Acquisitions: May to September 2015

What books have been following you home?

And there! I just received one in the mail, which I didn't expect for another couple of weeks.

The Other Mitford: Pamela's Story by Diana Alexander

I was reminded recently that I hadn't yet acquired the latest Harry Dresden book, Skin Game. Decided to rectify this oversight when I went in to the nearest bookshop and found out I'd missed Jim Butcher doing a signing session by a couple of weeks. They still had some signed copies though so picked one up along with a signed copy of The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett who'd also paid a visit recently. Also snagged the next in an old series I haven't touched for a while in Not Quite Scaramouche by Joel Rosenberg.

My copy of Blood Runs in the Family arrived today to get my Order of the Stick anthologies up to date. Time for a full re-read this summer.

I had to get a friend's birthday present on Saturday but came home with Shadowscale for myself.

I have given in and ordered Station Eleven with the help of some Waterstones points. I know what my next read is going to be :)

>6 imyril:

I'm expecting my copy any day now.

I'm off to the US at the end of the week, so I'm taking advantage of the fact to finally get my hands on a copy of Lifelode. Hurray! I've been wanting to read this for years, and it seems to be the only one of Jo's books never to have had a UK release (nor even a wayward copy washed up in Forbidden Planet).

Audible went and tempted me with a daily special of Wind in the Willows. Of course I succumbed. As a friend on FB pointed out, it is a very appropriate selection for me today, since the wind is blowing so hard it blew one of our metal tables into the hotel pool last night, along with the metal umbrella stand and holder. Sheesh.

ETA: Oops, just looked a the Kindle daily deals and purchased Belles on their Toes.

In our new used bookstore, I found A Book of Voyages which is a series of travel stories from the 17th and 18th centuries and is edited by Patrick O'Brian. I was thrilled!

>9 MrsLee: I loved Belles on Their Toes, and reread it recently.

It's windy here, today, but not quite that windy. There's a storm system off the coast attempting to form. It's bringing wind, and later today some showers are predicted.

Addendum...books coming home, soon:

Dust on the Sea
Cold is the Sea
Sink the Bismarck!

I loved Run Silent, Run Deep so much, I wanted to read the two sequels (Dust on the Sea, Cold is the Sea), and of course they're not available at either the local library or in our only local second-hand book store. Thank you, Abebooks.com, for making them readily (and inexpensively) available.

Oh, and I bought Sink the Bismarck! as I found a good copy, cheap, and I've wanted to read it for a while. The movie is superb!

I am working hard not to acquire any new physical books, but audio and ebooks are ok. So I downloaded Gathering Prey the latest Lucas Davenport novel by John Sandford. Finished it today. It's as good as they usually are. Davenport is Davenport.

Also got a bargain Christie - At Bertram's Hotel from the Kindle store. At $2 it's hard to pass it up!

Ebooks and audios are so much easier to pack than hardcopies!

>11 fuzzi: fuzzi, thanks for mentioning those books, I should look them up. We have quite a few navy books, we enjoy those stories.

I've picked up a copy of To Hell and Back and Harp of Burma.  Seeing Sabaton in concert has apparently left an impression.

>13 nhlsecord: I have recently discovered Alistair MacLean's works, and recommend them, too!

Wow, I grew up reading my Dad's paperbacks, Alistair MacLean. Nobody raises the stakes like this author. An odd read out from his usual thrillers, the depth and amazing twists in his Summer of the Red Wolf is on my top reads of all time list. I got the hardback at a used book shop - still on my shelf. The eye opener reveal in the plot still hits me in the gut, today. I proposed it as a neighborhood book club read, and it had lost none of its impact.

>16 JannyWurts: no spoilers!!! ;)

fuzzi - What spoilers? Didn't reveal a single plot point to any of McLean's books - mark me puzzled.

>18 JannyWurts: post #16 sounded like a spoiler about to pop! I was anticipating one.

Thanks for not spoiling Summer of the Red Wolf. Was that a MacLean? Touchstone links to Morris West.

Oops, yes, got the authors crossed up. Both were among Dad's favorites. I read all of his, and also the library.

Remains a wonderful book. Sorry for the cross up.

Most recent acquisitions were John Scalzi's Old Man's War and Kim Newman's Bloody Red Baron and Dracula Cha-cha-cha (won't touchstone except by its alternate title Judgment of Tears it seems) in the Anno Dracula universe I'd been wanting to give a peek at for a while.

Added a couple today and also informed that another which I pre-ordered a while ago is on its way:

The Third Reich by Roberto Bolano
Gun Machine by Warren Ellis
Fables: Deluxe Edition Book Ten by Bill Willingham

Oops, accidentally bought Snowblind on reflex (kindle deal Icelandic crime).

>23 imyril: Those kindle deals are real killers. At least they don't take up shelf space. Sometime I'll have to figure out just how many I bought in the last month or so.

>24 SylviaC: Aren't they just? Plus I currently have some credit for selecting no-rush deliveries on other things, so it was technically free. Which doesn't help control the reflexes at all ;)

Bought Baby by Patricia MacLachlan, read, reviewed, and going back to the used book store.

It's a very, VERY good book by the author who wrote Sarah, Plain and Tall, but I'm trying to not keep all the books that I acquire...

After some very slippery rationalization, I bought a new copy (good price) of Bad Country. It's been a long time since I bought a new book, but the reviews looked interesting and the book yells at me every time I go into that store.

My mother turns 84 today. For her present, I added three books to her Kindle, Maisie Dobbs, Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials: A Singaporean Mystery and Malice in Maggody. These just happen to be books I've been wanting for some time; happily my mom and I have some similar reading tastes!

I've taken advantage of my remaining Kindle credit to finally pick up Dreams of Gods and Monsters. I have mixed feelings about this trilogy, but I would like to finish it!

Oops, I got into a buying habit ;) I've been wanting to read The Godless Boys for years, and it's a daily deal today. Yay!

Today I added Between worlds, a collection of Martha Wells' stories set in Ile Rien and Cineth, to my kindle. It's only £2 or $2.99 from amazon.

I was trying so hard to not buy anything this month - but I got these on the library withdrawn shelf and if I didn't take them they'd have been thrown away - Tehanu and The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin and Heretic by Sarah Singleton (can't find the right touchstone in the list of options for that one - although it might be because I'm tired).

>32 Peace2: I think you get nothing but bonus points if you were rescuing books.

>32 Peace2: @imyril is right.

>32 Peace2: I third @imyril and @pgmcc. Especially having reread The Earthsea Quartet and The Other Wind recently. Looked on the Author page for Heretic, and can only conclude that LT knows it by another title.

>33 imyril: >34 pgmcc: >35 hfglen: Just need to track down the rest of The Earthsea Quartet now... then I can have a read/re-read - I know I've read at least part of it but it was 20+ years ago.

Aaah, therein lies the key >35 hfglen: it appears the book (despite my entering the ISBN and all details coming up correctly) is also known as Out of the Shadows. Thank you for the suggestion, I'd have never thought of trying that to find it out.

Anyway, a bunch followed me home today...

Face and Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson
Conspirators by Michael Andre Bernstein
The Glass Books of the DreamEaters by Gordon Dahlquist

Only one followed me home today, from a yard sale:

Sergeant York by John Perry

I've heard of this person, before, and I am looking forward to reading more about him.

>37 fuzzi: I think you will love him. I read his own version of his story, which was difficult because he was nearly illiterate, but there was some fine wisdom and humility there. The movie was good too, but I liked the real story best. Nothing wrong with enjoying a Gary Cooper film though. :)

>38 MrsLee: love those old movies!

When we judge less educated people as unimportant based upon their level of higher-learning, we do them and society a disservice: these people might not be educated, but they still have wisdom. My grandmother and her daughter, my mother, never went on to higher education, but both were smart, wise, and wonderful people. I still quote some of my grandmother's proverb-type expressions. :)

I accidentally liberated 3 books from the charity bookshop today:

The Night Watch - Sarah Waters
The Separation - Christopher Priest
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

I think my no-buy resolution is slipping fast :)

I've recently acquired these two:

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

>40 imyril: I believe "no-buy" resolutions are against EU law as being anti-competitive; unconstitutional and an occasion of sin. You will be a much better person, lead a happier life and have more friends if you let such things die a natural death.

Can you guess I got a call from a bookshop today telling me a book I have ordered has arrived?

>42 pgmcc: Thank you @pgmcc - I should consult you more often when my conscience is troubled :)

>43 imyril: Glad to be of service.

Sermons on the morals of book buying can be had anytime you need them.

A book is an investment towards your education, and literate betterment. It lasts a lifetime, if properly maintained, and is energy-efficient, with no additional energy use once it is published.

Also, the use of large hardcovers increases muscle strength and mass.

More? :D

>45 fuzzi: I love @fuzzi logic.

>46 pgmcc: :D

That sounds better than justification... ;)

>47 fuzzi: I particularly liked the hardback logic. Who needs the gym?

This is not an acquisition but it might just have to go on my try and track down a copy list - for the title alone Bookworms, Dog-Ears and Squashy Big Armchairs : A Book lover's alphabet by Heather Reyes - using Amazon Uk I took a look inside at the first pages and the very first definition made me think of LT and the people here. (If you take a look don't be put off by the fact the first definition is for the word Aberrant - it turns that around nicely and is a credit to 'the tribe of book lovers').

>49 Peace2: love it!

ABERRANT
(Adjective) Differing or departing from what is normal or accepted as standard.
Don’t let them get at you – those people who say that, as a book-lover in the twenty-first century, your behaviour is aberrant. No. You are a member of a large and very special tribe, a tribe marked by civility, empathy, and intelligence. Its members may not be the noisiest in society, and you may not have another member of the tribe living within a mile’s radius of you. But they are out there and, like you, joyfully participating – day in, day out – in one of the most sophisticated functions of the human brain. Reading books.
The motto of the tribe: Amor librorum nos unit (The love of books unites us).

ADDICTION
Far safer to be addicted to books than just about anything else.

Wise words ‘There’s no such thing as too many books.’

@sakerfalcon winged me with this book bullet last year, and Bitter Greens caught me up today when I saw it in the Kindle sale. Her aim is good, but so is her taste, so I'm not complaining ;)

>51 imyril: Ah, thought that might be a cookbook on healthy dark greens for a minute. :)

>52 MrsLee: Hey, I'll take one of those too - I should eat more dark greens :)

>51 imyril: Thank you! Hope you enjoy it. I know @kceccato did.

I've acquired The Winter Soldier : The Electric Ghost by Jason Latour et al on Friday and have read it already.

I've also been given about 15 books in a box - I've listed about 8 of them so far, but I'm not sure I'm going to keep them... It was rather a bizarre mix - some of the titles included Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane, Letter to Louise by Pauline Collins, Doors Open by Ian Rankin a couple of Henning Mankell's Wallander books, a book about the Taliban, American Psycho and some Carole Matthews amongst others. I have doubts that some of them are my kind of thing. Part of me feels like I should give all but those that really interest me away as the TBR pile is more than big enough already.

So here's what happened: There were three small charity book sales recently, none of which were very satisfactory. Since I was there, though, I had to buy something, so I just picked up a few books at each of them. Then, a couple of days ago, I went to a good book sale. Naturally, I felt that I had to make up for the disappointments of the last sales. Also, my daughter was with me, and it was my duty to set a good example for her.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

---

Physical books acquired in the last two weeks:

Two Towns in Provence by M. F. K. Fisher
The Heart of London by Monica Dickens
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs - this was on my wishlist
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Book)
The Canlit Foodbook edited by Margaret Atwood
In the Stacks by Michael Cart
Canadian Fleets Along the Seaway by Skip Gillham
The Ships of Collingwood by Skip Gillam
Ship Number 22: Her Birth, Life and Death by Orlo Miller, Fred Leaver
Then Came Heaven by LaVyrle Spencer
Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer - read this before, and wanted to own a copy
More Than Words, Volume 3
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann - was on my wishlist
Oleander, Jacaranda: A Childhood Perceived by Penelope Lively
Earth (The Book) : a visitor's guide to the human race by Jon Stewart
Wingfield's Hope : more letters from Wingfield Farm by Dan Needles
Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - recommended by a friend
Christmas Letters by Debbie Macomber
Women Who Love Books Too Much by Brenda Knight
Tales of Life and Adventure by H. G. Wells - I'll admit I just bought this one because it looked and felt nice
Red of the Redfields by Grace S. Richmond
A New Name by Grace Livingston Hill
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake - I keep buying then culling copies of this. I really need to read it sometime.
Tsunami: The Newfoundland Tidal Wave Disaster by Maura Hanrahan
Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer - not one of my favourites, but I bought it to go with the collection

While I'm trying not to buy any more cookbooks, I got these because of an inconvenient new dietary restriction:
The 99% Fat Free Cookbook
Low-Fat & Luscious by Better Homes and Gardens
Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cookbook by American Heart Association

There were also a few upgrades to battered paperbacks that I already owned, and a couple of books that I bought for friends.

And these last two are brand new books, recommended reading for my weather watcher's course:
Guide to Weather Forecasting by Storm Dunlop
The Weather Handbook by Alan Watts

>56 SylviaC: That is a good story to stick to. One element is missing: whose truck did you bring the load of books home in? It must have had a tail lift for the pallets.

An M.F.K. Fisher! Lovely.

Really? A weather book written by someone named "Storm?" And does the book by Mr. Watts talk about lightening?

>58 MrsLee: It is the current best seller.

>58 MrsLee: The M.F.K. Fisher acquisition was entirely due to your influence. It is actually an omnibus edition of Map of Another Town and A Considerable Town. And when I saw the name Storm on the reading list, I had to wonder if that was his real name, and if so, to what extent did it influence his career choice.

>57 pgmcc: Good thing my husband got the towing package thrown into the deal when we bought my SUV.

>59 pgmcc: That pun was electrifying!

>60 SylviaC: Something in the thread gave me a spark of inspiration.

>61 pgmcc: That was re-volt-ing!

Ohm I, watt was that? My hair stands for you and your ampire .

>56 SylviaC: ooh! You found a copy of the screenplay of Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Great!

I got a copy as part of a public television fund raising event, about 35 years ago...AND I still have it, in good condition!

You'll love the extra stuff in the book, too, I'm sure.

>56 SylviaC: I love that in amongst the pile there's a copy of Women Who Love Books Too Much - how apt!

>59 pgmcc:, >60 SylviaC:, >62 hfglen:, >64 fuzzi: Your replies are shocking.

::throwing the breaker on the am-fusing commentary::

It was a short digression.

I always get a charge out of the conversation here.

>64 fuzzi: My copy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail can't be described as being in good condition, as it is a former library book, and the front cover is ripped. It's the plain cover with the window in it, and it is torn from one corner of the window to the edge of the cover. The kids and I are more interested in readability than condition, though. The "reviews" on the back cover are hilarious.

>65 imyril: I actually have a bit of a problem with that title. How can one love books "too much"?

>69 SylviaC: good point, well made. Although from a logistical point of view the book-loving can be a challenge :)

I have adopted a copy of The Anvil of the World after some good press round here. I say adopted. I mean couldn't resist a bargain. If they were selling it off cheap, it was clearly unloved and in need of a good home.

The Anvil of the World arrived today and it's beautiful - I wasn't expecting a hardback! So glad I weakened :)

After finishing my latest Vorkosigan novel, Memory, and seeing that I only had one more in the series on my shelves, I visited Amazon and ordered all the rest. Some in paperback and some on the Kindle. Some of them were only available on the Kindle, or at least in a price I could afford, though I think I would prefer these on my shelves.

Then, Book Depository sent me that evil email which said the books on my wishlist were 5% off. The only books on my wishlist there are hardcovers by Terry Pratchett, so I went and spent $50 on four books. I think I only have four left to buy of that particular batch, cover illustrated by Joe McLaren. I justified this purchase because my husband's birthday is next week and he hates to celebrate, so thought it was right for me to buy myself a present if he didn't want any. That's right, isn't it?

Happy Birthday! Guess what I got for me!

A new-to-me (temporarily empty) bookshelf - although it didn't stay empty for long - and is almost full already (the only reason it's not full is I held back on overloading it).. Not a book, but it is a book related acquisition and it made me happy.

Let's see, recent acquisitions... quite a lot over the past couple of months.

A new ereader: I imported a Kobo Glo HD from Chapters Indigo in Canada when they were running a 20% off sale with Visa Checkout last month- I couldn't be happier with it at this point, really. The screen is crisp, the light is wonderful (very even, unlike the older Nook Glowlight I have), performance is very good. Glad I took the chance on it even though I had to buy it sight unseen.

Some titles in ebook to re-read:

- The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (saw there's a new novella coming out next month in this setting called "Shades in Shadow"- hadn't heard anything about it!)
- The Black Gryphon, Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
- The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley

Some new ones (leaning towards fantasy/fairy lately it seems, but a little bit of science fiction in there too):

- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers
- Permeable Borders, Nina Kiriki Hoffman
- Either Side of the Strand, M.C.A. Hogarth
- The Mystic Marriage, Heather Rose Jones
- Happy Snak, Nicole Kimberling
- Bryony and Roses, T. Kingfisher
- The Birthgrave, Tanith Lee
- The Fox's Tower and Other Tales, Yoon Ha Lee
- Sing to Me, Becca Lusher (freebie)
- Uprooted, Naomi Novik
- Rulebreaker, Cathy Pegau
- Luckstones, Madeleine E. Robins
- Stories of the Raksura, Volume 2, Martha Wells (group read next month!)

Some non-fiction:

- Infinitesimal, Amir Alexander
- Invisible 2: Personal Essays on Representation in SFF, Jim C. Hines (all essays are free to read on Hines' blog here too)
- Dreams of Other Worlds, Chris Impey and Holly Henry
- How Paris Became Paris, Joan DeJean
- Writing on the Wall and The Turk, Tom Standage
- Life on the Screen, Sherry Turkle

50 books from an elderly friend. Still cataloguing, so list to follow.

ETA: Ones that may be of interest here include:
Counting my Chickens, articles bu {{Deborah Devonshire, displaying a great sense of humour
Sisters of the South by Conrad Lighton -- curious that the only other copy in LT is in Sir Robert Menzies' legacy library!
This Wooden 'O' by Barry Day; the 21st-century Globe Theatre
various gardening and plant books
various books of South African history ... and many more

This week we were snuck up on by:
The Log of Christopher Columbus edited by Robert Fuson
The Secret Voyage of Sir Francis Drake by Samuel Bawlf
Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts

My daughter is getting ready for her move, she brought home two boxes of books for me to go through. I kept one (several of which were mine anyway). Some of those I'm only booksitting for her until she is ready for them. These were some she didn't want anymore, but I wanted to have a shot at reading.

My Tank is Fight! by Zack Parsons
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
Ward No. 6 and Other Stories by Anton Chekhov

I came home from a day out in Winchester yesterday with
The knight of cheerful countenance
and Beggars and choosers.

Added 4 books to take the number on the tbr shelves to over 500:

Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

I'm hoping that actual birthdays don't carry the weighty responsibility of Thingaversaries!

But with my birthday in mind, I decided to treat myself to a couple of books... Bookworms, Dog-ears and Squashy Big Armchairs by Heather Reyes and The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander. I still don't have the first in the Lloyd Alexander series, but I shall keep hunting.

Then was passed a used copy of The Help by Kathryn Stockett and told it was a must read. So much to read...

Bought brand new, because there was a sale for a whole 5% off!

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Weather
Canada's Weather by Chris St. Clair
Looneyspoons Collection: Janet & Greta's Greatest Recipe Hits plus a Whole Lot More by Janet and Greta Podleski
Beyond Heaving Bosoms : the Smart Bitches' guide to romance novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan

>83 SylviaC: Chris St. Clair, eh? The long-suffering partner of Heather Hiscox on CBC. (just kidding maybe, Heather tends to talk a lot when Chris is supposed to). Don't forget to give us all the interesting facts on the weather :)

>84 nhlsecord: Is he on CBC now? The book was published in 2009, and says Weather Network on the back. I was looking for something that might shed some more light on our lake effect weather. Everything else I've found focuses on either the UK or the US. When I flip through, it looks promising. There are lots of easy-to-understand charts and diagrams, but the photographs alone make it a worthwhile purchase.

I haven't added my latest acquisitions to this list:  Howl's Moving Castle and The Artist's Way.  I've joined an artsy-support-type-group for creative-types who are in a rut, and we're reading this book.  I know, "If you want to be a writer, write!"  I just need a bit of a nudge to get writing.  At least I'm reading, again.

As for Howl...I rewatched the movie, last night, with husband and housemate.  Movie is quite pretty, but the longer the movie goes, the more it diverges from the book.

>83 SylviaC: If the pub's tardis worked I'd book it and camp on your doorstep until I'd read all those! They all look fascinating.

>85 SylviaC: CBC News Network used to have their own weather people but they switched to using The Weather Network people, so Chris is usually on once or twice an hour from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays. It was quite funny - and sad - in the beginning because Chris would be all ready with his jokes and pictures when it was time for his part, but Heather kept talking to him. So Chris looked like a suffocating fish until he learned to stand and smile until Heather lets him talk.

I really admire the ability of those news people to do their work, and Heather Hiscox is a master of filling up the silence when she has to.

2 more new books have found there way onto the tbr shelves:

Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
Dead Girl Walking by Christopher Brookmyre

I went to a book sale, and only bought one single, solitary book. It's a big one, but still only one. It wasn't even one that I particularly wanted to own, but thought that maybe someday I might borrow from the library. But I had to buy something. In a small community, you tend to get the same books being recycled from sale to sale. And it doesn't help that hundreds of them were my own donations. Sorry to let you all down.

Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings by Mary Henley Rubio.

>90 SylviaC:

At least you were not so desperate as to buy your own books.

>91 suitable1: LOL...

>91 suitable1: I came across one that I kind of regretted giving away, but I stood firm and didn't buy it back.

>92 fuzzi: Don't laugh! That's how I got ahold of that copy of The Four Graces I sent you!

Awww...really? That was very nice of you. :)

>90 SylviaC: A copy of that book has been sitting unread on my shelves for a few years now. If you get to it before me I look forward to your thoughts.

I've been reading a lot of dark and/or weighty books recently (feels like), so I caved into a daily deal and picked up The Mermaid's Sister, which sounds utterly delightful as a faerie tale / coming of age story.

Young Clara sets out to 'save' her sister Maren - who was left on the doorstep in a seashell as a baby - when she begins to grow webbing and scales and talk of leaving for the sea. But if Maren is a mermaid, then what is Clara, who was delivered by a stork?

>95 Sakerfalcon: It's not very high in my reading priorities. There's very little that's uplifting about her life. I think I was scarred by reading the first volume of her journals when I was a teenager.

the hare with the amber eyes went on sale recently. The tale of a wealthy family's destruction at the hands of nazis and their fabulous netsuke collection, the only thing ever recovered. At least I think that's the gist.

A recent foray to the local book store produced the following:

Ancillary Sword
Afterparty
Nimona

I've already finished Nimona and loved it.

>98 Bookmarque: The Hare with the Amber Eyes was one of my five star reads of last year if I remember correctly (possibly four and a half)

New 'old' acquisition The Little Grey Men - sure I read this at school many a year ago - I'm hoping to enjoy it, when I eventually get to it.

>100 Peace2: I've got The Little Grey Men on my shelf to reread. I loved it as a child! (also The Little Grey Men Go Down The Bright Stream)

I might have to set some time aside for a trip down memory lane for this and Anne of Green Gables (thanks to @SylviaC)

I obtained ebooks of On Stranger Tides, already read but long ago as a translation and library borrow, two other books in a similar vein I enjoyed over the past few years made me want to revisit it, and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

Amazon assaulted my wish list with kindle reductions. I'm gritting my teeth, but Florence and Giles have snuck home with me.

>103 imyril: I hope you enjoy Florence and Giles more than I did - I found Florence's 'verbifying' irritating - although possibly the extreme agitation I felt at it may have been exacerbated by listening to the audio rather than reading the book.

Oops. I seem to have picked up The Three as well.

Do 'purchases' count if they were free? If they do they I may have acquired a couple of books from the iTunes Store that were currently on offer free

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The Game by Terry Schott
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Frey by Melissa wright
Talon by Julie Kagawa
We were liars by E. Lockhart
The Good Girl by Mary Kubicka. There were also a few others like A Woman in White, Frankenstein, and things like Treasure Island.

I was given The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet and The Morning Star Trilogy. I'm happy to have them!

I have T. S. Spivet. It's a gorgeous book, but I haven't read very much of it yet. It takes a fair bit of concentration.

I came home the other day with Vanishing Games by Roger Hobbs and The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins which both look really good!

Picked up a book that I've been on the look-out for a while. I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie by Pamela Des Barres which is said to have been used by Kate Hudson for her portrayal of Penny Lane in the film Almost Famous.

Couldn't leave the shop with just one book so also nabbed Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis. More renowned for his graphic novels so it will be interesting to see how this fares.

I found an ARC of The gracekeepers today. It's been on my radar but the library doesn't seem to have a copy, so I was pleased with this.

From the charity shops yesterday -
Women and Children First by Gill Paul
The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman
Namma by Kate Karko
The Dark and The Key by Marianne Curley

>112 Peace2: I'll be curious to hear your take on The Left Hand of God. I didn't get on with it (at all), but it might just have caught me in a really grumpy week :)

They Looked for a City by Lydia Buksbazen has arrived!

I heard portions of it read once, on the radio, and I was intrigued. I recently saw it mentioned and decided to find a copy to read.

>113 imyril: It might be a while before I get to it, but I will report back when I do. :D

A potential job op has appeared, so I'm marathoning An Introduction to Language, Introducing Second Language Acquisition, Patterns of Language, Varieties of Present-Day English (updated in 1973), and a couple thinner manuals.  So, not an acquisition so much as a rediscovery.

>116 justjukka: Oh wow, best of luck to ya!

Thank you! :)

The French translation of The Rook by Dan O'malley hopped over to my tablet as a daily deal.

>119 Jarandel: LOL...

These are exciting ones!!! (I'm excited, anyway, and I think @MrsLee and @jillmwo will be, too.)

Last summer I visited a beautiful used bookstore in an old schoolhouse/church. There was a gorgeous box set of five Lord Peter Wimsey books. I was tempted, but I just couldn't justify spending that much money at that time, on books that I already owned copies of. But after thinking about them for a year, I went back last week, and not only were they still there, but there was also another set of four. So I bought them both, and got them at a price that wasn't unreasonable, when you consider the cost per book. So I now own the Folio Society box sets of The Dorothy L. Sayers Crime Collection and The Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries Collection, which include Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, Murder Must Advertise, Gaudy Night, The Nine Tailors; and Whose Body?, Unnatural Death, Five Red Herrings, Busman's Honeymoon.

>121 SylviaC: Good for you! They sound wonderful! If they can't be in my hands, ;) I'm glad they are in yours. :D

There's a wonderful independent bookstore called Books Inc. in Mountain View
     http://www.librarything.com/venue/7271/Books-Inc-in-Mountain-View
that has survived the pressure of the chains for a long time and continues to keep up a pretty decent inventory of new and old works. Of course I want them to stay in business. So of course I had to stop in when I met a friend nearby for dinner this evening. So then of course I had to buy a book. I picked Donna Tartt's The Secret History and will probably start it tonight.

And while I was in the neighborhood, naturally I had to visit East West Bookshop
     http://www.librarything.com/venue/90347/East-West-Bookshop
right across the street and pick up another Zen book, this one The Heart Sutra, by Red Pine
     http://www.librarything.com/work/83610/book/120825310
(touchstone doesn't appear on the list).

Self-inflicted book bullets: they always aim true.

>121 SylviaC: Excellent decision. I can only image your delight on finding the books still in the shop a year later, let alone finding more of the same. Folio editions are lovely.

>123 Meredy: You are right: those self-inflicted book bullets are the worst.

Here they are in their new home. They do rather stand out from all the library discards, but I love them all, however battered they may be.

Nice. And you have so much room left, too!

But doesn't it bother you that the Harriet Vane books aren't together and in order? Where's that OCD when you need it?

>126 SylviaC: and in alphabetical order, too. Impressive...

>127 Meredy: Yes, it does bother me! I even tried switching them around in the boxes so they would be in order, but they don't fit that way. It also bothers me that a few of them were left out--especially Clouds of Witness. It is not one of my favourites, but I think it is very important for series development.

>129 SylviaC: Looks like you're just going to be a pushover for a more complete set when one crosses your path.

Those are very handsome, though, and I'll bet they feel nice.

>126 SylviaC: If I walked into your house and saw that shelf, I would know that we would be instant friends. :)

>126 SylviaC: that's quite a catch - I'm glad they've found such a good home!

Yep! I can see a lot of dandies on those shelves :)

Oh dear. I was doing so well. The problem is, I had the day off, and a box of books in my trunk which I was getting rid of. They were actually my daughter's books that she asked me to get rid of, and our library isn't accepting donations for Friends of the Library right now because they are hoping to be able to move into a new building soon, so I had to take them to the used bookstore to see if they would take any in in trade, and while I waited for the clerk to go through them I had to do something, and what is a better thing to do in a bookstore than to browse for books?

Anyway, I came home with the box half full (they are very particular what they take) and two extra bags full. It couldn't be helped. Here's the haul:
Mice are Nice a compilation of poems about mice with lovely watercolor illustrations by Ed Young. An odd book for someone who is in the middle of a raging war against a mouse invasion to buy, but there it is.
The Very Quiet Cricket, because, you know, Eric Carle illustrations. No, I DON'T have any small children or grandchildren, but I will always be prepared.
Japanese Cooking, "the traditions, techniques, ingredients and recipes" which I bought for my daughter, but it looks so wonderful I will have to read it first.
Tolkien's World: Paintings of Middle-earth, which is what it says, in pretty good condition.
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde, I did not know about this book or series.
kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende, because, dragons.
"Popo: The Adventures of a Mexican Donkey" by Wiliam R. Strieber & Flora M. Rizzotto. No touchstones, but it looked cute.
China Doctor of John Day, true story from Eastern Oregon early settlements.
Proust and the Squid The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, which sounds really interesting to me.
Buckaroo Heart another cowboy story from Oregon.
Salt: A World History, which I've heard about here, and Anthony Bourdain recommended. :)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which our own clamairy just reviewed today and recommended on Facebook. She has been taunting me with quotes from it for a few days now.
"Plato" book 7 in the Great Books of the World series, which was one we were missing from the set I bought for my son.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, after reading Gulp, I'm looking forward to this, and it's the first book I've brought home in a long time that my husband is excited about.
The Desert Year by Joseph Wood Krutch which sounds lovely, about the desert of Southwest America.
The Fruit Hunters, A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce and Obsession, by Adam Leith Gollner.
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, one of my go-to authors when I need excellent writing.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, because, can you believe it, I have never read this?
Macbeth, in a hardback. I've wanted my favorite plays in individual hardback versions for awhile.
The Drunken Forest by Gerald Durrell who I hope is the author of nature writings that so many of you have recommended.
No More A Stranger by Anne B. Fisher, about Robert Louis Stevenson and the time he was in California.
Coming Through the Swamp by Gene Stratton Porter, her nature writings, which is what I love.
The Collected Short Stories of Louis L'Amour, vol. one and four. Big ol' hardcovers.

This is what comes of denying yourself when you are a book addict, but I am claiming these for my upcoming Thingaversary in October.

Oops, I forgot these:
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd
Monsieur Pamplemousse Investigates by Michael Bond
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

>134 MrsLee:

It's your daughter's fault. Sending you to a bookstore in your condition.

Looks like a great haul.

134> I remember The Last Dragonslayer being fun. I think there's a sequel I haven't read? I should get on that.

>134 MrsLee: & >135 MrsLee:
The ISPCB is proud of you. Such heroism in rescuing those books is admirable.

>138 pgmcc: As one of the founding members (whether they know it or not), I do my best. I must say, I had a hard time passing up some books simply because I already owned another version of the same book. I breathed a blessing upon them to find a good home with some new reader for them which would be delighted in their discovery.

>147 MrsLee: Good to hear!

Catching up, these books showed up on my doorstep:

Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews
Six Geese a Slaying by Donna Andrews
Cold Iron by Stina Leicht
The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette De Bodard
Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

Now I just have to find time to read them after these books showed up for me to review:

The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milan
The Drowning by Camilla Lackberg
Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

>134 MrsLee: what a wonderful haul!

I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for the first time last year (I think), and LOVED IT! I am excited for you.

I love LouisL'Amour's writings, with just a couple exceptions, but his short stories are great! If you like those, let me know, as I am converting my library from hardcover to paperbacks...

Try adding brackets to this:

16410876::Popo; the adventures of a Mexican donkey

to make a Touchstone like this:

Popo; the adventures of a Mexican donkey

>134 MrsLee:, >135 MrsLee: Wow! That's quite a collection there. I hope you enjoy them all, and the mouse book sounds wonderful (mice in books are a completely different thing to real life mice invasions)

>141 fuzzi: I read a bookshelf full of L'Amour books when I was a teen, but they were all full novels I think. I'm looking forward to meandering through his short stories. Also, I think it was your love of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn which tipped the scale for me finally reading it.

>142 fuzzi: I think I am the only one on LT with the Popo; the adventures of a Mexican donkey, and I hadn't entered it when I did that post. It now shows up the normal way. :) Thanks.

>143 Peace2: Only problem is, I want to read them all NOW. And I have other stuff I have to do. :(

>144 MrsLee: I know the feeling (not that that is any consolation but at least you're not alone)

Speaking of recent acquisitions, I fell into the trap and brought some home too...

Tutankhamen: The Life and Death of the Boy-King by Christine El Mahdy
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
The Straight Razor Cure by Daniel Polansky
The Dambusters Raid by John Sweetman
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre
Kill Shot by Vince Flynn
The Sultan's Seal by Jenny White
Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons by Gerald Durrell
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay
Flood and Fang by Marcus Sedgwick - already finished reading this one!

Then there were some hardbacks - all the same type of edition - Great Writers Library... Thought they'd look nice on the shelf with my ''good'' books
The Fall of the House of Usher and other stories by Edgar Allan Poe
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

I do intend reading them although they were bought to look nice on the shelf.

Those were bought over a couple of visits to the charity shop... and then Amazon intervened and sent me a book that I ordered about 18 months ago...
Four by Veronica Roth

Hopefully I'll be too busy in September to go to the charity shops again.

>146 Peace2: We are soul sisters. :) Let me know what you think about Bad Science when you get to it. That was one I decided to put back on the shelf yesterday.

>147 MrsLee: Hanging out here does make me feel better about my 'little problem'. Will let you know about Bad Science when I get to it.

Two books arrived in the mail yesterday:
Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore and Girl Waits with Gun.

Just an Early Reviewers addition for me as Barbara Hambly has been distracting me from running out to buy The House of Shattered Wings. Downtime (the ER title) gets the rearguard duty of distracting me a bit longer :)

Saturday is our FOL's smaller used book sale. The February sale is held in a convention hall, but the September sale is held in a large meeting room at the library. Still, worth a look...

Ours starts next Saturday, and goes for a week. It isn't very big, but is usually pretty good.

I had fun...

Android at Arms by Andre Norton
Blade Runner by Philip K. Dick
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Xenocide by Orson Scott Card (duplicate, but keeping it as it's in much better shape than my current copy)
Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack (1930)
Zia by Scott O'Dell
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry
Davita's Harp by Chaim Potok
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Heart of Darkness/Almayer's Folly/The Lagoon by Joseph Conrad
Little Black Sambo (from 1961, a Whitman Tip Top book)
QB VII by Leon Uris (a paperback copy to replace my hardcover copy)
The Secret Language by Ursula Nordstrom
Traveller by Richard Adams
Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery (the only Anne book I don't have a paper/real copy of)
Der Kleine Prinz and to help me remember:
Langenscheidt's German-English Dictionary

I found a Spanish/English book for my son, who has just started learning Spanish: Con Mi Hermano

And a Gideon's New Testament in large print soft cover!

If any of these were duplicates, or if I decide not to keep them, our used book store in town will give me fifty cents' credit...what I paid for each, so it's all good!

Now...where do I put them...????

Seeing "Summer of My German Soldier" by Bette Greene brings back a memory.

Long, long ago I had a radio program, and, in discussing this book I took issue with a scene where the father takes off his belt and beats his young daughter.

A few days later I was hailed by a professor who crossed the street and scolded me for my point of view: "I'll have you know I use MY belt on MY daughter!!!"

I've acquired the last three Terry Pratchett books in the series of covers by Joe McLaren. These are my least favorite Pratchetts, but by no means does that mean they are bad, they just didn't make me say I LOVE that book! The covers are terrific though!
Jingo
Equal Rites
Pyramids

So, a little while ago I'm sitting in the local bookstore, drinking coffee and minding my own business (uh huh) when I am accosted by John Steinbeck! Before I know it, my hand snakes out to the nearby shelf and I hear myself muttering "I didn't know John Steinbeck wrote an Arthur book!" And there it was in front of me, accompanied by the snickering of the shop owner - The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. And now here it is beside me at home.

Wow, what a lot of good hauls - so glad you are out there providing good homes to needy books! (But I'm jealous)

Fell victim to the 3 for 2 sale at B&N today and came home with:

The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly
The Target by David Baldacci
A Dance of Cloaks by David Dalglish

>156 nhlsecord: I did not know that either! Please let us know what you think.

I've just received the paperback copy I ordered of Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore even before returning the library copy. I did this so I could write in it using the page references I noted in the borrowed hardcover.

It's not that I have such immense enthusiasm for this novel, although I enjoyed it. It's that I think it has something important to say that's not being heard.

>160 Meredy: Your dedication is impressive!

>161 SylviaC: That's a nice way of saying "weird compulsion."

I'm pleased to report that the typo on page 2 of the hardcover has been corrected in the paperback edition.

>160 Meredy: The ISPCB is proud of you.

>163 pgmcc: Great--thanks! I think. What does that stand for?

>164 Meredy: The International Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Books. It was formed as a reaction to someone on LT considering the disposal of some books simply because her floor was not strong enough to support the weight.

>165 pgmcc:

I think the word was "cull".

>166 suitable1: I was trying not to be too shocking.

Last week I was interviewing a person who used to work for a book distributor. She was talking about the returns process and mentioned the practice of shredding books.

I broke out in a cold sweat.

>165 pgmcc: Oh, of course. I was even there for that, and I should have got it. I was trying to work "pan-galactic" in there somewhere.

In all my life I don't think I have actually thrown away more than twenty books, maybe not more than ten. I always try to find good homes for them. I remember one that was such a stinker that I refused to give it to anyone, and even then it stuck to my fingers like Velcro when I tried to drop it into the recycle bin.

But . . . aren't overcrowding and suboptimal storage bad for them? Don't the remainder get along a little better when a few are culled? This is a difficult ethical question.

>168 Meredy: Thin edge of the wedge. Be careful of the propoganda.

I've just acquired ebook copies of Sorcerer to the Crown, Binti, and Zero Sum Game.

I've accidentally acquired a copy of Sorcerer to the Crown (in glorious hardback, as it was a duplicate gift) and the ebook of In Morningstar's Shadow (prequel to The House of Shattered Wings).

Last 2 acquisitions were ebooks, french translations of The first fifteen lives of Harry August by Claire North and Herald of the Storm by Richard Ford. Also picked Fatal Shadows by Josh Lanyon a while earlier.

I've let Fallen Land go back to the library for now (unfinished) and borrowed a wheelbarrow so I could lug home Reamde. Don't know if this is the right time for that one either.

Meanwhile two more Dresdens have come in from the used-books market.

>173 Meredy: The secret of getting into Reamde is to get past the first fifteen or twenty pages. I hope you enjoy it.

>174 pgmcc: The Iowa weirdness? I went to school in Iowa for three years, and what I saw of it was never as weird as that. But I am past it now, so I hope it picks up. Is it going to take me anyplace I want to go?

On Saturday I bought a college book for my son. It was, An Introduction to Matrices and Linear Algebra. When I got it home I discovered that one of my daughters had the exact same book.

That was the prelude to Tuesday.

On Tuesday I took the book and the receipt back to the bookshop and, with no fuss at all, the bookshop gave me a credit note for the amount of the book. Five minutes later I was back at the checkout with Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald. By an amazing coincidence it was exactly the same price as the credit on my credit note.

After my business at Hodges Figgis, the particular bookshop involved in my transactions, I had a number of hours to kill before heading to my sons' old school where I had been invited to discuss my family's experience of the school with other parents who were thinking of sending their sons to that school. Having time to kill I went to a coffee shop to read.

As it happened, the coffee shop was in Books Upstairs, another bookshop. Well now, it would have been rude to go into a bookshop and only drink coffee and read a book I had bought in another shop. To rectify this potential wrong I bought, The Little Demon(showing up as "The Petty Demon" in Touchstone") by Fyodor Sologub.

Then there was Tuesday evening.

Tuesday evening involved my attending an event in The National Library of Ireland. It was an evening of readings from the work of Mervyn Wall and reminiscences of Wall from people who knew him and knew his work. Mervyn Wall wrote The Unfortunate Fursey and The Return of Fursey, two hilarious books about a mediaeval monk which I have only recently finished enjoying.

Of course there were books on sale and I ended up buying a 1956 first edition, first print of No Trophies Raise by Mervyn Wall.

>176 pgmcc:

You do us proud!

One does what one can.

>174 pgmcc:, >175 Meredy: Reamde took me about 100 pages to get into, but once the characters get to Xiamen I was hooked. And now, having been to the area of southern British Columbia where the book ends up, I want to read it again to see if I recognise any of the places!

>176 pgmcc: Well done! I especially look forward to a report on the Ian MacDonald.

Ben aaronovitch is the Kindle deal in the UK today (all except the new one, that is). Have broken my paperback set (see me twitch) to pick up Foxglove Summer for a song.

>179 Sakerfalcon: I have not been disappointed by Ian to date so I am looking forward to Luna.

I ventured into the secondhand book store today, and came away with a copy of The Reluctant Fundamentalist to add to my #Diversiverse challenge list and a copy of Maori Myth and Legend as I realised I know absolutely nothing about it and 60p seemed like a bargain for a bit of mythological education :)

>182 imyril: I hope you get on better with the first of those than I did - I did finish it, but I really didn't enjoy it. The second however sounds brilliant. I'd love to happen across one of those.

>182 imyril: & >183 Peace2:
I really enjoyed The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Everyone has different likes and dislikes.

It is a quick read. Even I managed to finish it in two sittings. L

>184 pgmcc: I know of other people who enjoyed it - maybe it was just me :D

>185 Peace2:
I have not liked many books that are acclaimed as wonderful by many people. You did not enjoy the book. That is how you felt about the book and your reading experience of it. I am sure others responded to it in the same way. I am sure it is not just you. I am sure there is at least one other person who felt that way.

;-)

I have jury service coming up, so quick reads that I can stash in my bag are flavour of the month :)

>182 imyril: When I was young I got a library book by (or ghostwritten by) Kiri Te Kanawa of Maori myths and legends, with gorgeous illustrations. It was called Land of the long white cloud and although I don't remember the stories now I know I loved it at the time.

>182 imyril: There is a review of that book posted on LT ~~~ maybe you can buy it still somewhere

>183 Peace2: there are many copies of that book available through bookfinder.com, and at reasonable prices, too.

>190 fuzzi: Willpower! I have some somewhere.... That is very dangerous enabling there! I must resist!!! I must! At least until I've read a few more books on the TBR pile! :D (Thanks for the tip though!)

>191 Peace2: it's a great site. I've obtained many of my books through it.