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Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2011


Kylie

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Man I love books. They make me so happy. :D

 

Awww :friends0:

 

Thanks for the book news Kylie, I must get around to reading about Captain Bluebear and his 13 1/2 lives ... I have it on the shelf so no excuse. Great to hear that Chris Priestley has a new book coming out too, I love the title :)

 

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I'm so woefully behind on commenting on everyone's comments. Sorry everyone. :( Here are my replies to Frankie's comments...

 

Alan Bennett: The Uncommon Reader

Is this the one about the Queen? I remember it was fairly enjoyable, it was ages ago when I read it though.

Yep, it's the one about the Queen.

Christopher Isherwood: Goodbye to Berlin

What's this about? A friend of mine talked to me about Isherwood a couple of weeks ago, apparently he wrote A Single Man (of which there's the movie with Colin Firth).

Erm...I'm not sure. :blush: I think it's part of a series because I recently saw some sort of omnibus edition called The Berlin Novels or something.

Dan Rhodes: Don't Tell Me the Truth About Love

Isn't this some sort of anthology?

Had to look this up. Yes, it's a collection of five short stories.

JD Salinger: Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters & Seymour: An Introduction

What's this? I thought Salinger only wrote CitR. And yes, the other book, whatsitsname.

He wrote this and Franny and Zooey. This one is two novellas that were published together in the 60s. There's also a collection of short stories he wrote called Nine Stories.

Christina Stead: The Man Who Loved Children

Haha, FTBC :wink: Jealous!

I was so happy to find this!

Evelyn Waugh: The Loved One

I believe you like Waugh very much, so great job!

I don't actually know if I like Waugh yet, because I haven't read anything by him. However, I'm pretty sure I'll like his books so I've been buying them whenever I see them. :)

Alastair Cooke: The Vintage Mencken

Vintage Mencken?! What? How? What's it like? Wrestle!

I think it's a bit like A Mencken Chrestomathy, but shorter. Probably some of the essays overlap. I'll have to compare the two one day.

Simone de Beauvoir: Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter

Wrestle! I think this is the first volume in her long line of memoirs. You so lucky. I have many of the later ones but of course not the first one!

I've been curious about this book for ages! I only realised it was part of a series when I bought it. I guess I'll see how I like this one before I buy any more.

Michael J Fox: Lucky Man

I remember this was one of the nominations for the (auto)biography RC. I'd like to read it some day too, I hope you like it.

I finally got around to shelving this a couple of days ago and noticed that I already had a copy. :rolleyes:

Germaine Greer: Daddy, We Hardly Knew You

I'm curious about Greer, and the title fascinates me.

Me too. I think Greer is pretty awesome, and still very controversial.

Anita Kermode (ed): The Oxford Books of Letters

Oh bloody hell, this one must be good!

It looks terrific! It's quite thick and there are heaps of different letter writers.

Marion Meade: Dorothy Parker

Wrestle!

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I also bought another edition of The Portable Dorothy Parker. It's that gorgeous one with the cartoonish cover and those funny-edged pages that you like so much. I couldn't believe my luck to find it! I originally bought a much older Penguin edition, which also has a rather nice cover (so I won't be parting with it), but this is this one I always wanted from the moment I first saw it in the shop. :)

 

Anais Nin: The Journals of Anais Nin, Volume 3

Hehe, someone's caught the Nin bug

Hehe. I was planning on giving this to you because I thought you had missed out on one of Nin's volumes when you had that awesome haul a while back, but I think you already have it? But I figured if you had it then I would be more than happy to start my own collection of Nin's journals. :)

George Orwell: Collected Essays, Journals and Letters 1

George Orwell: Collected Essays, Journals and Letters 2

George Orwell: Collected Essays, Journals and Letters 3

George Orwell: Collected Essays, Journals and Letters 4

Excellent find!

I was soooo happy to find these! And I immediately thought of Janet when I found them, because we had just been talking about Orwell's essays not long before I went to the fair.

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I am insanely jealous of all of your new books, the amount of times the word 'letters' comes up in your titles made me almost die of envy. They all look brilliant but especially tempting are all the Henry James's, the Simone de Beauvoir, the Mansfield, all the Orwell's, Woolf's and Mitford related books and the letters of F Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald. .. oh and Ted's poems of course.

 

I knew you'd be pleased for me, Poppyshake. :) I found most of them in two sections I never paid particularly close attention to before: literary criticism and auto/biographies. I'll be a more frequent visitor to those sections now. You should see how auto/biographies have taken over my bookcase! (Well, you will see once I get around to taking photos.)

 

Now, you know you haven't got time to read all of these books Missy, you haven't even got time to file and catalogue them but I love the fact that you have put all this to the back of your mind like a true booklover would. Are they giving you a bulk buy discount on your Billy's now? they should you know.

 

Hehe. I'm rapidly running out of space on my Billy's, so I need to give some careful consideration to where I'm going to start putting bookcases next. :D I'm happy to report that I have plenty of wall space, so it's just a matter of where I want to display them next. :) There's a new IKEA opening here this week, so I'll no doubt be visiting my beloved Billy's soon. I wonder if I'll be able to resist...

 

Oh, and we need to see updated bookshelf photo's ... when you're sorted.

 

Happy reading Kylie :friends0: .. your library is rivalling Mr Darcy's at Pemberley now.

 

I'm slowly getting there. Photos in the next week or so - I promise!

 

But Mr Darcy's books would be leatherbound and very pretty and expensive. Most of mine are el-cheapo paperbacks! Speaking of Mr Darcy, I stumbled on a re-run of the Jennifer Ehle/Colin Firth production the other night. It was the first episode. *swoon* :wub: I guess I'll be staying up late every Sunday night to watch them again. :)

 

Oooh, excellent. Lucky you! :D

 

Thanks Janet! As I said in my previous post, I thought of you as soon as I saw the four volumes of Orwell's essays. I knew you'd be happy for me. :)

 

Holy smokes, Kylie !!!!

 

I don't even HAVE any books compared to yours !!! I saved that page to go back through all your listing system,etc .

I need to find a way to make mine a little more organized. I'm losing track of what books I have and buying multiple copies of some since I can't remember what I have and what I don't .

 

That is sure a beautiful selection of books !

 

Hehe. Luckily I started keeping track religiously back when my collection was much smaller. I think I'd find it all too daunting to start from scratch now! It's hard enough keeping up when I've bought a big haul from a book fair. I've only just finished shelving all my book purchases from the last month or two, but I still haven't updated all my reading lists. :rolleyes:

 

And despite keeping a close eye on things, I still manage to double up on books sometimes. Last week I bought Italo Calvino's Marcovaldo but realised later that I already had it. Still, the more recent purchase is the edition I really like, but I might keep the other one anyway because it's in good nick and has a nice enough cover (and it only cost me $2, so it wasn't an expensive mistake).

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Happy reading Kylie, I do love the vintage editions of books :)

 

Me too! (As if that wasn't already obvious :giggle2:)

 

Wow! Youve had some really good books arrive in the last couple of weeks!

 

Thanks Laura!

 

I am looking forward to hearing what you think of 'Earthly Powers' when you have read it. :)

 

Thanks Chrissy. I remember that you really loved it and thought it was quite underrated.

 

I loved this book when I read it a few years ago!

 

Excellent! I've only ever read one book by Jacqueline Wilson (The Story of Tracy Beaker) but I suspect she is one of those authors you can't really go wrong with. :)

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I nearly bought Virginia Woolf's Selected Diaries today, but it was priced at nearly $40, despite the fact that pretty much every other Vintage book (from the above series) is priced at $12.95. I was rather bummed. Maybe I should have questioned the staff at the shop to see if it was a mistake.

 

Aha! Great news. I went back to the shop earlier today to pick up Georges Perec's Life: A User's Manual (the Vintage edition, of course!) and I plucked up the courage to ask about the pricing of Virginia Woolf's Selected Diaries. It turns out that it was overpriced so they marked it down for me and I saved $25. Woohoo! I'm very pleased with myself. :smile2:

 

Those are lovely books, Kylie, aren't they? I have the Vintage edition of Suite Française, which is also wonderful. You don't get that with a Kindle ...

 

That's right, Roland. I'm sure I'll get a Kindle one day, but nothing will ever replace my books. I'm sure I will just end up buying two versions of everything instead. ;)

 

Tell me about it .. and I'm getting tempted by the Penguin Deluxes too (but they're too big for the shelves :( .. it won't stop me though .. I'll just buy bigger shelves!)

Hmm, are they the big hardback books I've seen around? I'll have to look into it...

 

Thanks for the book news Kylie, I must get around to reading about Captain Bluebear and his 13 1/2 lives ... I have it on the shelf so no excuse. Great to hear that Chris Priestley has a new book coming out too, I love the title :)

 

I'm sure you'll fall in love with Captain Bluebear (both the bear and the book) once you've read it, Poppyshake. :) Please do read it soon if you can! I also like the sound of Priestley's new book. Do you suppose he'll write any more Tales of Terror? I've thoroughly enjoyed the two books I've read and will be sad to read the third one if there aren't any more coming after it.

 

There are so many great-looking/sounding books being released at this time of year! Jasper Fforde's second book in the Dragonslayer trilogy is being published. I haven't yet read the first one, of course, and at any rate I have to wait until the smaller paperback edition is released before I can buy it.

 

I also read yesterday that Terry Pratchett is writing his autobiography and some sort of historical novel, as well as the next Discworld book. :) How am I supposed to keep up? Sometimes I wish I had just stuck with the classics, because at least I know those authors won't be publishing anything else!

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Oh gosh, there are so many lovely books being published lately.

 

I just found about a facsimile reproduction of Shakespeare's First Folio, which looks gorgeous. It's rather expensive, but my parents want to buy me a 'big' present for Christmas, and this might just fit the bill. Of course, they were thinking about something more practical, such as an oven, but this is so much better (and cheaper!) Who needs to cook anyway? :D

 

I have already rather heavily hinted that I would love to have a copy of the hardback Catch-22 50th anniversary edition, which contains essays and other bits and pieces. :smile2:

 

And last night I saw a lovely facsimile reproduction of Fowler's original Concise Oxford Dictionary from 1911. So pretty!

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Weeee! I just made another awesome discovery! Jack Kerouac's 'lost novel', called The Sea is My Brother, is being published at the end of this month. :D It was his first novel, apparently, albeit unpublished until now (well, the end of the month). I really, really, really want it, but I'm going to try and hold off for the paperback.

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Oh gosh, there are so many lovely books being published lately.

 

I just found about a facsimile reproduction of Shakespeare's First Folio, which looks gorgeous. It's rather expensive, but my parents want to buy me a 'big' present for Christmas, and this might just fit the bill. Of course, they were thinking about something more practical, such as an oven, but this is so much better (and cheaper!) Who needs to cook anyway? :D

Oh how beautiful Kylie and something for you to treasure, you can always live on take out :D

 

Hi Kylie

looking forward to seeing your shelves when you do photos

Yes, the shelves Kylie .. no pressure :wink:

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Hi Kylie

looking forward to seeing your shelves when you do photos

 

 

Oh how beautiful Kylie and something for you to treasure, you can always live on take out :D

 

 

Yes, the shelves Kylie .. no pressure :wink:

 

Hehe. I should be able to take photos this weekend for sure. :)

 

It is pretty, isn't it, Poppyshake? Definitely something to treasure for the rest of my life.

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Oh gosh, there are so many lovely books being published lately.

I just found about a facsimile reproduction of Shakespeare's First Folio, which looks gorgeous. It's rather expensive, but my parents want to buy me a 'big' present for Christmas, and this might just fit the bill. Of course, they were thinking about something more practical, such as an oven, but this is so much better (and cheaper!) Who needs to cook anyway? :D

The Norton Facsimile was originally published in 1968, with a second edition in 1996 (of which I have a copy, bought in a sale through the Folio Society). So I'm guessing, but assume this must be a third edition. It's lovely, although I don't read it much, as I find that the volume is too big to handle comfortably, and the printing not easy to follow. I therefore rely on rather more modern, annotated, editions. Interesting to compare though!

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The Norton Facsimile was originally published in 1968, with a second edition in 1996 (of which I have a copy, bought in a sale through the Folio Society). So I'm guessing, but assume this must be a third edition. It's lovely, although I don't read it much, as I find that the volume is too big to handle comfortably, and the printing not easy to follow. I therefore rely on rather more modern, annotated, editions. Interesting to compare though!

 

Thanks for the info, Willoyd! I had noticed that there was a previous edition published and was wondering how they differed. :) I don't think I'd read it too much either, but I'd be fascinated to look at the typesetting and spelling of words etc.

 

I received Jorge Luis Borges' The Book of Imaginary Beings in the mail today, as well as Postcards from Penguin Modern Classics, which is a collection of 100 postcards featuring various authors.

 

I've also been busy taking photos, which I'll put up soon!

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I don't know if it's just my computer, but your pictures are opening up so big that I can't actually see them. :(

 

I've got some of the Penguin Postcards on my Wish List. Trouble is, I'd like to use some so I think I'd need two copies, as I'd like one to keep! :giggle2:

 

I bought some of the Shakespeare 'tube map' postcards in Stratford when we went in March, which I have started using because I also bought the mug. Sadly, the first time I used the mug it leaked and I noticed a hairline crack across it that I hadn't seen when I bought itbut I wrapped it up carefully in the middle of loads of clothes in my suitcase and they had wrapped it in bubble wrap, so I don't think it happened in transit.

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Janet, sorry about that. I've resized the photos of my bookcases considerably and I think they might open more easily now. Can you please try again?

 

I haven't looked through my most recent postcards yet, but I had a quick browse through the list and many of my favourite authors are there. :)

 

Shakespeare tube map postcards? mocking.gif That sounds pretty interesting. I'll have to look it up. Shame about your mug. :(

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I am so envious Kylie, they look great inspired me to get some more shelves for my considerable coillection though it may have to wait til after Christmas when I sort out the lounge I have no room left in my bedroom for bookshelves

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I would happily live in that room .. forever :) It looks amazing Kylie and I love the pics of the postcards and Vintage covers, I have made a note of all the books I want (which is all of the ones that I don't already have :D)

 

I have a basement that has got some higgledy piggledy shelves/cupboards in it and I was hoping that, in the future, it might be all Ikea'd out with lovely bookshelves etc just like yours (though I know it's main purpose is to house a comfy sofa and a 3D TV) but it is really Alan's domain (the one room he says he has total control of!) and though he's happy to have the books down there he wants them to be .... concealed :o Therefore, unless I can convince him otherwise, I will never have a room like yours :weeping:

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I received two books in the mail yesterday:

 

Italo Calvino: Into the War

Jasper Fforde: One of Our Thursday's is Missing

 

I've waited ages for this edition of the Fforde book to be published because I didn't want the large paperback format, but when it arrived yesterday it was the mass paperback edition! Argh! Now I have mismatched books. :( My other books are somewhere in between those sizes. Oh well, at least I finally have it!

 

Today I used the rest of my book voucher to buy:

 

Melina Marchetta: Froi of the Exiles (second book in a young adult fantasy trilogy by a brilliant Australian author)

Andy Warhol: The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

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