lopeanha Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Here are some updated pics of my bookshelves (the shelves overlap a bit). Your shelves are really great, Kylie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Angela Carters - The Magic Toyshop one of my favourites of her books Excellent. I'm currently halfway through The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories and really enjoying it. Great haul Kylie .. you couldn't really say no Thanks Poppyshake! Your shelves are really great, Kylie. Aw, thanks! I have since bought even more books, of course, so they need to be reorganised again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) I did a tour of Hobart's bookshops last week (it's an awesomely bookish city) and restrained myself - because of luggage restrictions - to the following: Fiction: JG Ballard: High-Rise Jorge Luis Borges: Brodie's Report Charles Bukowski: Ham on Rye Agatha Christie: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher #10: Death Before Wicket Charlaine Harris: Grave Surprise Wolf Mankowitz: A Kid for Two Farthings (Bloomsbury) Michael Sims (ed): The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse (new Vintage edition) Non-fiction: Jenny McMorris: The Warden of English: The Life of HW Fowler Nancy Pearl: Book Lust Edited December 27, 2011 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I love the way you call buying eleven books restrained .. were there many that got away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) were there many that got away? Oh heck yes! I actually visited about 10 bookshops or something, so I was really only buying one from each shop! Edited December 22, 2011 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 Glad to have you back on the forum Kylie! 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. I can't believe I've missed this post. Firstly: What inspired you buying Life: A User's manual? (And any chance of seeing a pic?) I was browsing the English lit section of the local library some months ago and the book caught my attention and then it came to me, that it's from the 1001 List. And it sounded like such an intriguing read and I read the first page and wasn't disappointed. I borrowed it but it's one long read and the copy was in such a bad shape that I didn't read it after all. Selected Diaries of Woolf's... reduced pricing... so jealous! And kudos for the courage to ask 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! Well, just recently you discovered that there's a 'new' book by Kerouac being released soonish. Who knows how many books by the atrocious Hardy they discover All kidding aside, I know it isn't easy to keep up, especially with such prolific authors. I have to say I'm keen on the Pratchett autobio though! Hmm, we'll need to think of some sneaky ways to partially transform your basement (I thought only Americans had basements?!) into at least a partial library. You could just sneak a few in here and there, very inconspicuously. What do you mean you thought only Americans have basements! We do, too! And MY parents basement includes a SAUNA. How about that. (Well, it's the only room in the basement where you don't freeze your ass off. So yes I'd say most of the Finnish basements are just cool storages. So actually, forget I said anything. Shush.) The only reason I can buy so many of these Vintage books is that I seem to be finding them very cheaply in a few places at the moment. They used to be around $20 each and then Vintage dropped the prices of the entire range to $12.95 literally overnight, I think as a way of competing with overseas-based websites. It has worked for me because now the books are consistently cheaper than what I would have paid at the BD. On top of that, I've found a lot of them being sold as remainders (excess stock) in a couple of locations, and I just can't resist the $5 price tag! Even with the price of $12.95 I'd be really tempted to buy a lot of Vintage editions, let alone with the $5 price! The Vintage editions are just amazing. I don't much like the spines though, just like you guys have been talking about them. Another great find/bargain today: Shaun Micallef's Preincarnate. Micallef is an Australian comedian and I've been wanting this book for ages but it's always been a little expensive, so very happy to find it today! ETA: Oh, and I received a couple of books in the mail last week: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan and The Letters of Sylvia Beach (former owner of the Shakespeare & Co bookstore in Paris). Wohoo for finding Micallef, I'm happy for you! And I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of A Visit from the Goon Squad, I bought it myself just recently. The Remembrance of Things Past was mentioned somewhere in context to this novel, so I'm really interested. Of course I should read Swan's Way first. And yay for finding The Letters of Sylvia Beach!! Way cool. I bought a few books today: JM Barrie: Peter Pan (Puffin edition; I've read this before but have never owned a copy) Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe Alice Ozma: The Reading Promise Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway (Vintage) Virginia Woolf: Mrs Dalloway's Party What is The Reading Promise about? I like the sound of it Peter Pan is one of the candidates for February's RC as you probably know, I wouldn't mind reading it. And yay fro getting Robinson Crusoe and the Virginia Woolfs! I had a great haul yesterday. Some are secondhand and some are brand new: Fiction Italo Calvino: Difficult Loves Truman Capote: The Complete Stories Agatha Christie: The Floating Admiral Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone (Vintage) David Grossman: See Under: Love (Vintage) Joseph Heller: God Knows Jack Kerouac: Good Blonde & Others Jack Kerouac: Satori in Paris Yoko Ogawa: The Housekeeper and the Professor PG Wodehouse: The Code of the Woosters (replacement copy) PG Wodehouse: The Inimitable Jeeves (replacement copy) PG Wodehouse: The Mating Season Non-Fiction Erin Blakemore: The Heroine's Bookshelf: Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder Paula Byrne: Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead Pat Hackett (ed): The Andy Warhol Diaries Nancy Milford: Zelda (Fitzgerald - biography) Henry Petroski: The Book on the Bookshelf (about the history of shelving books!) Peter Y Sussman (ed): The Letters of Jessica Mitford Ah man another great haul You are a book haul machine, Kylie! You must have been thrilled to find the Calvino, Capote, Heller, Kerouacs and Wodehouses! Happy times! I was going to beg for a pic of the Moonstone Vintage cover but Kidsmum beat me to it Hm, now that I think about it, I think I've already commented on this haul in our Pms. I'm so jealous of the Andy Warhol Diaries, and the Book on the Bookshelf sounds really intriguing. And all the other titles. Blimey. I'll definitely have to look out for the sequel. I wonder what a Bummel is I'll have to google. It's a long time since I read those books, but I remember enjoying them very much. I have a feeling I've seen movies of them both. The Picnic at Hanging Rock story is such a mystery, quite spooky. So I wasn't the only one who had no idea what a 'bummel' is. Did anyone decide on the meaning, in this particular context? I'm still confused!! Sooo, when do we start setting up our reading logs for 2012? I always start getting excited at this time of year, and I'm particularly looking forward to a fresh start in 2012 because this has been an abysmal reading year for me. I'm way behind in my updates to posts as well and it makes me unhappy to be so disorganised. I plan on simplifying things next year, at least in terms of challenges. And I will NOT be buying anywhere near as many books, so I should be able to keep better track of things next year. As it is, considering the size of my TBR pile and my lack of time to do anything these days, I figure if I get started soon, I might finish setting it up by mid 2012. Haha, I know I'm late to comment but I bet you one of the first (if not the first) to start up the 2012 blog! It's always a pleasure, getting down to set up a new log for a new year, but it's also a pretty big task, when one has so many lists. I mean of course it's a lot of copy+pasting only, but some lists need to be altered and then there's always the chance that the things that aren't bolded are bolded when posted, and the other way around, and then you have to tweak 'em. I know my reading log took many hours' work to put together! But it's always so rewarding when it's all set and done and ready to be used next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 I finally got my TBR pile up to date yesterday...so of course I went and bought more books today and everything is out of whack again. Well of course! What's a girl to do? I made a couple of great (cheap) finds. The shop I went to had a section of children's Christmas books. I had a look through and was about to turn away when the spine of a small, vaguely familiar-looking book caught my eye. It was The Twelve Days of Christmas, as illustrated by Quentin Blake! Woohoo! Does anyone else sometimes feel like it's fate when you find a book? So many times I feel like I'm in the right place at the right time when I make an awesome find. What is this The Twelve Days of Christmas book? I'm totally unfamiliar with it. I noticed Janet had either just bought it or read it, as well. Another classic I'm unaware of? Martin Amis: Money Augusten Burroughs: You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas Angela Carter: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories Angela Carter: The Magic Toyshop Jasper Fforde: Shades of Grey (I already have this, but this is a smaller paperback edition) Gary Greenberg: Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease Stephen Kelman: Pigeon English Bill Peschel: Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics and Follies of Literature's Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts and Misanthropes John Julius Norwich & Quentin Blake: The Twelve Days of Christmas God damn it I can't believe you have a copy of You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas, and I don't! It's only by one of my favorite authors, and it's been in stores since... 2009? And I call myself a book enthusiast??? Great haul otherwise, yet again. I think Writers Gone Wild is going on my wishlist Oh. Does The Twelve Days of Christmas have anything to do with the 'poem' The Twelve Days of Christmas (my true love said to me...)? This one time in our Oral Expression class we had to memorize a poem and this girl memorised the whole bloody Twelve Days of Christmas. A good idea, as it's only the same thing all over again, and a line added each time, but she got a load of giggles for it, and she was giggling about it herself I did a tour of Hobart's bookshops last week (it's an awesomely bookish city) and restrained myself - because of luggage restrictions - to the following: Fiction: JG Ballard: High-Rise Jorge Luis Borges: Brodie's Report Charles Bukowski: Ham on Rye Agatha Christie: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher #10: Death Before Wicket Charlaine Harris: Grave Surprise Wolf Mankowitz: A Kid for Two Farthings (Bloomsbury) Michael Sims (ed): The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime Virginia Woolf: The Years (new edition: Vintage) Non-fiction: Jenny McMorris: The Warden of English: The Life of HW Fowler Nancy Pearl: Book Lust I always think I've visited Hobart, but that can't be as it's in Tasmania. What's the other place we visited that sounds like Hobart? The one near Orange, the Field Day place? Phryne Fisher... Even the name invites all these warm, heartening memories of Australia! PS. Sorry for possible grammar/syntax mistakes and typos, I had so much to say I couldn't be bothered to proof read the whole thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 I can't believe I've missed this post. Firstly: What inspired you buying Life: A User's manual? (And any chance of seeing a pic?) I was browsing the English lit section of the local library some months ago and the book caught my attention and then it came to me, that it's from the 1001 List. And it sounded like such an intriguing read and I read the first page and wasn't disappointed. I borrowed it but it's one long read and the copy was in such a bad shape that I didn't read it after all. Selected Diaries of Woolf's... reduced pricing... so jealous! And kudos for the courage to ask Funny; I noticed you had Life in your lists and was going to mention it to you. There's a pic of the cover in the second photo here. I can't remember how I came across it; probably just when I was looking at Vintage books. I also have A Void by Perec, which sounds equally fascinating because the letter 'e' is not used in the entire novel (much like a certain Yale group in a certain TV show!) It's all the more fascinating because the novel was translated from French to English, so the translator had to translate the book also avoiding the letter 'e'. What a remarkable thing to do! Well, just recently you discovered that there's a 'new' book by Kerouac being released soonish. Who knows how many books by the atrocious Hardy they discover All kidding aside, I know it isn't easy to keep up, especially with such prolific authors. I have to say I'm keen on the Pratchett autobio though! I've sometimes thought it would be better just to stick to reading authors who are no longer around because that means there is a finite number of books to read. But that's not really the case because more writings are always dug up and released! I'm not complaining though. It's very exciting. I'm very keen on the Pratchett autobiography too. What do you mean you thought only Americans have basements! We do, too! And MY parents basement includes a SAUNA. How about that. (Well, it's the only room in the basement where you don't freeze your ass off. So yes I'd say most of the Finnish basements are just cool storages. So actually, forget I said anything. Shush.) Wow, I didn't know that! I'd love to have an attic and a basement. So much extra storage space...for books, of course! Wohoo for finding Micallef, I'm happy for you! And I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of A Visit from the Goon Squad, I bought it myself just recently. The Remembrance of Things Past was mentioned somewhere in context to this novel, so I'm really interested. Of course I should read Swan's Way first. And yay for finding The Letters of Sylvia Beach!! Way cool. Thanks! I don't think I've heard anything about a connection between Proust and the Goon Squad. Interesting. I read the first couple of pages of Beach's letters when I first got it, but had to put it aside. I liked what I read, though. What is The Reading Promise about? I like the sound of it Peter Pan is one of the candidates for February's RC as you probably know, I wouldn't mind reading it. And yay fro getting Robinson Crusoe and the Virginia Woolfs! The Reading Promise is a memoir by a girl in her early 20s about all the nights she and her father read to each other. They didn't miss a day for many years and only stopped when she went off to college. So I wasn't the only one who had no idea what a 'bummel' is. Did anyone decide on the meaning, in this particular context? I'm still confused!! Erm, I can't remember. I'll have to check the Wikipedia reference again. I have a very short memory! Haha, I know I'm late to comment but I bet you one of the first (if not the first) to start up the 2012 blog! Yep, I believe I was the first! I was too excited to wait any longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 What is this The Twelve Days of Christmas book? I'm totally unfamiliar with it. I noticed Janet had either just bought it or read it, as well. Another classic I'm unaware of? Oh. Does The Twelve Days of Christmas have anything to do with the 'poem' The Twelve Days of Christmas (my true love said to me...)? Yep, that's right! The Twelve Days of Christmas is usually sang as a song. The book isn't a classic, but the song is. The book isn't an exact replica of the song. It's a (very short) story about a guy who sends a girl something from the song each day. It's written in the form of letters from the girl back to him and is quite funny. At the beginning, when she receives the partridge in a pear tree, she loves it and is full of kind words. By the end, when she has received all of the items, well, she isn't quite so happy. The big drawcard for the book is Quentin Blake's lovely illustrations. God damn it I can't believe you have a copy of You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas, and I don't! It's only by one of my favorite authors, and it's been in stores since... 2009? And I call myself a book enthusiast??? Great haul otherwise, yet again. I think Writers Gone Wild is going on my wish list I noticed You Better Not Cry on your wish list. Was it already there before I bought it? I hadn't heard of it before. I'll have to see if I can get you a copy; it was going cheap at Basement Books. Yep, I thought you'd be interested in Writers Gone Wild. I always think I've visited Hobart, but that can't be as it's in Tasmania. What's the other place we visited that sounds like Hobart? The one near Orange, the Field Day place? Bathurst? That's the town where we met my ex's parents and had dinner. I can't think of any towns that sound like Hobart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) Just to keep my blog properly updated, here some books I bought or received in the past few weeks: Fiction John Boyne: Crippen Mikhail Bulgakov: The Heart of a Dog Alfred Duff Cooper: Talleyrand Henry Lawson: The Selected Works of Henry Lawson Audrey Niffenegger: The Night Bookmobile Banjo Patterson: The Selected Works of Banjo Patterson Charles Yu: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Non-Fiction Michael Best (ed): William Shakespeare on the Art of Love Gerald Clarke: Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland Chris Welles Feder: In My Father's Shadow HW and FG Fowler: The Concise Oxford Dictionary Norton Edition of William Shakespeare's First Folio Rosalind Ormiston: The Life and Works of Michelangelo Rosalind Ormiston: Vincent Van Gogh: A Life in Letters & Art Edited December 27, 2011 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Yep, that's right! The Twelve Days of Christmas is usually sang as a song. The book isn't a classic, but the song is. The book isn't an exact replica of the song. It's a (very short) story about a guy who sends a girl something from the song each day. It's written in the form of letters from the girl back to him and is quite funny. At the beginning, when she receives the partridge in a pear tree, she loves it and is full of kind words. By the end, when she has received all of the items, well, she isn't quite so happy. The big drawcard for the book is Quentin Blake's lovely illustrations. The Quentin Blake illustrations are the main reason I bought it. It's only short (48 pages,iirc) but is worth it for the drawings! Wikipedia has this to say about 'Bummel' When asked by one of the characters in the book "how would you translate [bummel]," the narrator replies: "A 'Bummel'," I explained, "I should describe as a journey, long or short, without an end; the only thing regulating it being the necessity of getting back within a given time to the point from which one started. Sometimes it is through busy streets, and sometimes through the fields and lanes; sometimes we can be spared for a few hours, and sometimes for a few days. But long or short, but here or there, our thoughts are ever on the running of the sand. We nod and smile to many as we pass; with some we stop and talk awhile; and with a few we walk a little way. We have been much interested, and often a little tired. But on the whole we have had a pleasant time, and are sorry when it's over." I think Jermome made the word up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 (edited) I bought my last (I think) big haul of books for the year: Fiction Michel Faber: Under the Skin W Somerset Maugham: Collected Short Stories Volume 1 Non-Fiction Italo Calvino: Why Read the Classics? Hermione Lee: Virginia Woolf Vladimir Nabokov: Selected Letters 1940-1977 Mary Roach: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science John Sutherland: Curiosities of Literature RL Trask: Mind the Gaffe: The Penguin Guide to Common Errors in English Edited December 29, 2011 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 (edited) I think Jermome made the word up! That's what most people think, but I'm pretty sure (given the setting of the book) that he got it from the German. Ein Bummel means a stroll, ramble or wander; Ein Bummelzug is a slow or stopping train; the verb is bummeln. Kylie, that list of non-fiction includes some crackers: I read the Hermione Lee biog of Virginia Woolf earlier this year, and it's now possibly my favourite biography, whist the Trask is in constant use (great for dipping into), and the Sutherland is fascinating. Edited December 29, 2011 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 29, 2011 Author Share Posted December 29, 2011 (edited) The Quentin Blake illustrations are the main reason I bought it. It's only short (48 pages,iirc) but is worth it for the drawings! I bought it for the Blake illustrations too. He's great! That's what most people think, but I'm pretty sure (given the setting of the book) that he got it from the German. Ein Bummel means a stroll, ramble or wander; Ein Bummelzug is a slow or stopping train; the verb is bummeln. I agree about the definition of bummel in relation to the book. Thanks for the extra info! Kylie, that list of non-fiction includes some crackers: I read the Hermione Lee biog of Virginia Woolf earlier this year, and it's now possibly my favourite biography, whist the Trask is in constant use (great for dipping into), and the Sutherland is fascinating. Thanks Willoyd, I'm pretty pleased with my finds too! You're directly responsible for me getting the Hermione Lee biography; I remember you saying great things about it. I'd also wanted the Calvino and Roach books for a while. I think the Trask book has been referenced in other reference books of mine, so I was happy to find it. I've become quite a sucker for books full of literary anecdotes. I really tried to pass this one up because I have a few already, but I just couldn't let it go. Oh, and Nabokov is such a brilliant writer. I can't wait to read his letters. Edited December 29, 2011 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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