Recently bought (acquired) books! Showing 1,101-1,150 of 2,634

[Barbara]

Fiona wrote: "Barbara wrote: "But I bought some Christmas cards on sale, An Officer and a Spy in paperback,..."

I hope you like it, Declan and I both loved that book, it's a gripping well written story."

Great to know. I will be reading Academy Street first, then either The Pen Friend by Ciaran Carson or An Officer and a Spy. So many books...

[Paul]

Welcome back Fiona . I hope you had a good Christmas. I'll have to read An Officer and a Spy soon . Its on my shelf a while

[Allan]

I may well go for Master and Commander myself, given that it's one of the books in the Audible BOGO sale.

I'll be reading the Harris novel soon, Fiona, and bought it on the strength of how much you and Declan enjoyed it.

[Barbara]

I just bought two versions of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. One is an illustrated version with different text but for 1 cent plus shipping I liked the pictures:
http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Wardrobe-...

And this version which is a facsimile of the original:
http://www.amazon.com/Lion-Witch-Ward...

[Sara]

Well I couldn't stay away from the BOGO sale, but I was quite sensible and only did the BOGO with 1/2 of my current credits.

Dead I Well May Be
Americanah (which I already have in paperback, but I figured the audiobook might help me get to it quicker)

Also I finally, after some hemming and hawing, selected a version of Great Expectations narrated by Tadhg Hynes, who is from Dublin.

[Paul]

@Barbara. Thats a beautiful Illustrated edition and quite the bargain.

[Barbara]

Paul wrote: "@Barbara. Thats a beautiful Illustrated edition and quite the bargain."

I was tempted to get the hardcover of the original version but decided to save $10.

[Barbara]

I just bought Nuala Ní Chonchúir's The Closet of Savage Mementos on Kindle. It's not available as a physical book here in the US and was $3.99. It's the Irish Times Book Club pick right now.

[[deleted user]]

Barbara wrote: "I just bought Nuala Ní Chonchúir's The Closet of Savage Mementos on Kindle. It's not available as a physical book here in the US and was $3.99. It's the Irish Times Book Club pick right now."

Thanks, Barbara, I picked it up for just over £2 for my Kindle. :)

[Susan]

Thanks for the heads up, Barbara. I just picked it up too. It looks great.

[Barbara]

Leading both of you into temptation.

[Cathleen]

Barbara wrote: "Leading both of you into temptation."

And me, as well. I'm not familiar with her, but it sounded good--and the review compared her to Edna O'Brien.

[Cathleen]

Along with a practical book on "decluttering," I also bought a novella by Phil Rickman, The House of Susan Lulham,
Galway Stories edited by Lisa Frank,
Mystery in White by J. Farjeon, another one of the British Library Crime Classics, and
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.
And, yes, I'm aware of the irony of buying a decluttering book---and then buying more books :)

[Susan]

Cathleen, thanks for the chuckle.

[Cathleen]

Susan wrote: "Cathleen, thanks for the chuckle."

Hope springs eternal :)

[Seraphina]

So picked up the buddy read The Invisible Woman today along with Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail , The City of Strangers and Life: A User's Manual
Not a bad mornings work

[[deleted user]]

Well it's time to own up to some book buying and my theme in the sales was to read more titles from around the world. There is a mix of fiction and non-fiction and I don't think that I've read any of the authors before and in several cases haven't read a book from that country before. Some of the books below are from my dusty book shelf and fit into my theme for 2015. So, I my 2015 aim is to read my way down this list and a few others of course :)

Pakistan: Typhoon by Qaisra Shahraz
Iceland: Butterflies in November by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Iraq: When the Grey Beetles Took Over Baghdad by Mona Yahia
Russia (St Peterburg): Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K Massie
South Africa: Off the Voortrekker Road by Barbara Bleiman
Russia (Far East) Kolyma Diaries: Kolyma Diaries: A Journey into Russia's Haunted Hinterland by Jacek Hugo-Bader
South Africa: The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
Cambodia: White Crocodile by K.T. Medina
India: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Somalia: The Orchard of Lost Souls by Nadifa Mohamed
Transylvania: They Were Counted by Miklós Bánffy
England, London: Umbrella by Will Self
East Germany (during the Cold War): The Darkling Spy by Edward Wilson
Austria (autobiography): The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig
Ireland: The Dancers Dancing by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne

[Kevin]

A list and a half, Theresa. You really did mix it up with the various countries.

[[deleted user]]

America is missing from the list. I have Meyer's The Son and there's always Steinbeck but I'd like something unusual perhaps about native Americans, a groundbreaking book. Any suggestions?

[Seraphina]

How about a new York read? Barbara and Alan are the knowledge houses on them.
That's a great list. I like how your trying to fit in as many countries as possible

[[deleted user]]

Thanks for reminding me, Seraphina, that tucked away I have TransAtlantic by Colum McCann but I know I will get around to that. What I am hoping for is something more obscure preferably about Native Americans, ideally written by one as well. Hopefully one of our American members will check in soon.

[Trelawn]

@ Theresa that is an impressive list. I have read The Grass is Singing and I have read a different work by Robert K Massie; Nicholas and Alexandra which i really enjoyed.

[Trelawn]

So we finally made it to Chapters today. I picked up a reading copy of Great Expectations and I also got The Mill on the Floss, both for the classics challenge. I also got Howards End by EM Forster but they hadn't got a decent copy of A Passage to India. On a whim I picke up The Awakening of Miss Prim which looked like a fun read. Now on to Abe to get a copy of A Passage to India :-)

[Allan]

Theresa, The Round House by Louise Erdich was a book that Susan recommended last year, and one which features life for Native Americans on a reservation in the late 20th century. Well worth the read.

[Paul]

I also managed to pick up a few books.
I bought Plague by CC Humphries
Trinity by Conn Iggulden
and last but not least (and down to a reccomendation from Kevin) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (It was only 5 euro as a brand new hardback. I couldnt find a single copy of Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe new or second hand. Evert other Narnia book was in stock . Ah well

[Allan]

Theresa, I notice that you already have a few African books in mind, but this Book Riot article jumped out at me when I read it there, so I thought I'd post it for you.

http://bookriot.com/2014/12/30/africa...

[Sara]

I have managed to buy a few e-books.

The Invisible Woman
Malcolm Orange Disappears (This one is the February selection for Barbara and I's Irish book club)

[Seraphina]

Theresa, bury my heart at wounded knee by dee brown is another one you may be interested in. I have it on my own tbr pile

[Trelawn]

@ Emma Chapters has books 2-4 in the Peter Grant series for €4.99 each if you're looking for them

[Kevin]

A fiver for a brand new hardback of The Name of the Wind is some bargain, Paul. I think I paid around 12 for the standard paperback. Lucky duck

[[deleted user]]

Well done, Allan and Seraphina! We are such a broad bunch of readers aren't we? Now for a look at your suggestions. Thanks.

Of course it goes without saying that I'll be reading the books I was given at Christmas so they don't need to go on a list.

The Round House goes on my list. I'd still like something epic, a work on a grand scale to represent Native American history. Allan, that was a good list on African books; I've read 5 and a sixth is on my list so that link is carefully stored away. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West might make it in 2015, we will see. :)

And most of these books were under £2 :))

[Trelawn]

And I just got a nice copy of A Passage to India from Abe for £0.64. I actually got it from The Tartan Frog as I havr bought from them in the past and have been very happy that the books I received matched their description. Some sellers idea of "very good condition" is very different from mine.

[Paul]

It was sat on the special offer table in Chapters Kevin , how could I resist. ☺

[Susan]

OMG Theresa. You put Allan and Barbara to shame. I love the idea of reading around the world. Quite a lovely goal.

Seraphina, you will have to let me know what you think of Wild. I am quite familiar with the Pacific Coast Trail and found the lead character quite annoying. She went out so unprepared for the Trail that she was lucky she didn't need to be rescued. We spend a lot of time and money rescuing people who do these things like hiking in a wilderness area, going abalone hunting, scuba diving, etc. without any preparation.

[Seraphina]

I will let you know Susan, annoying characters can really put me off books so will be an interesting one

[Susan]

She may be only annoying to me, Seraphina. Others in our book club really like this book so I hope you enjoy it.

[Trelawn]

@ Emma I just noticed the Miss Prim book as I was heading to the counter to pay and as it was reduced to 4.99 I thought I'd give it a go.

[Susan]

I just picked up two books at Amazon's Kindle Daily Special for $2.99 each. They are The Luminaries and Burial Rites. Just what I needed, two new books.

[Allan]

Particularly one that's 1000 pages long or not far off it in print length!

[Seraphina]

The luminaries!! Great we can do a read along :)

[[deleted user]]

Last year I bought The Luminaries and I still can't face reading it. It's languising on my why-did-I-buy-this shelf, with a few others :(

[Paul]

A book that long is daunting to start .

[[deleted user]]

You're right Paul. Every so often I think that I ought to tackle Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time: 1st Movement. I listened to it on the radio in my youth but it must have been abridged as the whole series runs to something like 14 volumes. Daunting. Perhaps in 2016. Probably not!

[Paul]

Already looking at 2016 resolutions ☺

[[deleted user]]

The ones I'm going to put off :) The same list each year ;)

[Paul]

Good plan ☺

[Cathleen]

Theresa wrote: "Well done, Allan and Seraphina! We are such a broad bunch of readers aren't we? Now for a look at your suggestions. Thanks.

Of course it goes without saying that I'll be reading the books I was gi..."

Theresa, I've only skimmed this thread, so maybe someone else has answered the comment about Native American writers. Sherman Alexie has written quite a few books, and he's had at least one adapted into a film (Smoke Signals). Linda Hogan is also a well-known novelist, poet, essayist. She's a Chickasaw Indian.

[[deleted user]]

Thank you, Cathleen. I have made a note of your suggestions and will look at them after the New Year celebrations.

[H]

Just purchased Revival and The Stand by Stephen King as I would like to read more of him in 2015 and I purchased Private Relations by one of my favourite authors, Diane Chamberlain. This was her first book, back in 1989 and I'm happy to add it to my collection to make it 22 books by her I now own! Highly recommend her.

[Kevin]

Read The Stand asap, Heather. Just read it, no questions!