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?
massive doorstop of a 627 page hardback - had it delivered to work, cos would never've gone through home letter-box!:Cities Of Salt by Abdul Rahman Munif
Darren wrote: "massive doorstop of a 627 page hardback - had it delivered to work, cos would never've gone through home letter-box!:Cities Of Salt by Abdul Rahman Munif
[bookcover:..."
That's a wonderful series. It's a shame the last two haven't been translated into English yet.
Aubrey wrote: "Darren wrote: "massive doorstop of a 627 page hardback - had it delivered to work, cos would never've gone through home letter-box!:Cities Of Salt by Abdul Rahman Munif
That's a wonderful series. It's a shame the last two haven't been translated into English yet. "
I noticed that you had the most liked English review Aubrey
maybe books 4 and 5 will've been translated by the time I finish 3!
Darren wrote: "maybe books 4 and 5 will've been translated by the time I finish 3! ."Ha ha, I sure hope so.
Anyway, my latest haul from the first of two sales happening this month:
The North China Lover - Marguerite Duras
Alamut - Vladimir Bartol
On Revolution and War - Mao Zedong
The Museum of Eterna's Novel - Macedonio Fernández
Marcella - Mary Augusta Ward
Two of these were on the TBR already, with various inspirations (previously read author, recently completed 19th century women's writing list, political curiosity) fueling the purchase of the others. All in all, a decent bunch, hopefully followed by one as good if not better next weekend.
Let’s all take a trip to Aubrey’s house then we will go to Darren’s and just stare at their bookshelves
BAM wrote: "Let’s all take a trip to Aubrey’s house then we will go to Darren’s and just stare at their bookshelves"Ha ha, I could just post pics, but my double/quintuple shelving would make a lot of them hard to see.
BAM wrote: "For the month of May I’m on a book buying ban. Place your bets now whether I make it 2 weeks lol"I'm going to go out on a limb and say "Nope."
BAM wrote: "Let’s all take a trip to Aubrey’s house then we will go to Darren’s and just stare at their bookshelves"sadly, mine also are mostly poorly displayed,
although I do have a medium-term plan to gently persuade Lady Slugge to agree to more bookshelves in the house... mwahahahaha! ;o)
Okay so I know that I said May was book buying ban month BUT Audible has a site sale sooooo this happened...Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Bogeyman - He Was Every Parent's Nightmare
Dying to Get Married: The Courtship and Murder of Julie Miller Bulloch
A Taste For Murder
Small Sacrifices
Heavy: An American Memoir
Four Princes: Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe
Zodiac
I: The Creation of a Serial Killer
Vile Bodies
Then I also bought cheaply thru my iPad...
The Happy Prince and Other Tales
Juliette
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Executioner's Song
The Magus
Oblomov
Absolute Beginners
Herzog
So I made it six days. Collect your bets.
Michele wrote: "BAM wrote: "For the month of May I’m on a book buying ban. Place your bets now whether I make it 2 weeks lol"I'm going to go out on a limb and say "Nope.""
You were so so right
BAM wrote: "Okay so I know that I said May was book buying ban month BUT Audible has a site sale sooooo this happened...Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
[book:Bogeyman - He Was Every Parent's Night..."
When you sin, you are all in, my friend. All. In.
Brought a copy of Aesop's Fables 2 weeks ago. Have to admit part of the reason was the beautiful leather bound cover with embossed inlays and gold leafed print, but it will also fit nicely into my collection perfectly, right next to my copies of the Brother's Grimm Fairy tales and The Arabian Nights.Now I just need to find some time to read this beauty!
Okay so I know that I said May was book buying ban month BUT Audible has a site sale sooooo this happened... -- evil!Audible lol Yay for Fear and Loathing! As your attorney, I advise you to watch out for the bats...
I adored Fear and Loathing! That book was incredible. It had me laughing out loud at my desk. So glad I bought that
BAM wrote: "I adored Fear and Loathing! That book was incredible. It had me laughing out loud at my desk. So glad I bought that"It is a hoot :)
I thought you might enjoy my anecdote about Hunter Thompson.I met Hunter in 1972 in Los Angeles. when I worked in the McGovern campaign during the California primary. He and Timothy Crouse were covering the campaign for Rolling Stone magazine. I was doing press advance as a volunteer. My job was to make sure the press had typewriters, pencils, phones, telecopiers (pre-fax), booze, sandwiches and to shuttle them on to the bus on time to attend candidate rallies, in short, to make their jobs of covering the candidate as easy as possible. It was not an important job that in the overall scheme of things, but it was one which put me in social contact with a lot of famous and important political reporters of the day, print and television, some people I remember with great fondness.
Hunter, a very tall person, would breeze into the press room, sometimes with a small entourage, talk in hurried sentences, usually making short, funny commentary, sometimes asking questions, and then he would disappear into his hotel room to write. He wasn’t particularly social with the rest of the press, many of whom would write their stories right there in the press room. He was always nice to me, as if remembering to smile and be polite, but then, I was there to help him with details. You were never quite sure how high he was — it was clear that he both drank a lot and was using some other drugs as well, which set him apart from the others who only drank. But he did write insightfully about the campaign, and his writing had the respect of many of the print scions, the most respected media of the day. He called it Gonzo Journalism.
He wrote a book about that presidential election, called Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail. You might enjoy that also. And Johnny Dep, although not so tall, did a good impression of Hunter’s syntax and mannerisms in the movie, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
It's been a while, but picked up a good selection today:
The Everyman's Diary of Samuel Pepys
My Friends by Emmanuel Bove
The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian by Robin Lane Fox
Possessed by Memory: The Inward Light of Criticism by Harold Bloom
My Father Left Me Ireland: An American's Son's Search for Home by Michael Brendan Dougherty
Loving My Father Left Me Ireland so far. Tremendously poignant without being maudlin or self-pitying. A great read.
I couldn't even list all of them - I picked up a few dozen Kindle titles when I got my Kindle Paperwhite, plus I borrowed another pile. I did just put The Alice Network on hold because I saw it in another group and it looked interesting.
This weekend is our town's city-wide garage sale, and I just picked up The Canterbury Tales, Myra Breckinridge, and The Works of H. Rider Haggard -- all for $1.25!!! I'm so excited :)
Aprilleigh, I really enjoyed The Alice Network and hope you do, too. However, I am a sucker for anything WWII. That’s why I cannot wait to clear out my list and read our short story group read, Night. If I can just get through a The Ambassadors, or Crime and Punishment, I will start that next!
I've just borrowed the entire Game of Thrones series from a colleague at work. It makes a YUUUUUUGE pile -- according to Wikipedia, 4244 pages lol
BAM wrote: "Let’s all take a trip to Aubrey’s house then we will go to Darren’s and just stare at their bookshelves"I'm in.
I gladly sacrificed quantity for quality this weekend.East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Wood
Too Much and Not the Mood by Durga Chew-Bose
London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd
No Signposts in the Sea by Vita Sackville-West (!)
Variations on Night and Day by Abdul Rahman Munif
All of these were already on the TBR, which is a record of some sort. Darren, I think your acquiring of the first volume of Munif's quintet granted me the luck to find the third in the series, in the historical fiction section of all places (to be honest, it's not the first time I've found esteemed literature there). Perhaps translations of the fourth and fifth will happen sooner than expected.
I love your Hunter Thompson anecdote, Terry! I'm looking forward to reading Fear and Loathing--very much enjoyed the movie.And great finds, Aubrey. I'm particularly jealous of the Vita Sackville-West.
But I had my own good fortune at a library sale this weekend: Favorite authors:
Sula by Toni Morrison
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
A Widow for One Year by John Irving
Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende
and one I absolutely cannot wait to read:
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
all for 10 cents each!!!
Thanks, Kathleen. 10 cents each! Those are finds.I read A Spool of Blue Thread. Anne Tyler is an author I have read off and on for more than 40 years. Her characters interest me. They always have little flaws that seem so human. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Let us know if you enjoy reading Middlesex. I can’t recall if I put it on my TBR list, but I know I was tempted.
Kathleen wrote: "I love your Hunter Thompson anecdote, Terry! I'm looking forward to reading Fear and Loathing--very much enjoyed the movie.And great finds, Aubrey. I'm particularly jealous of the Vita Sackville-..."
Wow! You really got a good deal on your books!!
I love Anne Tyler and have read all of her books :)
And I just finished Middlesex -- it's pretty interesting ;)
Thanks Terry and Terris! Nice to hear from other Anne Tyler fans. I think I started with The Accidental Tourist back when it first came out, and always enjoy her quirky characters.I just read the first few pages of Middlesex and had a hard time putting it down. It's going to have to wait though--a stack of other books I need to get to or finish. :-)
Knopf, New York, 1929 "Nobel Prize Edition", 6th Printing April 1930 Kristin Lavransdatternot worth putting up photo of my actual copy as looks so similar to this GR image:
Darren wrote: "Knopf, New York, 1929 "Nobel Prize Edition", 6th Printing April 1930 Kristin Lavransdatternot worth putting up photo of my actual copy as looks so similar to this GR image:
"
Very cool. You find such great editions 💚.
Laurie wrote: "Darren wrote: "Knopf, New York, 1929 "Nobel Prize Edition", 6th Printing April 1930 Kristin Lavransdatter..."Very cool. You find such great editions 💚."
it's such a lovely thing
cottony/furry feel to cover
surprisingly compact in size for 1100 pages - can hold open comfortably in one hand
no foxing whatsoever(!)
has an inscription in ink-pen ending:
"...Xmas 1930
New York
U.S.A."
I took a slight chance buying it from only a description online which stated 1929 (and if it had been a first edition I'd still be drunk now!) but it was a bargain price even for a 6th Printing 1930,
I was mainly keeping my fingers crossed for the lettering on the spine to be legible so it'll look good on the shelf, and it's very clear indeed (better than I was hoping!)
One last small purchase before the month is through (visiting my sister means hitting up my fave used bookstore, with a bonus book sale to boot):Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America - Rachel Hope Cleves
Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad- Minded Man - Krishna Dutta
The first was on the TBR, the second wasn't. I'm satisfied with both.
As a gift to myself and a tribute to his recent passing:
The New Collected Poems of the incomparable, irreplaceable Les Murray.
To my mind, everything that a truly great poet could ever be. His passing is a loss for the language and there is nobody alive who can pretend to be in his shadow, let alone worthy of any serious claim to his mantle.
lovely slim little edition of The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon glossy cover with colourful artwork, as-new condition :oD
Darren wrote: "lovely slim little edition of The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon glossy cover with colourful artwork, as-new condition :oD
"I acquired the same edition a while back. Hopefully I get around to it sooner rather than later.
although technically there are 160 books above it in my TBR pile, its short length means that it is a mere 5th in line in a much smaller "sub-pile" of short-books-that-I-could-allow-to-queue-jump-at-the-drop-of-a hatso I might get to it "sooner rather than later" myself! ;o)
Ha ha, the only discipline I have comes from narrowing the on hand pool through various methods (ex: reading challenges, long books, short books, in translation, been on my shelf forever, etc), so yours is much more coordinated at least.
Picked it up the day before yesterday:
Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to In Search of Lost Time by Eric Karpeles
His biography of Józef Czapski is fantastic so I thought it worth picking up this one, and it's actually proven very useful. Now I know what the hell Proust is talking about some of the time.
Pillsonista wrote: "Picked it up the day before yesterday:
Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to [book:In S..."
Fantastic! My library doesn't have it, but I'd love to find it some day. (My library does have the Czapski biography, so happy to know how good that is.)
Thanks so much for sharing this. I expect it to be a big help when I finally take the plunge into Proust.
I'm really waiting for July for the end of my exams since I barely read this month. I have been putting off reading Proust since a year. The sheer size and despair from my friends who read him have left me queasy though. Pillsonista let me know how you found these companions to his work. I really have no excuse to avoid him anymore.
Ila wrote: "I'm really waiting for July for the end of my exams since I barely read this month. I have been putting off reading Proust since a year. The sheer size and despair from my friends who read him have..."If you can get your hands on a copy, I highly recommend reading Lost Time: Lectures on Proust in a Soviet Prison Camp by Józef Czapski:
It, in itself, is one of the most extraordinary testaments to survival of the 20th century lager, but it has the added virtue of being a delightful and approachable introduction to Proust's masterpiece. I wish it had been published when I first attempted À la recherche.
Just finished ordering it:
Abel and Cain by Gregor von Rezzori
This is a new translation of the previously titled The Death of My Brother Abel and the first time that Cain, the prequel of Abel, has been translated into English.
I have ordered A Death in the Family, Wide Sargasso Sea (even though I think I read this years ago), The Princess Bride and Station Eleven.
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