding a quite old volume he had been searching for for ages at the New York Public Library. It had never been checked out. When he took it to the desk, he said to the librarian, "I can't believe you have this -- and that you've had it so long and no one has checked it out. Who did you buy it for?" The librarian smiled and replied, "Why, obviously we bought it for you, Mr Basbanes."

[Michele]

Dave wrote: "84 Charing Cross Road is wonderful."

+1 to that. A sort of love letter to used books :)

[ALLEN]

I got it the other day from bookdepository.com. Have only read a Readers Digest condensed version, have not seen the film. Looking forward to it!

[Pillsonista]

Picked up Nathan Englander's Dinner at the Center of the Earth today, and better yet (and more importantly), Anne Applebaum's history of the Holodomor, Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine.

[Aprilleigh]

A friend just gave me copies of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, which I read and loved several years ago, and The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd which is on my TBR list.

[Terris]

Aprilleigh wrote: "A friend just gave me copies of Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, which I read and loved several years ago, and The Secret Life of Bees by..."

Wow! Two good ones :)

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Started Babbit and Things Fall Apart

[Terris]

BAM wrote: "Started Babbit and Things Fall Apart"

I love Sinclair Lewis! I hope you enjoy Babbit.
Things Fall Apart was just OK for me.
Hope you like both :)

[ALLEN]

Same here. I am a big Sinclair Lewis fan, too.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

I also have Main Street to read this week

[ALLEN]

Why the tight sked?

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Library book

[Luke]

Books from the latest library sale haul:

Memories of a Pure Spring - Dương Thu Hương
Twenty Letters to a Friend - Svetlana Alliluyeva
Pages from the Goncourt Journals - Edmond de Goncourt, Jules de Goncourt
Zofloya - Charlotte Dacre (!!!)

The first two were whimsical purchases, while the last two were actually on my list. I've read two of Dương Thu Hương's works before and really liked both of them, so I couldn't resist something of hers that I had never come across. Svetlana Alliluyeva was the daughter of Stalin and I've been trying without success to acquire a copy of her most recent biography from sales, so when I saw this and read a review that said this book was a good accompaniment to the bio, I decided it was worth purchasing to tide me over. The Goncourt is a very nice edition (hardcover + slipcase in near pristine condition), and saving the best for last, I'm thrilled about having acquired Zofloya. It's not every day one acquires early nineteenth-century woman authored gothic horror for a pittance.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

I ought Zofloya on amazon but haven't read it yet
It's one of those reads I want to get to but but once I read I will have lost that feeling

[Darren]

as part of my ongoing mission to buy up all of Thomas Bernhard's books
on eBay just bagged a copy of Wittgenstein's Nephew

[Pillsonista]

Darren wrote: "as part of my ongoing mission to buy up all of Thomas Bernhard's books
on eBay just bagged a copy of Wittgenstein's Nephew
"

Isn't he amazing, Darren?

I did the same thing, after I finished my first Bernhard, which was Woodcutters. The very next day I went to my favorite used bookstore and walked out with five of his other titles.

He's simply magisterial.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Went to my favorite used bookstore and bought these gems for $1 each (all trade-size paperbacks) - it was a pretty good haul I thought:


The Hustler by Walter Tevis


Hitler's Peace by Philip Kerr


Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith


The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch


Tapping the Source by Kem Nunn


Terrorist by John Updike


The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry


Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr.


The Natural by Bernard Malamud


Bel Canto by Ann Patchett


As She Climbed Across the Table by Jonathan Lethem


Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Pills I put The Woodcutter on my TBR list. What would be another one or two by that author that you suggest to get me started?

[Pillsonista]

BAM wrote: "Pills I put The Woodcutter on my TBR list. What would be another one or two by that author that you suggest to get me started?"

Woodcutters is always the one I recommend as a general introduction to Bernhard, BAM. So that's a great first selection.

After that, I'd definitely go with The Loser and/or Wittgenstein's Nephew (one of his shortest novels). They're still fairly accessible but yet exemplify his style and philosophy.

If you like what you've read with those books, I'd take it in easy stages with any one (or all) of The Lime Works, Gargoyles, and Concrete, while finally working up to the two untouchable masterpieces: Correction and Extinction.

In my opinion they are all, in different ways, masterpieces, but those two are generally considered the greatest achievements of the supreme post-War German-language author, bar none.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Ok great! Thanks I took a screenshot of that. I’ll order Woodcutter my next thriftbooks purchase.

I finally got around to writing some VERY basic reviews for some of the books I’ve been zipping thru lately. Nothing deep. Ive been having a miserable time trying to find my words. It’s like my brain is blocked off from expressing my opinions. I still have all of my NG reviews to write. I’ll do that this week. My car broke down this week, so I’m stuck at home for a few days.

Anyway I started A Tale of Two Cities, Gone with the Wind, Things Fall Apart, and The Caine Mutiny in the last few days. With the Mutiny I actually first listened to a stage performance of just the court martial to get an idea of what it’s about and to see if it would be something in interested in. It’s not my typical choice, but I need to finish the group shelf, which I plan to do in the next two months.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Anyone have an opinion on Gilgamesh? I’m thinking of buying that

[Pillsonista]

BAM wrote: "Anyone have an opinion on Gilgamesh? I’m thinking of buying that"

Personally, of those that I've read, my favorites were easily the George, Mason, and especially the Stephen Mitchell translations.

I'm always surprised anew at just how easy Gilgamesh is to read if you can find a translation that you like.

[Allison]

Randy wrote: "Went to my favorite used bookstore and bought these gems for $1 each (all trade-size paperbacks) - it was a pretty good haul I thought:


The Hustler by..."

Nice!

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Excellent ! The Stephen Mitchell version is the one I've picked! I'll be sure to get it

[Darren]

Pillsonista wrote: "Darren wrote: "as part of my ongoing mission to buy up all of Thomas Bernhard's books...

Isn't he amazing, Darren?..."

yes, yes he is!

I actually went in at the deep end with Extinction first!

with a new author, I normally take it carefully and tentatively buy a second book to check if I like that too,
but I have rarely been so sure I'll like ALL their books as for Bernhard

[Michelle]

I use Thriftbooks for almost all my book shopping. This month I've ordered Beloved, Their Eyes were Watching God, The Lovely Bones, Waiting For Godot, The Bhagavad Gita, The Manual of Detection, The Help, and Relic. I shall be busy for the next few weeks.

[J_BlueFlower]

Strange, I seem to be the only one here who just ordered Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward. Hardcover for circulation.

[Darren]

Thankyou BAM & Pillsonista for reminding me about Gilgamesh
I just snapped up a copy of the Mason translation on Amazon!

[Renee]

Only one classic, but I just ordered The Arabian Nights, The Fall of Gondolin, Cujo, and The Dead Zone.

[Renee]

BAM wrote: "Anyway I started A Tale of Two Cities, Gone with the Wind, Things Fall Apart, and The Caine Mutiny in the last few days. With the Mutiny I actually first listened to a stage performance of just the court martial to get an idea of what it’s about and to see if it would be something in interested in. It’s not my typical choice, but I need to finish the group shelf, which I plan to do in the next two months. "

I'm shocked you're so close to finishing all the books on the group bookshelf. I haven't read that many of them yet, and it seems to be growing faster than I can keep up. It's tough to catch up. I just read A Tale of Two Cities a couple months ago and absolutely loved it. Gone with the Wind is one of my favourite books and movies. The other two you started I haven't read yet, but I think they're already on my TBR.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

I had an excellent start to the shelf. I’ve read classics for years. And I’m never without a book even when I’m working. So that helps.

[Pillsonista]

Damn, did I score today. I think this is the most productive prowling I've ever enjoyed. I mean, I've lucked out with some serious finds in the past, but even by that standard I did ridiculously well...

Starting with the crème de la crème:


Hourglass by Danilo Kiš (!!!)
The Chairman's New Clothes: Mao and the Cultural Revolution by Simon Leys (!!!)
The Posthumous Papers of a Living Author by Robert Musil
Journey to the Orient by Gérard de Nerval
Peter Ackroyd's Blake: A Biography (!!!)
Things I Didn't Know: A Memoir by Robert Hughes
& Peter Stephan Jungk's biography Franz Werfel: A Life in Prague, Vienna, and Hollywood

And then whole lotta other good stuff:


Tim Robinson's Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage & Labyrinth
Elias Canetti's Crowds and Power (possibly still the greatest title of any single work ever)
Franz Kafka's Diaries, 1910-1923
The Stories of Heinrich Böll
Scripts for the Pageant by James Merrill
Lectures on Literature by Vladimir Nabokov
The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino
Javier Marías's Fever and Spear & Dance and Dream, (Your Face Tomorrow, Vols. 1 & 2)
Rebecca Newberger Goldstein's Betraying Spinoza
Freud's Vienna and Other Essays by Bruno Bettelheim
The Selected Writings of William Hazlitt
Faces of Philip: A Memoir of Philip Toynbee by Jessica Mitford
Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris
Alistair Horne's Seven Ages of Paris
How Proust Can Change Your Life by Alain de Botton
Messages from My Father: A Memoir by Calvin Trillin
Graham Robb's The Discovery of France: A Historical Geography
Ted Hughes: The Life of a Poet by Elaine Feinstein
The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao by Ian Johnson
A Day, a Night, Another Day, Summer: Stories by Christine Schutt

And for the finale:


Everyman's Library: Richard Yates (!!!)

I cannot believe I actually found a copy of Simon Leys's The Chairman's New Clothes, and in almost pristine condition.

This was the book which "exposed" (simply by telling the truth) Mao's crimes and machinations, while so many other western "intellectuals" and sinologists were enthusiastically and blindly believing and promoting the regime's vile and murderous propaganda. Not Simon Leys: he saw the reality and spoke about it plainly, and for his honesty he was excoriated by the political left, especially in France.

Years later, he had the last laugh when so many fellow travelers had to make their mea culpas and explain how and why they allowed themselves to be willfully blind to mass murder on an incalculable scale, all for the sake of a ludicrous ideology. And there are still those who to this day who have never forgiven Leys for his honesty in real time, even after he died in 2014.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

I’ve added Hourglass to me TBR shelf. Once again a prime example of certain people using their brains while reading and I’m over here reading about a magician who manipulates plastic lol

[Pillsonista]

BAM wrote: "I’ve added Hourglass to me TBR shelf. Once again a prime example of certain people using their brains while reading and I’m over here reading about a magician who manipulates plastic lol"

As long as you love reading about that magician who manipulates plastic, BAM, at its core it is all the same. 😉

If you love reading what you read (just as I love reading what I read), we're all on equal footing here.

[Darren]

amazing haul there Pillsonista!
I have the Calvino and the Marías on my "next-get" list too
I particularly like the look of those Stones Of Aran books - just my kind of thing!

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

So I looked up the Calvino...the synopsis is in a foreign language. What is this book about so I know if I want t read it

Also added Chairman’s New Clothes

[Pillsonista]

BAM wrote: "So I looked up the Calvino...the synopsis is in a foreign language. What is this book about so I know if I want t read it

Also added Chairman’s New Clothes"

Calvino is often crudely characterized as a practitioner of "magical realism," although his work is so much more than "just" that.

To quote the back cover description of The Baron in the Trees in full:

Cosimo, a young Italian nobleman of the eighteenth century, rebels against parental authority by climbing into the trees and remaining there for the rest of his life. He adapts efficiently to an arboreal existence- hunts, sows crops, plays games with earth-bound friends, fights forest fires, solves engineering problems, and even manages to have love affairs. From his perch in the trees, Cosimo sees the age of Voltaire pass by and a new century dawn.

I haven't read this one yet, but I have very high hopes because I will always compare anything and everything that Calvino has ever written to his own extraordinary Invisible Cities. Even if The Baron in the Trees isn't as good as that book, it would/could still be a great.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

I’ve recently discovered that I’ve been a fan of magical realism most of my life; I just didn’t know it had a name.

[Pillsonista]

BAM wrote: "I’ve recently discovered that I’ve been a fan of magical realism most of my life; I just didn’t know it had a name."

Well, if you're going to unknowingly be a fan of a particular "style" of writing, you could do a lot worse than what is called magical realism. 😉

Btw, BAM, I don't know if The Chairman's New Clothes is still in print, but if you can't find a copy of that, NYRB Classics publishes an excellent collection of Simon Leys's essays, The Hall of Uselessness, which includes a good selection of his writings about China.

It might be worth your time if you're still interested.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

Thanks I’ll look into it

[Pillsonista]

I cannot believe it; I have finally found it, both volumes, in my local used bookstore. After so many painstaking years of building my own library, now it's finally mine:



I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years, 1933-1941 & I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years, 1942-1945 by Victor Klemperer.


One of the most important historical documents of the 20th century and a magisterial work of literature, this is practically a day-by-day documentation of the Third Reich in power, from the beginning until the end, written by a man who would live to see its own destruction.

For me, this is one of those semi-mythical titles (like Life and Fate or Kolyma Stories or Berlin Alexanderplatz) that I've spent my reading life searching for. Sure, I could have gone to Amazon, and would have if I'd ever become that desperate. But I feel as if it's correct, fatefully and morally, that it's my local bookstore which received my money in exchange for this prize.

Now the only major work of 20th century dissident literature that I still do not own is the only other work that merits comparison to I Will Bear Witness: Nadezhda Mandelstam's Hope Against Hope and Hope Abandoned.

I just wish my dad was still alive so I that could share the find and the experience with him. That hurts. That hurts a lot.

[Rosemarie]

I have the Klemperer books on my bookshelf, but have yet to read them. Maybe next year?

[Kathleen]

Pillsonista wrote: "I cannot believe it; I have finally found it, both volumes, in my local used bookstore. After so many painstaking years of building my own library, now it's finally mine:

[bookcover:I Will Bear Wi..."

What a touching story! So happy for your find, big applause for avoiding Amazon, and at least the part of your dad that lives in you can relish in this too.