Recently bought (acquired) books! Showing 2,051-2,100 of 2,634

[Allan]

I have to say that the Kenny's book looks intriguing, but I may hold off, given the probable book buying frenzy that would result from buying and reading it ...

[Barbara]

What I have learned about myself that buying loads of books (or yarn) often means I have books (or yarn) on the brain and buy more. You'd think that trying to find space for all my new acquisitions would remind me I have too many books. Instead, it just reminds me of those I "forgot" to buy. The Kenny's order were books I had on my mental list but with so much to distract me in the various bookselling venues I was in, these were forgotten. I can claim I was doing "research" for future reads for my Solas Nua book club.

[Kevin]

Today was a successful day in that I finally found a bookshop that has a decent English section. I picked up a few titles but can't link them while I'm on my phone.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Copper Promise by Jen Williams
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
The Invisible Man by HG Wells
The Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells
And finally,
Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

[Barbara]

Kevin wrote: "Today was a successful day in that I finally found a bookshop that has a decent English section. I picked up a few titles but can't link them while I'm on my phone.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Th..."

Are these new books Kevin? In 2006 I spent 2 months in Barcelona and my favorite hang out was a used bookstore that was dedicated to selling books in English. The store is no longer there (:

[Paul]

I keep meaning to pick up The Copper Promise as well.

[Kevin]

They are indeed Barbara. I was on the lookout for something similar to your shop in Barcelona but they really don't seem to have many options here in Karlstad. I'll be heading to Stockholm in a few days for a trip which will surely have some nice book shops for me to wallow in.

[Barbara]

Kevin wrote: "They are indeed Barbara. I was on the lookout for something similar to your shop in Barcelona but they really don't seem to have many options here in Karlstad. I'll be heading to Stockholm in a few..."

Foreign travel is a big reason people like e-books. Nonetheless, I still love a real book.

[Kevin]

I think I'll take a leaf from your book Barbara and ship a box of them home if I have to :). I'd never get to creating that big library for myself if I buy e-books though.

[Barbara]

Kevin wrote: "I think I'll take a leaf from your book Barbara and ship a box of them home if I have to :). I'd never get to creating that big library for myself if I buy e-books though."

I also really really dislike the fact that I cannot pass on an ebook, trade or sell it, or even lend it easily. It is a capitalist conspiracy!!

[Marcia]

Kevin, I recently read The Alchemist and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was such a gentle book. It was really beautiful.

[Allan]

Today I took advantage of the fact that Tesco are now doubling their clubcard voucher values for books, and as a result spent a total of 50p buying these four titles:

The Children Act by Ian McEwan

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker

Vagabond by Gerald Seymour

The Second Half by Roy Keane / Roddy Doyle

I suppose I should thank Barbara for helping me with the purchase, given that I got plenty of points from her own recent book buying exploits in the same store... :)

[Barbara]

So glad I could be of help! These are fantastic bargains and you'd be crazy to pass them by.
I am looking forward to reading The Children Act. Perhaps after Company of Liars and at least one Irish title I bought on my trip.

[Barbara]

I have gotten all but one books I mailed home from Scotland. Arrived:
Heirloom Knitting's Shetland Hap Shawls Then &Amp; Now by Sharon Miller
Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook by Felicity Ford
Mirds o Wirds: A Shetland Dialect Word Book (not in GR).

Two of my recently ordered titles, both Northern Ireland reads, have arrived:
The Eggman's Apprentice by Maurice Leitch
No Bones by Anna Burns

Also Hadrian's Wall ( a gift from Theresa and the Engineer).

My copy of the new Stinging Fly, Summer 2015. I got a great tote bag from the Stinging Fly:)

[Susan]

That Hadrian's Wall looks magnificent.

[Barbara]

Susan wrote: "That Hadrian's Wall looks magnificent."

It is an amazing place. I was so thrilled to be able to see it, visiting two different sites, and driving along it for quite a few miles.

[Thomas, Moderator]

I added Hadrians Wall to my tbr list. I want to go there some day

[Susan]

I was so amazed when I was there. I remember in one place there was a display of artifacts and some were from the year one. I just couldn't get over it. Things that were being used when Christ walked the Earth. The people working the site were very friendly and I can not describe the feeling of being somewhere so old. It may not be as inspiring for Europeans who are used to old things but to a girl from Calif. that has a "historical" building in her town from 1921, it was very inspiring.

[Sara]

My issue of Stinging Fly Summer 2015 also arrived today Barbara. I was super excited about the tote, as I had forgotten it was part of what I got for renewing my subscription. I used it to take my stuff to work tonight and it seems super durable.

[Sara]

I'm also considering rejoining Audible as I've been pretty good about parring down my Audible "TBR" to only 20 books.

Thoughts?

It would allow me to dual read/listen to Seveneves on my drive to Maryland which is otherwise quite a daunting title.

[Barbara]

Just ordered Preparation for the Next Life and The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League. Both in paperback so together the total was just over $20.

[Allan]

Barbara, I know you saw my review of the Lish novel, so I don't need to tell you that it's one of my favourite books of this year. I'm confident that you'll enjoy it! :)

[Barbara]

Allan wrote: "Barbara, I know you saw my review of the Lish novel, so I don't need to tell you that it's one of my favourite books of this year. I'm confident that you'll enjoy it! :)"

I'm putting it on the top of my reading list.

[Sara]

Well I went to the library to pickup one hold book that was ready Leviathan Wakes for my science fiction group that happens to coincide with my upcoming trip to Maryland/D.C.)...only to discover that another hold book (The Fifth Season which I've been looking forward to forever) was also ready for pickup.

While there I also found Finding My Radical Soul, a biography of a local activist figure here in Western MA.

[Paul]

I did a brief Hodges and Figgis visit to pick up the platinum signed special edition of Derek Landys new book Demon Road . Sounds very good.

[Paul]

Fifth Season has gotten some great reviews and should be well worth it Sara. I'll have to read another NK Jemisin book in the next few weeks. So good.

[Barbara]

When I dropped off around 30 donated books at the library, I bought a few more. But less than $3 for 6 books is hard to resist:
Black Robe ($.50)
The Devil's Star($.50)
Dancing at the Rascal Fair($.50)
The Color of Summer: or The New Garden of Earthly Delights ($.50)
The Famished Road($.50)
The Good House($.25)

[Cathleen]

I saw Sara's post yesterday about Soho Press and checked out the sale. And bought Little Wolves. At $1.99, I couldn't resist.

[Allan]

I was checking Amazon to see when Turnpike Books were republishing a couple of Janet McNeill titles that I haven't read, and found that The Small Widow was 9p plus postage on one of the used stores, so I had to buy it...

[Barbara]

Allan wrote: "I was checking Amazon to see when Turnpike Books were republishing a couple of Janet McNeill titles that I haven't read, and found that The Small Widow was 9p plus postage on one of..."

Great deal!

Today my copy of Where Are You Really From? as well as A Month In The Country from Paperback Swap.

[Susan]

I guess the book buying ban is done, Allan. :) We bookaholics are all alike. Who can resist a good book? I just got a McNeill book on, I think, on Trelawn's recommendation. Now I just have to read it.

[Trelawn]

Nope, it wasn't me Susan :-)

[Susan]

Darn it. Maybe it was Emma.

[Allan]

Susan, it'll either have been myself or Barbara that you'll have heard of McNeill before. She's a NI author who had been more or less forgotten until Turnpike Books started republishing her work last year. Glenn Patterson also recommends her for her Belfast novels, of which I have read two so far.

[[deleted user]]

My bookshelf is groaning under the weight of unread books at the moment, it still hasn't deterred me from gathering a few more. Todays additions are,

Half of a Yellow Sun
The Visionist
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

[Seraphina]

I have half of a yellow sun on my shelf too, looks interesting

[Trelawn]

I read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. I have his second book "Songs of Willow Frost" on my TBR

[[deleted user]]

Trelawn wrote: "I read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. I have his second book "Songs of Willow Frost" on my TBR"
That's great, thanks.

[[deleted user]]

Seraphina wrote: "I have half of a yellow sun on my shelf too, looks interesting"
I've been meaning to buy it for years. I hope it's worth the wait.

[Sara]

So I have recently cheated on my book buying ban. After 48 days without buying any books (not even audio or e-books!), this past weekend I visited a new bookstore with a friend in the new city in which I'm living. I decided that in the grand spirit of book buying bans (as taught to me by Allan), books bought when visiting a bookstore to new you, don't count. Also everything was 35% off! How could I possibly resist?!

The bookstore, The White Rose was interesting as it has definite political bent to it. The owner was super friendly however, and I found four titles.

Bad Blood...which I'll be getting rid ASAP as I discovered after buying it that Susan gave it a horrible review.

Spider in a Tree (of possible interest to those in the group who like historical fiction)

No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics

The Red Pencil (When I read Brown Girl Dreaming earlier this year, I discovered I like novels written in poetry)

[H]

Once I finish Corelli's Mandolin, half of a yellow sun is next on my tbr! Great minds think alike eh. I haven't bought a new book in at least four months so I'm doing well. Slowly working through the library though I really should be working through my 2015 tbr pile as I've yet to touch it!

[Barbara]

I missed Susan's review of Bad Blood but I see it is in the same series - Kate Shugak- that I gave a not great review of.
I've ordered The Time of the Doves a great Catalan novel. Supposedly Gabriel Garcia Marquez learned Catalan just to read this novel. I'll read it in English first and then get a copy in Catalan.
Also ordered A Poetics of Dissensus: Confronting Violence in Contemporary Prose Writing from the North of Ireland (Reimagining Ireland) by Fiona McCann at a bargain price. And The World as Province: Selected Prose, 1980-2008 by Gerald Dawe.
Ordered and got Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis for my monthly book club October read.

As 2 of the 4 are Northern Ireland related, I continue to let myself buy just about anything with that connection that appeals to me. The Dawe book was recommended and I had the McCann title written in my notebook I carried on my trip - think I saw it in the Linen Hall Library.

[Sara]

So my visit to Maryland/D.C. to pick up my cat and more of my belongings to take to Massachusetts just happened to coincide (I swear I didn't plan it this way) with my favorite bookseller's Fall Member Sale. Everything in the store is 20% off. There's generally lighter traffic there on Fridays than Saturday and Sunday, so I met up with Barbara and did a little shopping and did some catching up over dinner afterwards. It was a good time, and I of course came up with some books.

The first three were in the remainder (discount) section and by he Irish writer, John McGahern who I'm ashamed not to have read anything by before. Usually I'm nervous when I get multiple books by an author at the same time, but several titles by him have gotten good reviews from GRI members.

Amongst Women
The Barracks (I really like this particular edition's cover)
High Ground and Other Stories

I also got NW which the Goodreads recommendation algorithm keeps insisting I'll like because people who like books by Michael Chabon and Jonathan Lethem also tend to like it.

Finally, Barbara brought mePreparation for the Next Life which garnered 5* from her and Allan.

[Barbara]

:) Yes, I thought about not buying any books at the sale but Sara is a bad influence.
I bought
High Ground and Other Stories
by John McGahern
The Carrier by Sophie Hannah
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Thunderstruck & Other Stories by Elizabeth McCracken

In the post, these books arrived this week:
My haul from Kennys:
Kenny's Choice: 101 Irish Books You Must Read
Tanglewood by Dermot Bolger
What Becomes of Us by Henrietta McKervey
Here's Me Here: Further Reflections of a Lapsed Protestant by Glenn Patterson
Those We Left Behind by Stuart Neville

Others I ordered:
Selected Poems: Rogha DántaNuala NiDhomhnaill
A Poetics of Dissensus: Confronting Violence in Contemporary Prose Writing from the North of Ireland

Sara gave me Telegraph Avenue on CDs.
I also gotSecret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book by Johanna Basford. I think these adult coloring books are bigger over there than here.

[Sara]

Oh and Barbara, I looked it up. It's Nick Laird that Zadie Smith is married to.

[Barbara]

Sara wrote: "So my visit to Maryland/D.C. to pick up my cat and more of my belongings to take to Massachusetts just happened to coincide (I swear I didn't plan it this way) with my favorite bookseller's Fall Me..."

I remembered the name of Zadie Smith's husband - it's Nick Laird from Country Tyrone, NORTHERN Ireland :) He says (ironically) he's often referred to as a British writer and an Irish poet.

[Allan]

Barbara / Sara, another impressive haul - I'm sure the Politics and Prose staffs' eyes light up when they see you both coming through the doors - you're doing a great job in keeping them employed! :)

I have bought a few titles this week myself off Amazon and ebay:

Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick DeWitt, both of whose previous books I have loved.

Run With the Hunted: A Charles Bukowski Reader, which I stumbled across when looking at another book in my basket - I hadn't heard of this collection, but it sounds interesting - I do like a bit of Bukowski.

The Whites: A Novel by Richard Price writing as Harry Brandt - I've already listened to the audiobook of this one, but wanted to get a physical copy of the novel, as I have the rest of his books - waited until it came down in price before purchasing.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats for one of my in person book clubs, although the ebay seller mysteriously sent me a Martin Amis book instead...

A Little Life which I know will be a difficult read, but a book that I'm intrigued to learn more about - I had the excuse for buying this today when the handle of my Dyson broke and I had to order a spare part - only natural that I'd want to take advantage of their £20 free postage on non book items by adding a book to my basket...

I also found out this week that there's a relatively new second hand bookstore opened in North Belfast - Belfast Books - that could spell trouble for me! I was going to head down today, but having been out last night, I was a little under the weather... must be something I ate...! ;)

[Barbara]

Allan wrote: "Barbara / Sara, another impressive haul - I'm sure the Politics and Prose staffs' eyes light up when they see you both coming through the doors - you're doing a great job in keeping them employed! ..."

Great purchases! A Little Life is a book I think you will appreciate, and it's set in NYC.

A new second hand bookstore - that's great for Belfast! You'll have to report on it after you visit.

[Colleen]

I went to the second hand book store and bought The Big Wind: A Novel of Great Famine. It is suppose to be the Irish Gone with the Wind. It was only $1.
I find it kind of funny that when I went to add it, it
had an American name change and the cover was not something I would have picked. It sounds like a totally different novel. and then the American cover . The cover I have is slightly different but it wasn't a choice.I wonder what says about the American Market ?

[Barbara]

I wonder which cover better reflects the content. Books and films sometimes change names for different markets even when they are in English,

[Allan]

Barbara, in response to your question about the Audible sale purchases I made, I thought it best to post what I bought in this thread. Deep breath...

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, my in person book club choice that the eBay seller was supposed to send me but didn't-I was probably going to use a credit to buy it anyway, so was well pleased to see it.

Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon, which I've had in my wishlist for ages, but hadn't bought because it's only 7 hours long and I felt I wanted better value for money for my credit.

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, which I think was Declan's favourite one of his.

A God in Ruins,the Atkinson novel that you passed on-a colleague bought me the hardcover, and I feel bad for not having read it yet-I'll be more likely to listen to this one.

I also bought two rereads that I also had in my wishlist but hadn't got around to spending a credit on.

TransAtlantic by Colum McCann

Just Kids by Patti Smith, which I am keen to reread before her new memoir is published this autumn.

A pretty good haul for less than $30! :)