Books Brought Home November/December 2014

I suppose, technically, my books arrived on Hallowe'en, but as I didn't get a chance to open the package until this morning, I'm considering them an arrival of today, to counterbalance the sad fact that snow is falling.

To boost my knowledge of Australian literature, I'm now the proud owner of The Secret River by Kate Grenville, and Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence, by Doris Pilkington, whose real name is Nugi Garimara.

I also bought an inexpensive edition of Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities. In my last move, three years ago, the box containing Dickens disappeared, and I have been rebuilding my Dickens collection slowly but surely.

My LTER from the September batch arrived today: The Secrets of Life and Death

>1 ahef1963: hate that you lost a box of BOOKS :(

I have three ordered through abebooks.com, will post once they arrive. :)

Downloaded Stoner for my Kindle on the recommendation of many here.

A Play of Shadow by Julie E. Czerneda
Motive for Murder by Anthea Fraser
The Seven Stars by Anthea Fraser

I received my ER book The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger today and am anticipating the first of a rather large parcel of books from my latest assault on my favorite Brooklyn bookstore

From BookMooch:

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf

I received my ER copy of Descent by Tim Johnston today

Epilogue and Let Me Be Frank with You

My friends did so e home remodeling and discovered there were books that needed a new home. Being the friend that I am the following books have a new home:
The Run of the Country by Shane Connaughton;
EverythingShe Thought She Wanted by Elizabeth Buchan;
The Tournament by John Clarke;
Jesus A Life by A.N. Wilson;
The Elephants Journey by Jose Saramago;
The Autobiography of Mrs Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin; and
A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett

The Wolf in Winter: A Charlie Parker Thriller. John Connolly is a favorite, so was excited when I found this at Bullmoose Music Saturday. (complete with a free CD!) Can't wait to get started but must finish The Rosie Project first. :)

My ER book, The Secrets of Life and Death, arrived at the beginning of the month. Last week in Charleston, I picked up Horrorstor at Blue Bicycle Books. And yesterday, my uncle's new book, The Leadership Crisis and the Free Market Cure, arrived as a surprise gift from him (we, um, don't exactly see eye-to-eye politically, so while I'll keep it, I doubt I'll read it...).

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlepig: A Bobby Dollar Novella by Tad Williams

On my Last trip to Brooklyn I picked up the following:
In a Rocket Made of ice by Gail Gutradt;
The arise and Fall of the Great Powers by Tom Rachman;
Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes;
Summer of the Dead by Julia Keller;
Mister Owitas Guide to Gardening by Carol Wall;
At The Waters Edge by Sara Gruen;
A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse;
The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove;
Three Many Cooks by Pam Anderson; and
The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward

I think that's it

>13 seitherin: !!!!!!!

The Vines by Christopher Rice and Revival by Stephen King. I did not realize that he was going to be here in South Portland. I would not have been able to attend but now know why there were soooooooooooo many people/cars in the Maine Mall parking lot that early in the morning. :)

>15 fuzzi: I know. I just found out about it yesterday. Haven't had a chance to read it yet.

Arrived today:

Sculptor's Daughter: A Childhood Memoir by Tove Jansson

I thought I could make it through a month without buying a book but I had to go to Target and much to my surprise I wound up in the book area. These followed me home:
The Long Haul by Jeff Jinney; and
The Andy Cohen Diaries by Andy Cohen

Arrived today:

Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic Moments, and Assorted Hijinks by Dick Cavett
The Woman Who Borrowed Memories: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson
Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life by Hermione Lee

I finally found a good copy of Love Saves the Day by Gwen Cooper, so I ordered it! I'd gotten a copy through Early Reviewers, but "lent" it and it never came back. I also found a copy of Prince of Darkness by Sharon Kay Penman, which will complete my collection of her Justin de Quincy mystery series.

I keep telling myself I'm going to stop but that hasn't happened yet. Today these followed me home:
The Understory by Pamela Erens;
Stoner by John Williams-I read so many positive comments on these two that I just had to have them;
The Manthematicians Shiva by Stewart Rojstaczer; and
Arctic Summer by Damon Galgut

>20 mollygrace:

I also got Penelope Fitzgerald this week. Along with The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt.

>23 alphaorder:

I try to choose a big book for the Thanksgiving holidays. Penelope Fitzgerald arrived just in time.

I found a copy of Tarantula by Bob Dylan in a bric-a-brac sale. Never seen the book before.

I bought Family Furnishings by Alice Munro at B&N this weekend. I bought a ton of ebooks over the past week or so and I hate myself for it. Now I can't justify a trip to the bookstore.

I went to Barnes and Noble with the sole purpose of buying one book. Instead I came home with these:
The Wonder of All Things by Jason Mott;
Us by David Nicholls;
The Bane chronicles by Cassandra Clare; and
One of Us by Tawni O'Dell

I also donated2 books to the holiday book drive

Went to one of my favorite indie bookstores this weekend - Malaprop's in Asheville, NC - and picked up the holiday short story collection, My True Love Gave to Me. Also bought Me Before You today for $2.99 for my Kindle.

Picked up Among Others by Jo Walton and Speedy Death by Gladys Mitchell.

I bought Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. Both on sale at B&N Nook books for $1.99 until the end of the month.

Garden Spells was one of the Nook books I picked up this week. I'm looking forward to reading it. I just downloaded The Ice Harvest in audiobook format from Downpour.com. It was on sale for $3.95, I think. I'd never heard of it before, but it's the sort of thing I like, and it has great ratings.

>30 MsMaryAnn: I enjoyed both of those books, albeit for very different reasons. Hope you do, too.

Bought The Queen of the Tearling on my Kindle last night.

>28 grkmwk:
Three cheers for Malaprops! I'm a Tarheel too.
And Me Before You was one of my favorites this year.
I have her new book One Plus One from the library to read next.

>30 MsMaryAnn:
>31 JackieCarroll:
I hope you like Garden Spells as much as I did. Her other books are good too, all with just a touch of fantasy.
The only one I wasn't wild about was The Peach Keeper. The rest I loved. I appreciate that she is a North Carolina author too!

>33 nrmay: I'm a North Carolinian, transplanted to Florida.

I enjoyed The Peach Keeper, and that's one of the reason I downloaded Garden Spells. I can't recall having read any of her other books, but I may have.

I downloaded The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick from Nook Audio today. I have a backlog of audiobooks to listen to, but I couldn't resist this one because it was the Daily Find, on sale for $3.95. They've had some irresistible Daily Finds lately. I need to quit looking.

I just downloaded another ebook: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I was going to get the audio book, but it apparently has a lot of pictures that add to the book so I got the ebook instead.

ETA: Also Chasing Aphrodite by Jason Felch.

Downloaded Norwegian by Night by Derek Miller, He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum, and The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths.

Two arrived today:

Prince of Darkness by Sharon Kay Penman, a Justin de Quincy mystery

Ajax and the Haunted Mountain by Mary Elwyn Patchett, one in the "Ajax" series I've not yet read.

What Happens At Christmas is the Nook Free Friday book this week. I have no idea what it's about or even what genre it falls into, but I thought it might make a good holiday read.

Just found all the Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters available for my Kindle. I'd lost my for really real copies of the books several years ago and I couldn't replace them without relying on second hand sources. So, as an early Christmas treat for myself, I bought all 21 of them.

A Morbid Taste for Bones
One Corpse Too Many
Monk's Hood
Saint Peter's Fair
The Leper of Saint Giles
The Virgin in the Ice
The Sanctuary Sparrow
The Devil's Novice
Dead Man's Ransom
The Pilgrim of Hate
An Excellent Mystery
The Raven in the Foregate
The Rose Rent
The Hermit of Eyton Forest
The Confession of Brother Haluin
A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael
The Heretic's Apprentice
The Potter's Field
The Summer of the Danes
The Holy Thief
Brother Cadfael's Penance

It's a great day for picking up a lost series. I got Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series. I don't usually read this type of book, but I remember having a lot of fun with them a few years back, so I'd like to read them again.

I also want to reread Preston and Child's Pendergast series. I don't think I've read them all, but I really enjoyed the ones I've read. I was going to get them all as audiobooks, but it turns out that they aren't all available on audio. As soon as I sort what's available where, I'll start gathering them up.

I took boxes of books to Bullmoose for resale.. but could not leave the store without purchasing 1 or 2.... sigh.. Could not help myself..
The Rosewood Casket
The Storyteller

>39 seitherin: wow! Nice haul.

For series completion, I am still working on Stuart Kaminsky's series about Soviet policeman Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov. I have 8, but he wrote 16.

Wouldnt "series completions" be a good thread for this discussion group. For me I am looking for the first of the series by Daniel Silva with Gabriel Allon "the Kill Artist".

That would be a great idea for a thread. I posted over the weekend for help finding the first two books in a series I was trying to complete.

>42 fuzzi: I don't think I've read any of the Kaminsky books. How are they?

I just downloaded Milked by Lisa Doyle for my Nook. I'm intrigued by the publisher as much as the book. It's a small press dedicated to chick lit. I've added some of their front list to my wish list for later.

>45 seitherin: I have not read other mystery series by Kaminsky, but I really like the characters in the Rostnikov series. And Kaminsky describes the locale (Soviet Russia) so well, you can see it, clearly. One gets a slice of the time and place, it makes for interesting reading.

Hmmm, time for a reread...

..ack! What y'all do to me.

>47 fuzzi: Hmm. Sounds interesting. I may have to check them out after I finish my Brother Cadfael reread (which I just started).

I just ordered A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley. These are from B&N's buy two, get one free paperback sale. Can't wait!

The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage

Three novels by Penelope Fitzgerald:

At Freddie's
The Golden Child
Innocence

Today I received a book I'd bought on ebay, a 1906 edition of The Call of the Wild. The cover is stained, but the binding is tight, and there's only minor yellowing of the pages. :)

I reshopped shopped the buy two/get one free sale.

I went back this week for:
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

And we're going to check out the flea market this weekend. I'm hoping for some wonderful finds.

I stopped by David's Used Books after work, to drop off four books for credit...and came home with the same number I'd culled!!

The First Rumpole Omnibus by John Mortimer
Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen
On the Other Side of the Hill by Roger Lea MacBride
The Return of the Jedi by James Kahn (I gave it to my son)

I ordered two books and received them yesterday. I'm apparently in the mood for some nonfiction. Very excited to have these although I hate how big they are. Ridiculously wide and tall!

Shohei Ooka : Taken Captive: A Japanese POW's Story
Hiroo Onoda : No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War

From Amazon for a RL Book Club read:

Indiana by George Sand

I added 45 books in November - some from my mother's collection, a couple from an author event and most from used bookstores and book sales.

So far in December I brought home 5 books from my women's group book sale and a couple more from my mom.
The testing of Janice Day by Helen Beecher Long
Taming a Seahorse by Robert B. Parker
In the bleak midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Behind the beautiful forevers by Katherine Boo
A beautiful blue death by Charles Finch
To the power of three by Laura Lippman
Captain Horatio Hornblower. Vol II. Ship of the Line by C.S. Forester

>54 lilisin: have you read Unbroken: yet? It is about WWII and survival, a very good read!

Found a dozen great children's books in good condition at Good Will yesterday!
Justified because I'm getting ready to take a bag full of books to the bi-lingual Preschool.

57 -
Thanks for the recommendation. I'm currently reading just from the Japanese perspective at this time. However, I am interested in reading Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

The Awakened Kingdom by N. K. Jemisin
Uncanny Magazine Issue 1

Reading Blue Diamonds by Antonia Marlowe which I got free on amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BLUE-DIAMONDS-gripping-romantic-suspense-ebook/dp/B00QFQ...

From Open Letter Series:

Street of Thieves by Mathias Enard

From BookMooch:

The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert by Ward Just
Naomi by Tanizaki

I'm just home from Books-A-Million. I got Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller for me, Jodi Picoult's Between the Lines for my Granddaughter, and The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. The reviews on that one are all over the place. Readers seem to either love it or hate it.

57 fuzzi: I am reading Unbroken now and agree that it's engrossing and excellently researched and written.

>64 framboise: yes!!!!!

I borrowed The Frozen Thames through ILL today.

Arrived this week:

The Afterlife: Essays and Criticism by Penelope Fitzgerald
The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro

So far in December I've acquired

Mog's Christmas
Best Loved Christmas Carols, Readings and Poetry
Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm
Notes to my Mother-in-Law and How Many Camels are there in Holland by Pbyllida Law*
Gather Together in my Name
Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas
There's Something I've Been Dying to Tell You
The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries
Just Like Annabel
Lost and Found My Story
Redemption by Jill McGown*
Lovely Bits of Old England
No Time for Romance
By Hook or by Crook

*Meh - I can't work out touchstones for these

Received from Amazon... The Resurrection of Tess Blessing started it yesterday. :) It takes a bit to get use to the style of writing. It is written from the perspective of her "imaginary friend". Enjoying it so far though! :)

Arrived today, purchased with Amazon gift card:

A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
Suspended Sentences by Patrick Modiano

I've just acquired The White Dawn, solely because of the way the book figures in The Enchanted, a novel that was a five-star read for me.

Arrived today, purchased with Amazon gift card:

So I Have Thought of You: The Letters of Penelope Fitzgerald
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut This is a replacement copy; my much-loved, much-read 1970s paperback copy finally fell to pieces. This new one doesn't have its style or smell (vaguely reminiscent of my college dorm room), but as long as it tells the same great story it will do nicely.

Added a vintage book Reader's Digest Complete guide to needlework by Virginia Colton from my mom's collection.

From B&N:

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking..............a RL Book Club selection

For my Kindle for just a bit more than $5 ... The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.

kids books were buy one get, one free, at the library's ongoing book sale.
Brought home 21 books for a ridiculous cost of $5.50

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Florence Gordon
An Unnecessary Woman

Expect both will be holiday break reads.

I HAD to go to B&N to get gifts for others. Truly, I had to go there. Anyway, I had a 25% off coupon for books and chose to get the new Grisham, Gray Mountain. It's astonishing to me that I chose that book, because I've been off reading him for years. However, the reviews for this book have been excellent and all of them have talked about how it's a substantial cut above his usual. We'll see what I think.

I'm reading a library book, Saving Simon by Jon Katz. This is my second read by this author, and I'm enjoying it.

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald

Picked up The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer at Bull Moose Music. It is a YA book that someone recommended but for the life of me I can't remember who lol. Fantasy/Thriller.

I haven't been buying books. It has been a real feat of willpower! However, my son and I are going on a cruise in February, and so I've been squirrelling money away for clothes to wear and fun to have. I want to try snorkelling, and perhaps wind surfing, so when I think about buying books I try very hard to think instead about coral reefs and other delights in store.

Yesterday, however, my son presented me with a copy of The Leopard by Jo Nesbo, whose books I thoroughly enjoy, and a gift voucher for my favourite used bookstore, which will be put to good and happy use.

Ordered a copy of Absolution by Olaf Olafsson. I've enjoyed a couple of his other books and since this one isn't in electronic format, ordered the print edition.

Happy Holidays and New Year to all!

Tonight my son presented me with a copy of Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, with illustrations by Bernie Wrightson. I am enthralled, Wrightson is one of my favorite artists!

I wish you all happy holidays!

Christmas gifts from my family:

The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion - essays by Meghan Daum
Redeployment - stories by Phil Klay
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

I ordered Arnaldur Indridason's Jar City this morning, and look forward to its arrival.

I always stock up on books in December, because the online stores I use have free postage that month.

Books bought by me:
Sacrifice by Sharon Bolton
Possession by A. S. Byatt
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
Pyramids and Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
The Likeness by Tana French
Still Life by Louise Penny

Got for Christmas:
Moving Pictures and Eric (illustrated edition) by Terry Pratchett
Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin
Entry Island by Peter May
Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths
Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Children of the Revolution by Peter Robinson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Joan of Arc ebook offer
The Rider of the White Horse free ebook
Life and Adventures of Santa Claus free ebook

For Christmas other half has given me
The Secret History of Wonder Woman and
Clarissa's England
I've also succumbed to The Dark is Rising - a classic that I've never read.

And now the ebook offers are coming thick and fast ...
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
Journey to the River Sea
Forever

>87 mollygrace:

Great gifts! Three our of four on my mount TBR/wishlist.

Two from the public library discard table:

Pride and Prejudice and Silas Marner

While I already own a copy of P&P, it is a medium-sized hardcover, and due to arthritic changes in my hands, I am slowly replacing my hardcover library with paperbacks. This copy was a paperback, but was rebound with hard covers. It's still lighter than my other copy.

The Silas Marner is an "oops", I already had a copy.

Two purchased with a Christmas gift card:

Euphoria by Lily King
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

Three purchased with a Christmas gift card:
The Seven-Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell
Next by Michael Crichton

Jar City, by Arnaldur Indridason, arrived in the post today, it was ordered with Christmas money, and I am awaiting two more.

Received from Amazon: Restoration by Olaf Olafsson. A few days earlier I ordered Absolution, by the same author, but it seems to have gotten lost in transit.

December acquisitions:
Flight Behavior
One Thousand Gifts
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
The Christmas Letters

Dirty Chick: Adventures of an Unlikely Farmer by Antonia Murphy - Early Reviewer
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Sara Fanelli - Christmas gift from my nephew, I'm a fan of the illustrator and I've never read it
When We Were Orphans: A Novel by Kazuo Ishiguro- for my book club

The new thread and first of the new year is up - https://www.librarything.com/topic/185690.