Have you bought ANY books lately? Do tell! (Part II)

Time for a new thread for this topic!

I preordered Blaze by Richard Bachman (Stephen King). I also just ordered new copies of Little Women and To Kill a Mockingbird. My copies are in really bad shape from reading and rereading. Of course, I'll keep the new ones right beside the old ones. :)

I'm headed to Barnes and Noble this weekend. One of my students gave me a gift card as a going away gift. I can hardly wait to use it!

The local Borders is having a 40% off sale tomorrow. I plan to buy the new Kushiel and I've been looking at the new Doug Hofstadter. It's a long time since I read Godel, Escher, Bach but I really loved it. I'm wondering how Doug's philosophy has changed over time.

I ordered The Annotated Hobbit from Amazon. I meant to go to B&N to get it, but my face has swelled up to the size of an orange and now I'm due for massive oral surgery in a few days. So, I'm hiding out at home in the air conditioning and shopping online!

Oh no, fleela! What happened?

:o(

A combination of bad genes and a fear of the dentist. I've got a massive infection so I've said the heck with it and am on my way to Denture-land.

Well... you won't have to get yelled at for not flossing any more!
:o/

Hope it goes as painlessly as possible.
*hugs*

I recently purchased and have almost finished Changeling by Yasmine Galenorn. It is the second book in a trilogy. The first book is Witchling, the third (not available yet) is Darkling.

I just got The Thirteenth Tale amd Good Omens. I love my local thrift store both books for under 1.50.

I recently purchased and have almost finished Changeling by Yasmine Galenorn. It is the second book in a trilogy. The first book is Witchling, the third (not available yet) is Darkling.

Yesterday I bought: The Goddess Companion by Patricia Monaghan.
Anyone know this book??

Tuesday I ran over to Raleigh to visit two used-book stores that I used to frequent. My primary motivation was to trade in a bagful of books that we no longer want, but I was also looking for two mysteries for the mystery book group that I've joined at our library, which sadly doesn't have enough copies of the books we're reading, making for very convoluted sentences. I was delighted to find the one we're reading for next Monday, Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time. It's quite odd: the detective is in the hospital at the beginning, and develops a mysterious fascination with a picture of Richard III, leading him to read up on the wars of the roses and such. I'm eight chapters in and have yet to see the crime he's going to solve. It's quite engaging, however, so I'm not complaining, just a little mystified. While there I also picked up a couple of Jane Haddam's Gregor Demarkian mysteries. There are recurring characters, so I'm trying to read them in order, and of course the library has holes in its collection, so I was delighted to find the next two, and I even managed to come home with slightly fewer books than I left with. Plus I got dinner at the Char Grill, which makes the world's best hamburgers, so it was a very enjoyable little trip.

The Canterbury Tales came via BookMooch today. My TBR pile grows ever more unwieldy.

fleela, how are your toofs?

Jim53, I read that book! :o) I hope you enjoy it.

Nillatje, nope, don't know it.

feela, there's an episode from the first season of The West Wing ("Celestial Navigation") in which the Press Secretary's "woot canaw" causes trouble. Funny trouble, but still trouble.

>#14 Much better! The swelling's almost gone.

>#15 That's how I had to talk yesterday. Even my mom laughed at me!

MMMmmmMMM... Amazon Gift Certs for birthday are yummy...

The Haunting of Hill House by Jackson

Kiss of the Night by Kenyon

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Fadiman

Kushiel's Justice by Carey

Eating Mindfully by Albers

Crafting Personal Shrines by Owen

52 Projects by Yamaguchi

Eating in the Light of the Moon by Johnston

Bwaa haa haa! I remember that episode, now that you've mention it.

Oh, enjoy Hill House, Morphy! I just read it a couple of months ago.

Wow, lucky you Morph! I hope you enjoy Hill House too, I think it's my favourite ghost story of all time.

I agree with clam and katy. Hill House is great! Enjoy!

There are several books I want to buy, but on my mother's (wise) advice, I have decided to abstain from further book purchases until after my move, so I don't add even more stuff to my packing. So, no new books for at least a month and a half.

*sigh*

Time to dig into all the unread books sitting around my apartment, right?

Jim53 - That is a great story. I can't remember the mystery (I read it years ago), but I've never read history the same since then. I recently read a reference to it in, I think, a Rex Stout book.

I have planned to read everything Guy Gavriel Kay has written, so yesterday I placed an order for Last light of the sun. And while I was on it I ordered Cyteen as well as I need to feed my need for books by C J Cherryh while waiting for Deliverer to become available in paperback (can't have 8 of 9 books in a series in PB and 1 in HB, eh?!).

*touchy touchstones this morning...*

/Later same day/ Edited for touchstones

I made the mistake of walking into a used bookstore that has a wonderfully wide selection as well as a bargain bin. I was able to complete my quest in trying to buy the first two Thomas Covenant novels with particular cover artwork for uniformity of library's sake.

I also found Haunted Houses of Britain and Ireland in the bargain bin along with a couple of others I can't think of, presently. They're sitting in the trunk of my car right now.

Even more dangerous, I've heard tell of an even bigger store in Long Beach called Acres of Books that is actually just under an acre big. Oi, my wallet and tbr pile are going to take a hit.

Busifer - I've just finished Cyteen. It's wonderful. Possibly the best book she's written. I too am on that very long wait for Deliverer.

Partly bouyed up by the Green Dragon threads I've been meaning to read Guy Kay for some time. So I was very surprised and pleased to find Tigana on sale for £1 in the tea tent of the festival I was at over the weekend. Also picked up Gardens of the Moon to keep me going.

#21 - Work on that TBR pile.

Quick edit to kick the touchstones. Wow that worked.

#25 - Yes, it's a loooooooooooong wait... but I'm glad to hear Cyteen is worth reading :-)

I finally got a copy of Cricket for Dummies. I see that I am the only one on LT who has this! I am hoping that, maybe, just maybe, my husband and I can finally figure this game out!

good luck, hp! Cricket is crazy!

Favorite Poems from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Now don't laugh ok. He is my favorite poet, and personally I believe the best poet of all time. I just love reading his poetry!

Bought Midwinter of the Spirit and Crown of Lights double book by Phil Rickman and also got One for Sorrow Two for Joy by Clive Woodall as it was a BOGOF offer. I have just been informed that the latter is actually rubbish by a good friend of mine but oh well. My to-read pile is big enough that I'll probably read it eventually but how soon, who can say? Finished the first one which was pretty cool and am half way through the second.

Went on vacation for a couple of days, our main exercise consisted of walking in bookstores and on the beach. I found The Piper on the Mountain, City of Gold and Shadows, The Knocker on Death's Door, Death Mask, all by Ellis Peters. Reaper Man and Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. I've read or have the Pratchett books, but I loved Hogfather and someday, my daughter tells me, she is moving and taking all the Pratchett's with her, so I don't mind doubling up now. I'm looking forward to the Peters books, my favorites of hers are the Cadfael mysteries, but these are Inspector Felse and I like him well enough. At least I haven't read them.

#28 Cricket is straightforward see:

The Ins and Outs of Cricket

It's quite simple:

You have two sides: one out in the field and one in.

Each man on the side that's in goes out,

and when he is `out' he comes in and the next man goes in until he is `out'.

When they are all `out', the side that's been in the field comes in,

and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get out those coming in.

Sometimes you get men still `in' and not `out',

then when both sides have been in and out and in and out again,

including `not outs' . . . . . that's the end of the game!

reading_fox....

I'm speechless... LOLOLOL

#32 - I've had other folks in other forums try to explain Cricket to me before, and I must say, yours makes as much sense as any other explanation I've heard!

I agree with Mrs Lee... I have NEVER been able to figure out how cricket works! Not that I've spent a lot of time trying, but let's say I did not get encouraged when I discovered that my significant other once knew a top cricket player - a Simon something - who had tried explain it to to the extent that some priceless family heirloom got sacked in the process... and my husband still does not understand.

I use to say that you have to be English to understand; it's something with the genes, hehe ;-)

>35 Busifer: I'm Australian and even I don't understand Cricket...

As far as I knew, they rubbed their legs together to make that chirping noise.

*

*

*

What?!?

*Chirp chirp*

#37 Ahhhh, that would be why the priceless heirloom got sacked in Busifer's family, trying to catch the thing?

A correction is in place - it wasn't my or my husbands' heirloom; it was the infinitely well-off cricket players' family heirloom. I think he was named Ferguson or such, it was all before me and my husband ever met ;-)
(o-ho, all these 'ses, I know I got 'em wrong this time!)

Just got back from the bookstore with the kids. We had a few gift cards but, of course, I paid absolutely no attention to what we were spending and had to put in about $40 of my own money. Altogether we bought 2 cookbooks for my one son, a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories for my other son, a fairy book for my daughters, 501 Must-See Movies, Me Talk Pretty One Day, The 2,548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said (where did he come up with that number?), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Book Lust. We also have a stack of library books (about 20 I believe) so I guess you can tell what we plan on doing this summer. Happy Reading!

I recently scored a really cheap copy of The Encyclopedia of Ireland, brand new and still shrink-wrapped, from a bookseller on Amazon who was practically giving it away because the cover was a little crinkled from sitting on the shelf. I've only been able to browse through it so far, but it's fascinating.

Went to the ALA exhibits yesterday and picked up reviewer's copies of The Killing of Major Denis Mahon (touchstone not working) by Peter Duffy, and a collection of short stories, Red Spikes, by Margo Lanagan. I may send that one to my sister.

Been so long since I posted here in LT... Wow.

But anywho, on to the topic at hand: a book I've bought recently.

So here I was one Sunday afternoon retrieving the book drop from outside and I saw a red box cover for a book. Intrigued, I opened it up and what do I see? A BEAUTIFUL copy of JRR Tolkien's LotR.

I'm an honest guy, so I bring it up to the reference department who decides on the prices of the books and they give me a great deal of $20 for it. It's in great condition and I guess the librarian said it was going for $150 on eBay. :)

#43 - Good to see you again, bookmasterjmv!!! I was getting worried about you. You got a copy of the Red Book of Westmarch, then! Is it slip cased?

#41- Hey, bookaholicgirl, there's a book out there titled Book Lust???? Looks good to me! :o)

Yes, clamairy, there is. I was skimming the shelves and the title immediately jumped out at me. I believe the subtitle is something like "books for every mood" or something like that. It appears to be a book of suggested fiction reads but I haven't really had a chance to look at it much. I believe there is another edition for YA and children's lit called Book Crush. I will be looking for that as well.

I just came home from the library used book rack with a copy of The Sea by John Banville. I saw it won the Man Booker Prize, so I figure it has to be good. Right? Anyone read this?

I didn't exactly buy them, (horray for BookMooch!), but today's mail brought Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders series: Ship of Magic, Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny. I can't wait to read them, but I reallyreallyreally wish the person who was giving away Ship of Magic had mentioned that it was a hardcover. I'm glad to have it, but I really prefer not to have long books in hardcover. I tote whatever I'm reading around with me, and books that weigh 2-3 pounds are a real hassle. (Plus it won't match with all the others).

xicanti, I've gotten three hardcovers from BookMooch folks unknowingly. It's kind of them to give them away, but I sure wish that people would get the right ISBN and specify HC or PB in inventory. My shelves don't need more hardcovers. ;)

The Liveship Traders series is actually my favorite trilogy by Robin Hobb. I loved them.

I've been very good this month and haven't bought any new books for actual weeks. My TBR list is much too large for me to continue acquiring books at the rate I was. I succumbed a bit last weekend, though, and found myself with Richard the Third by Paul Murray Kendall. I couldn't help it, I've been wanting the book for months!

*hush, don't tell my husband, but I had 20 minutes between two buses so I sneaked by the SF Bookstore and bought The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire & The Darkest Road. Now I have to find a place for them - the bookcase in question is filled to the brim and I no longer can 'sneak' books in...*

*makes long distance call to Mr. Busifer*

"Do you know where your wife is?"

Just kidding, Busifer. I won't tell on you, if you don't tell on me.
:o)
Luckily my husband hasn't figured out how to check out my LT catalog for my latest purchases.

*phew*

Neither has mine but he has a prime view of the main fiction bookcase; the shelves where my most recent purchases should be (if there was space enough...) is in line with the eyes right between the sofa and the TV ;-)

And hey, he KNOW where I am - at home trying to get some work done!

I always have read a lot, but since I joined LT it has taken on gigantic proportions in relationship to the actual time I have at my disposal and I've had to promise to prioritize...

At some point I can see future arguments in some divorce court where LT's acquisitions-by-month records are cited as evidence of uncontrollable spending on the part of one spouse or the other.

Not your marriage, Busifer! Never yours! ;)

Yes, I sure could imagine that one!

But - I am the one earning the big bucks in our household, and I am also the one who advocates a shared economy. And as long as my husband insists on separate finances what I do with my money is my business, right ;-)

In this case it is NOT about money but about time not spent socializing /they are INTERNET people, they are not real... or books are fiction, go live in the REAL world/ :-)

Hey! I'm real! If you pinch me do I not feel? *Ouch!* Yes, I DO feel!

Yes, that's what I'm saying to him!
I use to say that you are people I lack in my normal social life in meatspace! And he sure do not wish to discuss my reading material with me (I've tried).

btw I dearly love my family, and I wouldn't still be living my life with my husband 13 years after we first got together if I didn't. I'm the kind of person who feels physically ill when things are not right/when I'm not true to myself.

Busifer - My husband gave up his scoffing ways when I asked him if he would like to read the books I read so we could sit down for an hour or so everyday to talk about them. :) We love each other dearly too, and one of the ways we show it is to give each other the freedom to not be together 24/7.

MrsLee - I wrote a very long answer to your post, but in the end decided to leave it at "I agree 1000% and so does my husband; it's part of our recipe for having managed to keep loving each other all this time!"
:-)

Alone time is critical to a marriage, I find. We also have "together alone time" where we have the baseball game on, but we are each ensconced in one of our individual crafts. You don't have to talk, or even be doing the same thing, to be together.

thank you littlegeek for sharing that thought for "together alone time"...
(also the other people's intelligent/revealing comments on marriage etc.
My wife and i have vastly different interests, sometimes, for reading/films/activities. but i guess that is not why you marry someone? otherwise we might all be homosexuals married to our best friends with exact interests/opinions? not that there is anything wrong with that, mind you).

to continue: i was unaware you could be 'together' with your spouse, while each is 'ensconced' in one's own individual craft, and not have to be talking or doing the same thing.... i'll be sure to mention this revelation to my wife today.

actually i came here to see what new books people were reading/buying, in case something looked interesting (i'm always looking for new good books). but it's still a nice surprise to learn about togetherness/alone/marriage ideas.

I've gotten the last two Anna Pigeon books by Nevada Barr I needed to fill out my collection, but I suddenly went off on a music tangent and bought 8 CDs (half from Second Spin, a site which sells "pre-owned" discs). Four for $25.

Do you know how badly your iTunes shuffle gets skewed when you add 80 songs by one artist to the library? ;)

(Linda Ronstadt, in case anyone's interested.)

Alone together time is great! It happens here often. Sometimes my BF will be doing stuff on wow and I will be reading or doing something else.

Its very nice, cause we are still together but doing our own things.

If you can find a book of common interest, try reading aloud to the other: reading and togetherness - works for us anyway.

My OtherHalf used to scoff at my internet time but has since found their own message boards to be addicted to, not quite the same as here, but each to their own. 24/7 togetherness would be stiflling (sp?).

We're about to go away for a week, I have Ancestor's Tale: and a re-read of Hell's Chasm to keep me occupied for a day or two, but what should I buy to fill the quiet moments for the rest of the time?

Yes, 24/7 togetherness would be suffocating... But recently my OH asked me "what did you think about when you packed 4 books for 2 weeks of vacation?" meaning that was at least 2 books more than one could expect to read in that time.

Truth is I read all of them in less than 8 days (reading one of them twice)... and as the total page count exceeded 1200+ pages +400 for the reread he felt it a bit excessive ;-)
And it is - at least when you have a small kid to entertain!

I have been tempted to read The Lions of Al-Rassan to him - he don't read english language books and I know he will appreciate it. maybe that would do the trick, thanks for the tip!

I got the picture book Ock Von Fiend by Luke Edwards today, it's an endearing story about a good hearted Vampire. It's about his daily life and his friends as well. Ock's ex-girlfriend left him for a Zombie and he's been single ever since, he can't go to the museum to see the Egyptian Mummies because nothing's open at night, and he imports mosquitoes from Peru to get the blood he needs. Quite funny really.

Viva working for a publishing company! Yesterday I got a copy of Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, which I am very excited about, although the way my reading list is going I'll get to it by the time I can apply for social security.

I may raid the library at work today and see if there are any good books to be had. I'm still hunting for a copy of Redwall, but so far can only find the several dozen sequels.

Yesterday's mail brought more Robin Hobb: Fool's Errand and The Golden Fool. Horray! I'm so glad I was able to get most of her books off of BookMooch.

Reading together is cool. We used to do it every night before we went to sleep. The last one hubby & I read to each other was The Hobbit. We're going to start Fellowship some time, but we've both been so busy we fall asleep in 10 seconds!

We used to read together Before Children, and When Children Were Small, but now we are in the Fall Asleep Instantly stage. We can read on our own, but if the other reads to us, we are out. Let's face it, when we read on our own we nod off too!

Well, my husband's in the FAI (fall asleep instantly) stage; me myself can easily read through the night - it's the next day that's the real problem!

I'm in the "I'm a stressed teen who might have insomnia" stage of my life, I read and read, but I can't sleep, oh how I envy you lot!

I looted the antique book section of ebay, making me proud owner of Taschenbuch von J.G. Jacobi und seinen Freunden fuer 1796 (Pocketbook of J.G. Jacobi and his friends for the year 1796) and "Conciones non panegyricae, sed morales de sanctis, quorum festa communiter preesertim in episcopatu Augustano, inforo et solenniter celebrantur : sed formatae ex duobus optimis & ingentibus charitatis Dei et proximi libris, fundatis in sacra scriptura a sanctis patribus, & probatissimis Romano-catholicis doctoribus explicata", a book with religious content from 1722.

Got a pretty good bargain this time... normally the old books at ebay are pretty overpriced

edited to say: puh, that book would qualify for longest title of the century

Well, I got my copy of To Ride Hell's Chasm by LT's own Janny Wurts from Amazon on Friday. I'm letting my daughter read it first.

What?!!!

Not a single one of you has bought a book in the last 9 days???!!!

I had to stop and B&N to get a gift card for my sister today, and my daughter and I decided to do a little shopping. I ended up with God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Melymbrosia and The Stones Of Summer. Let me just add that I got the Virginia Woolf book, which is a hardcover, for $1.80. Same with the Mossman book. I bought two greeting cards that cost MORE THAN THE BOOKS DID!

The last book I bought was Hell's Chasm. I have such a high TBR pile right now. A friend of mine just loaned me books 2 & 3 of the Liveship Traders series and the entire Farseer Trilogy, so don't expect me to post here any time soon!

I went to the Strand Annex today, which is always a recipe for disaster, especially when my paycheck has just been cleared. But these were ALL under 12 bucks, and two were under 10. How could I say no? I mean, two were HARDCOVER! After much agonizing and probably terrifying my fellow shoppers, I walked away with:
The Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer
Oracle Night by Paul Auster
Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges
Sweet and Low by Rich Cohen and
The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs by Irvine Welsh

And at work today I snagged Is Iraq Another Vietnam?, simply because I was in a bad mood and wanted a free book.

Along with many books for my son, Forgotten Realms: Realms of Infamy, Why We Eat What We Eat, Do You Speak American?, and The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization came in the mail from various swap sites today.

I bought myself a copy of His Majesty's Dragon last Friday, (at last! At last!), plus a copy of The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke on Saturday. Nothing since then.

I visited the local museum here in Kalmar yesterday, and I had some hopes of finding any interesting books. But the selection was all geared to german and american vistors wanting endless of picturebooks of "beatiful Sweden" and really, I have to have some standards, I can't just buy anything ;-)

I was flying from New Hampshire to Michigan last Monday, so I needed some new books for the plane...I also had an expected 3-hour layover in Chicago (there is little more boring than hours in an airport). Anyway. I got Midnighters 1-3 and Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, whose writing I am really enjoying.

(I also managed to switch my flight out of Chicago and avoid almost all of that 3-hour layover - woo!!)

How about a 146-page celebration of the Summer of Love? That would be the 40th anniversary issue of Rolling Stone. One of my commenters mentioned it, so I trundled by Borders on the way to do other things and spent $6.95 on it.

Ah, memories. If you were around in 1967 or sometimes wish you had been, it's worth it. If nothing else, the candid photos of some of the era's music stars are a lot of fun.

#82 - Wow. This msg looks a bit like Spam.

GreeHee, if you are Michele Avanti or you know her, you should encourage her to join and become a bona fide LT author. There's a shiny yellow badge involved!

We have several here in the Green Dragon, including Brandon Sanderson and Janny Wurts, who have both been extraordinarily gracious about discussing their books with us.

#82 and in support of #84 - Yes, Authors who Library Thing are cool, joing the discussion of their books & genres. But that's not the same as marketing or advertising.

Yesterday I got Buddha: Jetevana by Osamu Tezuka in the mail, and cannot wait to get into that.

I decided it is time to start acting like an Alaskan, and teach my eight year old to fish, so I have gotten a few books on fly fishing.

#86 - Oh, Arctic, that sounds like a lot of fun! :o) The fishing, that is. The books sounds interesting, but not exactly fun.

Fishing, I am discovering, is like rock climbing...a good excuse to buy a lot of toys. Of course you HAVE to have the right spoon or fly, and yesterday I got a new 2lb pole, and of course I need a new reel for it...

Isn't everything like that? You can't even take up walking without buy some decent shoes!

Um... I know what a 'fly' is, but what's a 'spoon?'

You use it to stir coffee...or eat soup....

No seriously, a spoon is a oval shaped lure, usually with a treble hook. They often have a plastic center piece that is brightly colored, and are used to catch King Salmon.

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

His author's statement in the SFBC flyer was full of zap, and I fell for it.

Now the book's tantalizing me from the To Be Read heap, and I'm trying not to play hookey from writing....just yet....but I will cave in, eventually. I enjoy the surprise of a brand new writer.

I got two books last weekend that I didn't mention - Lisey's Story by Stephen King and Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling. Stephen King is practically my god (sometimes, depending on the book), and I really liked The Bone Doll's Twin so I figured I'd give Flewelling's other series a try.

#91 - JannyWurts, my daughter bought The Name of the Wind back in April and she really enjoyed it! I haven't gotten around to sneaking it out of her room borrowing it yet.

#92 - Let us know how you like Lisey's Story, lbw. I bought it used at our town library. But, again, I haven't gotten to it yet.

#92 and 93 - I am currently reading Lisey's Story. I struggled through the first part of the book, but now it's very difficult to put down.

I love it when books show up on my front door steps! :)

The following came in the mail today:
Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
Song of Susannah by Stephen King
The Dark Tower by Stephen King

I also picked up several books from our school library. They are updating books and replacing books deemed to be "worn out." I was very happy to load them in my car! There are about thirty books so I won't list them here. Most are YA novels.

In the mail from PaperBackSwap today:

Realms of Valor
Realms of Magic

and lots of books from the library sale yesterday!

I decided I wanted to own all of Jane Austen's works, so I got Persuasion and Northanger Abbey today. I already have the rest.

Edited to add: Just her novels, I don't have her early works (yet).

fleela - But you didn't say what books from the library sale. :(

Mostly kids books for my son, but for myself:

The Hidden Life of Otto Frank
Cosmos
The Conquerors: The Pageant of England
Charlemagne
The Vikings

I came home from Connecticon with these:

Lai Wan: Tales of the Dreamwalker by C. J. Henderson
Baby's First Mythos by C. J. Henderson
The Occult Detectives of C. J. Henderson by C. J. Henderson
The Tales of Inspector Legrasse by H. P. Lovecraft

Needless to say, I was suckered into buying these book by both my daughter and C.J. Henderson himself. LOL

I got a copy of Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder yesterday. I've been trying to rebuild my Little House library, so I was very glad to find it. I also wanted to get the first Redwall book, but the stupid thrift store refused to give it to me for the posted price. Grrr!

I've been on a bit of a spending spree for the last month, I've bought:

Glenda Larke's Mirrage Makers Trilogy (Heart of the Mirage, The shadow of Tyr & Song of the Shiver Barrens)

Russell Kirkpatrick's Fire of Heaven Trilogy (Across the Face of the World, In the Earth Abides the Flame & The Right Hand of God)

Anne McCaffrey's The Dragon Riders of Pern (which includes: Dragonflight, Dragonquest & The White Dragon

A Dragon Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic, A collection of short fantasy stories revolving arround Dragons edited by Margaret Weis, by authors including Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Roger Zelaney & others...

Flashspec Volumes one & two, which are collections of speculative flash fiction edited by Neil Cladingboel

& Legends, Volume 1 Eleven new works by the masters of modern fantasy including terry pratchett, george r.r. martin, raymond e feist & others...

OK, I know I said I wasn't going to buy any books, but...I was in Borders looking for a friend who works there and happened to notice that The Harsh Cry of the Heron, the last in the Tales of the Otori series, had come out in paperback. Was I supposed to not buy it?

I've got 2 copies of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon coming in. One for me and one for a friend. The copy I read was a loaner but I loved this book and *must* have a copy of my very own.

Thanks to littlegeek - I will now be looking for The Harsh Cry of the Heron to fill out my Tales of the Otori series :) Didn't realize that was out.

#104 booksngames - The Shadow of the Wind is a wonderful book! I loaned out my copy and never got it back. I have just recently replaced it.

Yesterday I found a copy of To Light A Candle by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. That's one more to strike from my wishlist.

I've been soooo bad lately. :o( Somebody stop me.

No... don't.
;o)

The UPS man brought me these:

Middlemarch by George Eliot
Battle Ready by Tom Clancy and Tony Zinni
Summer Reading : a novel by Hilma Wolitzer

I got You Only Live Twice by Ian Fleming and also, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.

Oops. I ended up with Duchess: A novel of Sarah Churchill by Susan Holloway Scott and The Night Watch by Sarah Waters on Sunday. It isn't MY fault the bookstore decided to mark them down to $4 from $15, but I suppose it IS my fault that I couldn't resist such a deal for two books I already wanted ... =)

Well, I just bought 'The Borrowers' by Mary Nortan for $2.00, and it looks brand new! Also bought 'Duncton Wood' by William Horwood, and its great so far! I have the next to in the series on hold, and also Castaways of the Flying Dutchman.

Oh, I forgot that my dad gave me these:

Child of the Prophecy - Juliet Marillier
The Bristling Wood - Katharine Kerr
The Morgaine Saga - C. J. Cherryh
Melusine - Sarah Monette

edited for touchstones

#110 - I LOVE The Borrowers! A very defining novel of my childhood.

I have a friend visiting from out of town and she wanted to go to a used bookstore. So...

Confessions of a Hooker by Bob Hope - to be given to my golf loving BIL when I'm finished reading it.
A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf by John Muir
Poultry in the Pulpit by Alexander Cameron
To Dance With the White Dog by Terry Kay - one of my favorite books which I had not owned before this.
Gunpowder Green and Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs - I bought these for the name and the cover, hoping they are well written, but since then I found one of the tags for them is "books I never finished" oh well.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden - loved the movie, thought I should read the book.

I didn't BUY it, but at work they gave me Mayflower to read in conjunction with a project I'm doing.

No, no, I rarely ever buy books 8)

Well, I just gave in and pre-ordered the English edition of Harry Potter 7, although I'll have to buy the German later this year because I have volume 1 to 6 in German and can't stand them being incomplete.

Then I ordered some book on making a new house look old and The Foods of Israel Today from amazon.com, and got two volumes of James Herriot's hilarious veterinary series, Kurdish Culture and Identity, volume 7 of the Ikmen mystery novels (Tod am Bosporus) and Modern Mezze by Anissa Helou during the last 10 days or so. Weirdly the touchstones don't work for most of those. Mh.

I do feel guilty. But books just make me happy.

I scored at the library sale - Piers Anthony's Incantations/Immortality and Adept series in full! At 50 cents a book. They were scattered throughout the HUGE tables of books, so it took me a while... why they can't try and keep series together...

I never thought I'd say this, but the people at work need to stop giving me books.

Queen's Own Fool
Girl With A Pearl Earring (touchstone is being wonky)

AND I just found out I get fifty percent off from my company's bookstore. This is just cruel. And insane. I nearly broke my neck this morning on a pile of books, and my poor bookshelf is nearly suicidal.

I carry a small black notebook in which I note down books for buying later. Two of them have been there for along time, and today I decided I should read them. So - I finally ordered Letters from Earth and The Cave.
As both those are haussed authors, none of which I've actually have read before - Twain not being complusory reading in Sweden, and I have heard some not to flattering things about the writings of Saramago - and I'm interested in seeing how they compare to the other kind of books I enjoy reading.

116- that is just TOO funny!! hahahahaha...

I've just found out about Laurie Faria Stolarz. And her books look amazing so I am going to see about getting the box set.

I have also got my eye on the box set of the Christoper polinii books. (eragon?) I can't spell.

And i've finally decided that I want all the Cate Tiernan Wicca serries as part of my personal library.

I went to my school system's new teacher orientation today to represent a teachers' organization. It just so happened that our local independent bookstore had a table there too. The owner had a stack of advance copies of books that she wanted to get rid of, so I, of course, helped myself. A couple of them have yet to come out; most of them are already available. Many of these are YA novels - understandable, considering the crowd. I'll get them read eventually! I got:

The Buffalo Tree by Adam Rapp
Goal! by Robert Rigby
Dragonology Chronicles: The Dragon's Eye by Dugald Steer
Rica's Summer by Patricia Penny
Beige by Cecil Castellucci
The Wolf by Steven Herrick
Iris, Messenger by Sarah Deming
L8r, g8r by lauren Myracle
The Tapestry: The Hound of Rowan, Book 1 by Henry H. Neff
When Ghosts Speak by Mary Ann Winkowski

The owner of my local used book store called today. I took her a box of old cookbooks that someone gave me and I didn't want. She gave me $32 credit to spend. I was amazed! These were not great cookbooks. I'm going tomorrow! I can do some serious damage with $32 in a used book store!

I'm jealous! I wish we had a used bookstore nearby. Well, I guess I do. On second thought, considering my TBR pile, it's just as well!

Mine too, but I can't resist. Come to think of it, I'm not even trying to resist!

I want to get The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore but also want Harry Potter 7... how can I choose?

119- I don't know if I'd get a box set yet, as a third book in the trilogy is coming out in around a year, and the company is SURE to put out another box set of all three! What they do to make money...

Should we all take it as a given that tomorrow there could be 500-1000 new posts in this thread saying "I just bought the new Harry Potter book" and not bother to enter that?

I got a book card. NOT MY FAULT.

* Possible Side Effects
* The Yiddish Polieceman's Union
* Water For Elephants
* Smoke and Mirrors
* Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs

So... many... books...

Oh, I've been eyeing two of those, ellevee. (The Yiddish Policeman's Union and Water For Elephants)

Let us know how the Chabon book is, would you please. He's one of my favs. :o)

Also, my Dad gave me Teany.

Love Michael Chabon. I will be sure to, as soon as I get to it!

Chabon rocks!

#129 & #130 - Plus he's cute. ;o)

#131 yeah!

#131

Boy is he! Maybe if I ask nicely, he'll come READ my book to me. Shirtless. OK, time to stop talking.

#133 - Let us know if he says yes. ;o)

Oh, I will - once he's read me every single ONE of his books. Twice.

}:o)
I like the way you think.

Don't wear him out, ellevee! I got next!

Now, now, let's form an orderly queue...

I went to the grocery today and decided to look in at the small local bookshop. As I browsed the shelves, really without thinking that I'd find something, it was more a "let's check what they stock" tour, I found a really cheap copy of the Penguin Classics edition of The Hound of the Baskervilles. $4, that's practically free, normally imported paperbacks go around $8-12.
I had that one, and others, when I grew up but when my sister and I divided the library when we moved out of our parents' she got away with that book... and others as well.

#101 enjoy - Legends: Discworld, Pern, Song of Ice it has some great stories in it. For an anthology it really hits the tops of the genre.

Do you know which version you got? There are two one with 11 stories and one with the same stories as two books....annoyingly I only have one of the books. There is also Legends II which is also supposed to be good.

Do let me know what the dragon anthology is like. It sounds good!

I've just finished all those I recently bought Leopard Mindkill, Kissing the gunner's daughter and talon of the silver hawk. Talon was pretty good, rn of the mill Raymond Fesit the others were average.

Busifer @ 139, "Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!"

I got Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card today because I saw it for less than five dollars and figured I'd see what all the fuss was about.

On the weekend, during my NYC trip, I went to the Strand with my friend and her mom and got these:
The Life of Elizabeth I - Alison Weir
Life in a Medieval City - Joseph Gies
Adam Bede - George Eliot
Alfred the Great - Asser and other sources
Edward, the Black Prince - David Green

Of course, I got Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows too.

142 littlebookworm - I love Ender's Game. Let me know what you think!

Okay, I was bad. Well, not really bad. When I was waiting at the library for the Potter books to be handed out I ended up raiding the SWAP shelves. I came home with these:

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Bodily Harm by Margaret Atwood
Surfacing by Margaret Atwood
Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs by Caroline Knapp
Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman
Floating in My Mother's Palm by Ursula Hegi
Lost Girls by Andrew Pyper
Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James
The Vanished Child by Sarah Smith

Who can turn down free books? Anyway, in theory, I'm supposed to replace them with other books.

(Edited for wonky touchstones which are STILL WONKY!)

#144 Clam, since they were free, you weren't bad. But where are you gong to put them, eh?

As for me, while waiting for HP#7 I was bad: picked up Bach's Cello Suites by Anner Bylsma, Bach's Cello Suites by Mstislav Rostropovich; and Eric Clapton, by Eric Clapton (the deluxe 2-cd version of his first album, two different producer's cuts in the deluxe version). The Bylsma Suites cover 1, 2, 3, Rostropovich covers 1, 4, 5.

I already had Yo-Yo Ma on suites 1, 5, 6, so that gives me one 3-way comparison and one 2-way comparison. No opinion or preference yet.

Yesterday I received Lies My Teacher Told Me. Kawika said it will make me subversive. I can't wait! :P

#146 - OOOOOOOH!

I bought a hardcover fiction book today: an unusual purchase, because I don't buy a lot of fiction, and got tiered of hefting around even used hardcovers. And believe it or not, it was not by J. K. Rowling. It was Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next: First Among Sequels.

#140 - I made sure I got the UK voyager trade paperback version as I was told that there are some stories missing from the other version/s... I've got Legends II, it was looking lonely on my shelf without number one, thats why I went on a hunt for number 1 :)

I'm re-reading Trinity trilogy by Fiona McIntosh at da mo, but will be moving on to A Dragon Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic next, I'm not real good at reviewing stuff, but I'll let you know what I think once I've read it... I've also got A Quest Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic (which I'm also yet to read) & I'm hunting for A Magic Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic :)

#145 - They're on the piano, cad.
*blush*

Crooked Little Vein. I've mentioned this like ten times in the past ten minutes. I guess I like this book.

Ack. One more homeless book jumped in my cart at Stop & Shop today. It was in the $1 charity bin, though, so I feel guilt-free. ;o)

The Girl's Guide to Fishing and Hunting

So, Cad, let know how you like the extended Clapton. I have a few of those, and while some had execellent extras Mad Dogs and Englishmen, others I could have done without The Who's, Live at Leeds recording of Tommy (or "Thomas" as Townsend introduces it.

#152 clam - Don't you just hate when those books jump into your cart? I have that problem as well! The books have no self control! :)

#154 - And, they flaunt themselves in such a brazen manner, too, right before flinging themselves at me, GD.

#155 - I know! I know! All that waving and yelling my name. It's down right embarrassing!

Bought two YA SF books I doted on as a kid... Lent them from the library back then, and been meaning to find/buy them for a loooong time! I will not even try touchstones - swedish author, swedish titles, but they tell about three kids that gets "abducted" by a spaceship. First they go to Venus, and in the second book they stop by at Mars on way back to Earth.
I'm very curious about what I will think about the books now, so many years later :-)

I ordered them online from a dealer in used books - hope to get them by the end of next week!
I'll admit that they weren't cheap - they are the editions I read as a kid, and they seems to be in good condition...

Today's mail brought Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. I heard so many rave reviews on here that I figured I'd give it a go.

I visited my local used book store and came home with two books: House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III and The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.

#159 - I love The Left Hand of Darkness!
If you haven't read it yet/before I hope you enjoy it!

The Golden Compass
The Last Novel
Chuck Klosterman IV
The Year of Magical Thinking

I had a very good book-buying day:

Her Kind by Jane Cahill
Born to Run by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
The Lark and the Wren by Mercedes Lackey
Hubble: The Mirror on the Universe by Robin Kerrod

Everything was nice and cheap, too; at $5.50, the Hubble book was by far the most expensive of the four.

Finally I can add a book here again! Only I didn't buy it, it was a gift. Whale Song by Cheryl Kaye Tardif. Wrong author showed on touchstone. It has a lot of elements I like in it, mystery, Native Myth, "enchanting adventure and uplifting but tragic moral tale." (Quote from the back of the book.) I'm looking forward to reading it.

Within this week, I bought Ein Spiel, das die Götter sich leisten, Paris Interiors, anniversary edition, Die geheime Schrift, Die Frau, die es nicht gab AKA The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox and Die Chemie des Todes AKA The Chemistry of Death. Geez, I bought five books in only a week. But I do love them :)

Finally got my hands on the fourth bear which I've been waiting for the paperback version for at least a year. I also picked up the beginiings of two fantasy series by authors new to me - I hope they are good The Innocent mage and betrayal If anyone knows anything about the authors or how the series progress please let me know. I'll be reading the books in the next week or two.

Today I bought a hardcover copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone so I could read it again soon and so I could complete my hardcover set. I also got Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman, which I read more than a year ago and loved. I've wanted my own copy to re-read for a while now, and today it just called to me so I got it. =)

#153 Arctic: So far I've really enjoyed the extended Eric Clapton. Some of the Delaney Bramlett mixes are quite different, but good and interesting. That was a really strong album. On the instrumentals you can really hear the kinship to George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, with largely the same core band.

To date myself, I saw Delaney & Bonnie & Friends open for Blind Faith on that one Blind Faith tour (LA, California). Blind Faith did an encore of Sunshine of Your Love with the Delaney & Bonnie band all onstage. In the language of those days: "blew my little 15 yr old mind".

I got havenstar by Glenda Larke in the mail the other day :) & I've ordered A Magic Lover's Treasury of the Fantastic which I should receive in the next few weeks :)

- Touchstones aren't working ???

I was lucky enough to find a copy of The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman at my favourite used bookstore this afternoon. I'm really looking forward to reading it; Swordspoint was my favourite book of July, and I'm eager to once again wallow in Ms. Sherman's gorgeous style.

I also found a copy of Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb waiting for me when I got home from work. Time for my much-anticipated Robin Hobb binge!

Mailman delivered again today. I got Bad Cat and The End of the Third Age.

Have I ever mentioned that I love this thread?

Well I do; you see it makes me feel like I am capable of self-control and restraint and provides me with a welcoming home when the books persuade me that I cannot leave them to their unloved bookshoply existence.

The last books I bought were:
fourth bear
twilight watch
and science of doctor who

But since it is almost 2 weeks since then I have read the first 2 plus HP7 and Children of Hurin and must now raid my TBR pile...

#171 Tell me how the Doctor Who book is! Maybe I can make a sonic screwdriver using tin foil!

Stupid work, giving me free books I have NO TIME TO READ.

Heart-Shaped Box
How to Take The Ex Out of Ex-boyfriend
Monster Blood Tattoo Book One: Foundling
Interstellar Pig
Little Women

Why, oh why are the wonky touchstones being ever so wonky?

Jusat had to use a discount coupon so, picked up the newest Dirty Linen magazine (folk & world music), Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton and The Beatles Anthology, 2 (cds of course).

Spent a bunch of time looking at some of the authors mentioned in GD. Gong to have to take the buckets of coins to a coin-star machine!

Today I went to pick up 15 copies of October Sky to use in my classroom.** While at the bookstore, I just had to buy Homer Hickam's newest book, The Far Reaches.

**Georgia, this is what I spent my Sonny Money on!

I lovelovelove BookMooch. Today's mail brought Storm Front by Jim Butcher. I've heard so many great things about this series that I can't wait to read it!

(This would be a much stronger declaration if I didn't have ten other books that I "can't wait" to read...)

#174 - Princess - I'm going Friday or Saturday to spend my Sonny money! There are a couple of books I'd like for my classroom. I'm planning on most of it going to Staples and B&N. Your students should really enjoy October Sky. My 8th grade students read that the last two years.

I went back to the Used Book Store today. I love that place! I came home with The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The Slender Thread by Francine Rivers, Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, The Judge who Stole Christmas by Randy Singer, and The Covenant by Beverly Lewis. The best part is that I got all of this with the credit I received for books I took in and I still have $20 left! *grinning*

I got The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1 and Yotsuba&! Volume 1 today.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has out of copyright characters from British fiction solving a mystery, whereas Yotsuba&! is a manga series about a little girl and her Dad who move into a new neighbourhood in Japan.

What more could one ask for?

LEG is great, TA! But just don't watch the movie. They totally botched it.

Told by my bookshop they'd ordered it without being asked! It came last week - (First among Sequels) by ((Jasper Fforde)).
I still think it should be two small ffs

I bought a few books on my last trip to Borders on Sunday. I picked up a Star Trek anthology, the movie tie-in for Stardust (I can't honestly say I had ever heard of the book before seeing the movie trailer and have wanted to try something by Neil Gaiman for a while), the audio book of Angels and Demons which was on clearance and the manga of Her Majesty's Dog.

There is a bit of history behind my buying the manga. For months I've been checking this particular book out, intrigued by both the cover and book description. But having never read a manga before I wasn't sure I would like it. However, once I figured out how to read it, I absolutely fell in love with the story. I've already ordered the second volume from my local bookstore and can't wait to read that one too :-)

#174 & 176 - Hobbitprincess & Georgiadawn: What is Sonny money? *fears he has just shown how sheltered he is*

Wondering also why HP has to buy the books for her class? Doesn't the school/school district provide? *fears he is showing further ignorance*

#167 I am soooo jealous. I never got to see Clapton (not that he is dead now, but where I live, it ain't gonna happen.) I did see one of his guitars at the guitar shop on Sunset in LA.

I also started Kushiel's Dart, given the good reviews I read here.

Artic, I have a funny feeling you'll love Kushiel's Dart....

Today I visited the Friends of the Library store to drop off a box of books and came out with:

Elantris (bit late on group read)
Little Women
The Hermit of Eyton Forest by Ellis Peters
Lord of the Vampires by Jeanne Kalogridis
The Forest by Edward Rutherford

Touchstones are loading slow and, well wonky for the book titles.

#181 cad_lib - In Georgia, every public school teacher is given a $100 gift card from the state to help offset classroom expenses. We call it "Sonny money" since our governor's first name is Sonny. The funds must be spent on items used for educational purposes. Every little bit helps!

Yotsuba&! 1: v. 1 (Yotsuba&)

Here's the touchstone for Yotsuba&! so you can check it out, that is, if the touchstone works...

Argh the touchstone won't work!!!

#185 - So, what you are saying is that in Georgia the teachers must pay for the material used in class?

If Georgia is like many other states, there's never enough money for everything in schools. What seems to happen there is that teachers get a $100 voucher to cover some of the expenses they'd otherwise pay for out of their own pockets. Presumably they can ask to be reimbursed later, but school bureaucracies are notoriously slow to act on those requests.

I've never met a teacher yet who got every supply he or she wanted from the school; it may not even be a question of cash available, but a slow-as-molasses procurement system (all meant to ensure the taxpayer doesn't get hosed, but it means that things don't get purchased quickly).

#188 – Busifer - The amount of money allocated to teacher/student materials varies greatly between school systems based primarily on the money the particular county has for education. Each public school in the US is allocated funds from three basic areas: the federal government, the state government and, the county government. Many factors go into these particular allocations. The individual counties allocate funds usually based on property tax revenues. We don’t have to go out and buy basics like textbooks; however, there are many things that a teacher may want for the classroom that she/he may not be reimbursed for. Many counties simply don’t have the money for extras.

I live in a very poor rural county so our tax revenues allocated to the school system will be limited. My system is wonderful when it comes to helping teachers! I have everything I need, but there may be things I want. For example, this year I’ll be working with Special Education students in Social Studies. (My areas are math, social studies, and special education.) Regardless of what I’m teaching, I keep books on hand in my room for students. I’m probably not going to get reimbursed for fiction novels because it’s not essential for what I teach. On the other hand, if I were teaching math and requested a class set of graphing calculators, I could probably get the funds approved. I might have to split the purchase into two years depending on the funds available. If the funds were not approved, I would either have to purchase them myself or do without.

This is a very long explanation that basically says the same thing Linkmeister said. I hope I didn’t confuse matters. Also, keep in mind that everything above could vary greatly depending on the state and county you teach in.

And to think that I left a career as a CPA (I keep my license active) in order to teach. I’m not sure if it was a moment of brilliance (because I love teaching) or a moment of insanity!

#189-190 - Thanks for the explanation. I guess it's much the same as in Sweden, then.
It's insane that politicians everywhere seems to think it's OK to save on basic education, and how much the schools depends on enthusiastic teachers.

Georgia, you might have amplified my guess, but you've got the advantage of real-world experience over my "I've watched this for 40 years now" vantage point. ;)

I've worked with CPAs; most of them were quite sane, so I think you're safe. ;)

I'm going to put authors into the poorhouse and booksellers out of business. I have not purchased a book since Message 4 up there on June 14. Still, my shelves have managed to grow thanks to my lovely addiction to book swapping sites.

#183 Littlegeek, I am on chapter five and I have a funny feeling you are right. Didnt get much read last night because the fish were calling. Caught three Arctic Grayling (catch and release, so I can make them as big as I want!) Ahh the joys of fly fishing.

#193 - As part of a tribe consisting of forbearers and now living people in the printing and publishing and writing of books businesses I say "SHAME ON YOU!!!"
;-)

Editing for referencing wrong message number!

Well, I made up for that, in spades - trip to the bookstore yesterday.
I got (all shiny new)

Sharing Knife - Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
Wolf Star Tour of the Merrimack #2 by R. M. Meluch (The first was quite excellent in this series, and the ending - wow. I wonder why this author isn't more widely shouted about)
Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg
Deepwood by Jennifer Roberson
Well of Shades by Juliet Marillier
Children of Hurin by J. R. R. Tolkein
and not on the shelf, but ordered to arrive at my doorstep soonest -
The Fox by Sherwood Smith
Defender by C. J. Cherryh
Sword of Orion by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Oh, yeah, and 4 new music cds.

Time to celebrate the (At Last) finish in production on my latest....and always, in sheer joyous relief, a Screaming Red Hot excuse for a book binge.

>195 Busifer: But I have stingy ancestors. It's in my genes to be cheap!

Seriously though, I'm waiting for school to start so I have more time to read, and then I'll go on a spree.

p.s. Shards of Alderaan came in the mail for the boy today from PaperBackSwap. (I just can't help myself.)

#194 Can't you fish & read at the same time? They seem like really compatible hobbies.

Oh wait, fly fishing....yeah, you need to pay attention. Must be nice to be a fly fisher in summer in AK. You can do it all night if you want!

(To my iPod and my spinning wheel! *clink*)

#182 Arctic: You follow guitar much? Familiar with Danny Gatton? He was pegged a number a times as the Best Unknown guitarist. And he was. Lived in rural Maryland and worked on hot roads, etc. Played 2 nights a week in clubs in DC. SO quite accessible to Philadelphia. But I never got down there, and he committed suicide. No one ever knew why. I regret that I never got down there to see him.

Did see Bob Marley in his last appearance in Philly, not too long before he passed away.

#185 Georgia: That's a nice gesture. As you say, Every little bit...

A toast to Gov. Sonny and any legislator who proposed the rule.

BTW, We really enjoyed the movie October Sky, I should read the book.

#196 Janny: Interesting that you read other fantasy authors. I guess I realize that writers are also readers, but it just came across differently. I have frequently seen musicians interviewed that claim they avoid listening to others in their same genre to deliberately avoid unconscious influence of others music. Was attempting to apply that to writers *shrug*

So, what music cds did you get?

Cad_lib -

Everyone's completely individual in their approach...for me, I became a reader first - I chose to write because I love stories so much, and I wasn't about to let that destroy one of my favorite pleasures.

I have heard the same line you've heard, from some authors...yet quite honestly, that bomerang can fly both ways.

Ideas aren't always original - we all have our humanity in common, and I've seen more than one writer "hit on" the same concept independently - it's also been claimed 'by scholars' that all books can be reduced to an extremely limited number of plots. Perhaps it's better to know if somebody else just did one similar to something you've hit on, and been mulling - so you can steer sideways and avoid it! There have been tragedies, that way - losses to us, as readers, with regard creative careers and ideas that never saw fruition. Evangiline Walton's life long effort to write the story of Theseus was ruined, by the fact Mary Renault beat her to it.....but Walton's work is so different - it's sad we don't have both takes on that myth.

As important to me - I read a lot of books, in many genres, and in general, want to support my peers and the efforts of publishers who are producing the works of living talents. An author who doesn't have to wrestle a day job can produce a richer body of work. You guys read a lot faster than we can write, and the more great books out there, the better....a healthy market means more cool stories for everyone, and a more diversified spread of ideas.

I only stop reading when I am finished a draft, and finalizing the text for publication...that way, I won't inadvertently slip another voice into my personal style.

Music - 2001, Gandalf, Trioka - recent releases.

Oh, I can NOT keep my eyes off the small sale rack at my town library. The other day I walked out with the Michael Chabon book Werewolves in their youth for just $1. It's a short story collection. Has anyone in here read it yet?

I haven't read any Michael Chabon, but he keeps getting mentioned here so I think I'm going to have to look him up.

I found to my great delight Mine for Keeps by Jean Little last weekend at a used book store. It is/was a tremendous favourite of mine when I was young, actually inspiring me into my first career. The funny thing is that I also found another LTer today whose user name is JeanLittleLibrary, she has an amazing collection of Little's books, and that led me to the author's web page where I found out she's still writing. So now I'm going to set out to read up on all her books I've missed. I do love LT.

I was really, really hoping to have a nice paperback copy of Mistborn by now, but my favourite bookseller hasn't stocked it at either branch yet. :( Sigh.

On the upside, though, I went to their flagship store today in search of it and ended up coming away with a copy of Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. I read and loved it last weekend, and I'm very glad to have found a personal copy so quickly. Usually it's hell, tracking down the books I want to own. New bookstores don't have them in stock when I visit, and I never stumble across them at used places. I also snatched up a copy of The Privilege of the Sword.

At a library sale today: The Lovely Bones and Anne of Green Gables: Three Volumes in One

At Borders: Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim, to make up for the copy my family swiped.

On Amazon: The Gun Seller, because Hugh Laurie is all kinds of awesome, and The Bizarro Starter Kit, because I've been meaning to get it for years.

I have a PROBLEM.

>202 JannyWurts: Janny

As a teenage author I write in my spare time I get from my HSC, and I believe each author has their own take on the same idea, however I do create my own original ideas.

I know that if you're going to write in a genre you have to read that genre, and I've read my fair share of Terry Pratchett, some of Neil Gaiman, some of Alan Moore and some of H.P. Lovecraft, in my quest to find out how to make my own brand of fantasy (I write modern era satiric fantasy).

However, I also notice sometimes that there are variants of ones ideas that pop up archetypally in books, TV shows and movies.

For example, I found out that the movie Stranger than Fiction was a flip-plot of one of my stories about me going into the world of my creation to see my "children" (characters), whereas Stranger than Fiction had the character of an author going into the author's world.

In any case, there's a golden rule I follow, in the tradition of Kimba vs. The Lion King fiasco, that rule is:

JAPANESE ANIME has done it before you, but that doesn't mean your idea is bad.

Wheeee!! My latest Amazon purchase has just got here! Wooohoo!! *does a little happy dance*

I just got two books: Lisey's Story, because, hey, it's Steve, and The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes, because I finally decided to begin buying all the issues in order to have my own Sandman collection :) I can't believe I hadn't started yet.

I didn't get more books because I'm a bit strapped for cash right now :( That said, a few months ago I went on a binge, buying used books from another web store. I got some early Stephen King books I didn't have in my collection, as well as a few Neil Gaiman titles:

1) Nightmares and Dreamscapes
2) Thinner
3) The Bachman Books : four early novels
4) Four Past Midnight
5) The Eyes of the Dragon
6) Gerald's Game
7) Nightmares in the Sky: Gargoyles and Grotesques
8) Neverwhere
9) Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions
10) Legends: Stories By The Masters of Modern Fantasy

So, those have been my recent splurges :)

Agh, stupid browser! *spanks Firefox*

Um, continuing on with my present obsession, today I picked up Her Majesty's Dog Volume 3 and Her Majesty's Dog Volume 4 by Mick Takeuchi. I'm thinking it is a good thing I decided to start off with a shorter series of mangas to get infatuated with, if for no other reason than the sake of my pocketbook.

Excellent haul, Delirium9!

I made a trip out today to buy chocolate and Firefly on DVD, ($20 at HMV! That's cheaper than renting it!), and got distracted by Chapters' bargain section. A bunch of their discounted books were another 50% off, so I got The Unicorn by Nancy Hathaway for $1. I think it'll be a nice addition to my folklore library; it looks really good, and it's very nicely illustrated.

Just one today - relatively inexpensive in Costco and looked very appealing - Abundance: a novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund. I'm definitely trying to buy fewer books, and I think one per weekend is an okay rate since I read more than that per week, generally.

No fantasy at the moment only golden age detectives...
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Strong poison idem
Whose body?

Problem is I have to much time to read at work, so I run out of books too fast...

Today in the mail, from FrugalReader.com, was The Jesus Dynasty which I decided to check out on the recommendation of BTRIPP's review.

Everyone has been telling me recently I ought to read The Golden Compass, but I haven't had the time to go out and find it yet.

My recent find isn't a new book, but it's an amusing story. I think my mother found this book years ago out of a box someone was getting rid of and it "sounded like me" so she took it. Well, it was a sequel to something, so I never read it, and it ended up falling behind my dresser.
I'm in the process of moving now and pulled out my dresser, and ta-dah there was this dust covered book ... you guessed it - The Subtle Knife, sequel to Golden Compass. :-D Now I really have to read it.

Today I strayed into the local bookstore, where I found a cookbook named Jordgubbar och rabarber. At a reduced price (40%) it was hard to resist - a book filled with tasty looking recipes featuring rhubarb and strawberries!
:-)

Sorry, no touchstone :-(

Yesterday we were in the city visiting with our daughter and I bought her a couple of books and myself the fifth volume of L.M. Montgomery's journals. It was a bit of a struggle to decide as this copy is paperback and the other 4 volumes I have are all hardcover, but it was only $10.00 instead of the listed price of $25, so I finally succumbed and bought it. I actually exercised tremendous restraint as I was in my favourite bookstore on Vancouver Island and it was hard to look and not buy.

I'm haunting the mail box again though waiting for my Early Reviewer's book to come *sigh* I wish it would come soon.

I love my mailman! Today he brought:

Rising Storm - part of a YA fantasy series about adventuresome cats
The British (Myths and Legends) - feeding my folklore addiction

p.s. May we please have a part III thread? This one is starting to strain my shoddy WiFi connection.

Whew! Two weeks of school and 8th graders are gone. Only 34 more weeks to go! I return to LT to find oodles of posts to read. I'll catch up eventually, but I'm going away for the weekend, so it won't be then.

I think my students will love October Sky, but I don't have enough copies. I guess I'll have to break down and buy the other 6 books. I can find them pretty cheap at Amazon (used is fine).

We get no money at all to spend for our classrooms. I can hit up the supply closet for dry erase markers, chalk, construction paper, folders, tape, and staples, but that's about it. In fact, we just got a "gentle reminder" today that those supplies were not to be used for student projects, that they are only for teacher use. I also got my one ream of paper for this semester today. I don't live in a rural county at all, in fact, it's very middle- to upper-middle class, so you'd think there would be money for some things, but there's not. I have desks that are falling apart and too small for my fully-grown students. The carpet is patched with duct tape. There is money in the district budget, however, to add a football stadium to one school and some stands to another stadium. Go figure.

In surfing around for multiple copies of October Sky, I found something neat I'll pass on to any of you teacher-types out there. If you go to Ayn Rand's site, you can get 30 copies of either Anthem or The Fountainhead for free. You only have to pledge to teach them within the next year. I requested Anthem to use with one of my classes.

There's also another site I found: www.donorschoose.org. Public school teachers can write proposals, and the general public can make donations to cover the costs. It's a great idea.

#219 - Thanks for the information! I'm not teaching a literature class, but I know several teachers who will be very interested.

Today was the first day for our students and it was interesting to be sure! I was with 9th and 10th grade students all day and very few were interested in starting school on a Friday.

Bought Blaze by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)..

Very moving story..