March TBRCat -- Books acquired for/during trips or special occasions

Originally posted Feb. 15, 10:38 am; updated to be more inclusive in examples Feb. 17 around 2:15 p.m.

Do you still have any books you bought or received for or during a trip? Perhaps you bought some books at an airport to read during your flight, but did not read them then. Or, perhaps you purchased a book of special interest during the trip as a souvenir or to learn more about the region of your travels.

Or, do you have any books you purchased or were given on a special occasion such as a book festival, a conference, or a book talk which you have not yet read? Special occasions would also include birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or any event you consider special.

During March we have the opportunity to read such books.

Please let us know what you are reading -- on this thread and on the TBRCat wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2019_TBRCAT

One of my favorite local events is the Virginia Festival of the Book which is held every March. Although purchasing books is not required, it is encouraged, and I always end up buying many too many books. I plan to read Olio by Tyehimba Jess, a book of poetry featuring black history presented in an artistic fashion, which won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Mr. Jones read from this book at last year's festival.

If time permits, for my book purchased on a trip, I also plan to read The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman, about a midwife in Appalachia during the Depression. I purchased this in Elkins, West Virginia, last year when my husband and I went to the annual Mountain State Forest Festival (thus another festival).

In August 2017, my dad turned 70. August is also my birthday month so we celebrated with a book buying trip where we hit up several book stores and bought a ton of books. I still have 11 books left to read from that book buying splurge so plan on reading at least one of the following:

Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid
Endangered by Pamela Beason
A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams
Death at the Chateau Bremont by M.L. Longworth
The Comedians by Graham Greene
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Bridge Over the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle
One Hundred Twenty-One Days by Michelle Audin
Texas: The Great Theft by Carmen Boullosa
The Path to the Spiders' Nests by Italo Calvino
Billy Budd, Bartleby, and Other Stories by Herman Melville

Who knows maybe I'll get really ambitious and try to read all of them! lol

I'm planning on reading Calum's Road, bought during a holiday to Skye in 2015 (the mile+-long road of the title was hand-built on the neighbouring island of Raasay by a resident fed up of the poor access to his croft in the north of the island). I can't wait to read this one!

Whenever we go away I always try to hit any book stores that I come across. In March I am planning on reading Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin as I picked this book up at a Barnes and Nobel store in Bellingham, Washington.

I'm a real sucker for guidebooks of houses, exhibition catalogues, etc. I probably ought to read one of them for this challenge.

I bought some books last month while we were away in Florida and think I'll read one for this month. One of the ones I picked up was The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen, the second book in the Q series.

At BookCon in 2017 one booth was giving away beach towels that read "Don't Get My Books Wet". My sister and I tried to get them but they ran out before we got to the front of the line. At the 2018 BookCon you could get that same beach towel by pre-ordering a copy of Bridge of Clay by Marcus Zusak. I have loved both books I've read by Zusak and would have bought the book anyway. Pretty much a no brainer. Pre-ordered the book and got the beach towel I wanted. Bridge of Clay will be my book for tis challenge.

When I've gone to Canada (several times in the last few years) I've tried to purchase Canadian mysteries. I still haven't read Blood and Groom, Forever Dead, or Queen's Park. I also have an unread mystery I purchased in New Zealand many years ago--Murder in Fancy Dress.

I picked up Rogue Lawyer in an airport, and then ended up napping on the flight once I finished my other book, so I didn't get around to starting it. I'll be reading that :)

Would a book about a place you hope to travel count?

In 2017 I traveled to Sheffield, UK to visit my son and his family, and while there visited a tiny corner secondhand bookshop, Porter's. I picked up to two books published by Virago there (Devoted Ladies and Two Days in Aragon), and will probably choose one of these for this challenge.

>11 cyderry: I think that counts as a book for a trip/special occasion. You're preparing in advance. :)

I'm going to read one or perphaps both of two books I bought on a visit to friends in Australia: Eyrie by Tim Winton and Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delaney

I'll probably read The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes. I bought this on a short trip in December.

>11 cyderry: Sure, it would count as long as you have already bought it. This is similar to a discussion which we have had in the ROOTS challenge which you facilitate as to how long something should be on one's TBR shelf before it is counted.

I will have to peruse through and see what might work for this one...

>11 cyderry: This might be what I have to do, as well. I'm not sure...

>16 sallylou61: None of what I call my "tbr" necessarily has to be something I own. I try not to buy books very often. My list of books I want to read is my "tbr".

>19 LibraryCin: Your are fortunate if you can resist buying books. I have just too many unread books on my shelves. Also, it can get expensive buying books. Go ahead and read something from you list of books you want to read. There are not any strict rules other than to use your own interpretation and enjoy your reading.

I couldn't resist and read my choice for this challenge early: The Clansman, by Nigel Tranter. It's the second book in the Rob Roy MacGregor trilogy and I bought it in Wigtown, Scotland's national book town, in 2014. It also brought back nice memories of my trip to Stirling, Scotland, in 2018, because the book is set in that part of the country.

>20 sallylou61: Thanks! I'm still going to try to find something that I bought while traveling, but I'm not sure if I have anything, so I might go with the "a place I want to travel to" idea.

I do bring home books from Little Free Libraries, and sometimes from used bookstores, as well, but mostly those are from the city where I live!

>13 NinieB: >16 sallylou61: >18 LibraryCin: My husband keeps telling me that he will take me to Europe so 2 years ago I purchased a book covering the art in the Louvre and one that is all about the works of Michelangelo. I really want to see them in person but I'm beginning to think that these books will be the only way I see them.

Ok, I found a book I bought at a yard sale when I visited my parents last summer. I think (at least for my books at home), that's the closest I've got!

When We Wake / Karen Healey

Does a Thingaversary count as a special occasion?

>25 AHS-Wolfy: Why not?? I would count it.

>25 AHS-Wolfy:, >26 majkia: Sure. I will add birthdays and anniversaries, etc. to the description at the beginning of the thread.

My parents used to live in Alexandria, VA and had a great used book store by their condo that I would visit everytime I went down to see them. I still have a bunch of unread books that I bought down there. I'm leaning towards one of the Dashiell Hammett books I bought back in 2011, The Dain Curse, The Glass Key or Red Harvest.

>28 staci426: Do you happen to remember the name of the bookstore? I live in that area and am always looking for more places to buy books! :)

>29 christina_reads: It was Already Read Used Books on Duke Street, but I believe they've gone out of business.

I actually will probably read A SantaThing for this as it was my first SantaThing so it was a special occasion and the book I got is my March F2F bookclub read.

>30 staci426: Yes, looks like they're permanently closed, alas! Thanks anyway!

I'll be reading either The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester or Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham, two books we bought at McKay's in Nashville which we visited with our son. The occasion for the trip was my father's funeral in March 2017 which was a special trip in a sad way. (We also bought even more books at McKay's in Knoxville on the way home, some of which are naturally TBR. as well.) The month makes these books a kind of appropriate choice.

>33 hailelib: I make it to the Knoxville and Chattanooga locations more often than Nashville.

I have a few books I'm considering - all picked up on vacation. Looks like I will have to manually add most of them - could only find one touchstone!

Iceland: A Journey through Time - a tour of Ísafjörður, Iceland, a small town in northwest Iceland, told from the point of view of a fish worker in 1893.

Funny Tales from Daily Life in the Westfjords of Iceland

Russian Tsars: The Rurikids The Romanovs

Tallinn: A Medieval Crossroads

When we went to Prince Edward Island on a Canada and New England trip, I found a beautiful copy of Anne of Green Gables. That is my choice for this challenge.

I finished my March book today (I'm counting the fact that I was there for the speech itself as the special occasion):



This Is Water by David Foster Wallace
Wallace gave this speech at the 2005 Kenyon College Commencement ceremonies. When he did so, I was there, on the platform, sitting just a few feet away from him, along with my fellow Kenyon faculty members. I can easily say that it was one of the most powerful addresses I've ever witnessed, and I'm so thankful that I was able to be there for that moment. I picked up this print version of the speech a couple of years ago and now that I've finally read through it I'll keep it on my desk, close at hand, so that I can revisit it frequently. Yes, it's that moving, and that important. I highly recommend that you find a copy, find a quiet corner somewhere, and let its words and meaning sink into your skin.

I'm planning to read The Story of a New Name which I bought at the airport on a work trip a couple of years ago.

Finished one of my birthday buying binge books from a couple of years - Death at the Chateau Bremont by M. L. Longworth, a lovely mystery set in France.

Finished reading Rogue Lawyer today, which I picked up in an airport soon after it came out, thinking I'd run out of reading material if I didn't buy something. I was wrong, and thus it ended up waiting on my shelves for a while. I'm glad I got around to it now. Full review written!

I have read The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes. I bought it during a day trip to a city with a good Barnes and Noble, not because I wanted to buy anything there, but because my friend wanted to look their children's selection over. Big surprise I bought two books for myself!

I finished Calum's Road by Roger Hutchinson, and it was wonderful. I bought it when we were holidaying on Skye a few years ago; it tells the story of an amazing resident of the neighbouring island of Raasay, who pretty much singlehandedly (after many petitions and pleas to the local council fell on deaf ears) built nearly 2 miles of road in an attempt to improve access to the north of the island. It's an extraordinary story, really well-told here. 4.5/5.

I am severely limiting my time reading and using the computer. Concussion diagnosed Sat. Mar. 2nd, no reading from books until a little starting Sun., Mar. 10th

Liz Caile: A Life at Treeline: Columns

Liz Caile was a classmate of mine at a Quaker boarding school in the greater Philadelphia region. She lived most of her life in Colorado, but came east to our school for 10th thru 12th grades. When we were planning our 50th reunion in early 2011, and were researching information about Liz to include in our biographical pamphlet, we discovered that shortly after her untimely death at the age 53, Claudia Putnam, Kate Readio, and Kay Turnbaugh collected what they considered to be some of Liz's finest columns for the weekly newspaper, The Mountain-Ear (published in Nederland, CO), and assembled them into a book. Over the years, I had read some of the columns, but read most of the book in the last few days when I wanted to read short pieces. The majority of the columns are directly related to living in the high mountains of Colorado; they mentioned places and conditions with which I am unfamiliar. Of course, they were directed to a different audience. However, Liz was excellent in describing nature, including the colors she saw. She advocated living simply, and was deeply saddened with the way modern culture is ruining a lot of natural resources. She also wrote about more general topics such as the abolition of the death penalty, home schooling, and the legalizing of marijuana for medicinal purposes. I particularly enjoyed reading her columns -- some of which were character sketches -- about her relatives. Unfortunately, Liz died of a brain tumor; her condition was misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis!

Occasion: obviously 50th high school reunion

Plan to monitor this thread again when I've recovered from my concussion, and the very bad cold I developed shortly thereafter.

I have completed my read of Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.

>45 DeltaQueen50: How was it? I remember reading it back in the 1980s and feeling it was a roman à clef for which I didn't have the clef.

I read Daggers and Men's Smiles, which I acquired on a trip to Canada.

>46 Robertgreaves: Robert, I really enjoyed the book and gave it 4.5 stars. It's light, chatty and captures that mid-70s feel perfectly.

Bought at an old classmate's yard sale when I visited home last summer

When We Wake / Karen Healey
3.75 stars

In 2027, when Tegan dies, she is only 16-years old. And when she awakes, it’s one hundred years later! Tegan just wants to try to live a normal life (or as normal as possible, considering she has to adapt to a new culture, and she is mourning the loss of everyone she knew), but of course, they want to study her, as she is the first to wake up in this study. Reporters also want to get their hands on her.

I really liked this; however, there was one thing that was quite unrealistic, I thought, very soon after Tegan woke up. The storyline moved forward in time quite quickly, but then, YA books often do. There is some discussion of social and political issues, and the most obvious change is the climate, and how people have had to adapt, and the effect those changes have had on people and countries. I actually liked how it ended. It left it open for a sequel (and there is one), but I feel like, even with the unanswered questions at the end, it could have ended there. I’m not sure why I’m ok with leaving those questions unanswered, but of course, since there is another book, I will plan to read it and continue the story.

I've read Rule 34 which is a continuation of the Halting State series by Charles Stross and was bought for my las Thingaversary back in January. Set in a near-future Edinburgh and if you don't know what the title refers to then it's probably best if you don't google it (at least not in a public space). Didn't enjoy this entry into the series as much as the first but it was still an enjoyable read.

I've managed to read a few more for this challenge. Feeling happy that I've read 5 of the 11 books that I had pinpointed for this challenge so far. Maybe I'll get a few more in this month.

Endangered by Pamela Beason
A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
One Hundred Twenty-One Days by Michelle Audin

I acquired Washington Black at Christmas which is a special occasion and my first time with SantaThing at LibraryThing so I am counting that.

I went to Santorini! Specifically to this place:



Atlantis Books!

You can't quite see it in the pic. but it's well below street level and the stairs are steep and narrow, but hey, it's a real bookshop and a good one. I bought:
On Bullshit by Harry G Frankfurt
The Best 100 Poems of Les Murray ( a self-selected collection)
How to Talk About Places You've Never Been by Pierre Bayard
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
Travels with Epicurus by Daniel Klein.

>53 haydninvienna: I visited Santorini last October, but missed this place!! How did that happen??

>54 LadyoftheLodge: Easy to miss things there! It’s the easiest place to get lost in that I’ve ever seen. Mind you, I found the bookshop easily, partly because I was looking for it and partly because the people in the tourist office showed me where it was.

>53 haydninvienna: That bookshop is on my bucket list!

>53 haydninvienna: Sounds like a wonderful place to go.

>57 sallylou61: it is. I hope you’re good at climbing stairs though—the village of Oia, where the shop is, is mostly made up of stairs.

I finally got around to perusing The Louvre with pictures of all the paintings housed there. I was a little surprised by the number of religious depictions and found that I leaned toward the French and Dutch artists more than the Italians. That really surprised me. Well, at least if I never get to the Louvre in actuality I know I saw all the paintings!

Allison, thank you so much for this challenge, it finally got me to opening this book filled with masterpieces!

I have finished Joseph Balsamo, an ancient four volume paperback set that I bought from a bouquiniste in Paris.

>55 haydninvienna: I feel so much better to know I am not the only one who had trouble getting around in Santorini. Too many motor coaches lined up in the parking lot too!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this challenge and shared what they were reading and why. I enjoyed hearing about your special experiences, trips, etc. Hope you enjoyed your reading.

Please remember to add your reading to the wiki if you have not already done so.
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2019_TBRCAT#March:_-_Theme:_Trip_or_Spec...

Thanks.

Just finished reading my March selection so I'm a bit tardy... read The Islandman by Tomás O'Crohan (Thomás O Criomhthan). One of several books I bought in Ireland a few years ago - either at the Blasket Visitors Centre or a bookshop nearby - Dingle peninsula, Kerry County, Ireland.

Took me a little longer, but I read Mudbound by Hillary Jordan which I picked up when we were on a trip in Florida this past winter.

I finished Icelandic Folk and Fairy Tales by Jón Árnason. I'd bought this last year because we thought we might stop in Iceland on our way to visit my daughter who's studying in the Netherlands. We ended up postponing the trip, since she decided to come home to Canada for an extended visit instead. I still hope to make it to Iceland one day!