Obtaining Books in October

The university bookshop is having their biannual sale. I bought three books at prices I can barely imagine.

Ahlan wa Sahlan - list price $120, I paid $18
Introducing Phonetic Science by Ashby and Maidment - list price $55, I paid $10
and
Introducing Phonology by Odden - List price $75, I paid $15.

For $40, I got what is normally $250.

*happy dance*

Good haul Will!

I managed to pick up a couple more from the charity shop this weekend:

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Blue Knight by Joseph Wambaugh
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

Expecting the delivery of The Absolute Death at some point in the not too distant future.

After seeing it used on Amazon for over $900, I managed to find a copy of book two of Gunnerkrigg Court (a graphic novel series) for $17 on B&N...just in time for daughter's birthday. Yay!

Fresh from the charity shop :

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.
L'orée du bois et L'art de la mémoire (Little, Big by John Crowley published in 2 parts here)
Mercy Thompson 1 : L'appel de la lune (Moon Called by Patricia Briggs) for someone who usually enjoys those kind of series but hadn't yet gotten into this one as far as I know. Might give it a peek as well.
Loup Solitaire 6 : La Pierre de Sagesse (Lone Wolf 6 : Kingdoms of Terror by Joe Dever) To proceed with my lazy collecting of "Choose your own adventure" series I enjoyed in the past.

Some Agatha Christie from BookMooch
Three-act Tragedy
Taken at the Flood
Third Girl

And from PaperBackSwap
The Day the Earth Caved In: An American Mining Tragedy

My brother owed me some money. I took it in book form instead, so now I have the new Russel/Holmes by Laurie R King, Pirate King.

As I need the money more than the books, I will likely be selling some folio books I've had for a year or two now and hardly touched. Depending on how much I make, part of the proceeds will likely go to books, but most is earmarked for bills. :(

Had to order Ghost Story today.

3 for £5 offer caught my eye even though there was only 2 that I really wanted:

Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
Divergent by Veronica Roth

and the third to make it worthwhile:

The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis

Raja Yoga
Edgar Allen Poe: Poetry and Tales
American Fantastic Tales

I'm especially happy because I managed to pick up AFT for $38 for both volumes, used. I don't have the box for the set, but that wasn't really a deal breaker for me. The Poe was from my favorite used shop, Magus, which has a small book case stuffed with LOA, most of them slipcased. I can't seem to walk out of that place without buying one. I just hope the copy of the Chandler they have sticks around til I can grab it.

I bought an anthology of 50s sci-fi for $3 from a stall yesterday. I'm already devouring many of the stories - William Tenn, Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Sheckley, Algis Budrys, ...

Ooh, Choreocrat! That sounds lovely.

I was downtown today running some errands, and, well, there were the used bookstores, just waiting for me *sigh*. So I picked up:

High Spirits by Robertson Davies
Inheritor by C.J. Cherryh
The Moor by Laurie R. King (blame THAT one on sandragon - she got me hooked on this series! lol).

But I just noticed that a new Flavia de Luce is soon to be out - I Am Half Sick of Shadows. How can I help but love an author who uses quotes from Tennyson! November 1!!

Friends of the library book sale today, and three books decided they wanted to move in with me:

A Scantling of Time by G.H. Tanser (too newly catalogued for the touchstone, but a history of the first 10 years of Salisbury, Rhodesia -- now Harare, Zimbabwe).
Atlas of the Year 1000 by John Man -- I think @DaynaRT would like this one, and
Photoshop CS Savvy by Stephen Romaniello -- essential reading if I want to be in a league within measurable distabce of our regular photographers.

All these for ZAR10 (about US$1.25) each!

Last month the secondhand bookshop yielded a book of collected newspaper columns by my favourite local humourist:
Clarke on your Stoep by James Clarke --- cost more than the rest put together, and the smallest of the lot!

12 - katylit, THAT I don't mind being blamed for :o) I'm glad you're enjoying the series.

At Goodwill I found

Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon, beautiful poetry by Pablo Neruda

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (magical realism/chick lit)

The Pesthouse by Jim Crace (post apocalyptic)

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

The Cancer Dictionary

there was more, ten in total. All $1-2. Wahoo!

I blame @saltmanz, Naked City, Dark and Stormy Knights and Q's Legacy are now on order from Amazon. The first two are directly his fault, the third is from my wishlist since I needed to have the right amount to get free Shipping. :)

16 have you read 84 Charing Cross Road yet? I enjoyed both, but found myself skimming large parts of Q as Im not as into theater as books and autodidactism.

I've been on a Sherlock Holmes kick lately so when the used book store had its 50% off sale last week I picked up The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes and His Last Bow. I'd have ideally liked to have picked up a full compendium of all the books but unfortunately they didn't have that.

18 Interesting. In my experience the individual books are actually harder to find than the Complete Sherlock Holmes. I know Barnes and Noble sells at least two different versions of it.

>19 DeusExLibrus: I was surprised that they didn't have one as well. I did see the one at Barnes and Noble the last time I was there, but didn't have the money at that time and it is a bit of a trip to get back there again.

@@MrsLee: LOL, my pleasure. :)

@18-20: My inlaws got me the new B&N edition of The Complete Sherlock Holmes for Christmas, and it's fantastic. The only downside? No illustrations.

So far this October, I've picked up (all at Half Price Books):

Passage at Arms by Glen Cook for $1.50

Welcome to the Jungle Dresden Files hardcover graphic novel by Jim Butcher and Ardian Syaf for $9 (already read it and it was awesome)

Elric in the Dream Realms by Michael Moorcock for $6

Birthday's coming up in a week, though, so there will definitely be more purchases made this month.

@DeusExLibrus, yep I have. That's why I have her other books on my wishlist, because I wanted to know more of her, however, they may be way over my head, never having been to NYC or into any sort of intellectualista at all. :)

22 How do you create a link to someone's profile? I've seen it a couple times before, but never been able to figure out how to do it.

@23: Type "@" followed by the username.

edit - Apparently, there's a user named "23". :)

Hmm, guess I thought it would also send up a flag to the person to let them know they had been mentioned in a post, but it doesn't seem to. Still, it's pretty.

I'm broke so I'm trying to not obtain books in October, sadly :-(

Amazon got me again, sending me a blurb about a new collections of Sherlock Holmes inspired short stories with authors like Laurie King and Neil Gaiman. Sold! A Study in Sherlock. Then, of course, it gave me some other options I might be interested in, like a couple of her short stories for .99. So, I took the bait. I bought all of these for the Kindle, since I know my mom will love them too.

Today I received Ghost Story, it is so lovely and virgin-looking, waiting for me to sit down and caress it! Also had notice they are shipping Snuff, so there goes any free time I thought I would spend doing mundane things like housework. ;)

Picked up Raymond Chandler: Later Novels and Other Writings from Magus for $20. I now have almost as many slipcased LoA volumes as ones that don't have slipcases.

27 MrsLee

Of course people telling me about new Sherlock Holmes Anthologies isn't going to help that goal...sigh

27-MrsLee-- The story by, Neil Gaiman A Study in Emerald is fun!

I made the mistake ;) of going to Bookcloseouts and found some historical fiction:
The Borgia Bride
The Lady in the Tower
Poison
Her Mother's Daughter
Signora Da Vinci
Daughter of York

then a few that were just good deals:
Bury Your Dead
Snowman
I am Hutterite

Then I also got Case histories because it is coming to masterpiece theater

The only book I've actually purchased for this month was the latest on the Romulan War from the Enterprise series. These have become so few and far between... and are NOT carried by /any/ book selling store any more... I had to pounce on it as soon as it was announced.

When Kobayashi Maru came out I went to every store that sold books within an hour's drive of my home... ONE store had it... in the back, had never put it on display and it was about to be sent back because they said no one wanted it. Thank heaven for the guy who heard me asking someone about it, then perked his head up and said, "Wait! I know what book she's talking about, it's in back!" He admitted to ordering them because he thought some people would want it. Not so.

From then on I have had to get Enterprise from Amazon. At least that way I know it'll come right to my door and I don't spend days calling/looking around for them. I know the series was hated and I'm in the minority of fans, but come on... Anyway, it was pre-ordered months ago, as soon as it was possible, so if that counts, that's what I've got that's new for the month.

Just got back from Barnes and Noble where I picked up a copy of HP Lovecraft: the Complete Fiction.

Hmmm. Need to add the Lovecraft to my list of suggested presents from the wife. That's a beautiful edition.

I've got too many Lovecraft collections already, but I still very much want that B&N edition.

Came back from the local university's bookstore with a copy of the Horror in the Museum. Even better? Its the Arkham House edition, which, if I'm right, means its got some value to it.

Ordered 6 books from Chapters online, they came in about a week. Two by Ilona Andrews, so I could read the series starting with Magic Bites in order, two of hers in another series, plus Grave Secret and Divided Allegiance to complete those series. Lots of brain candy! On a less frivolous note, I have also ordered another book online, to help me understand and use my new camera better, but it isn't here yet.

Was given (oh boy!!) a copy of the new Ferns of southern Africa (so new the touchstone doesn't work yet) at its launch yesterday evening. It's signed by all four authors and both dedicatees -- woo-hoo! At 1.76 kg (think 3.5 lb) it's hardly a field guide, though.

Today was the last day of the town book sale and I just couldn't resist (I have no willpower when it comes to books) and, besides they were going 5 for a $1.00!! So I've given a very good home to:
Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel (for the grandchild's bookshelf)
The House in Dormer Forest by Mary Webb
The Man Who Was Magic by Paul Gallico
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Eleanor the Queen by Norah Lofts
The Winding Stair: Francis Bacon, His Rise and Fall by Daphne du Maurier (who knew???)
Moonfleet by J. Meade Falkner
Part of the Furniture by Mary Wesley
Random Passage by Bernice Morgan
Traffics and Discoveries by Rudyard Kipling
Mine Own People in Black and White by Rudyard Kipling
Cod, A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky (Thanks sandragon, hee hee)
The Oxford Illustrated History of the British Monarchy
Wildly Romantic, The English Romantic Poets: The Mad, The Bad, and the Dangerous by Catherine M. Andronik
Dracula the Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker

*sigh* it was a good day :-)

Found at local thrift store:

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
Doc Holliday by John Myers
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days

At a local book sale:

The Bird Artist by Howard Norman
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (nice hardcover)
Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
Beautiful Ghosts by Eliot Pattison
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
Night Soldiers by Alan Furst
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (nice hardcover)
Shakespeare The Biography by Peter Ackroyd
There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz (nice hardcover)
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (nice edition)
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (nice edition)
Emperor of the Air by Ethan Canin
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Home by Marilynne Robinson (nice hardcover)

My latest:
Henry's Night by D. B. Johnson (A child's picture book about Henry David Thoreau??)
The Night Before Christmas (illustrated by Mary Engelbreit this time.)
Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
The Slaves' War by Andrew Ward (nonfiction narrative woven of slave narratives)

38- Wait a sec, katylit. How is Cod my fault? Not that I mind being blamed for enabling, but I haven't read this one yet. His oyster book I've read, but not Cod.

Great hauls though, all.

#38 - Had to add that Du Maurier book to my wishlist!

sandragon, do you mean to say that it's "just" on your wishlist or TBR list?? Huh! I could've sworn you'd read it, oh well, maybe I'll get to it first and let you know how it is ;-)

Yup MrsLee, I was very excited when I saw that du Maurier, I knew she'd written a book about her father/family, but I didn't know about the Bacon one. A delightful discovery.

MerryMary, that child's book about Thoreau sounds wonderful, might have to look for that one too. Ah, this is such a dangerous thread, *chuckle*.

You guys are definitely dangerous to hang out with....I'm leaving now....

#38, 42. How very pleasant to be one jump ahead of you both for a change! I read Cod about a year ago, and predict that you'll love it. For me it's certainly an important reason why I'll head for the next Mark Kurlansky offering in eager anticipation of another good read!

I'm am very happily now the owner of a secondhand copy of The Violet Apple & The Witch.

Oh, and I got the Kindleized version of The Hobbit

@katylit, Cod was on my wishlist, but I've got a copy now. Looking forward to reading it soon, @hfglen (soon being a relative word).

I got the following lovelies for my birthday:
Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pajamas by Judy Parkinson
An Apple a Day: Old-Fashioned Proverbs: Timeless Words to Live by by Caroline Taggart
Folly and Keeping Watch by Laurie R King
Rift in the Sky by Julie Czerneda

and I found The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson on my own, which I've since noticed has an average rating of 4.48. Nice!

*rubs hands gleefully*

Yesterday my mail carrier delivered About Time: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who, volumes 1-6. I may not reemerge for a couple months.

Ahh, all is explained now. Hugh, it must have been your positive comments that inspired me. It does sound like a great book and I'm going to bump it up to next on the TBR pile.

Good birthday haul sandragon! I love the title of Judy Parkinson's.

As one of the last people to actually get around to picking up The Hunger Games series I think I got a good deal today. All 3 books for £5 from The Works. Also picked up Every Dead Thing and Knots & Crosses.

Birthday time! At Half Price Books I picked up:

The Book of Jhereg and The Book of Taltos by Steven Brust
Empire in Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross

I also ordered:

Faded Steel Heat and Gilded Latten Bones by Glen Cook (the last Garrett books I was missing)
The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
Echo: Complete Edition by Terry Moore

katylit, Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pajamas is a nice little book explaining the origins about common sayings. It was very apropo because a half hour before my MIL gave it to me, my BIL, not knowing about the book, was explaining where the term flea bag came from. I immediately tried to look up 'flea bag' but sadly it wasn't there.

52 - saltmanz, I read a Gene Wolfe short story a little while ago which I liked, and keep thinking I need to pick up some of his longer work. But the Cerberus collection of short stories sounds good too.

@sandragon: If I recall, Cerberus is actually three intertwined novellas. I've read a few of his short story collections, and they're quite good; The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories includes some of his best work, but Starwater Strains might be my favorite.

Thanks for the rec, saltmanz. I'll keep my eyes open for them.

MrsLee--thanks for mentioning Snuff! The big river is going to float a copy over to Shanghai for DD's birthday. She loves Vimes and this gift is one that is making me feel all clappity, dancity smuggity--I can hardly wait until she gets it! Don't you love it when you have purchased a gift that makes you fell that way!!!!!

Absolutely!

Streamsong: If you need some suggestions how to get books/ packets cheap to China, send me a pm. 6 years and 800 books later I collected quite some experience ;)

Initiate's trial ! Woot. Not officially released until the end of the month, but Kobo are already selling the ebooks. .... now for the difficult question, how many of the preceeding 8 books to re-read?

and as I was buying ebooks anyway snuff which I may well read before starting the Wars of Light and Shadow marathon.

Just got back from a week in Philadelphia, and my luggage is full of the evidence :
Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson
Fortune and fate - Sharon Shinn
Troubled waters - Sharon Shinn
The dead and the gone - Susan Beth Pfeffer
This world we live in - Susan Beth Pfeffer
House of the seven gables - Hawthorne
Absolute midnight - Clive Barker
Latro in the mist by Gene Wolfe
The girl who circumnavigated fairyland by Cathrynne Valente
Mechanique by Genevive Valentine
Aleta Day by Francis Marion Beynon
Half magic by Edward Eager
The Ramsay scallop by Francis Temple
Adam on the road by Elizabeth Gray
The door in the wall by Marguerite de Angeli
The dancing bear by Peter Dickinson
The good master by Kate Seredy

and most likely a few others that I've forgotten.

Went to an Oxfam Bookshop today and a few other charity shops along the way:

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (Penguin Classics edition)
The Lost City of Z by David Grann
Unto Leviathan (aka Ship of Fools) by Richard Paul Russo
All the Empty Places by Mark Timlin (another one for the No Exit 18 Years collection)
Hollywood Station by Joseph Wambaugh
The Book of the New Sun: Volume 1: Shadow and Claw by Gene Wolfe
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

Now all I have to do is find room and the time to read them.

Visited a lovely used bookstore in Kingston yesterday and picked up:

The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge
Mirage by Pauline Gedge - I already had the paperback (Canadian version, entitled The Scroll of Saqqara - but this is a lovely, prestine hardcover.
Lady Hester by Charlotte M. Yonge.

Went to a library booksale today and came home with 19 books (11 HC, 8 PB) and a nice canvas totebag for $4.00.

Last Snow by Eric Van Lustbader
Medusa by Clive Cussler
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
The Midnight House by Alex Berenson
At All Costs by David Weber
Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child
Blowback by Brad Thor
The First Commandment by Brad Thor
The Silent Sea by Clive Cussler
The Apostle by Brad Thor
Rules of Prey by John Sandford
Path of the Assassin by Brad Thor
Takedown by Brad Thor
Wicked Prey by John Sandford
The Surgeon by Tess Geritsen
The Apprentice by Tess Geritsen
Naked Prey by John Sandford
Invisible Prey by John Sandford
The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry

Picked up a copy of the Walking Dead volume 1 from the local comics shop this afternoon.

So far I've recieved copies of Game of Thrones in hardback, as well as Chronicles of Narnia in the Barnes and Noble Library of Essential Authors bonded leather edition as birthday presents. Life is good. :D

Additional purchases made with birthday money:

The Haunter of the Dark and Other Stories by H. P. Lovecraft (purchased exclusively for the reason that it contains the entire "Fungi from Yuggoth" series of sonnets; the other stories I own at least once, if not twice over)
The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross
A Jules Verne omnibus
Star Wars: Invincible by Troy Denning
Star Wars: Order 66 by Karen Traviss
Star Wars: Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

Sadly, I got no book money for my birthday. :( Though I did get gift cards to my favorite coffee shop and grocery store. You know you're living on your own when you're excited about getting gift cards to grocery stores. :D

Just got back from an evening out at the local B&N. Came back with the Walking Dead Volume 2. Blew through volume one, looking forward to this. The two stories have already veered in different directions pretty severely, which only peaks my interest.

The camera guides I ordered got here today :) The set has a complete guide plus a "to go" guide, plus a CD with 3 PDF ebooks - the complete guide, and guides to Nikon software and video, plus some digital extras. I'm really looking forward to going through them to figure out my camera better.

I heard from Amazon that I Am Half Sick of Shadows will be released in November and they're offering it at quite the discount, so I pre-ordered it. While I was visiting Amazon I happened to notice that Night Circus was available for half price, so I ordered that too. I've been looking at it at RL bookstores and it looks intriguing.

I am amazed at how quickly Amazon delivers, I ordered it two days ago and it arrived yesterday. Nice!

Well, here's everything from October:

Well, that is certainly easier than listing each and every book. Nice haul, dude.

Probably the last couple of the month for me are:

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

I do have Fables Deluxe Edition Volume 3 on order though which might arrive before the month is completely out.

Let's see if this link works. I picked up my usual bagful at the public library's fall sale, quite heavy on the mysteries.

Jim, that link takes me to a page with the title, but it says, "This collection is empty"

Not actually bought any books this month except Christmas presents for my family. Got a fair no on loan from library though and I am fancying one of my guilty pleasures which are new Stargate novels due in November!

@75: Funny, Jim's link worked (and still works) for me, but only if I'm logged in.

Doesn't work for me even when logged in.

Link works fine for me--I thought it was a clever way to give info on the books until I saw other people were having problems with it.

>75 MrsLee: Saltzman--I like your photo, too. There's a few of the titles I can't read, but the pile is striking. My immediate reaction to it is "Where could I put that pile?"

I'm really, really, really trying to not grow MT TBR. So I feel that I did well by only acquiring a few in October.

1. book for small group at Church. Title will be nameless, since it was so panned here on LT, I was embarrassed to add it to my books--but I did, if you're really curious.

2. Early Reviewer book This is US:the New All-American Family by David Marin (read but still working on review).

3. Chick lit loaned by friend Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy

4. Library book Pilgrim's Regress by C S Lewis

5. & 6. Two as presents for DD A Clash of Kings and Snuff

(I am really really really not going to count the ones that I picked up the last day of the FOL booksale which was October 1, BUT because the sale STARTED in September and I was sooooooo good after bringing home a couple dozen from the sale and it would really mess up my not-acquiring-books-for-the-mtn October stats they don't count, they don't count, they don't count. Sort of like calories you eat standing up don't count)

I'm really, really, really trying to not grow MT TBR
*falls over in a faint*

70 - katylit, Night Circus has caught my eye as well. Still debating whether or not to try it. It sounded good until I saw someone on LT vaguely mention vampires/Twilight in connection to it and now I'm not sure.

71 - saltmanz, I loved the Vlad Taltos books when I read them eons ago. I've wanted a jhereg ever since. Need to read them again, especially since more in the series have come out since.

I received another book gift, The Island of the day Before by Umberto Eco. I've never read Eco before. Wondering if I need to psych myself up for it.

I ordered some books with birthday money. Regeneration: Species Imperative 3 by Julie Czerneda has arrived, but I'm still waiting for the first two books in the series.

And I also bought Rose Red, the latest Fables collection.

That'll probably be it for me for October.

my post: I'm really, really, really trying to not grow MT TBR
majikia *falls over in a faint*

Heehee. There was a thread on one of the boards asking "How long would your physical tbr hoard last if you didn't bring anymore books home?"

My answer was 4-5 years for the ones listed as tbr here on LT.... and I know I've got here and there that aren't cataloged. If I read half books off MT TBR and half new reads, that means I'm good for 9 or 10 years. And realistically, once they get on the mountain, they tend to sit there as I get sidetracked by all the shiny new baubles listed here on LT. If I count all the books from the good MT that I read in September and October, the grand total is .....one.

So... the shiny new titles hopefully will come from the library, or a friend, or I'll purchase them as a gift and sneak a quick read before they get wrapped up real purdy.

My name is Janet and I'm a biblioholic.

My name is Karen and I'm a biblioholic

oh, my, I need to ask that dangerous TBR question. I have moved my library, hence it is all shuffled, not ordered on the shelves at all; and, I have sold and given away a lot of books as my new abode just could not handle them, and my dogs, and my making cards/rubber stamping/photography hobbies. I think I might just start doing this today...orderting the books, identifying which are "GONE" and identifying which are TBR. hmmm

This is a big job!

Yesterday I bought these:

1. A Storm of Swords by George Martin. Naturally, I need to buy it, so I did.
2. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. I can't wait to crack this one open. I am a die-hard Rick Riordan fan.
3. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I've wanted to read this for awhile now, and this is my chance. I have high expectations for this one.
4. And at the last second, I decided to buy The Book Thief by Markus Zasak. Even though I just recently added it on my Wishlist, I'm still skeptical on whether or not it'll be worth it. I read the first page, and I knew instantly that it would be worth it.

Oh yes Dragonfreak. My niece recommended The Book Thief to me, saying it's her favourite book now, and I completely understand why. Just an amazing story, beautifully written and impossible to put down.

sandragon, awwww! I sure hope it's not TOO close in comparison to the Twilight series. I'll keep you posted and also keep my fingers crossed!

Just returned home from a morning at my favorite local coffee shop to find Manvotionals, the second book published by the creators of the Art of Manliness blog waiting for me on my stoop. Pre-ordered almost as soon as it was announced and waited patiently after it was delayed at least once.

>>81sandragon- The Night Circus is absolutely NOTHING like twilight I don't know who said it was but they are nothing alike!

85, 87 - katylit, susiesharp - Maybe I misinterpreted the post about The Night Circus.

abealy in the 'What are you reading the week of 22 October 2011' thread (group of the same name) writes "Just finished The Night Circus and I enjoyed much of it, though I just wanted it to tie up all the loose threads and bring it to a close about 100 pages earlier. I guess I kept wishing that it somehow would channel Ray Bradbury when it seemed more intent on pleasing the current vampire/twilight genre and 21st century cool."

Which confused and put me off at the same time. I hadn't thought The Night Circus was about vampires, and am not too interested in a vampire story at the moment anyways.

So, good to know you think they're nothing alike, Susie!

84 - DragonFreak, I read The Book Thief this year and really enjoyed it. As katylit said, an amazing story, and Death has such a sly sense of humour.

>85 katylit: and 89 I decided to read that one first and I'm on the third part. I really thought all the ideas for WWII novels were used and abused. The same with all other war books. I was wrong. This is unlike any other book I've ever read.

Well, I would have been a bit hesitant too after reading that comment sandragon. So I'm relieved to hear there's no comparison between the Twilight series and Night Circus. It's funny (serendipitous?)that abealy would be thinking about Ray Bradbury when I was reminded of him too, and also I just picked up the DVD of Something Wicked This Way Comes. Thanks Susie and sandragon :)

Splurged yesterday in order to buy a pair of Christmas gifts: the Fifth Agreement for my mom, and the Swerve: How the World became Modern for an uncle. I also finally got around to ordering a copy of Apocryphilia a short story collection that contains a couple of pieces written by a cousin of mine who is also a fellow writer.