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?
Thanks to a little discussion we had about science fiction novels that could be considered classics I was reminded of Samuel Delaney and his doorstep sized “Dhalgren”; which landed with a ka-thunk recently. I trust Delaney from reading “Babel-17” and “Nova”; the former especially is fascinating on the subject of language which has been weaponised in this story.
PinkieBrown wrote: "Thanks to a little discussion we had about science fiction novels that could be considered classics I was reminded of Samuel Delaney and his doorstep sized “Dhalgren”; which landed with a ka-thunk ..."Nice. Are you going to be reading it soon?
PinkieBrown wrote: "Yes it will be next up. And thanks Aubrey I think it was you who brought it back to
my attention."
Good to hear, and my pleasure. You can't have a good sci-fi collection if there's no Delany, and Dhalgren is his magnum opus.
I have just ordered the Audible version of Riders of the Purple Sage, by Zane Gray, part of my 20th entertains challenge (1912), even though I also counted my reading of Pygmalian for that year.
Matt wrote: "From my local library sale shelf - .50 cents for paperbacks:Just got a copy of The Once and Future King by T.H. White and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - can’t beat 2 book..."
I love library sales. They are both great books.
Matt wrote: "From my local library sale shelf - .50 cents for paperbacks:Just got a copy of The Once and Future King by T.H. White and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque - can’t beat 2 book..."
What a fabulous bargain. All Quiet is one of my favorite books.
Just finished ordering all three, and I can't remember the last time I had a haul this good:
Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman
A King Alone by Jean Giono
and the Selected Poems of Vasko Popa, translated by Charles Simic
Stalingrad is the prequel to Grossman's masterpiece, Life and Fate. Originally published as For a Just Cause, this is the first time the book will be given its intended title.
having recently read Maus Part 1 and "enjoyed" it, (view spoiler)I screwed up my courage and just bought Part 2 (view spoiler)
Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
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I wasn't very lucky at all with this month's library sale in terms of getting unread books already on my TBR, so hopefully taking a chance on some heard of, some unheard of, and some beloved ones of an unusual genre will make up for it.The Book of Lamentations - Rosario Castellanos
In the Depths - Hahn Moo-Sook (this one wasn't even in the GR system yet; lucky find)
Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, Vol. 1 - Hayao Miyazaki
If I added all the volumes of non-Anglo cartoons/manga/manhwa I've read, I'd have at least twice as many read works in my GR library. Coming across that last work made me decide that I would add some of them, but only the great ones that I plan to incorporate into my permanent physical library.
I got The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson for 10 cents at a garage sale. I finally have something to contribute to this thread.
Just finished ordering it:
Surrender to Night: Collected Poems by Georg Trakl
I've been waiting for a book of his poems for a long, long time.
inspired by/jealous of Aubrey, I just bagged on eBay a bargain copy of Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (Vol. 1) in this edition :
Darren wrote: "inspired by/jealous of Aubrey, I just bagged on eBay a bargain copy of Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (Vol. 1) in this edition :[bookcover:Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Volume ..."
Ha ha, glad to see the Miyazaki love.
I went and did what I said I wouldn't do until after my move back to STL and ordered a couple almost new used books. I just received in the mail:
. I nominated it for the New School August read but planned to read it regaurdless of if it won or not. It is receiving a lot of support so I might have to wait until August to read.
Nirvana was my favorite band when I was in my early teens in the early Nineties. I found this almost like new hardback copy for $4.49 so I had to buy it.
lovely condition/aroma 1973 paperback of Ross Macdonald's 1951 The Way Some People Die (Lew Archer #3)nice cover artwork too
Mike wrote: "I went and did what I said I wouldn't do until after my move back to STL and ordered a couple almost new used books. I just received in the mail:
. I nominated it for the..."I love PALE FIRE. How sad that so many Nabokov devotees have not experienced this delightful (and relatively short) book! I voted for it for August, and hope it is slated.
ALLEN! How did you know? I’m trying to find room lol I’m going to do a purge I think. Then use the money 💰 to buy books I really want.
Three Summers by Margarita Liberaki
I'd never heard of this book, but Albert Camus wrote a glowing letter to Margarita Liberaki praising it (probably helped that the author was a woman), so that was enough for me.
Okay, so I went nuts. I broke down and went on a rampage... I blame it on the library sale. It's their fault selling everything for between 25-50¢:
Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell, eds. Thomas Travisano & Saskia Hamilton
Loitering with Intent: The Child by Peter O'Toole, a God who needs no introduction.
Freud: A Life for Our Time by Peter Gay
The Deceivers: Allied Military Deception in the Second World War by Thaddeus Holt
Brave Genius: A Scientist, a Philosopher, and Their Daring Adventures from the French Resistance to the Nobel Prize by Sean B. Carroll
Simon Schama's The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age
Stalin: A Political Biography by Isaac Deutscher
Dust to Dust: A Memoir by Benjamin Busch
Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark
Paintings in the Louvre by Lawrence Gowing
And whole lot of unbelievably good stuff...
Journey Into the Whirlwind by Evgenia Ginzburg !!!
The Collected Poetry and Prose of Dante Gabriel Rossetti !!!
The Tale of the 1002nd Night by Joseph Roth, tr. Michael Hofmann !!!
Belle du Seigneur by Albert Cohen !!!
Selected Poems of Zbigniew Herbert, tr. by Czesław Miłosz !!!
Paul Muldoon: Poems: 1968-1998 !!!
Jean Giono's The Straw Man
The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing by Richard Hugo
The Redress of Poetry by Seamus Heaney
Leap by Terry Tempest Williams
The Trial of Dr. Adams by Sybille Beford
The Wonders of the Invisible World: Stories by David Gates
The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Folktales by Diane Wolkstein, forward by Edwidge Danticat
Affections: A Novel by Rodrigo Hasbún
What Jung Really Said by E.A. Bennet, intro. Anthony Storr
Oh, I also ordered The Storyteller Essays by Walter Benjamin and Gabriele Tergit's Käsebier Takes Berlin:
Because of the shelf space I have to go digital for the greater part of my own reading, but still can't resist buying paper books for my kids. Latest acquisitions are from modern Russian writers - always glad to find good stuff in this category.
Teo the Captain from Theatre by Nina Dashevskaya, who is a musician and makes this book function as a lightweight introduction to the life of an operatic orchestra and an opera theatre;and
Grandad, where are you hiding? by Masha Rupasova - a wonderful collection of quirky poetry.I have almost stopped reading adult poetry, but good poetry for kids is a real enjoyment.
I've ordered CAPE FEAR and OF MICE AND MEN from Bookdepository (UK) because two different GR groups will take them up on July first.
Guru, that’s a purchase list to make me proud!I actually ended my no-buy streak. I ordered Pale Fire, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and Goodbye to Berlin.
BAM wrote: "Guru, that’s a purchase list to make me proud!I actually ended my no-buy streak. I ordered Pale Fire, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and Goodbye to Berlin."
I actually thought of you, B, when I was in line preparing to pay for my five book bags, all filled to the brim. I knew you'd be proud. 😉
I went to Goodwill to see if there were any bargains to help me furnish my new place. I found a bookshelf that I snatched up. While I was there I had to check out the book selection. I had to pry myself away. They had five filled shelves with a lot of good books. I settled on three that I have not read but enjoy the authors. I picked up an almost new hardback copy of
, a good hardback copy of
and a good paperback copy of
.The best part was when I checked out and the sticker price was reduced to $1 each. I see myself going back soon to rescue more homeless books.
Meh, it was for sale and I like giving the NYRB Classics money...
Life with Picasso by Françoise Gilot
I know the fact that this was written by a woman is somehow supposed to make this a particularly important memoir, but I haven't been this unenthusiastic/uninterested in an NYRB title for several years.
It probably doesn't help that I couldn't care less about Picasso, despite his art (Matisse all the way), let alone a person who would actually denigrate themselves to screw somebody so much older and so physically repulsive "for the sake of their own art".
But hey, NYRB Classics gets the money, and that's a worthy cause. After all, it's not like I have to read the thing; it just goes to back of the queue.
The Pushkin Press basically forced me to give them all my money:
The Queen's Necklace, The Pendragon Legend, Oliver VII, & The Third Tower: Journeys in Italy all by Antal Szerb
The Spectre of Alexander Wolf, The Buddha's Return, The Flight, & The Beggar and Other Stories by Gaito Gazdanov
Casanova's Return to Venice by Arthur Schnitzler
The Man Who Sees Ghosts by Friedrich Schiller
The Man Who Walked Through Walls by Marcel Aymé
In the wake of Pride Month, I have acquired the classic Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg for free here, as zie intended: https://www.lesliefeinberg.net/
This second half of the year I am reading some of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. I bought to re-read
Miss Marple The Complete Short Stories.
I bought to read
The Life and Times of Miss Jane Marple by Anne Hart.
Arrives tomorrow:
The Romanovs: 1613-1918
by Simon Sebag MontefioreStalin: The Court of the Red Tsar is one of my most favorite non-fiction books. Can't wait to read how Montefiore handles the historical prelude which finally gave way to that era of nightmarish totalitarianism.
Guru! That book is outstanding! So well researched and the photo section is stunning. I was very impressed. Better than any other Russian nonfiction I’ve ever read. In fact I bought the audiobook too to hear all of the correct pronunciations.
Amazon is taking its sweet time with Sleeping Giants and The Garden of Rama. Really, really excited for both. Oh, the woes of international shipping.
Aubrey wrote: "In the wake of Pride Month, I have acquired the classic Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg for free here, as zie intended: https://www.lesliefeinberg.net/"Thanks for posting the link. I was interested to read how Feinberg won back the publishing rights to the book and chose to provide it free on hir website. I love the idea that no publisher can make money any longer on the book.
BAM wrote: "Guru! That book is outstanding! So well researched and the photo section is stunning. I was very impressed. Better than any other Russian nonfiction I’ve ever read. In fact I bought the audiobook t..."Thanks to your resounding praise B, I'm going to start reading it as soon as it's in my hands. I was originally going to wait and finish the novel I'm currently reading before starting it, but now I'm too excited.
I already had high hopes for this book based on what I've read of his already (which was also tremendously well researched), but now I'm predisposed to believe it's going to be at least as good as The Court of the Red Tsar.
Can't wait.
I was just gifted a copy of A Man Called Ove. The gifter also has other books she intends to give me, but her sister (visiting until the end of the month) asked to read them first. It's like Christmas, getting free books and I don't know which titles until I get them. :)
I just found really good copies of
,
,
and
all off which are hardbacks except for the Joyce for $6 total.I also ordered books for upcoming reads. I have copies of
,
and for my Stephen King group
on the way.I am going to be busy!
BAM wrote: "Guru! That book is outstanding! So well researched and the photo section is stunning. I was very impressed. Better than any other Russian nonfiction I’ve ever read. In fact I bought the audiobook t..."I'm loving it. It reads like hyper-sophisticated thriller.
Having already read Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, it makes some of the most outlandish behaviors not quite as astonishing as they would have otherwise been (now those people-Lavrentiy Beria-were some frightening mother*******), but still... oh my God. And yet they managed to rule for 300 years? What kind of "country" is this?!?!
You can see how the Bolsheviks were eventually born and cradled from generations of this autocracy, but even by these crazy standards, they were a different breed. And they. did. not. play. Like, at all.
Aprilleigh, I really enjoyed A Man Called Ove and hope you do too! It’s an easy quick read, but so satisfying.
not actually saying "First Edition" but good as i.e. first year of publishing 1978 hardback of Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brienand with amazing dustcover artwork that spans the spine/back-cover thusly:
Tim O'Brien is always a good choice Darren. Teal and orange backgrounds are common but they look interesting. His books dispelled my flawed perception that war books are dull and difficult.
And a few more:
A Writer at War: A Soviet Journalist with the Red Army, 1941-1945 by Vasily Grossman, ed. Antony Beevor
Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann
Love in a Bottle and Other Stories by Antal Szerb
In Search of the Essence of Place by Petr Král
Things Look Different in the Light and Other Stories by Medardo Fraile
I think I now have just about everything of Szerb's that has been translated into English.
And I'm really interested in Malina. It's the only novel that Bachmann ever wrote and even though it was technically completed at the time, she add chapters to it after Paul Celan's suicide in 1970.
I started Thus Spake Zarathustra. I just don’t know how I feel about it. I’m also reading Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie; Sovereign Ladies by Maureen Waller, which is short on Queen’s Mary II and Anne, heavy on Elizabeth I and Victoria (wishing it was the opposite); Wives and Daughters by Gaskell; and My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing. Heavy on the audio this week. Guru, I told you you’d love that book! I’m thinking of buying the hardback so I can have copies of those paintings. Just gorgeous.
Oops I posted in wrong spot! Oh well.Anyway I ordered the following tonight:
Gates of Fire a novel of the battle of Thermopylae
The Pope’s Daughter the life of Felice Della Rovere
My Stolen Son the Nick Markowitz story movie Alpha Dog I think
Imbibe! Stories of the pioneer of the American bar
A Venetian Affair forbidden love in 18th century
And The True History of the Elephant Man
Then I stopped myself. It was tough. My credit card said that was enough.
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Just ordered The Yiddish Policeman's Union (for John Green's book club, Life's Library), and a book on animal folktales/myths.