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Have you been to a good book sale, had a trip to the library, or downloaded loads to your Kindle recently? This thread is to discuss which books we have just acquired.

I'm listening to The Yellow Wall-Paper for The Novella Club (Nov selection). I'm a third of the way through I Capture the Castle. I just ordered Heritage by Vita Sackville-West - this will be the fifth by her in rather quick succession.

This little pumpkin is on the way to my house right now! Perhaps this is something others are interested in as it is a decent deal at the moment?

Oh, I couldn't help myself.....
80 books at once - but they are tiny (that makes it ok, right?)!
Penguin has been publishing a series of smaller books with an unusual and slightly eclectic selection. Very enticing. At less than a dollar a book I simply had to be impulsive.

These volumes:

Full view:


Full view:

Info:
Penguin:

Amazon:

Penguin are adding to the collection and are now up to #127. "Only" the first 80 are included in the box set.
Full list from Penguin:

Thanks for sharing this, Haaze - I've seen a few of the little black classics, but that box set looks amazing. So many intriguing titles - The Nightingales are Drunk immediately grabbed me, though I have no idea what it is about...

Yes, it is a very interesting and esoteric selection of books. Remember that these are clearly smaller in format compared to a "regular" Penguin Classic in case you are considering acquiring them.

Yes, they are tiny - ideal to slip into a pocket or the tiniest bag.

I have downloaded Vittoria Cottage by D E Stevenson from the Kindle Library. Should be able to start it tonight or tomorrow.

Yes, that really looks appealing! I do have some lovely black penguin classics already on my shelves... better to stick to the regular format (and save myself from another 80 books to be read ;-))

Had a 10% off Book Depository coupon so I had a fun week adding and subtracting up an order, trying not to go too crazy.
Aside from a couple of Christmas books, I ordered:


The Illustrated Dust Jacket, 1920-1970

and two new books from British Library Publishing:


Camden Town: Dreams of Another London


Bloomsbury: Beyond the Establishment

Jessica wrote: "Yes, that really looks appealing! I do have some lovely black penguin classics already on my shelves... better to stick to the regular format (and save myself from another 80 books to be read ;-))"

I'm an impulsive book buyer....

For my birthday I was given Jeffrey Eugenides's book of short stories and an old copy of Twenty Years at Hull House by Jane Addams. And I had my husband get me audiobooks for Les Parisiennes, The Curse of Beauty, and New World Coming. I bought myself Philip Pullman's new book, The Book of Dust.

Haaze wrote: "This little pumpkin is on the way to my house right now! Perhaps this is something others are interested in as it is a decent deal at the moment?

Oh, I couldn't help myself.....
80 books at once ..."

I'll be interested to hear if you like them, from a readability standpoint. I care (likely too much) about font size, reasonable margins, paper texture etc. and wonder whether this set is better-suited to someone looking primarily for small. I hope you love it. I would be so excited to see the box at my doorstep ...

I bought these this week:

Zazie in the Metro by Raymond Queneau
Portraits of a Marriage by Sándor Márai
Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck
Sweetland by Michael Crummey
As Lie Is to Grin by Simeon Marsalis
The Faithful River by Stefan Żeromski
And
The Chinaman by Friedrich Glauser

I love Sándor Márai, Carol.

Lovely batch of presents, Bronwyn! I've just been celebrating my birthday too, and have also had some great books as presents.

From our period, I was given The Bitter Taste of Victory: Life, Love, and Art in the Ruins of the Reich by Lara Feigel, which I'm keen to read after being impressed by her previous book, The Love-charm of Bombs. I was also given The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards,

I also love 19th-century literature and history, so was also very pleased to receive The Duke's Children: The Only Complete Edition by Anthony Trollope, with 65,000 words cut out by the original publisher finally added back in!

Also Slow Train to Switzerland: One Tour, Two Trips, 150 Years - and a World of Change Apart by Diccon Bewes, who retraced the route of Miss Jemima Morrell, who took part in Thomas Cook's first Conducted Tour of Switzerland and kept a journal of her trip.

Susan wrote: "I love Sándor Márai, Carol."

I am excited to read Portrait, Susan. I didn't love Embers as much as I expected to, or as much as friends with similar tastes did, which I'm attributing entirely to me and not Marai. I typically get along well with moody, uptight, sad, duty-obligation-ish 20th Century authors.

Carol wrote: "Haaze wrote: "This little pumpkin is on the way to my house right now! Perhaps this is something others are interested in as it is a decent deal at the moment?

Oh, I couldn't help myself.....
80 ..."

I'm still waiting for them.... :(
I suspect that they are a miniature versions (in terms of quality) of the standard Penguin Classics, but I will report back when I get the set. Hopefully similar font... *crossing fingers*

Haaze wrote: "Carol wrote: "Haaze wrote: "This little pumpkin is on the way to my house right now! Perhaps this is something others are interested in as it is a decent deal at the moment?

Oh, I couldn't help m..."

Indeed. I (or my eyes -- humbug) have aged out of Penguin Classics. *sniff* I am happy for you, my friend, that yours have not. :)

Me too, Carol - at any rate in the evening! I can sometimes focus on the print better earlier in the day...

Judy wrote: "Lovely batch of presents, Bronwyn! I've just been celebrating my birthday too, and have also had some great books as presents.
"

Happy belated Birthday, Judy! :)

The Trollope novel sounds great. I didn't know that such a large chunk of the book was removed!!!! Hmm, I guess we won't be reading much Trollope in this group. I still need to read the Palliser series - somehow I have only finished The Prime Minister....

Judy wrote: "Me too, Carol - at any rate in the evening! I can sometimes focus on the print better earlier in the day..."

Light levels are astoundingly higher during the day. A brightly lit room at night barely compares...

Haaze wrote: "Judy wrote: "Lovely batch of presents, Bronwyn! I've just been celebrating my birthday too, and have also had some great books as presents.
"

Happy belated Birthday, Judy! :)

The Trollope novel ..."

Thank you Haaze - not belated as it's still my birthday, just! I've been wanting to read the full version of the Trollope novel for years, but, as you say, not in our time period for this group! I love the Palliser series but my favourites by him are the Barsetshire novels.

I went to My Favorite Books in Tallahassee today. The staff there are a great group - friendly and always helpful. I had $60 in credit that was due to expire November 1 - all I went in for was Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers - a well loved paperback that was going to set me back $1.98 - Dawn says to me "YOU CAN'T LOOSE THIS CREDIT - go find $58 dollars worth of books - NOW!" I found a lovely hardbound copy of Howards End (better than the one I already have), and Little Women (which I've never read). I found a few more paperbacks for myself, a coffee table book of The Alfred Hitchcock Story for my friend Willie, Holidays on Ice for my friend April, and a book for one of my 19 nephews (yes 19! + 7 nieces). And guess what I still have additional credits at that story that don't expire for six months!

Judy wrote: "Haaze wrote: "Judy wrote: "Lovely batch of presents, Bronwyn! I've just been celebrating my birthday too, and have also had some great books as presents.
"

Happy belated Birthday, Judy! :)

The T..."


I have only read Dr. Thorne so more to discover there as well.

Ah, Happy Birthday today then! :)
A virtual princess cake!!!

Thank you, Haaze, looks delicious - I will save half of this for Bronwyn. :)

With green marzipan.....

I am trying to avoid buying anything at the moment because I still have 438 books on the physical to-read shelf and Christmas is approaching fast. the power of GoodReads peer pressure...

I am not sure where this fits, but I have just come across and pledged my support to a project that will be fascinating to crossword fans - you can read more here:

and here:

Judy wrote: "Lovely batch of presents, Bronwyn! I've just been celebrating my birthday too, and have also had some great books as presents.

From our period, I was given [book:The Bitter Taste of Victory: Life..."

Happy belated birthday, Judy! :) And thanks for sharing the princess cake. ;) :)

Just home from Jacksonville FL - 165 miles east of Tallahassee. Had to pick up my sister from the airport there - flight delayed until 12:45 this am - yikes - stayed at a no frills hotel. Woke up this morning and had a big birthday breakfast and then went to Chamblin's Bookmine - had a big list and found 8 items - a record for me - The Magician: Together with a Fragment of Autobiography, °ä³óé°ù¾±, a lovely hardback of A Passage to India, a really great looking edition of Scoop: A Novel About Journalists by Evelyn Waugh. Couldn't find anything I didn't already have by Vita Sackville-West. Hemmed and hawed over copies of The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West and What Maisie Knew by Henry James - but didn't know when I'd read them and decided to wait. Anyway, a great birthday for me - Oh, and when I got home the car rental was only half what I'd thought it would be. And my sister is home safe. God is good.

Great selection there, Ivan, and happy birthday! I enjoyed °ä³óé°ù¾± and was also impressed by the recent (well, a few years ago now) film based on the book. What Maisie Knew is great but I remember finding it very difficult reading.

Judy wrote: "Great selection there, Ivan, and happy birthday! I enjoyed °ä³óé°ù¾± and was also impressed by the recent (well, a few years ago now) film based on the book. What Maisie Knew is great but I remember fi..."

Then I made the right choice. Presently I'm reading a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery - then it will be either "Cheri" or "Scoop."

Which Wimsey mystery are you reading, Ivan? I'm a fan.

Strong Poison

I love Wimsey too, Ivan. Last year, I finally read the entire series, including the Jill Paton Walsh follow on books. I must admit that I prefer the very early, pre-Harriet, books best; although I enjoyed all of them.

I have just gotten several books at the library:

The Loved One
The Horse's Mouth
Death of a Red Heroine
The Master and Margarita
A Pocket Full of Rye audiobook

and then a few freebies:
Brave New World audiobook
The Night of the Moths Kindle book

I just got 2 pre-orders I am looking forward to reading:

Auntie's War: The BBC during the Second World War

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British institution unlike any other, and its story during the Second World War is also our story. This was Britain’s first total war, engaging the whole nation, and the wireless played a crucial role in it. For the first time, news of the conflict reached every living room � sometimes almost as it happened; and at key moments � Chamberlain’s announcement of war, the Blitz, the D-Day landings � the BBC was there, defining how these events would pass into our collective memory.

Auntie’s War is a love letter to radio. While these were the years when 'Auntie' � the BBC's enduring nickname - earnt her reputation for bossiness, they were also a period of truly remarkable voices: Churchill’s fighting speeches, de Gaulle’s broadcasts from exile, J. B. Priestley, Ed Murrow, George Orwell, Richard Dimbleby and Vera Lynn. Radio offered an incomparable tool for propaganda; it was how coded messages, both political and personal, were sent across Europe, and it was a means of sending less than truthful information to the enemy. At the same time, eyewitness testimonies gave a voice to everyone, securing the BBC’s reputation as reliable purveyor of the truth.

Edward Stourton is a sharp-eyed, wry and affectionate companion on the BBC’s wartime journey, investigating archives, diaries, letters and memoirs to examine what the BBC was and what it stood for. Full of astonishing, little-known incidents, battles with Whitehall warriors and Churchill himself, and with a cast of brilliant characters, Auntie’s War is much more than a portrait of a beloved institution at a critical time. It is also a unique portrayal of the British in wartime and an incomparable insight into why we have the broadcast culture we do today.

Also, Letters to the Lady Upstairs

A charming, funny, poignant collection of twenty-three letters from Marcel Proust to his upstairs neighbour

102 Boulevard Haussmann, an elegant address in Paris’s eighth arrondissement.

Upstairs lives Madame Williams, with her second husband and her harp. Downstairs lives Marcel Proust, trying to write In Search of Lost Time, but all too often distracted by the noise from upstairs.

Written by Proust to Madame Williams between the years 1909 and 1919, this precious discovery of letters reveals the comings and goings of a Paris building, as seen through Proust’s eyes. You’ll read of the effort required to live peacefully with annoying neighbours; of the sadness of losing friends in the war; of concerts and music and writing; and, above all, of a growing, touching friendship between two lonely souls.

‘If you have suffered from noisy neighbours, you will sympathize with Marcel Proust� Times Literary Supplement

‘A haunting portrait of a friendship between two people who lived within earshot of one another, separated only by a few inches of plaster and floorboard, but who scarcely ever met� New Statesman

Both within our period and the second is only 99p is anyone is interested.

Leslie wrote: "I have just gotten several books at the library:

The Loved One
The Horse's Mouth
Death of a Red Heroine
The Master and Margarita
[book:A P..."
You've got some corkers there Leslie, The Horses Mouth and Master and Margarita are both pretty difficult books I found but with excellent rewards while the Loved One is an all time favourite.
Happy reading!

The Proust sounds irresistible- thanks Susan.

Yes indeed Leslie, you have indeed got quite a haul there - please report back

I've not enjoyed the Proust I've read so far, but I am quite intrigued by the prospect of Letters to the Lady Upstairs - thanks Susan.

Visited my local Waterstones last night intending to look for a few that are in current or forthcoming discussions here and in a couple of other groups, found all of them and ended up adding another six to my already overflowing to-read shelf:

The Association of Small Bombs
The Loved One
Oryx and Crake
Spies
The Whole Story and Other Stories
Zazie in the Metro

Nigeyb wrote: "I've not enjoyed the Proust I've read so far, but I am quite intrigued by the prospect of Letters to the Lady Upstairs - thanks Susan."

I always enjoy John Crace's digested reads and here he is with his digested read of Letters to the Lady Upstairs...



This excerpt sums it up...

Forgive me, Madame, for not having replied to your last letter more quickly, as I am certain you must have been desolate not to hear my latest news, but the truth is that I was far too weak to open the envelope and so I hope it is not too indiscreet of me to inform you that I have not been at all well these past few weeks, and I must beg you for silence this coming Saturday, an inconvenience for which I was minded to send you a bouquet of lilies until a distant memory of a florist banging the front door behind him in Combray brought me out in a fever from which I am not sure I will ever fully recover, but those of us who exist primarily in the world of remembrance are bound by its susceptibilities, and I once more find myself forgetting if I have mentioned to you before how unwell I have been and that I crave your indulgence to not make so much noise.

The digested read, digested: Fermez le F up, s’il vous plait.

At the used bookstore today I picked up Passing by Nella Larsen, Voltaire in Love by Nancy Mitford, and Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited.

Good haul, Bronwyn :)

Yes, I'm happy. :) I hadn't found anything in the non-fiction sections I usually look at. I'll have to remember that there's random non-fic about and by fiction writers in the fiction section. And I've been looking for Passing for a while now.

Passing is stunning. Enjoy.

I bought eight nonfiction e-books from Haymarket Books (haymarketbooks.org). They had a sale with 90% discount in the e-book catalog. The books:
Hope and Prospects, by Noam Chomsky;
History of the Russian Revolution, by Leon Trotsky;
Masters of Mankind, by Noam Chomsky;
Men Explain Things to Me, by Rebecca Solnit;
Freedom is a Constant Struggle, by Angela Davis;
Hope in the Dark, by Rebbeca Solnit;
The End of Imagination, by Arundhati Roy;
The Mother of All Questions, by Rebbeca Solnit.

As I always said: the kindle in a wonder of nature:)

I just ordered this edition of My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell - I have fond memories of the BBC version with Imelda Staunton and I'm watching the new (which I like, but not half so much as the other). Anyway, thought I'd fancy a trip to Corfu before the end of the year.

90% discount is a good discount, Marcus!
Ivan, I loved Gerald Durrell's books when I was younger, I should go back and read them again.

This morning I'll finish Orlando and resume Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee