Books Brought Home, April 2009

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Books Brought Home, April 2009

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1richardderus
Apr 1, 2009, 12:31 pm

Please, please...somebody, ANYbody start a new April thread when this one reaches 250-260 posts! Last month's was over 400, and I can only imagine how many dial-uppers gave up posting....

2janoorani24
Apr 1, 2009, 12:56 pm

Thank you, Richard, for starting a new post for April.

I actually received these books in March, but I've been traveling, so am just now entering them:

From BookMooch:

Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

For my birthday:

Fine Machine Sewing by Carol Laflin Ahles
Arabella by Georgette Heyer
Off Base: Confessions of a Thief by Rickey Henderson

3Neverwithoutabook
Apr 1, 2009, 1:06 pm

I just received Behind The Mask...No More by Byron Nease in the mail!

4DeltaQueen50
Apr 1, 2009, 1:20 pm

Happy April 1st to everyone. I was just finishing my morning coffee when I heard a knock at the door. My Mail Lady had brought me a couple of books,


Eagle In The Snow by Wallace Breem
Turn Left At the Daffodils by Elizabeth Elgin

5Jenson_AKA_DL
Apr 1, 2009, 1:47 pm

Happy April!

Today from BookMooch I received Yours Until Dawn by Teresa Medeiros and during my trip to the local indie bookstore for a gift cert I also picked up a used copy (in very good condition) of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for $5.00. What a bargain!

6karenmarie
Apr 1, 2009, 2:47 pm

Happy Birthday, janoorani24!

Georgette Heyer is one of my favorite authors, and I remember really enjoying Arabella. I hope you do too.

7jfetting
Apr 1, 2009, 2:44 pm

From Bookmooch: Snow Falling on Cedars

From the local bookstore's used-book basement:
Eugenie Grandet
Elizabeth Costello
When We Were Orphans

8janoorani24
Apr 1, 2009, 4:43 pm

Message #6, Thank you for the birthday wishes. I've been re-discovering Georgette Heyer for awhile, but I'm trying to pace myself. I just finished reading The Convenient Marriage yesterday. So far, I haven't found a book by her that I haven't liked.

9richardderus
Apr 1, 2009, 4:44 pm

The mail person brought:

New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear--alternate history in a universe where magic works, short stories about a "forensic sorceress"...who could resist the image of Emily Deschanel of "Bones" fame huddled over a cauldron?

Captain's Surrender by Alex Beecroft--deliciously naughty "Hearts-of-Oak" tale wherein the boy gets the man, and they *just might* live happily ever after.

10DevourerOfBooks
Apr 1, 2009, 4:49 pm

I got a review copy of Tunneling to the Center of the Earth today, nobody on LT has rated it yet, so we'll have to see how it goes.

11mckait
Apr 1, 2009, 5:03 pm

12richardderus
Apr 1, 2009, 5:14 pm

Okay, I've been mystified long enough: What is "vine" and "Shelfari" a reference to? Same thing, different things, figments of the imagination like unicorns or Republicans with hearts?

mckait...please to elucidate...even my dog sees how upset I am at not knowing, and she is currently growling at the computer while batting at my hands (okay, that has more to do with the fact that I have a treat on the desk for her).

13JolieLouise
Edited: Apr 1, 2009, 5:23 pm

From Barnes and Noble today - 'More Writers & Company: New Conversations with CBC Radio's Eleanor Wachtel' (touchstone not working).
I love listening to Eleanor Wachtel interview writers on CBC radio.

14Fluffyblue
Apr 1, 2009, 5:45 pm

Okay, I went a little crazy today and spent £2.00. For that though, I got SIX books and gave to charidy.

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
Swift as Desire by Laura Esquivel
Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai
Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende
The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

and finally, via Bookmooch:

Veronica Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho

15cindysprocket
Apr 1, 2009, 8:31 pm

Richard I don't know what "vine" refers to. Shelfari is another web site to list books. I was on that before I found LT. I don't use Shelfari anymore.

16cindysprocket
Apr 1, 2009, 8:38 pm

I forgot to list the books that came home with me. From the Library.
All Other Nights by Dara Horn
From Good Will.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel
My Point.. and I Do Have One by Ellen DeGeneres
Greatest Short Stories from 1940

17AquariusNat
Apr 1, 2009, 8:42 pm

I won an Early Reviewer book , so I'll let ya know when it arrives in the mail .

18FicusFan
Apr 1, 2009, 8:54 pm


I have some books to add, but have not yet got them entered. I just want the April thread to show up on my home page. Happy April all.

19msf59
Apr 1, 2009, 9:19 pm

From Bookmooch:
Jim the Boy by Tom Earley. This came from a nice LT member and I've heard very good things about it, most of them right here!

20christiguc
Apr 1, 2009, 10:30 pm

"Vine" is Amazon Vine--an Early Review program run through Amazon.

21richardderus
Apr 1, 2009, 10:47 pm

>20 christiguc: oooooooh. Thanks!

22thekoolaidmom
Apr 1, 2009, 11:27 pm

Just three today... After The Book Fairy's heavy gifting the the other day 3 seems wimpy... lol. I resisted the urge to buy off Amazon, though, so that's good. btw, richardderus, I had to chuckle at your parting message for the March thread... Are there really still people on dial-up?? 8-O

In the mail today: The Red Tent, The Alchemist, and Denying the Holocaust. I'm particularly eager to jump into the last book, as it was recommended by another LT member who thought I'd like it since The Book Thief is my favorite book.

23hemlokgang
Apr 2, 2009, 9:54 am

Just checking in....no new books for April yet!

24jbeast
Apr 2, 2009, 9:58 am

#23 I admire your restraint!

I am planning a book buying free April but no doubt I will succumb. In fact I already did - I ordered a copy of Children of the Dust yesterday. After that I will have to rely on the big stack of books I illicitly bought in march.

25SpongeBobFishpants
Apr 2, 2009, 10:05 am

I've gotten 4 books in the mail over the last 3 days, all of them from Shelf Awareness:

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Stone's Fall by Iain Pears

Just as an aside. I HATE that we can't add or correct touchstones. I get so many pre-release and ARC's and half the time the touchstones don't work at all and half the rest of the time they pull up the wrong info with no way to correct it. And how is it that the touchstones for Lisa See, doesn't work when she's written many many books?

26richardderus
Apr 2, 2009, 10:08 am

>22 thekoolaidmom: koolaidmom, surprisingly enough yes! I was a little surprised to learn that several of our regular contributors are on dial-up, and lots of people outside urban sprawls still don't have another option. I tend to forget this, so I remind myself as often as I can before doing graphic enrichment that it could be troublesome for some of the intended audience.

I am expecting the Big Brown Sleigh today...I joined a book club, InsightOut Books, with a 4-for-a-buck deal, and no automatic shipments. They informed me that they would ship via UPS, which surprised me. What the heck...long as they get here soon.

27thekoolaidmom
Apr 2, 2009, 10:29 am

richardderus... lol. Yeah, I harrass a couple of friends of mine who don't have broadband about their connection. My computer-guru brother, who runs his own IT business, has a wireless connection and a brand-new computer, but I beat his connection speed with my verging-on-obsolete desktop with a cable modem. It's the only time I can make him shut up... lol.

Just got Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris from a Philippine Mooch. I'm looking forward to reading this one.

29richardderus
Apr 2, 2009, 5:06 pm

The Big Brown Sleigh stopped here today!

First You Fall by Scott Sherman...cute gay rent-boy solves murder of older friend when cops dismiss the death as a suicide.

The Kiss Murder by Mehmet Murat Somer...Istanbul drag queen sleuth. After I stopped saying "WTF?" I got it to see what, exactly, the F.

Mahu Fire by Neil S. Plakcy...weird last name, don't know why Hawaii has such an appeal for me just now.

Dead by Day and Dead in Dixie...hardcover collections of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series of books.

30elliepotten
Apr 2, 2009, 6:26 pm

Just checking in - I do have new books lying around but my living room's in such a mess that I need to locate them first...

31jdthloue
Apr 2, 2009, 7:47 pm

oh lordy Richard..thank you for keeping me up-to-date on Gay Lit...i am not being sarcastic here..take Serious Note....ahem!!

and>27 thekoolaidmom: koolaidmom...i live in the Buckle of the Bible Belt in SE Ohio..and i am on Dial-Up..what figures for me..the phone company wants to Bundle my service..that's okay...but i do my Long Distance through Pre-Paid Calling Cards ( i make maybe 6 long distance calls per...Year) and the COMPANY...is hesitant to comply..

32mckait
Apr 2, 2009, 7:56 pm

richardearie

vine is a program affiliated with Amazon. It is an invitation thing. I am very opinionated, you know.. and so have been writing reviews at Amazon for a few years and without ever having heard about it got invited.

Each month I get a newsletter, and I get to choose 4 products to review. Fortunately for me, I usually get books. I get two targeted items and two from the leftover list each month. That is one way I have been feeding my addiction to books even though Dan has not been working. That and 10$ a pay for used books :)

So there you have it, vine is a great gift to me, and I enjoy receiving my books and all I have to do is post a review for each.

oh and check your mail.. I sent a bit of a brag your way.. my son cory and his mentor playing out at the Whiskey in Annapolis :)

33nancyewhite
Edited: Apr 2, 2009, 8:04 pm

Quick stop at the Half Price Books bargain shelves netted:
The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller
The Bridegroom by Ha Jin
Splitting by Fay Weldon
Maus I by Art Speigelman
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
Duplicate Keys by Jane Smiley
Sula by Toni Morrison
Kissing in Manhattan by David Schickler
The Finishing School by Muriel Spark
Who Will Run the Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore
Essential Shakespeare selected by Ted Hughes
Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

All of that and the new HPB bag that says Wide Eyed Bibliophile on it for $21.

Edited for fat fingers

34SouthernBluestocking
Apr 3, 2009, 12:05 am

Excellent book-acquisition day!

Today, during lunch, I trundled over to Carolina Book Rack, a used bookstore a few blocks from my office. I had about thirty dollars in credit as they not only sell used paperbacks, but also buy them.

I found ...

Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
American Gods, Neil Gaiman
The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
The French Lieutenant's Woman, John Fowles
The Road, Cormac McCarthy
A Wind in the Door, Madeline L'Engle
A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeline L'Engle
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

I am rawther excited. :)

35SpongeBobFishpants
Apr 3, 2009, 3:56 am

# 34

I'm very jealous. You made some really righteous purchases. Bravo!

36richardderus
Apr 3, 2009, 12:05 pm

>31 jdthloue: hi Jude! If you're contemplating buying one of these books, I recommend First You Fall. My review is on the book-page, and in my "75 Books Challenge" thread which I KNOW, without having to ask, that you have starred so as to be able to find it no matter what.

>32 mckait: oooh. So I have to review a LOT more books to get them to notice and invite me, eh what? Oh, and is Cory the short, fat one with glasses? Or the tall, studly one with the wicked glint? ;-P

37nzurisana
Apr 3, 2009, 3:24 pm

After vowing not to buy any books during March (and succeeding), I've acquired three since Wednesday. From the secondhand book store in neighboring town I brought home Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie. Then, last night, from the sale shelf at my local library, I bought Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Jame McNair's Squash Cookbook for a dollar each. Just what I needed, another cookbook. But I do love McNair's books, and I also love squash. As for Gruen's book, I came close to buying Water for Elephants many times this past year. Now I am glad I waited.

38thekoolaidmom
Apr 3, 2009, 4:05 pm

I received Daddy Long-Legs in the mail today from PBS. My youngest daughter watched an anime movie by the same title a while back, it was one of her favorite movies and she had to have it every time we went to the video store, and I wonder if it's the same story.

39mckait
Apr 3, 2009, 4:12 pm

so you think he is studly, eh? he has that reputation... :)

40richardderus
Apr 3, 2009, 4:17 pm

>39 mckait: yep, he's a muffin, alrighty alright. Quite a catch.

41mckait
Apr 3, 2009, 4:23 pm

LOL, I am glad to know that... I can never see it....just my baby :)

42mckait
Edited: Apr 3, 2009, 4:48 pm

The Glenn Miller Conspiracy: The Secret Story of His Life - and Death by Hunton Downs showed up in the mail today.. I see jdloue has it as well....

43LA12Hernandez
Edited: Apr 3, 2009, 8:02 pm

My local used bookstore had 25% off today, I came home with, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories by Shiro Amano, Black Orchids by Rex Stout, and finally A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt.

44msf59
Apr 3, 2009, 8:29 pm

From the library:
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada. Louis strongly recommended this one and he hasn't let me down yet!

45AquariusNat
Apr 3, 2009, 8:45 pm

I went to Borders today and purchased Geography Of Bliss and Bonk .

46SpongeBobFishpants
Edited: Apr 3, 2009, 9:11 pm

I purchased 2 books today and received a thrid in the mail:

Crazy For The Storm: A Memoir of Survival by Norman Ollestad arrived from ecco books today.

At the UBS I found an autographed copy of The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell USED!

and I picked up a copy of Israel: A History by Martin Gilbert

edited for spelling while typing.

47crazy4reading
Apr 3, 2009, 9:11 pm

I went to Goodwill and purchased the following:

Good Cop Bad Cop by Barbara D'Amato
Remember When by Judith McNaught
A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott
Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks & Micah Sparks

I will be going to B&N soon because I just got gift cards for my birthday for there. I am so happy. I just hope I can find a good sale and maybe have a coupon to use too.

48DeltaQueen50
Apr 3, 2009, 11:03 pm

Took a little drive to my local bookstore today and picked up the following:

50 50 Killer by Steve Mosby
This Year's Model by Carol Alt
And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander
A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander

49AMQS
Apr 3, 2009, 11:21 pm

From the library today:
Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer

51JolieLouise
Apr 4, 2009, 2:21 am

SpongeBobFishpants - an autographed copy of The Sparrow. I'm jealous!

52Eat_Read_Knit
Edited: Apr 4, 2009, 8:11 am

The Last Office by Geoffrey Moorhouse dropped through the letterbox this morning.

I'd completely forgotten that I'd had the paperback on Amazon pre-order for months - and when the 'your order has dispatched' email came through I panicked and thought, "What?! I haven't ordered anything! Someone's infiltrated my account! I need to stop my credit card!" Then I read the email and remembered...

53jnwelch
Apr 4, 2009, 9:09 am

Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier, which I just happened to see on a shelf in Borders and am very much enjoying so far, {Emma Volumes 5-8 by Kaoru Mori, and Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz, a humorous mystery I just finished.

54Talbin
Edited: Apr 4, 2009, 10:21 am

Usually the bargain shelves at Half Price Books don't have much that strikes my fancy, but on Thursday I hit the jackpot - 7 books for $1 each, 2 for $2 each, and two Virago Modern Classics for $3.50 each. And most were remainders, so basically new.

The Year Before Last by Kay Boyle
The Loved and the Envied by Enid Bagnold
The Queen of the South by Arturo Perez-Reverte
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
The Translation of Dr. Apelles by David Treuer
Imaginations by William Carlos Williams

55AMQS
Apr 4, 2009, 10:24 am

#54 Talbin, you did hit the jackpot! Several of those are either on my wishlist, or in my TBR pile.

56Moomin2009
Apr 4, 2009, 10:57 am

Today I bought Ink Exchange which I'm very much looking forward to after reading Wicked Lovely this week, Company of Liars and The Death Maze.

57FicusFan
Apr 4, 2009, 11:35 am



First batch of April books entered. They are from Barnes & Noble:

Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb
Book 3 in the Soldier Son trilogy.
Fantasy with disease, crime, magic shackles, evil alter egos,

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Non-fiction history and science on the food we eat. Saw this on LT with lots of positive comments, so I thought I would give it a try.

The Repossession Mambo by Eric Garcia
SF set in the future where organs and bodies can be grown to order, as long as you have the money. The main character is a bio-Repo man, and is sent out when customers don't keep up their payments.

Saw this in the store, the cover attracted me, and the author did the series of Dinosaurs in latex people suits which starts with Anonymous Rex, which I enjoyed.

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
Book 8 in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Urban fantasy with vampires set in the south.

58momom248
Apr 4, 2009, 1:12 pm

talbin--wow what a haul. I'm jealous!!

60mckait
Apr 4, 2009, 3:19 pm


The House at Midnight: A Novel by Lucie Whitehouse

61elliepotten
Apr 4, 2009, 6:34 pm

>49 AMQS: - AMQS - I'd be interested to see how you feel about Not Buying It. I read it a year or two ago now and though there were some interesting parts, particularly about how other people are living off-grid, I thought Levine was pretty delusional - she stretched the definition of allowed 'basic essentials' a bit when it came to the whole not shopping thing, and, rather randomly, she seemed to write quite a lot about skiing...

62AMQS
Apr 4, 2009, 7:17 pm

#61 elliepotten, now I'm curious! I picked up a copy of Between the Covers: The Book Babes' Guide to a Woman's Reading Pleasures by Margo Hammond that was on display, and skimmed through it while my kids were looking for books. There were many books I had read, (a few I didn't care for), but only one I was interested enough to look for and check out -- Not Buying It. I didn't even check out Between the Covers -- there were too many books suggested that did not appeal to me at all, and I was driven to distraction by way too many errors -- authors' names misspelled, book titles not quite right, etc.

I am intrigued by the idea of buying less, using what you have, etc, which is why I checked out Not Buying It. Writing a lot about skiing is just bizarre! I live in Colorado, within an hour or two of world-class skiing, yet it is so prohibitively expensive we only go once every few years. We probably could afford to do it more, but we don't love it enough to justify the huge expense. Perhaps if I stopped buying anything... ever... I would feel like skiing more often.

63Talbin
Apr 4, 2009, 7:58 pm

>55 AMQS:/58 - The only problem is that I am supposed to be on a book-buying moratorium!

64MissTeacher
Apr 4, 2009, 9:01 pm

I got very lucky today...I had a yard sale, and apart from making a nice little chunk of money, I also inherited 91 books! Can you believe it! My mom brought a bunch to get rid of, and only one person all day even looked at the books! So instead of hauling them all back out tomorrow, I'm just going to absorb them and call it a (very prosperous) night.

65thekoolaidmom
Apr 4, 2009, 10:17 pm

MissTeacher... I'm smiling and feeling all warm and fuzzy for ya... I'm jealous, too, but smilling :-D Very prosperous indeed ;-)

66RLMCartwright
Apr 5, 2009, 7:34 am

Well i thought it was about time i dropped in here since my resolve cracked yesterday and bought 2 books when i happened to "fall" as one does into my local bookstore during my lunchbreak.
Any Brits here will know how rubbish WhSmiths usually is for having a decent selection of the of the genre fiction because two thirds of the shop seems to be given over to stationary and other non-book stuff. However i keep finding little gems of books that according to amazon aren't even out yet. (i define these as gems because i want them not because they are generally excellent literary finds)
Bugger I'm waffling *again* - anyway i bought the 3rd omnibus of Alex Duval's Vampire Beach series - its not mind-shatteringly good but the covers are just too pretty to pass up. And i bought Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier because it was my whim to do so. :D I'll probably be back again this week as I attack my amazon wishlist (or the nearest Waterstones) for urgently required purchases.

67elliepotten
Apr 5, 2009, 9:59 am

WH Smith IS a stationery store... :-D
I've found their non-fiction selection to be in many cases better than my local Waterstones, and they have a fair amount of books in the bigger stores. Plus, of course, the flip side of book addiction is a strange draw to pretty notebooks and posh pens!

68RLMCartwright
Apr 5, 2009, 10:29 am

>67 elliepotten: Dang really? well i've been disillusioned for numerous years then. My local 'Smiths is tiny though and the book selection is very poor. Yes i know what you mean about the notebooks some are just too pretty to ignore sometimes and the folders are also wierdly enticing with all their wonderful colours. I have probably more notebooks than i can possibly use in the next few years.

69MissTeacher
Apr 5, 2009, 10:39 am

Lady Violet - one of the books I inherited yesterday was a nice hardbound Rebecca! Strange world, huh?

70RLMCartwright
Apr 5, 2009, 10:44 am

>69 MissTeacher: tis indeed! the copy i picked up was unfortunately a mere paperback but it still has rather nice cover artwork. Hopefully i will get around to reading it in the next month or so because i'll feel a tad guilty if I let it languish on my shelf for ages

71mckait
Apr 5, 2009, 11:38 am

Miss Teacher, Congratulations! That is a great haul :)
I hope you find many more in there as good as Rebecca, which I haven't read for many years, but I do remember enjoying.

Talbin, I tried that moratorium thing.. didn't work. Even being alarmingly short of funds lately has only slowed me down, not stopped me. Thank the Goddess for Amazon Marketplace, and BetterWorldbooks.com! or

ahem, I mean drat! Amazon Marketplace, and BetterWorldbooks.com keep me from sticking to my moratorium.

72msf59
Apr 5, 2009, 11:45 am

From BOMC-
Drum roll please....The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Hooray!! Now I can finally join the jubilant masses who have rained adoration on this book, (or at least I sure hope so!)

73Neverwithoutabook
Apr 5, 2009, 12:05 pm

# 64 - MissTeacher - I had the opposite happen, sort of . My Aunt and I went to a garage sale and bought all 60-70 of their books! Cleaned them out! I then visited our friends from a local second hand bookstore who are helping us open ours, and came home with 3 more boxes of books. A good day for our bookstore inventory. I'm becoming overwhelmed by the numbers of good books I'm seeing coming into our inventory. So many I want to read....soooo little time!

74hemlokgang
Apr 5, 2009, 1:57 pm

From BookMooch:

The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne

75lsh63
Edited: Apr 5, 2009, 3:12 pm

Brunch with my baby sister turned into a manic book spree at a used bookstore that was down the street from the restaurant:

Death of a Travelling Man
Death of a Hussy
Death of a Celebrity
Looking for Alaska
Hand in Glove
Killer in the Rain
And Then There Were None
Pickup on Noon Street
Endless Night, Christie
Remembered Death
Bloodlines, Rendell
Garnethill

76MissTeacher
Apr 5, 2009, 4:52 pm

It is a very small world! Death of a Hussy was one of the four books bought at my yard sale!

As if 91 weren't enough, the library holds blessed me with seven more books. I actually had a librarian chase me down yelling, "Wait, wait! You forgot one!"

Hands of My Father by Myron Uhlberg
You Suck: A Love Story and Lamb by Christopher Moore
The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros (can't wait!!)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fight Club by Chuck P.
and one that's been on my TBR mental pile since I was...I don't know...ten--The Joy Luck Club.

77mckait
Apr 5, 2009, 4:31 pm

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! fantastic haul, Miss T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

78sanja
Apr 5, 2009, 4:46 pm

Last night I bought The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm and The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales. I'm excited to read them in English.

79MissTeacher
Apr 5, 2009, 5:16 pm

thanks, mckait! I just read Button, but I don't know where to really start!

80elliepotten
Apr 5, 2009, 6:05 pm

I bought a load of books for the bookstore at Save the Children on Friday, and to my mortification couldn't actually fit them all on the desk... The woman just looked at me, gulped, said they'd never, ever sold that many books in one go before (it still only came to £15 or so) and wished us a happy future with our new purchases... :-D

81Talbin
Apr 5, 2009, 6:10 pm

>71 mckait: mckait "Even being alarmingly short of funds lately has only slowed me down, not stopped me."

:-) I think this is what led to my downfall - who can resist 11 books for under $20? Certainly not me!

But now I really, really, really have to focus on my TBR piles!

82mckait
Apr 5, 2009, 6:23 pm

#81

83cindysprocket
Apr 5, 2009, 7:14 pm

msf59 Welcome to the jubilant masses ! The Book Thief wil be one of my favorites for a loooong time :0)

84snat
Apr 5, 2009, 8:10 pm

From Barnes and Noble:

Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow (a book about werewolves told entirely in free verse--how could I not leave with that?!!?)
Wake Up, Sir! by Jonathan Ames

And I wanted to get the new Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!, but, alas, they were sold out (although the book seller recommendation tag amused me--"Jane Austen would be rolling over in her grave--if she were still in it!!!!!!") Ah, well, better luck next time.

85JolieLouise
Apr 6, 2009, 5:47 am

From Barnes and Noble, yesterday:

Sway by Zachary Lazar
The Backyard Homestead (touchstone not working) by Carleen Madigan
and
The Self-Sufficiency Handbook (again, touchstone gone mad) by Alan & Gill Bridgewater

#84 - Snat - we got 5 copies of 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' (touchstone undead) into the store the other day. I faced them out on the shelf because it looked so fun. I think we have 2 left now.
That is a funny recommendation tag!
:)

86nancyewhite
Apr 6, 2009, 8:07 am

A visit to the HPB Clearance Shelves brought:
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
All the Names by Jose Saramago
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell

Less than $10 for four books that are beloved on LT - Sweet!

87thekoolaidmom
Apr 6, 2009, 8:36 am

Mr. Postman left me three presents this morning:

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay ~an LT-inspired acquisition
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink ~ recommended by BookMooch.

and The Mom's Guide to Growing Your Family Green by Terra Wellington ~ my March ER book.

88snat
Apr 6, 2009, 9:53 am

>85 JolieLouise: The cover alone makes it worth the purchase. The entire conceit is hilarious; whether the book lives up to the hype or not, it makes me deliriously happy to think about zombies in a Jane Austen novel! :)

89cdyankeefan
Apr 6, 2009, 12:25 pm

Thanks to a really nice 30% off sticker and a 30% coupon I picked up the following at Borders-Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

90thekoolaidmom
Edited: Apr 6, 2009, 12:28 pm

Woot! I stepped outside to check my mail and the Big Brown Sleigh had stopped off and left me Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I can't wait to get to it :-D

ETA: cdyankeefan, that's funny that you were adding the same book as me at the same time ;-)

91cdyankeefan
Apr 6, 2009, 1:14 pm

That is funny ;-)- I have a ways to get ot it as it is the latest addition to Mt. TBR

92Jenson_AKA_DL
Apr 6, 2009, 3:28 pm

Via bookmooch I received Webmage by Kelly McCullough and Ecstasy by Jacquelyn Frank today.

93mckait
Apr 6, 2009, 3:38 pm

From Amazon

The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint

Lake Champlain Islands (Images of America) by Tara Liloia
which was written by a friend of mine.. a young woman who is one of the most remarkable people I have ever encountered. She has had a high powered career working with the Democratic party, she moed to an old farmhouse on an island with her husband and son.. bakes bread, pies, cooks everything from scratch... raises chickens, and bees for eggs and honey.. she sews, is active in the community, and more. Yes more.

94elliepotten
Apr 6, 2009, 4:13 pm

Wow, what an idyllic life! Sounds scrumptious...

95hemlokgang
Apr 6, 2009, 6:23 pm

From BookMooch:

The Book of Daniel by E.L. Doctorow
World's Fair by E.L. Doctorow

96Mr.Durick
Apr 6, 2009, 11:15 pm

When I have a Borders coupon I like to find an expensive paperback to maximize my savings. Sunday's venture got me there an hour before closing to find the rest rooms out of service. In a rush I got Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami just in case I read fiction again and don't want to read any of the hundreds of other novels I have lying about the house.

Monday's mail brought me:

The Money Dragon by Pam Chun. This is a historical novel imposed on me by a book discussion group.
The Sweet Enemy by Robert Tombs and Isabelle Tombs. If I had sufficient wit and money I would be a francophile.
A Crime So Monstrous by E. Benjamin Skinner. I have in my old age become ready to look at man's inhumanity to man. Also the United States of America, my beloved country, has a sick past from which it is still recovering that this might tell me more about.
The Next American Essay edited by John D'Agata. When it sank in that I was a novelist manque, I thought it would be more realistic to be an essayist manque. I like and have essays; I wonder why I don't read more of them.
The Hindus, an alternative history by Wendy Doniger. Part of my Unitarian free and responsible search and to inform my further reading of the Mahabharata whenever I can get the rest of book 6.
Humbug by Harvey Kurtzman et al. My intellectual growth started with the discovery of Mad Magazine. Many of the same guys did two issues of Trump Magazine. Then they did 11 issues of Humbug. This is a glorious reprint of all 11 issues.

All from BN.COM.

In early March I placed an order with Edward R. Hamilton. I got three DVD's from them sometime back, but the balance of the order, 24 books, has become frighteningly overdue. Alackaday!

Robert

97Eat_Read_Knit
Edited: Apr 7, 2009, 10:56 am

Form BookMooch:
The Devil and Miss Prym - Paulo Coelho

I also stopped off at a charity shop on the way home at lunchtime, and for a grand total of £2.45 acquired:
Mortal Causes - Ian Rankin
Tess of the D'Urbevilles - Thomas Hardy
The French Lieutenant's Woman - John Fowles

98Weirdbeard
Apr 7, 2009, 11:08 am

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. I'm up to scene 6 and will finish it tonight. Is Amanda an example of a schizogenic mother? I'll find out later.

99cdyankeefan
Apr 7, 2009, 1:58 pm

The wonderful folks at Amazon just dropped The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center on my desk

100RLMCartwright
Apr 7, 2009, 2:19 pm

Well after arriving home from a slightly stressful drive back from Manchester I had the wonderful reward of my amazon order (arrived uber quick thanks to my free trial of Amazon prime :D) Now i have 5 new books plus the absolute gem i found the waterstones at the Trafford Centre.
Books from amazon:
Graceling
Poison Study
Magic Study
Fire Study
Nightworld vol. 3 by L.J. Smith
Wonder book acquired from Waterstones
Hunted, P.C Cast (which isn't out in England yet the lovely people had a load of books shipped in from America- how thoughtful of them :D)

I am likely to fall into some more bookshops tomorrow as well so I may be crawling back in here tomorrow evening looking pretty sheepish

101thekoolaidmom
Edited: Apr 7, 2009, 2:27 pm

I stopped in to check out the books at our Catholic thrift shop and left with:

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane - never heard of it, and the cover's not that mesmerizing, but there's something familiar about it so I grabbed it.

As Hot As It Was You Ought to Thank Me by Nanci Kincaid - Dunno if I'm going to read it or just post it to BM and PBS, it's in excellent shape and looks like a book someone might be wishing for.

and I snagged a nearly new copy of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy -I read this book long ago when I was in high school, and I've been thinking about re-reading it :-)

Edited to add: Aw, crap. Dennis Lehane is the author of Mystic River... *groan* I hated Mystic River (the movie... I've not read the book). I was so frickin' mad at the writer at the end of it.

102Moomin2009
Apr 7, 2009, 3:45 pm

Having Starbucks in Borders is lethal! I went in for coffee (it's the only coffee shop open in the evening, and I like to meet friends for a non-alcoholic drink after work) and walked past the buy one, get one half price offer.

So I came home with Firmin which I've great things about on here and, as a former rat owner, I couldn't resist. I also got The Black Swan which I've had my eye on for a while, as it looked interesting.

103crazy4reading
Apr 7, 2009, 4:42 pm

A great thrill today coming home from work and seeing my Amazon order. I saw the nice little smile on the side of the box and I knew what it was. I received my three books which are:

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Now I just need to spend my gift cards at B&N then I will be finished for awhile with buying books. (yeah right.)

104mckait
Apr 7, 2009, 4:45 pm

An ER book today from March, A Final Arc of Sky: A Memoir of Critical Care by Jennifer Culkin. It looks good!

105thekoolaidmom
Edited: Apr 7, 2009, 9:39 pm

Maggie, my youngest daughter, brought home Bad Kitty Gets a Bath from her book fair today... we've already read it, lol.

ETA... seems the books are slowly trickling in today :-) I went to the grocery store for some supper and they had hardbacks on sale for $1.75 a book. They were, as you can imagine, very picked over. I did grab three, though:

The Testament by Eric Van Lustbader. I have another book by him as well, First Daughter.

Man of the Month Club by Jackie Clune. TBH, I bought it for the title, it is rather funny....

Nowhere is a Place by Bernice McFadden

106kidzdoc
Apr 7, 2009, 9:58 pm

From Amazon.com, for the May Reading Globally theme read (Poland):

Singer: Collected Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk

I also received a LibraryThing Early Reviewer copy of Brain Surgeon: A Doctor's Inspiring Encounters with Mortality and Miracles by Keith Black, MD, and a friend sent me a copy of The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese.

107mstrust
Apr 7, 2009, 10:02 pm

From BM-
Fight Club by Palahniuk.
Ooh, had to have my husband bring in a new bookcase for the living room because the library is over-flowing.

108MissTeacher
Apr 7, 2009, 10:32 pm

mstrust - I just finished Fight Club last night. Very interesting book!

109FicusFan
Apr 7, 2009, 11:12 pm


More April books from B&N.

Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
Start of anther urban fantasy series. The main character is half vampire, half mage and both sides are at war.

Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley
Book 2 in the Godless World series. About clans and war and like fantasy Vikings.

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
Book 3 in the Kate Daniels Urban fantasy series. Magic ebbs and flows and Kate in Atlanta has to deal with the consequences.

The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon
Book 17 in the Commissario Guido Brunnetti mystery series set in modern day Venice.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Auto- Biography of a Mulsim woman from Africa who flees repression, and ends up a politician in the Netherlands, where she also encounters more problems. Saw this on LT and it looked interesting, so I picked it up.

Tell Me Where it Hurts by Dr. Nick Trout
A memoir of a Veterinary Surgeon who works at a mega hospital in Boston, Angell Memorial. It follows him through his patients, people, rounds and surgery of a composite day. It is supposed to have humor, healing and hope.

The cover intrigued me, and when I read it was set at Angell Memorial ( or whatever they are calling it these days) I had to get it. I have gone to Angell Memorial for specialist visits for various of my cats in the past.

The kiss Murder by Mehmet Murat Somer
The 2nd book in the Turkish Delight mystery series. Its main character is a transvestite and it is set in modern day Istanbul, Turkey. Of course I have ordered book 1 The Prophet Murders and am waiting for it to arrive.

I seem to have been spending a lot of time in Turkey lately.

I also got an ER book

The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato
Looks interesting. Has a modern thread and an historical one.

110damfino83
Apr 8, 2009, 3:05 am

From Paperbackswap.com-
9780061575211 Darkmans by Nicole Baker
0140089365 Q’s Legacy by Helene Hanff

9780441017010 From Dead to Worse
* Friends of the Library
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov
This Side of Paradise- F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson
Setting Free the Bears by John Irving
The Fourth Hand by John Irving
The Last Picture Show Larry McMurtry
Zelda: A Biography by Nancy Milford

At a clearance shelf at Border’s-
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein
The Pat Hobby Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursela K. Guin

* From my fave used bookstore- If anyone is visiting Vegas and wants to know the good used bookstores, just message me. That’s why tourists come here anyway, isn’t it? ;)
* Soldiers’ Pay and The Hamlet by William Faulkner
* The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
* Sexus by Henry Miller
* A Passion for Books: A Book Lover’s Treasury by Rabinowitz & Kaplan- I love books about books, and this one is great.
* Memento Mori by Muriel Spark- I’ve just recently discovered Spark and I’m in love. I actually got a copy of this at a FOL sale but it turned out half the pages were missing!
* The Neon Bible by John Kennedy Toole- Ever since I picked this up I’ve had the Arcade Fire’s song of the same name in my head.
* Girl with Curious Hair by David Foster Wallace
* The Cigarette Girl by Carol Wolper

and at another Border’s-
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters- Since my LT Secret Santa got me “Fignersmith” and I just watched the BBC movie of it I’ve been wanting to read this one, then watch the movie when I’m done. She really is great at doing classic gothic with a slight (and believable) twist- basically being able to add in the sexual things that were usually kept quiet in the time her books are set.

111jbeast
Apr 8, 2009, 6:12 am

#101 I've read Shutter Island and really enjoyed it. Was something a bit different. Let's hope you feel the same.

112nancyewhite
Apr 8, 2009, 9:10 am

#101 - I too enjoyed Shutter Island. Although, I must admit, I've liked all of Lehane's mysteries.

A stop at the Goodwill was very good yesterday. I found a book that has been on my wishlist since December 2007 - A Year of Reading by Elisabeth Ellington. I also picked up the following which weren't on my wishlist, but look good just the same:

The American Transcendentalists: Their Prose and Poetry edited by Perry Miller. This book looks great and has a fantastic 1950s cover.

The Children of Men by P.D. James

A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain

Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

One Man's Bible by Xingjian Gao

True Love: Stories by Robert Fulghum

The Stranger House by Reginald Hill

113nele95
Apr 8, 2009, 9:45 am

Just finished The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton very diffrent type of book but still very intresting! Not for young readers though. Very surprising ending too!
Starting Summer Ball by Mike Lupica my friend says I'll get bord with it but so far so good.

114thekoolaidmom
Apr 8, 2009, 3:36 pm

The mailman had a light bag today... Only three books for me.

"You Wanna Go to Willard?" by Linda Holbrook, a book that no one else in LT has but me... only the second book in my library like that.

The Plotted Revenge Against America by Abe March, this is for a blog tour in May

and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I ordered this book after it was mentioned in The Lace Reader

115cindysprocket
Apr 8, 2009, 4:01 pm

Our new B&N opened this morning. It is gorgeous. Their music department is smaller, BUT the book area, childrens and adults is larger and they have one area with a lot of tables it looks like a library work area. I didn't buy a book for reading but a work out book and and The Very Best of Isaac Hayes CD. AFter seeing the list of ER books, I am going to save my money, just in case I don't get lucky

116mckait
Apr 8, 2009, 5:03 pm

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris, used from Amazon marketplace. It was listed as very good condition. It is scribbled on for the first 30 pages with orange highlighter, and the bottom of the spine is crushed in..

....not what I would consider very good condition.

117thekoolaidmom
Apr 8, 2009, 5:26 pm

#115 cindysprocket said: Our new B&N opened this morning. It is gorgeous.

I. Hate. You.

Our Waldenbooks closed in January, leaving us without a bookstore. :-(

#116 mckait, sorry for your bad booking experience. I hope you didn't pay very much for that "good" condition.

118AquariusNat
Apr 8, 2009, 7:18 pm

A few days ago at B&N I bought History of the World In 6 Glasses and today at B&N I bought Your Inner Fish .

119msf59
Apr 8, 2009, 8:52 pm

From Bookmooch (after a long boat ride from Australia):
Netherland by Joseph O' Neil- I'm really looking forward to this one, I've heard nothing but raves!

120Mr.Durick
Apr 9, 2009, 1:02 am

Yesterday I went down the back steps and around the house to check my mail. There were no books in the parcel box. Despondent I returned to the back porch to take a nap. I got dressed and went out the front door heading to church to lay my despair in the laps of the men's group there. On my front porch I stumbled over a really big box from Edward R. Hamilton. After the men's group meeting I came home and inventoried the contents. I slept well.

The Best of Louisa May Alcott by Louisa May Alcott. She was part of the transcendentalist crowd in Concord, and I really liked Little Women.
American Heretic: Theodore Parker and Transcendalism by Dean Grodzins. In history cultural history is my favorite focus. And in American cultural history the period from transcendentalism through pragmatism is my favorite (although I've got some real interest in the middlebrow of the early twentieth century).
Ravensong: a Natural and Fabulous History of Ravens and Crows by Catherine Feher-Elsten. A neighbor when I was in high school had a pet crow that they returned to the wild after awhile. It would drop by from time to time to say, "Hello," literally. I've wanted to know more about them for awhile.
Crows: Encounters with the Wise Guys by Candace Savage.
Bird Brains by Candace Savage.
Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich. So I bought these corvid, I think, books to go with a book I already have. It was, however, this book, so now I have two.
Pardon my French: Unleash Your Inner Gaul by Charles Timoney. I love language, and if I were smart enough and rich enough I would be a francophile.
Retained by the People by Daniel A. Farber. A poobah from the American Civil Liberties Union came to town once upon a time and wanted to take a tax deduction for his vacation so he gave a lecture. After the lecture I asked him why the ACLU wasn't looking into ninth and tenth amendment rights. He answered me dismissively. I remain curious about those rights, and I saw, I think, WholeHouseLibrary reading this one, so when it became available as a remainder I scooped it up.
Wild New England by Stephen Gorman. I am a displaced Yankee and a one time backpacker. This is for nostalgia.
Weird Massachusetts by Jeff Belanger. I am more specifically displaced from Massachusetts.
At Home in the Hudson Valley by Allison Serrell. The Hudson Valley is sorta New England, and I went to college in upstate New York. Also my little town house is not my dream house. So I can go live in fantasyland for awhile with this book and the next couple.
Private Towers by James Grayson Trulove.
New Sustainable Homes by James Grayson Trulove. I also have Sustainable Homes. This completes a pair, one in paper, one in hardcover.
How to Read Buildings by Carol Davidson Cragoe. So as better to understand my dream houses.
Stalkers and Shooters by Kevin Dockery. In my old age I have opened myself up to understanding tyranny. A friend forwarded me homage to a Marine sniper. I started thinking that the man being honored was a murderer. I had some cognitive dissonance. Here with a couple more is an attempt to understand that.
Sniper: Training, Techniques, and Weapons by Peter Brookesmith.
The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo.
The Mountain Men by George Laycock. More loners with guns, but they are not murderers, grizzly though they may be.
The Best American Comics, 2006 edited by Harvey Pekar. My earliest reading was and my comfort reading has been comics (mostly Pogo and Krazy Kat). I decided to acquire the extant volumes in this series; one to go.
The Man Who Made Lists by Joshua Kendall. More words and lunatic genius; cool.
The Jesuit & the Skull by Amir D. Aczel. Esoteric anthropological mysticism and lunatic genius; cool. Also Aczel is generally easy to read.
Pascal's Wager by James A. Connor. Genius but eminently lucid.
Ultra Haulers: Global Giants of the Mining Industry by Mike Woof. Big kids' toys. I'd like to have a street legal Caterpillar 789.
Tarot de Paris by J. Philip Thomas. Magic.

I have four more of their catalogs to start on for my next order. No wonder I don't have any time to read.

kidzdoc, The Angel's Game, in English, is one of this month's Early Reviewers books.

Robert

PS I wish they would forget about Collections for awhile and get touchstones to work reliably.

R

121mckait
Edited: Apr 9, 2009, 7:33 am

Robert.. I love crows! I am glad to find someone else who does . We have a huge campus at the school where I work and in addition to a lot of deer, some hawks and many squirrels, we have crows. They always seem to intelligent. I am always a little baffled by the fact that so many seem to dislike them. It doesn't surprise me that your neighbors crow friend would visit :) The campus is actually quite beautiful, lots of trees, a walking trail and a gazebo is going up. Someday we will have a nature walk, in the woods beyond the school. ( Sounds lovely, but I wonder how many kids will bolt away while meandering ? We have the sort of population where that is probable )

and I heartily agree about touchstones vs collections!

122FicusFan
Apr 9, 2009, 7:43 am


I agree on Touchstones, and let me add searching, and cover pics for books with few users.

123nele95
Apr 9, 2009, 9:57 am

Went to school library and got Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause and going back today for more.

124DeltaQueen50
Apr 9, 2009, 2:30 pm

I received two books in the mail today, The Body Box by Lynn Abercrombie and Belshazzar's Daughter by Barbara Nadel. I was thrilled with my two, so I can imagine rdurick must be over the moon with his haul.

I would also like to agree with getting the touchstones working more reliably and the cover pics as well.

125jnwelch
Edited: Apr 9, 2009, 3:28 pm

For a long plane trip, Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich, which is supposed to be a good historical novel with an engaging central character, Fatal Grace by Louise Penny, the second in her Inspector Gamauche series (the first, Still Life, was quite good), and Mean Streets, edited by Jim Butcher, with stories featuring Harry Dresden and others.

126msf59
Apr 9, 2009, 7:47 pm

From Half.Com-
Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston. This is the 4th book in the Joe Pitt, private-eye vampire series. The 1st three are terrific!

127elliepotten
Apr 9, 2009, 8:12 pm

We just found the library in the town where we'll be opening that bookshop (eeee!) and in drifting around for five minutes managed to pick up Mind Wide Open by Stephen Johnson and Sex, Drugs and Chocolate by Paul Martin, about our cravings for pleasure. I've really started to turn into my stepdad, constantly picking up totally random books on obscure topics because in that moment they suddenly feel fascinating!

I've also got a growing pile of bought books, but as they're mixed in with the ones we've bought as bookshop stock I've only catalogued one so far - Enduring Love by Ian McEwan. I'll sort the rest out soon!

128MissTeacher
Apr 9, 2009, 9:33 pm

The library here will be closed for three days, so I had to stock up for the long weekend.

Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore, prequel to the sequel I just read...backtracking a bit.

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, the YA book Chasing Vermeer made me want to reread it, even though CV doesn't mention this particular painting at all!

Bone in the Throat and The Bobby Gold Stories by Anthony Bourdain. Don't tell anyone, but I have a huge crush on Bourdain, even though he has to be at least 30 years older.

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. The movie freaked me out, and I'm looking for the book to do the same.

and Kafka on the Shore by Murakami, which has been on the leaning tower of TBR since college.

129mstrust
Apr 9, 2009, 9:34 pm

Woo-hoo! Robert Shaw: More Than A Life arrived from Amazon today. I've wanted this book for two years as Shaw is my favorite actor but it was always too expensive (around $130). I guess the recession has done one thing in my favor by dropping the price of this out-of-print book considerably.
Touchstone doesn't work.

130FicusFan
Apr 9, 2009, 9:37 pm


#128 Miss Teacher, I read Girl with the Pearl Earing and loved it. It was very simple but good. We read it for one of my RL book groups. There is also a movie that is very good. Scarlet Johanson plays the model and she seems to have a luminosity that works so well in the film.

131MissTeacher
Apr 9, 2009, 9:47 pm

I haven't seen the movie, but I was blown away with how much Johanson looks like the girl in the painting. I thought the cover of my book used the painting until I entered it into LT (and realized there was a man on the cover).

132mckait
Apr 10, 2009, 7:43 am

I have picked that book up a hundred times.. and always put it down again. I will have to add it to my list, now. I had no idea that there was a movie..
I will have to look it up.

133jdthloue
Apr 10, 2009, 8:55 am

I've been MIA for a bit due to SINUS TROUBLE (no drumroll)....but yesterday brought:

from Amazon (i'm finally spending my Christmas money):
The Dark Bride by Laura Restrepo

The Savage Detectives and 2666 both by Roberto Bolano

from Bookmooch:
The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri

so i guess it's a Latin/Indian kick...at least the food will be tasty!

>36 richardderus: Richard....of course i "star" everyone i know....

> mckait...THE GLENN MILLER CONSPIRACY, from what little i've read so far, is pretty good. i am more into the GLENN MILLER than the CONSPIRACY part..but there have always been rumors surrounding his death..i was curious about this book when i requested it from Bostick..hope you find it interesting...and do READ Girl With a Pearl Earring..it's better than the movie, which ain't bad a'tall ... but......

;-p

134mckait
Edited: Apr 10, 2009, 10:58 am

The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin

The Seekers: The Story of Man's Continuing Quest to Understand His World by Daniel J. Boorstin

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

used from Amazon arrived today.
I blame richardear.

Good to hear jude... it actually looks better than some I have received from there...and I will promptly add Pearl Earring to my list.

135crazy4reading
Edited: Apr 10, 2009, 1:01 pm

Well I went to Borders and B&N today to buy gift cards for my nieces and nephews as their Easter Gifts. I wound up buying one book at Borders, The Man From Oakdale

I also bought more books at B&N with the gift cards I received for my birthday. I don't have them in front of me so I will post them later.

136JolieLouise
Apr 10, 2009, 1:53 pm

Yesterday from Barnes and Noble:

Between the Lines: A History of Poetry in Letters, 1962-2002 compiled and edited by Joseph Parisi and Stephen Young.
and
The Blood of Innocents by Guy Reel (about the West Memphis Three - if you ever saw the HBO documentary).

137jnwelch
Apr 10, 2009, 2:32 pm

#128: Loved Kafka on the Shore! One of my favorite all-times. All of his are good, but Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is another standout.

Steppenwolf Theater did a pretty good play adaptation of Kafka on the Shore last year.

138Jenson_AKA_DL
Apr 10, 2009, 3:31 pm

I picked up Vampire Interrupted by Lynsay Sands at the used bookstore today mistakenly thinking it was the proposed May read on the "Lovers of the Paranormal" group. Oh well, it looks like it might be an okay read anyway.

139thekoolaidmom
Edited: Apr 10, 2009, 3:51 pm

Maggie, my youngest, had a book fair at school today and, with the absence of a bookstore now, I went overboard *sigh* You know you're a bibliophile when your own 10-year-old grabs your elbow and says, "Come on, Mom. I think you have enough books now." Here's what we got:

The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
The Tale of Despereaux, which I didn't realize was the novelization version until I got home... dammit.
Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth ~Maggie's choice
How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor ~ we both picked it up, lol...
Skeleton Creek by Patrick carman ~ this one looks interesting and interactive, though I've not found out where the "videos" are that I'm suppose to watch.
Horns and Wrinkles by Joseph Helgerson

and in the mail, I got Seven Up by Janet Evanovich, the 7th book in the Stephanie Plum by the numbers series. book #3 is the next one for me to read.

140AMQS
Apr 10, 2009, 4:02 pm

#139, the novelization of Despereaux? :( We loved the original version, and thought it was a terrific read-aloud. Once for Christmas a relative gave one of my daughters The Cat in the Hat, only it was "based on the movie based on the book." It still holds the household record for fastest trip to the Goodwill bag (once it was out of my daughter's sight, of course).

141FicusFan
Apr 10, 2009, 4:15 pm

#133: jdthloue

I saw on my homepage that you added those books:

The Dark Bride and The Death of Vishnu and then ended up ordering them in my huge Bookcloseouts.com order today. They look interesting.

I also got 3 books from Book Mooch

They are all SF from James White, about aliens and a hospital in space that specializes in treating aliens. The series is called Sector General.

The Aliens Among us and Futures Past. I have several of the omnibus editions of the series, but these two books never made it into them.

I also got a book of short stories by White - about aliens, medicine and monsters. Not related to the series. Monsters and Medics.

142RLMCartwright
Apr 10, 2009, 4:17 pm

>134 mckait: Mckait - I bought Elsewhere on wednesday it's pretty good , although my opinion is not always one to trust when it comes to literary merit. It's definately got an interesting concept of the afterlife is all I'll say.

Also on wednesday i bought Pretties by Scott Westerfeld, i had been meaning to buy it for a while but my desire to carry on reading this series wasn't as urgent as some of the other series i'm reading.
I'm seriously hoping I won't lose it again and buy some more books while I'm in Stratford but i have a horrible feeling that i might (though i could perhaps use the excuse that they are educational...)

143MissTeacher
Apr 10, 2009, 4:19 pm

koolaid - I just read The Name of this Book is Secret recently...it was pretty good...a lot like The Wright 3 but with supernatural elements. The whole "I'm not supposed to be telling you this but I will anyway" got a little old, but that seems right up some kids' alleys.

144thekoolaidmom
Edited: Apr 10, 2009, 4:55 pm

#140 AMQS, yes it's the novelization of the movie. I try to avoid them, as it's just a rerun of the movie in print. However, since I've not watched the movie yet, it may be a non-issue. Goodwill bag? clutched pearls! I put my outgoing books on BookMooch or PaperBackSwap. Very rarely do they find their way into the Goodwill bag. :-D

#143 MissTeacher, I've never read The Wright 3.... I'll have to check up on that if we like The Name of This Book Is Secret. I was reading the first couple paragraphs to Maggie as we sat at Subway. She didn't seem interested, but that may have been because she was interested in checking out her book choice, Violet Raines.

145crazy4reading
Apr 10, 2009, 5:24 pm

Here are the books I purchased at Barnes and Noble's today with some of my birthday gift cards. They were all on the bargain book racks and I got my 10% extra discount on top of it.

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis (New author for me to try)
Test Your IQ: Discover Your True Intelligence by Nathan Haselbauer (I bought this for my son because he loves to challenge himself)
Quite Honestly by John Mortimer (New author for me to try)
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (another new author)
If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus (just reading the flap had me wanting this book)
The River Knows by Amanda Quick (New author)
exercise Ball by Sara Rose (This is one for the 999 challenge)

I still have more gift cards to spend. I will hold off for another week or two, maybe... lol....
Now I need to add all these books to my library.

146MissTeacher
Apr 10, 2009, 5:26 pm

The Wright 3 was much better in my opinion, but also calls for a little interest in art or art history.

147porchsitter55
Apr 10, 2009, 11:29 pm

Somewhere in time, I ordered books from Bookcloseouts.com........they arrived about a week ago but I was unable to get to them until now.

Skin Game: A Memoir by Caroline Kettlewell
Staying Alive by Janet Reibstein
Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson
The Condition by Jennifer Haigh
Ritual by Mo Hayder
Hidden by Cathy Glass (no touchstone)

148jdthloue
Apr 10, 2009, 11:30 pm

> Ficus Fan

please don't take my book postings as Gospel
.the dark bride has been on my WishList for years as has The death of Vishnu.. i was luck to get them/buy them...i have read neither...they, each, have to teke a number...;-(

149FicusFan
Apr 10, 2009, 11:54 pm



No problem jdthloue. I saw them, they looked interesting, I looked them up on LT and Amazon, put them on my wishlist, and then found them cheap at Bookcloseouts.

Hopefully they will be good. I too don't know when I will get to read them, once they get here.

150SpongeBobFishpants
Apr 11, 2009, 1:24 am

Oh oh oh oh!! I got several wonderful books tonight!

As The Sailor Loves The Sea
Devil's Gate
Desperate Passage
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

I feel like quoting Celie in The Color Purple, "They's so many! What I gon' do?"

151Mr.Durick
Apr 11, 2009, 1:35 am

I had errands in town at the very shopping center where the big Barny Noble's is, but I wanted to beat rush hour traffic home, and I just got a big shipment of books, so I didn't go in. I didn't beat the traffic. When I got home, there was a box from Barny Noble in the mail. While I was waiting for the Edward R. Hamilton order I cleared out four of the usually-ships-in-2-3-days books on my Barny Noble wish list.

Essential Dr. Strange volume 2 by a bunch of people
Essential Dr. Strange volume 3 by a bunch of people including some of the same ones.
Hitler and Stalin by Alan Bullock. More on man's inhumanity to man.
The Parallax View by Slavoj Zizek. Wise guy philosophy. The French thinkers legitimized. What's right about Marxist thinking. This is asserted to be a magnum opus.

There another Essential Dr. Strange in the making.

Robert

152JolieLouise
Edited: Apr 11, 2009, 2:21 am

From Barnes and Noble today (yesterday, I guess - I closed and that was just a few hours ago):

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous
and
Fashion: The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute - A History from the 18th to the 20th Century (very cool! - I was shocked to see this while walking through the bargain section. I've seen this book on LT many times and have coveted it -- and then, hey, there it was! :O

153mckait
Apr 11, 2009, 7:05 am

Message 142: LadyViolet...

Heaven forbid that I read for literary merit!
I read for entertainment, escape, joy, sating my curiosity and to learn...
Elsewhere sounded entertaining, so ..

Thanks for your input :)

I am not sure when I will get to it, but I do look forward to reading that one .

154sisaruus
Apr 11, 2009, 8:14 am

Purchased at Atticus in New Haven: How To Be A Good Atheist by Nick Harding
A surprise in the mail from my cousin (found while antiquing): Wandering Monday & Other Days in Old Bergen by Ragnhild Chevalier

155mckait
Apr 11, 2009, 11:27 am

Historic Haunted America by Michael Norman

Outside the Lavender Closet: Inspired by True Stories by Martha A Taylor

156FicusFan
Apr 11, 2009, 4:46 pm



I have entered the first batch of books I got last night at B&N:

They had a table with buy 2 get the 3rd free, and they had 3 Henning Mankell books from the Kurt Wallander mystery series, so I found 3 I wanted (one free - yeah!).

Sidetracked, One Step Behind and Firewall.

I now only need 3 more novels, and the book of short stories to complete the series.

I also picked up Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, since there have been so many raves on LT.

While investigating a book on my Tag Watch, I also found 2 others on the same subject. I got 2 and one has been ordered from Bookcloseouts. They are all about Venice in the 18th century and deal with music (Vivaldi) and the orphan girls who sang and played in church. The Four Seasons by Laurel Corona, and The Venetian Mask by Rosalind Laker.



157thekoolaidmom
Apr 11, 2009, 5:51 pm

Despite my reticense about getting books from the library (I am horrible at getting them read and back on time), I picked up Just Ella and the sequel Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and the first book in the House of Night series, Marked by P. C. Cast.

I also received two books in the mail: Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar... from PBS, and The 19th Wife for a book tour.

158Moomin2009
Apr 11, 2009, 5:51 pm

Four more today from a day out in Manchester:

Howl's Moving Castle
The Dragonfly Pool
Coraline
The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Quite pleased with my little haul :)

159TheDahlia
Apr 11, 2009, 5:55 pm

Hi guys. I'm new to this website but I just thought I'd share. I've recently bought The Black Dahlia from my school's bookstore. I've only just began to read it but so far, it's quite enthralling :). Happy reading!

160cindysprocket
Apr 11, 2009, 8:35 pm

Went out to the library this morning. Only picked up two books.
David Golder by Irene Nemirovsky
Snow in Autumn by Irene Nemirovsky
The Courilof Affair by Irene Nemirovsky
These are contained in one book. It has a ribbon bookmark. Which is pretty cool.

The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell
I only have three weeks to read both of these books.The Kindly Ones is a little long will start that one first. Being that they were on the new shelf I won't be able to renew them. The Nemirovsky book will probably be bought. At a later date.

161porchsitter55
Apr 11, 2009, 10:17 pm

Hi TheDahlia.....welcome to the group. You are among friends here. :o)

162mckait
Apr 12, 2009, 9:28 am

#159

Ditto what our porchy said

163Sibylle.Night
Edited: Apr 12, 2009, 2:41 pm

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice
March by Geraldine Brooks

164elliepotten
Apr 12, 2009, 10:35 am

> 160 cindysprocket - What is it about those ribbon bookmarks that makes you swoon just a little bit? :-)

165cindysprocket
Apr 12, 2009, 11:12 am

Just to see them in a Library Book. makes it seem a little special. I have a passion for bookmarks like I do books.

166whymaggiemay
Apr 12, 2009, 5:12 pm

Went to B&N today to see whether the new Carlos Ruiz Zafon book was out. Wasn't -- not until 6/16. To assauge my sorrow I picked up:

Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
The Painter From Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein

I'm not sure this has really made up for not being able to buy Zafon, so I may have to go back this evening while I'm waiting for a table for dinner.

167momom248
Apr 12, 2009, 6:22 pm

maggiemay--I too cannot wait for new Carlos Zafon book. I absolutely loved Shadow of the Wind--it was a top 10 of all time. June is just so far away....

168DeltaQueen50
Edited: Apr 13, 2009, 1:11 am

# 166 Whymaggiemay - I give a big thumbs up to The Twentieth Wife I really enjoyed it. I have the sequel Feast of Roses on my beside TBR pile. I also have Shadow of the Wind sitting patiently in my TBR pile!

169mckait
Apr 13, 2009, 10:14 am

New Amsterdam by Elizabeth Bear
because richardear suggested it

Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank: And Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom… by Celia Rivenbark
because it sounded funny

Weird Hauntings: True Tales of Ghostly Places by Joanne Austin
Because I wanted to

All from Amazon Marketplace

170crazy4reading
Apr 13, 2009, 10:34 am

Arrived 4/11 from a fellow LTer:

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Can't wait to start reading it soon...

172Moomin2009
Apr 13, 2009, 11:53 am

From my parents I managed to bring back my dad's copies of Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus Alone, and also borrowed Two's Company by Jill Mansell from my mum.

Along with the books I bought on Saturday that's 8 more than I had when I left my house on Friday. Oops.

173janoorani24
Apr 13, 2009, 12:19 pm

I received The Man on the Boulevard by Georges Simenon from a delightful used book dealer in Sheffield, England.

I gave a copy of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs to my husband for Easter. I kind of cheated a little, since he only reads engineering books and Porsche car manuals, and I've never read Tarzan, the book is really for me. Maybe he'll read it someday, though.

174emaestra
Apr 13, 2009, 1:13 pm

mckait, I just reserved at the library your Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank because I know exactly what that looks like. I recently went to a spa party for a three year old where all the toddlers had a mani-pedi, facial, and makeup and hair done. (Shudder.)

175AquariusNat
Apr 13, 2009, 1:49 pm

I just got my ER book from the UPS guy today ! The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow which has a really interesting premise . Molly is a recently deceased woman that is waiting in "The Duration" before going to Heaven . While she's waiting , she gets to find out how her family & friends are dealing with her death and the reader gets to uncover the mystery surrounding Molly's death .

176mckait
Apr 13, 2009, 1:59 pm

emaestra...triple yuck ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Those mothers should be beaten...

177richardderus
Apr 13, 2009, 2:41 pm

>176 mckait: the mothers should be beaten, true, but just where is Daddy, may I ask? Doesn't it appall these men to see their tots skanked out? It's hard enough when the pimple-faced, crack-voiced little horndogs come callin' in thirteen years! Why start 'em NOW??

Our generation has a lot to answer for, not least because these folks doing this to their 3-year-olds got their wool-headedness from SOMEwhere, and I suspect home is the place.

178AMQS
Apr 13, 2009, 3:15 pm

#s 174, 176, 177, I saw that title and immediately requested it from the library, thinking all the while about at least 10 people who need to be sent copies.

179jhedlund
Apr 13, 2009, 3:54 pm

No kidding! And as the mother of a 6 year old, I can say it's still all-too prevalent. There's already so much pressure for them to look a certain way. Let these kids have their childhoods please!!

180mckait
Apr 13, 2009, 4:08 pm

richardear, I am chastened, you are correct.
and I agree with you about our generation...

AMQS I thought the same thing... I wonder if we could get a discount if we buy in bulk?

181thekoolaidmom
Apr 13, 2009, 5:07 pm

lol... I'm not even getting into the toddler day at the spa scush... My youngest is 10, and there's a whole lot of scary stuff going on in the fourth grade 8-O . A few of her classmates, one who has dressed like a skank since first grade, have already had sex. *sigh* Sometimes I wonder if I'm not raising them to be sheltered and backwards! It's a minefiled, let me tell ya!

Anyway.... I got four books in the mail today:

The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey

Accomodating Brocolli in the Cemetary by Vivian Cook - subtitled, "or Why Can't Anybody Spell?" I'm looking forward to reading it :-)

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith

The Awakening by Kate Chopin - The author's name is so familiar, but I've never read anything by her. Weird, eh?

182mckait
Apr 13, 2009, 5:37 pm

sex? 10?!?!?!

*weeps*

183crazy4reading
Apr 13, 2009, 5:48 pm

OH that is ashame, so young to have sex.... I am crying with you mckait...

Mine are 18 and 17 years old and I am so glad I have made it this far with them surviving...

184kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 13, 2009, 6:44 pm

mckait, I'm ROTFL!!! I've never heard of this book, but will look for it this week. Don't get me started on the inappropriate and sometimes vulgar behavior of Atlanta women, including single mothers and sometimes their daughters. For example, a few years ago the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that one of the popular graduation gifts for middle and upper class high school girls in and around ATL was breast augmentation surgery. 'Nuff said on that.

There are more 10 yr old girls having sex than almost any of us would believe. I have heard many mothers make the same comments as thekoolaidmom. Some of these girls are already pretty developed, and dress to attract attention from older boys.

I could mention a number of horror stories involving pre-teen and young teen girls with STDs and who have been sexually abused by older boys, but I won't here. It's an entirely different world from the one I grew up in.

185MissTeacher
Apr 13, 2009, 6:51 pm

I can't even think about it...I only see the faces of so many of my female students who have tried to grow up too fast, only to realize where it's gotten them...

On a lighter note--koolaid, I immediately put Accommodating Broccoli in the Cemetery on my wishlist...but as you can see, I have this nagging need to spell everything correctly (which the Touchstones won't obey). God forbid my computer thinks I'm ignorant!

186mckait
Apr 13, 2009, 6:57 pm

doc~ do let me know what you think :) I may just read it next.
I stumbled on this book on Amazon, and couldn't resist it, with a title like that!

as we spoke of before, a parentectomy is sometimes in order.....

187thekoolaidmom
Apr 13, 2009, 7:19 pm

rofl... MissTeacher, I copied the title right off the book, which is the only reason I know I spelled it right... :-p

Words I have the hardest time spelling are: Wierd or weird? accross or across? adress or address? vegitables? vegiatables?? I usually put the word in my google bar and type the one that comes up as correct from the suggester... suggestor?

188richardderus
Apr 13, 2009, 9:06 pm

I think I will upchuck. These are LITTLE GIRLS and they have had sex.

I want a list, a gun, and civil and criminal immunity, and this problem will change. I am shaking. My daughter could have been one of those girls, had she not been better cared for...any of our kids could have walked that path...how in the name of all that's holy can a parent allow this to happen? No one can possibly think it's okay!

189thekoolaidmom
Apr 14, 2009, 1:30 am

well, richardderus, I know that with at least one of the girls, the parents were busy selling drugs and growing mj in their basement. Some of the other parents are probably clueless, and prefer to stay that way.

What breaks my heart, personally, is that Maggie sees how a lot of the boys in her class want to go out with this girl. We have had quite a few conversations about not giving up your dignity just to keep a boy, because, in the end, you lose them anyway, and they're not worth keeping. I'm always telling them two things in particular, "If he says, 'If you love me you will...' Tell him, 'If you loved me, you wouldn't ask," and "There is NOTHING a boy needs to say to you alone in the dark of the back seat of his car that can't tell you in well-lit dining room of McDonald's."

190shootingstarr7
Apr 14, 2009, 2:22 am

I had kind of a frustrating day, and decided that retail therapy was the best way to handle it- and I was right. I could feel the tension fall off my body as I walked into the bookstore. I came home with:

Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
The Lost Hours by Karen White (no touchstone)

I fully anticipate finishing Perfect Fifths within a day or so.

191RedBowlingBallRuth
Apr 14, 2009, 8:04 am

I just got home from the library with
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne Du Maurier
Paula by Isabel Allende

192mckait
Apr 14, 2009, 8:08 am

richard...

I see bad parenting decisions every day..

A boy whose mom wouldn't allow him to be fitted with DAFOs ( plastic braces) because he was going to die anyway. ( True, eventually... but...)

Another boy whose oxygen level is frequently in the low 80's and mom won't answer the phone when we call..won't allow him to be hospitalized when he is at his worst. His brother recently died of the same dx he has.

Kids sent to school so ill, they literally cannot hold their heads up.

Kids taken from hospitals and brought directly to school..

and so much more ...

It doesn't surprise me at all. It makes me ill, but it doesn't surprise me. Some parents are way too busy with other things to care for their kids. The book makes a reference to the sex thing very briefly.. simply states it and moves on to the parents whose kids have to have the most, the best, the biggest etc..

It is a book that takes an amusing look at a sad state of affairs.

193DevourerOfBooks
Apr 14, 2009, 8:18 am

Grabbed four books yesterday:
-Lucky Girl by Mei-Ling Hopgood and Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott from their respective publishers
-Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh for my husband to start reading (my wine and book club is switching to a beer and book club next month and inviting the boys)
-My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson from Bookmooch

194MissTeacher
Apr 14, 2009, 12:42 pm

Oh, RedBowlingBallRuth, be prepared to cry your eyes out with Paula. I think page one of my copy has tearstains on it.

195cindysprocket
Apr 14, 2009, 2:19 pm

Received my ER book in the mail today. Annie's Ghost by Steve Luxenberg. "A journey into a family secret". Looks interesting.

196mckait
Edited: Apr 14, 2009, 3:05 pm

I was going to congratulate you on having an ER book that actually had a touchstone, but then I clicked on it .. lol

ooops! eta

I finished Stop Dressing Your Six Year Old Like a Skank and Other Bits of Delicate Southern Wisdom by Celia Rivenbard I found much to make me LOL.

197DeltaQueen50
Edited: Apr 14, 2009, 3:28 pm

Brought home two today, Gossip From Thrush Green by Miss Read. This is a comfort read for me, when all else fails, Miss Read's gentle writing soothes me. Number two is Bangkok 8 by John Burdett, which I think was recommended by McKait, I remember her stating that she started it and was lost for the day, and that sounds like just the kind of book for me!

198jdthloue
Edited: Apr 14, 2009, 4:05 pm

Re: Stop Dressing Your Six-Year Old like a Skank...

while i dearly love you both mckait and richarddear.. y'all don't live in HILLBILLY HELL ..as i do...i have a good friend who made it a point of honor to pluck her 10 year old daughter's eyebrows...slap on the lip gloss..and attire her in HO duds....maybe Jayne doesn't know what message this is sending..but Mattison (her daughter) is soooo young, emotionally... and i think this is a problem everywhere...you got HOs on YouTube and on TV everywhere...and yes..nowadays...12-year-olds can get pregnant..it's a shame...but if parents can't be, uh, parents...things won't improve...let's start a movement for Adult/Parental Responsibility...watch out...for rocks aimed at your head

;-p
J

yes, i know my post is OFF TOPIC...but this is where it started...mea culpa

199mckait
Apr 14, 2009, 4:13 pm

Not off topic .... its about a book :)

200richardderus
Apr 14, 2009, 5:31 pm

>189 thekoolaidmom: koolaidmom, I am so glad I did this job when I did. If I tried to do it now, I would be hospitalized every week with a new aneurysm, and jailed before long after taking a two-by-four to some clueless idiot parent's head.

>192 mckait:. I have no words. How do you go back there, day upon day after day, and enfold those poor children in warmth and caring? I understand burnout, of course, but this...!

>198 jdthloue: Hiya Jude! Not that this stuff is new...remember Jerry Lee Lewis and his 13-year-old cousin? Loretta Lynn getting pregnant at 14? Priscilla Presley going off with adult Elvis at 13? But it seems to be less uncommon, or are we simply hearing about it more?

201msf59
Apr 14, 2009, 6:28 pm

>197 DeltaQueen50:: DeltaQueen50- I'm also a big fan of Bangkok 8. The other books in the series are also very good but the 1st one is a dandy! Enjoy!

202SpongeBobFishpants
Apr 14, 2009, 7:13 pm

My ER book Frozen In Time arrived today.

203janoorani24
Apr 14, 2009, 8:14 pm

I received Frozen in Time by Nikki Nichols today, also.

I also got Regency Buck by Georette Heyer today.

204thekoolaidmom
Apr 14, 2009, 8:39 pm

Okay... just mooched me own copy of the li'l skank book ;-)

205AMQS
Apr 14, 2009, 8:46 pm

Mine's "in transit" to my library branch.

206LeHack
Apr 14, 2009, 9:45 pm

I already finished two of last week's new books:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - couldn't put it down.
Daemon - this moved from the first few pages. Another one read too late into the night, but finished in two days

I also just brought home Turn Coat a Harry Dresden novel and Borderline a Nevada Barr mystery. More reading for this week.

207jdthloue
Edited: Apr 14, 2009, 11:36 pm

....Ahem.i've been Off-Topic too much

so to get really off topic...today i downloaded to my Kindle

Chronicles, Vol 1 by Bob Dylan

Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellls

yes, i have joined the Techno Generation.....so sue me....

>mckait..the Skank book has been on my Amazon Wishlist for quite a while...give me some credit here...

208porchsitter55
Edited: Apr 15, 2009, 1:02 am

I am sick with worry over my 13 year old niece who has ADD. She is gorgeous with amazing red hair and a blossoming little figure. She comes complete with a little flirty teenage "attitude" and her mom (my sis), our mom and I are freaking out because my niece keeps putting her cell phone number on Myspace and asking everyone to "text me!!".

I look at this beautiful young thing and wonder at what age she'll come home knocked up or with some disease......oh lord.

My nephew seems to have a solid head on his shoulders (he's 16) but these kids' daddy is an alcoholic and grandpa before him was an alcoholic as well. Nephew has tried pot "but only once, mom, I swear!".

I don't have kids and although I know I am missing out on alot, I cannot imagine trying to raise kids in this day and age. God help us all stay sane in this crazy world.

209janoorani24
Apr 15, 2009, 1:20 am

>208 porchsitter55: - I know this is off topic, but I have two teenage daughters, one with ADD. This type of dangerous behavior is controllable...take away the cell phone, and the Internet access (let them use your computer (with parental controls) for homework. I know it seems harsh, but it works.

On topic,
Went to Third Place Books tonight for a book discussion and came home with oodles of books:

- Earth Abides by George Stewart
- Die for You by Lisa Unger (pre-publication review donated by book group member)
- You are Here by Christopher Potter
- Mortal Syntax by June Casagrande
- Perelandra by C. S. Lewis
- That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis
- The Marshal Makes His Report by Magdalen Nabb
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

210mckait
Edited: Apr 15, 2009, 6:12 am

janoorani24, that is what I would say, but you beat me too it. Her happiness is secondary to her safety. This is behavior that really does requires consequences, especially since it sounds like she has been told once but keeps doing it.
'
eta

I went to a local library today to look at their buy me books. I got caught up talking to Sandra who works there ( my daughter used to work there) and never did get to buy a book. Thank the goddess!

211Eat_Read_Knit
Apr 15, 2009, 6:26 am

Three mooches arrived today - Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty and Peter Høeg's Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow. Just a slight contrast between those and the two Mills & Boon historical romances that arrived in the post yesterday...

212SpongeBobFishpants
Apr 15, 2009, 11:06 am

# 209. That is the advice we follow with our 15 yr old son. He has no unrestricted access to the computer, it's locked. If he wants to use it he must ask and we keep an eye on what he's up to. We keep an eye on his MySpace page and if something we don't think is safe is posted on his page by him or any of his friends he must delete it or lose the account. Same thing with his phone. We even lock the TV if he starts neglecting his homework or chores in favor of "The Simpson's" and "Family Guy". I know it seems harsh, but until he's 18 we have to keep him safe AND answer for his behavior. *shrug*

I went to Third Place Books my own self last week for a cup of tea and a magazine. I left 3 hours later with 96 dollars in books and a bag of Burney Bros. Barbecue. It's a dangerous place. Every book I stumbled across that I *HAD* to have that night, with the exception of one, had nearly pristine used copies sitting next to the new ones. I felt like Jesus being tempted by the devil.

213jhedlund
Apr 15, 2009, 12:41 pm

'If you loved me, you wouldn't ask," and "There is NOTHING a boy needs to say to you alone in the dark of the back seat of his car that can't tell you in well-lit dining room of McDonald's." Koolaidmom, I'm going to keep those handy for when my 6 yo gets older. I am shaking right now over the thought of 4th graders having sex.

We have very strict controls over what our kids can watch on TV, and my daughter doesn't even use the computer yet. I figure, the longer we can keep her in her imagination (AND learning to READ) the better.

I've heard about a book called Packaging Girlhood by Sharon Lamb that deals with the sexualization of young girls, etc. I've had it on my bookmooch wishlist for a while. I wonder if anyone's read it??

214AMQS
Apr 15, 2009, 12:58 pm

#213, I agree. My daughters are 7 and 10, and they seem very "young" -- they and their friends play "Little House on the Prairie" and build fairy houses, and read, read, read, and that's just the way I like it. My girls never watched TV -- they would watch videos, and only on "video day". When it wasn't video day, they never even asked. Now my 10-year old uses the computer a lot -- mostly for school: all her math and science textbooks and homework are on-line, and her current book report is a power point presentation using online sources. As she gets more mature and more independent she seems to be making good choices, and still chooses to be a young 10-year old. Counting myself very lucky!

215MissTeacher
Edited: Apr 15, 2009, 2:36 pm

Just narrowly missed an overdue fine at the library (why is it always the books I don't want to read that I get fined for?), but also found that I had two waiting for me! Two nice, girly, somewhat fluffy reads to hopefully finish out my vacation on a good note: Super in the City by Daphne Uviller, and the I-have-to-read-the-next-one-before-I-explode Voyager, by Gabaldon.

Edited to try to figure out why it keeps putting ellipses on explode.

216thekoolaidmom
Apr 15, 2009, 3:49 pm

I got Dante Club in the mail from PBS today....

and jhedlund, I added Packing Girlhood to my wishlists, as well. I do have a couple books on Mt. TBR like it. Deadly Persuasion (for som reason, the TS for this one say Can't Buy My Love and Can't Buy My Love, both which sound like they'd fit well with your book.

217porchsitter55
Apr 15, 2009, 4:39 pm

Yeah, I hear ya on the internet restriction....that's how I would do it. Unfortunately, since I don't have kids, my sis would probably not appreciate my opinion on how to raise her daughter. My niece thinks reading is a bore. That really kills me...

In defense of my sis...she is working a very taxing full time job, dealing with an alcoholic husband with no job and no driver's license (LOSER), and trying her best to keep the family from imploding. She tries to keep tabs on what the kids are doing online but they seem to be pretty slick in finding their way around the rules.

I kept telling my sis about the cell phone number appearing on my niece's Myspace page and next thing I know, niece figured out it was Aunt Julie ratting on her, so she deleted me from her friends list. lol

218porchsitter55
Apr 15, 2009, 4:41 pm

Sorry about hijacking the thread.....

carry on......

219mckait
Apr 15, 2009, 4:42 pm

Ursula, Underby Ingrid Hill Amazon market

220mckait
Edited: Apr 15, 2009, 4:45 pm

not a problem porchy... wishing luck... tough situation there...
seems like a cell phone that will only take and make calls from limited numbers would help. It is a bad situation for sure, but it could get worse :(

221Fluffyblue
Apr 15, 2009, 7:23 pm

So a few books came home wth me today and also nice Mr Postman brought me a couple from Bookmooch:

Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence
I Captured the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Juggler by Sebastian Beaumont (touchstone not working)
The Yorkshire Ripper by Roger Cross
The Spare Room by Helen Garner (ER Book)

I haven't got room for any more books but I can't stop buying them!

222momom248
Apr 15, 2009, 7:24 pm

porchy--I too wish your sister luck. I have a 16 yr. old and 13 yr. old and their behavior lately (esp. 16 yr. old) leaves me asking myself--and I had children why????

223msf59
Apr 15, 2009, 7:56 pm

From Early Reviewers:
Fatal Light by Richard Currey. I have not heard of this reissue but it sounds very compelling!
From Bookmooch:
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill. A crime novel, set in Laos and of course another LT recommendation.

224janoorani24
Apr 15, 2009, 8:02 pm

Just returned home from a college visit with my daughter. Of course, went to the bookstore and came home with three new books...

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue by John H. McWhorter
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
The Book on the Book Shelf by Henry Petroski

And my daughter has finally decided where she's going to school next year! Yay!!

225mstrust
Apr 15, 2009, 8:24 pm

Received two mooches-
Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. The LT group read of The Blind Assassin has made me a fan.

226jhedlund
Apr 15, 2009, 9:53 pm

I just picked up Sepulchre by Kate Mosse at the library sale. It's gotten so-so reviews here on LT, but I liked Labyrinth, so I'm willing to give it a try.

227mckait
Apr 16, 2009, 5:42 am

I disliked Labyrinth so much that I gave it to my dentists receptionist midway through.. I was struggling through it, she said it looked good.. I handed it over.. lol. Made both our days. :)

228nancyewhite
Apr 16, 2009, 10:52 am

Got a haul at the library yesterday. Almost all of these are LT inspired.

Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander
Coal River by Michael Shnayerson
The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin
Farthing by Jo Walton
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

229richardderus
Apr 16, 2009, 2:51 pm

Woot and double woot! (I just refuse to use zeroes in place of the letter "o" but I like the word.)

The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C.M. Mayo arrived from the ER program, and I couldn't be more thrilled! I *love* historical novels and I am a sucker for Mexican themes, since I spent a goodly amount of time while in Texas on the Mexican border. It's where my mother was born, and her family was living until the 1980s.

How big a sucker am I for 'em? I bought Hunger's Brides, a MAMMOTH bazillion-page 10-inch-square novel! (Okay it's not quite that big.) Sor Juana as a subject will sell me every time.

230momom248
Apr 16, 2009, 3:03 pm

#224 Jan--I just did the same thing w/ my daughter. She knows where she wants to go now we have to be sure she gets accepted.

231POLLYPIPS
Edited: Apr 16, 2009, 3:07 pm

From work:-

Look who it is by Alan Carr
The Other Woman by Joy Fielding
Eat My Globe by Simon Majumdar A wonderful book but i am bias towards this one and will be buying it
Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett

232MissTeacher
Apr 16, 2009, 4:09 pm

richard - let me know how The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire is. I want to read it!

233lsh63
Apr 16, 2009, 5:21 pm

I just had to use my credit at the used bookstore. I left with:

The Man in the Queue my first Tey
Poirot Investigates
The Stone Diaries

234Moomin2009
Apr 16, 2009, 5:41 pm

Because I had to take it back to the library before I actually got chance to read it I bought Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon today, and also Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen which was recommended on here.

235thekoolaidmom
Apr 16, 2009, 10:11 pm

#228 nancywhite I love Gargoyle, it's on my top ten fav list. It's also one of my favorite new author books. I can't brag on Gargoyle enough! :-D

236FicusFan
Apr 16, 2009, 11:11 pm


At 235 posts, should we start a new thread ?