What books did you get from the library, bookstore, or online? ~ 2023

[madrano]

I fully agree. It’s also usually informative to learn a bit about their immediate ancestors, imo.

[madrano]

Presently i am reading The Color of Lightning—Paulette Jiles, for my reading challenge (4 word title). I’ve had it on my TBR since its publication, as it’s set in north Texas & Oklahoma in the 19th century. One of the first chapters is graphically descriptive of the raid, Murder and kidnapping of women and children, which surprised me. I hope that’s the end of that.

A few years ago i read and truly liked Jiles’s News of the World. Already this novel has well bring forth the landscape.

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "Presently i am reading The Color of Lightning—Paulette Jiles, for my reading challenge (4 word title). I’ve had it on my TBR since its publication, as it’s set in nort..."

Nice selection for the prompt. I do like the title.

[madrano]

Yes, the title tickles my fancy, as well.

[Michele]

madrano wrote: "Yes, the title tickles my fancy, as well."

Paulette Giles is a super author. I love her language, though I don't like all of her stories equally.
Michele

[Julie]

Michele wrote: "madrano wrote: "Yes, the title tickles my fancy, as well."

Paulette Giles is a super author. I love her language, though I don't like all of her stories equally.
Michele"

I have to agree with you on that! I like her too but I like some of her books better than others!

[Patrick]

These days my reading is about evenly split between ebooks and hard copies (I don’t do audiobooks). I much prefer physical books, but living here in Mexico, it can be convenient to have a book on my iPad in seconds after purchase, particularly if the price is right. My Scribd subscription gives me access to LOTS of ebooks I want to read for one monthly fee. And of course many difficult-to-find or pricey older books are available as ebooks through Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, the Open Library (although who knows what’s going on there), HathiTrust, etc. I use every service I know about.

All that said, I order about 12-20 used books per month from various sources and have them sent to my mail receiving service in Houston. My monthly fee there includes $60 of FedEx shipping (no rollover), which I apply once a month to having my purchases sent to Mexico. The mail receiving service re-boxes all of the books in one carton. It took me a while to work out this system, but now it works pretty smoothly.

So pick-up day at the FedEx office here in Tlaxcala is always a highlight of my month. There is a slight uncertainty factor involved, because online sellers invariably either OVER or UNDER-describe condition (some “Goods” are only “Acceptable”, some “Acceptables” are actually “Very Good”). But even if a book is in rough condition, and I sometimes order them that way deliberately to save money, I can have it nicely re-bound here for (drum roll) $6.00.

I used to be more picky about condition, ex-libs, and so on, but I have completely gotten over that. After all, it’s the text that counts. And many sorts of books that I am interested in can ONLY be found affordably as ex-libs.

[Alias Reader]

Patrick wrote: but I have completely gotten over that. After all, it’s the text that counts. And many sorts of books that I am interested in can ONLY be found affordably as ex-libs...."

I'm glad you found what works for you.

I used to read only paper books I got from the library. Now I am 99% eBooks I get from the library. I doubt I will ever go back.

I like the ease of getting a book with a few clicks on the computer. Also adjustable font, and eBooks aren't grimy as some library books can be.

[Alias Reader]

I'm not sure if this is a one day thing but Amazon has various Agatha Christie collections on sale from 99 cents to $2. Some collections have 30 books in them.

My Alexa alerted me.

I thought I would share for Christie fans and also for those doing the 100 book challenge.

Also today, August 3, is a 2x Kindle points day.

[Alias Reader]

With my $3 credit from Amazon Kindle points I purchased a book, Simon recommended. I thought this would be a good "weather" book for our 100 challenge.

The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

[Alias Reader]

I had some Amazon Kindle credits that were expiring today, so for $1.70 I got, The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960–1963 by Michael R. Beschloss

Even without the credit the book is on sale for $3.

[Bella (Kiki)]

Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner Faulkner is my favorite writer, by a long shot. For me, his work captures the South perfectly. I can't say how much I love his writing. I would love to live in Mississippi, but none of my family will move there. I am aware the state is undergoing many problems, but I think that can be said of all states, all countries.

[madrano]

Kiki (Formerly TheGirlByTheSeaOfCortez) wrote: "Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner Faulkner is my favorite writer, by a long shot. For me, his work captures the South perfectly. I can't say how much I love his writing. I ..."

Thanks for sharing about this, Kiki. I haven't read many of his short stories at all. I will keep this in mind.

[madrano]

Alias Reader wrote: "I like the ease of getting a book with a few clicks on the computer. Also adjustable font, and eBooks aren't grimy as some library books can be...."

I have come across a couple of books wherein the font size cannot be changed. These are both with Libby, i hasten to add. (After our cruise, i'm much less enchanted with Libby, so will again try Kindle, hopefully this month.)

I'm unclear as to why adjusting the font is not possible but when it isn't available, the print is small enough to become a challenge to read. Yuk.

[Alias Reader]

That's odd, deb. I've never had an issue adjusting font size on my Kindle Fire.

[madrano]

I didn't think you did, Alias. My thoughts were that it was about the publishers, which weren't "big ones" but not all i read are. Who knows?

[Bella (Kiki)]

madrano wrote: "Kiki (Formerly TheGirlByTheSeaOfCortez) wrote: "Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner Faulkner is my favorite writer, by a long shot. For me, his work captures the South perfec..."

You're welcome, madrano.

I just finished a book that I initially read simply because it was set in Mississippi. It's The Past Is Never by Tiffany Quay Tyson. It's a rather sad book, but it has its hopeful moments as well.

At first, I didn't think I'd like it too much because it was slow to get going. But when it picked up steam, it turned into a wonderful story, and the writing throughout is lovely. I ended the book loving it. The author really knows how to set a scene and create characters, especially sympathetic and complex characters. There isn't a lot of plot, and that annoyed me a little in the beginning, but it has enough. It's really a tale of family and what makes a family a family. Really a five-star read for me.

[madrano]

Sounds good, Kiki. I'm not familiar with the title or the author.

[Bella (Kiki)]

madrano wrote: "Sounds good, Kiki. I'm not familiar with the title or the author."

I hadn't, either, madrano. I found the book on Amazon, simply by typing in "Southern Gothic." The cover art was intriguing, and the advertising said the book was "Faulknerian." While it turned out to be a good book, simply setting a book in Mississippi and using part of a Faulkner quote as the title doesn't make it "Faulknerian." I don't think anyone can be compared to Faulkner, though this book was well written. The prose flowed very smoothly. There were none of Faulkner's long, repetitive sentences, the book's end disqualified it as being anything at all like Faulkner, etc. I think calling it Faulknerian was an insult to the author, though. One doesn't have to be like Faulkner to be good, and I'm saying that even though Faulkner is my alltime favorite author.

[Bella (Kiki)]

Books are often said to be "like nothing you've ever read before." That's usually just hype, though. I'm reading one now that really is like nothing I've ever read before, the Booker winner Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders.

I almost gave up reading it because I don't like the style, but the book moves along so fast, I decided to finish it. It's supposed to be about Lincoln's sadness at the death of his young son, Willie, and it is, but it's about others just as much. The book has many, many, many short chapters, sentences often end unfinished, not interrupted, but unfinished, and there are 166 narrators in the book.

I appreciate the fact that Saunders is doing something new, stretching his literary muscles, and he is an excellent writer, one of the best, but short and choppy is the opposite of what I like. As a lover of Faulkner's prose, I love the long, flowing sentences that can be repetitive at times, just the opposite of this book.

The book does capture the awful position of Lincoln at the time, though, having to deal with the death of his son and the Civil War as well. There are some absurd moments among the dead narrators, though. One of them has a perpetual "swollen member" that keeps him from moving across the cemetery without his "member" hitting things and inhibiting him. He died that way, so I guess that's the way he remained until he moved on.

If anyone doesn't know what the bardo is, it is a Buddhist idea that says after we die, we must remain in the bardo for 29 days before our next incarnation. In Saunders' bardo, the dead can walk around and talk to one another, etc., though they seem confined to the cemetery. Willie doesn't seem to realize he's dead, however, at least, not in the part I'm reading. He wonders why his father opened his "sick box", i.e., his casket, and held that person when he was right beside him.

I know of no book this could be compared to. The idea is fine with me, and I always envision Lincoln as a tragic, though great, figure, but nothing can make me like the short, choppy prose of this book. And 166 narrators, most of them dead, seem a little too many to me.

The author did a hellish amount of research for this book, and I appreciate that, too, but I'll be glad to finish this one.

[Alias Reader]

Kiki (Formerly TheGirlByTheSeaOfCortez) wrote:

and there are 166 narrators in the book."

That would absolutely not be for me.

Thanks for the explanation of the Bardo. I've never heard of that.

[Bella (Kiki)]

Alias Reader wrote: "Kiki (Formerly TheGirlByTheSeaOfCortez) wrote:

and there are 166 narrators in the book."

That would absolutely not be for me.

Thanks for the explanation of the Bardo. I've never heard of that."

You're welcome, Alias. I'm kind of getting used to it now, and it's not so bad. The actual story isn't bad at all, but all the short, choppiness can be irritating. I am going to make sure the next book I read is more conventional. LOL

[madrano]

LOL, on conventional, Kiki.

I can understand the mixed feelings you express. The idea of this novel sounds good but the numerous characters, even if only in brief moments, could help readers lose the overall thread. I'll be interested in reading your thoughts when you conclude this unusual book journey.

[Bella (Kiki)]

madrano wrote: "LOL, on conventional, Kiki.

I can understand the mixed feelings you express. The idea of this novel sounds good but the numerous characters, even if only in brief moments, could help readers lose..."

Many times a page will consist of only four or five sentences, all from a different narrator. I am not the person for that kind of choppy writing, though I can't deny the uniqueness of the book or the vast amount of research done by the author. His innovative style could have won him the Booker. It might not have won had he used a more conventional style.

[Michele]

I agree with your depiction of “Lincoln in the Bardo,” but I had a different reaction to it, perhaps because I am familiar with the author & accustomed to his unique-ness.
You cannot expect conventionality from George Saunders! He usually writes short stories, creating whole environments in just a few paragraphs. He comes at every topic from an unusual angle, and provokes the reader into new perspectives whether he is writing about normal teenagers next door or competition between neighbors over living lawn ornaments. Saunders can be hard to read because he always requires the reader to go to strange new places with him. But for me, “Lincoln in the Bardo” was especially difficult due to his heartbreaking portrayal of Lincoln’s extreme grief. It was unrelenting. It gave me a new appreciation of why there is a name for the period between death and relinquishing and the way each person must make their own journey to the other side.

[madrano]

Kiki & Michele, thank you for your insightful posts about Saunders, his work & the prize. I haven't read him and suspect starting with Bardo might not be the best introduction. When i want to read it, i'll read some of his short stories first. Good tip.

Also, Kiki's point about whether he might have one the Booker Prize had he employed conventional style is something to consider. Thanks.

[Alias Reader]

Today is Stuff Your Kindle Day.

Go to your Amazon page and type in: Stuff Your Kindle Day Free.

Note--- NOT ALL books listed are free. But many are. Check price.
look for $0.00 buy now.

[madrano]

I've just begun reading Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier, written by two authors, Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. Can you tell this is for two of our 100 Challenge prompts?

37- - The title has a word that begins with a B,N or C in it.
Book Nook Cafe :)
and
84-A book whose author's last name starts with B,N or C

It's a biography of Daniel Boone and i really like the way they are presenting him and his era. First of all, they share as much about the Native American tribes present in the areas his family lives. This has been helpful because as a boy, Daniel adopted wearing clothing patterned after tribal members. He also fashioned a "war club" for himself, based on the same from a nearby tribe.

Additionally, they share about the family's moves, their differences with their Quaker faith and such. I'm glad i found this book, although i cannot recall if it was on my TBR or not. :-)

[Alias Reader]

Nice book selections for the prompts, deb !

[madrano]

Thanks. I'm tickled.

[madrano]

We went to the Half-Price Book store near the University (Immaculate Word) this morning. I like going there because their nonfiction is usually full of winners. Not so much this time, as it appears they've reoganized categories. All biographies are within the nf for the country of origin for the person. So to locate a bio of an Asian, i need to look in the section with Asian History. Seems crazy to me.

ANYway, we walked away with the following books:
The Steel Wave--Jeff Shaara, set in WWII. Dan bought this one, having read several other historical novels by Shaara.

Secrets of the Universe in 100 Symbols--Sarah Bartlett. Dan found this one, which calls to us both. As we've traveled, we've seen some symbols across the world, such as spirals. This book will cover those.

Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations--Georgina Howell, which has been on my TBR for many years now. Perhaps since i can easily reach it, i'll now read it.

The Chisolm Trail--Wayne Gard. This is an old one and it will not surprise me if i have it in my book boxes at our storage unit. For some reason i'm a sucker for Chisolm Trail facts.

Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman--Marjorie Shostak is for our 1000 Challenge. This will be my book for Africa. It's also long been on my TBR.

We're feeling good about our purchases. Our favorite is alread the symbol book. :-)

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "We went to the Half-Price Book store near the University (Immaculate Word) this morning. I like going there because their nonfiction is usually full of winners. Not so much this time, as it appears..."

Nice book haul deb.

I've never heard of a library or store not keeping all biographies or other genre together by topic. Fiction may be a catch all section but that would be it.

[madrano]

I'm glad to learn i'm not alone in my befuddlement, Alias.

[Luffy Sempai]

Hey so I added Pure, White and Deadly: The new facts about the sugar you eat as a cause of heart disease, diabetes and other killers, and Death by Pantyhose and I am going to buy them online.

I also downloaded e-books recently. I read only e-books, on my Kobo Elipsa.

[Alias Reader]

Luffy (Oda's Version) wrote: "Hey so I added Pure, White and Deadly: The new facts about the sugar you eat as a cause of heart disease, diabetes and other killers, and Death by Pantyhose and I am go..."

If you are interested in White and Deadly, you might want to check out Robert H. Lustig books. He also is interviewed on various YouTube channels. You can just put his name in the YouTube search engine.

I usually get my books from the library. Though I do buy a few eBooks once in awhile. I have a Kindle Fire.

[madrano]

Luffy (Oda's Version) wrote: "Hey so I added Pure, White and Deadly: The new facts about the sugar you eat as a cause of heart disease, diabetes and other killers, and Death by Pantyhose and I am go..."

The Laura Levine book sounds clever. What pressure to have to write jokes as well as solve mysteries!

[BEA]

The majority of books I've read this year came from the public library. I'm going to be honest, nothing compares to have the physical book in your hands but the simplicity of having a book at your fingertips is divine.

I've been able to get and read books in record time if I really push myself or enjoy it. I wish I had the space to keep buying books and have a physical trophy collection of the ones I read but its also nice not having to worry about organization.

[madrano]

Emily, i can understand what you mean. There is a glory in seeing the books i've read on my own shelves. It's also nice to have a pile of library books awaiting their time to be read by me.

Presently my husband and i have mostly traveling for the last 7 or 8 years. It will be weird when we settle into a house and realize almost all my read books were digital & have kinda have nothing to "show" for it.

On the other hand, running out of space was a problem just before we sold our home! And, of course, i don't miss dusting said shelves. :-)

[Bella (Kiki)]

Emily wrote: "The majority of books I've read this year came from the public library. I'm going to be honest, nothing compares to have the physical book in your hands but the simplicity of having a book at your ..."

I used to feel that nothing could compare to an actual book, but when the books began to take over the house, I switched to ebooks and now wonder why I didn't read ebooks all along.

[madrano]

Exactly, Kiki. I still miss seeing all my books on shelves. The good news for me is that we purchased so many books on our travels this year that i need to spend a day or so in our storage unit reboxing (& stroking, no doubt) our collection.

[Alias Reader]

madrano wrote: "Exactly, Kiki. I still miss seeing all my books on shelves. The good news for me is that we purchased so many books on our travels this year that i need to spend a day or so in our storage unit reb..."

Deb, do you read them while traveling or are they for when you settle down ?

[madrano]

Both, actually. When we buy books about sites we visit, often from the gift shop, we try to read them soon after, so the memory is still fresh. When we enter a book shop & buy volumes, they are generally headed for our storage unit until we either A) settle down or B) i can fit it into one of our Challenges. 😊

Thanks for asking, Alias. It's one of those things we do but don't really think about. It appears we have a system!

[Alias Reader]

Sounds like a wonderful system, deb. Thanks for the reply. As a book nerd, I'm always interested in how people manage their book stash.

[Alias Reader]

Amazon was having a Kindle Rewards sale so I purchased some books that my library didn't have. I also have Audible credits that I needed to use.

--Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow
Audio book.
Maddow reads the book.
My library has the ebook. For some books I also like to follow along with audio. Maddow did a wonderful podcast on this episode in American history. One I never heard about. So when I saw she was also doing a book I immediately put myself on my library list for the eBook. So now when I get the eBook I'll also have audio.

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire by Simon Baker
I got the eBook and added the audible narration as it was on sale.

Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine K. Albright
I've been wanting to read this book. Unfortunately my library doesn't have the eBook. So I purchased this one.

[madrano]

Nice selections, Alias. I'll be interested in reading your thoughts on them, but particularly the Baker book. I picked up Gladius: The World of the Roman Soldier--Guy de la Bédoyère last year but put it aside, as i could see it had many details i wanted to savor &/or explore.

For instance, in the epilogue, i learned the following: "It is, incidentally, worth noting that the Roman army did not normally use IV for ‘Fourth’, IX for ‘Ninth’ or XIV for ‘Fourteenth’. Instead IIII, VIIII and XIIII were more commonly used.”

One wonders why the difference between the army & citizens. And on. :-)

[Alias Reader]

Deb, there is a sort of thing going around online where people asked their boyfriend or husband how often do you think of the Roman empire. They showed video of some men saying, daily. LOL It was quite funny.

Due to current events I've taken an interest why empires fall. In fact there is one new book out that my library doesn't have the eBook yet that I plan to read, Why Empires Fall: Rome, America, and the Future of the West by Peter Heather

[Bella (Kiki)]

I loved John Harwood's The Ghost Writer. Didn't like The Seance quite as well, but I did get the ebook of The Asylum, which, so far, is very good. His books are all very atmospheric and Victorian. He's so good at creating a creepy atmosphere.

[madrano]

Alias Reader wrote: "Deb, there is a sort of thing going around online where people asked their boyfriend or husband how often do you think of the Roman empire. They showed video of some men saying, daily. LOL It was q..."

LOL! I've missed this.

I have read a book or two about the end of ancient Athens & Rome empires. Usually they indicate it wasn't only outside factors in the "fall" but they didn't help. Likely each nation is its own worst enemy.

[madrano]

Kiki (Formerly TheGirlByTheSeaOfCortez) wrote: "I loved John Harwood's The Ghost Writer. Didn't like The Seance quite as well, but I did get the ebook of The Asylum, which, so far, is very good. Hi..."

John Harwood's name didn't look familiar, so i looked him up. Because i'm not drawn to the genre, it's likely this is why he hasn't registered in my brain. My years of reading some of his books are past but i like reading about them, just to keep up, in a way.

Meanwhile, i like reading your comments on him & his books, Kiki.

[Alias Reader]

Since today was Triple points day for Kindle Rewards program, I purchased 2 books that my library doesn't have the eBook edition.

Why Empires Fall: Rome, America and the Future of the West by Peter Heather

Understandable Economics: Because Understanding Our Economy Is Easier Than You Think and More Important Than You Know by Howard Yaruss