Book Sale Bounty

Last weekend was our annual Friends of the Library book sale.  I love the Friday night preview event for members - wine, cheese, music, and a chance to shop before the Saturday morning madness. It's basically a cocktail party with books!

My goal is always to donate more than I purchase. Despite the wine, I came home with only 14 books. Such restraint! From the top:

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz 

I loved the audio version of This is How You Lose Her (read by the author) and have wanted to read his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ever since.

Fin & Lady by Cathleen Schine 

If it's even half as entertaining as The Three Weissmans of Westport, I'll be happy.

The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers 

I've been wanting to read this author for quite a while.

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan 

I seem to collect McEwan's novels.

Isabel's Bed by Elinor Lipman 

The View From Penthouse B  was a highlight last summer. I'm not familiar with this title, but for a dollar I'll take the risk.

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks 

I've enjoyed several other books by this author.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro 

It seems like this has been on my wish list forever. Is it old enough to be considered a classic?

Mary Coin by Marisa Silver 

recommended by a book club friend

Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart 

...for Anbolyn's Mary Stewart Reading Week next month

The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman 

Another Lipman! This one is Thomas's favorite.

TheSnow Child by Eowyn Ivey 

Maybe a little outside my comfort zone, but many bloggers loved it.

Winter of the World by Ken Follett 

Book Two of the Century Trilogy, 940 pages in hardcover - what was I thinking? Maybe I'll read it on the beach in Florida this winter.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin 

This book was everywhere a couple of years ago. Time to find out what all the fuss was about.

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan 

totally an impulse purchase

Have you read any of these? Where should I start?

Book Sale Bounty

Book sale season has arrived! On Saturday afternoon, I made an impromptu trip to the Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library book sale. This is easily the largest sale around. Boasting a warehouse  filled with over 250,000 titles, I could happily browse for hours. We had all sorts of activities planned for Mother's Day weekend and a trip to Ithaca wasn't on our agenda, but around mid-afternoon it was beginning to look like a possibility and we were on our way shortly after three.

The crowd had thinned and browsing was easy by the time we arrived around 4:30. I was hoping to find something by Angela Thirkell or Barbara Pym (for Pym Reading Week), but it was not to be. There was nothing at all by Thirkell, and a single well-worn trade paperback of Excellent Women was the only Pym available.

My first thought was that Thomas had scooped up the Thirkells earlier in the day, but he struck out, too. Either nobody in upstate New York is reading Angela Thirkell, or they all sold the first weekend of the sale. As for the Pyms, Thomas left a couple of hard covers and several trade paperbacks, so there are obviously more fans in the area... and they all arrived ahead of me!

There were still thousands of books to peruse and I left with a very nice stack (from the bottom):

Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout
Strout is always a favorite. I recently finished The Burgess Boys (fingers crossed for a review this week), loved OliveKitteridge, and enjoyed Amy and Isabelle  years ago, too. This is a pristine hardcover edition of her second novel.

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Book blogger favorites are irresistible.

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
Prize winners always catch my attention, too, and this won the Booker Prize in 1993.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
I enjoyed The Forgotten Garden  and thought this might be a good summer read.

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres
Corelli's Mandolin  is a favorite. I've wanted to read this for years.

Old Filth by Jane Gardam
I've been meaning to read Gardam for some time and snapped this up in light of a recent New York Times book review.

God on the Rocks by Jane Gardam
A beautiful Europa Edition of Gardam's 1978 first novel

Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey
I can never pass up a Persephone Classic.

Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan
After reading four of O'Nan's novels, I want to read them all.

Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark
I seem to be reading a lot of British novelists lately...

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
It seems everyone in the world has read these books, but I'm afraid they may be too gruesome and have continued to avoid them. Yet another friend raved about the series during a recent dinner party and convinced me to give it a try. We'll see...

Any thoughts on these books?

Book Sale Bounty

My library hosts a "Friends Preview" the evening before their annual book sale begins. It's almost like a cocktail party with books - supporters have an opportunity to browse and make their selections before the Saturday morning crush, and then relax on the lawn with wine and cheese. This year I was operating under pressure and had just 30 minutes to shop before leaving to meet my daughter at the train station. That was still enough time to fill my bag, but I did miss the glass of wine!
From the top:

Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
Many of my friends (Staci, Kay and others) have enjoyed her novels, so I'm excited to finally read Sandra Dallas.

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
This keeps coming up as a possible book club selection, so now I'll be ready.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
I enjoyed Behind the Scenes at the Museum several years ago. This has been on my wish list for quite some time.

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
This title has been on my iPod for the past year. I'll listen to it eventually, and a print copy will probably come in handy.

The Gathering by Anne Enright
I really enjoyed The Forgotten Waltz and been wanting to read more by Enright. This novel won the 2007 Mann Booker Prize.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
I've wanted to own a copy of this book ever since I listened to it a few years ago.

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
Is it as good as The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency? I'll find out...

I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron
I Feel Bad About My Neck  was a fabulous audiobook. I hope this is good in print.

The Whore's Child by Richard Russo
Richard Russo is a favorite. I'm looking forward to reading this short story collection.

The Clothes They Stood Up In and The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett
The Clothes They Stood Up In  was wonderful on audio (read by the author). I've been looking for a copy of The Lady in the Van ever since.

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
This was very popular a couple of years ago. Now I can finally read it, too.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
I've been meaning to read this for years. It might be a good choice for my book club's book-to-film selection.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
I loved this book, but read a library copy. Now I have one of my own.

May Acquisitions

Four wonderful books found their way to my house this month. From the top:

Tabloid City by Pete Hamill (audiobook) - When Kathy heard I was a fan, she generously offered to send her copy. This is a book only Pete Hamill could write. My review is coming in June.

We Bury the Landscape by Kristine Ong Muslim -  I won this book through a blog giveaway. It's a collection of flash fiction in which each story is based on a work of art - ingenious!

Butterfly's Child by Angela Davis-Gardner  -  This novel was sent by the lovely Bellezza after I posted about my recent experience with Puccini's opera. It imagines the fate of the child after Madama Butterfly ends and is on top of my TBR pile.

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen is my current read/listen. The book was purchased just hours after downloading the audio from audible.com - I simply had to own a hard copy!

April Acquisitions

April is National Poetry Month, so adding a couple titles to my slowly growing collection seemed only fitting.

From the top:
Blue Iris: Poems and Essays by Mary Oliver - probably my favorite poet
Collected Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay - a purchase inspired by this post celebrating her birthday
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey - from Audra's give away
Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel - I rarely accept ARCs, but couldn't resist the sequel to Wolf Hall.

Missing from photo:
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield - My mother borrowed it the moment I finished. She's loving it as much as I did!

The Persephone Biannually arrived yesterday, too. I'm happy to see several of my blogging friends quoted.

Some December acquisitions....

before the TBR Double Dare begins tomorrow.

Book Sale Bounty

My annual goal for the library book sale is to donate more than I purchase. Thanks to a major shelf-weeding effort, achieving that goal was never in doubt this year.

From the bottom:

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
I loved The Time Traveler's Wife and remember reading several excellent reviews of this one a year or two ago. Should make for excellent Halloween-themed reading.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
This has been on my wish list for some time. I tried to get my book club to read it last year, but they thought it sounded too depressing. Maybe my pitch will be more effective once I've read the book.

Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner
I've only read one novel by Brookner and, for the life of me, can't remember the title. Next summer, I'll be ready for  International Anita Brookner Day.

Modoc by Ralph Helfer
One member of my book club has suggested this nonfiction work several times.  If it gets chosen, I'll be ready.

Last Night In Twisted River by John Irving
I love John Irving - period.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
This slim modern classic has been on my radar for years.

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
Fingersmith was amazing and I enjoyed The Night Watch, too. Everyone seems to rave about Tipping the Velvet, so I was thrilled to find a pristine copy for only two dollars.

Eight American Poets: An Anthology, edited by Joel Conarroe
I've finally started reading poetry this year and thought this would be a perfect addition to my small collection.

Have you read any of these? Where should I begin?

Book Sale Restraint

My tbr pile is embarrassing... really. There are enough books on the shelves to keep me reading for years to come, yet there is something so alluring about a library book sale. Armed with our canvas shopping bags, my mother and I browsed the sale in her town yesterday.

Mom came away with about 20 books, but my pile was considerably smaller. It was the second day of the sale and virtually all the trade paperbacks were gone. So while I could claim to have exercised remarkable restraint, the truth lies somewhere closer to mild disappointment. Wish I'd picked up that battered copy of The Handmaid's Tale after all...

My stack:

The Ambassadors by Henry James

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington

The Ambassadors is a Norton Critical Edition that looks like it's never been opened. It wasn't what I had in mind for my next Henry James novel, but it was only a quarter.
Is anyone funnier than David Sedaris? I usually listen to his books, but will read Holidays on Ice as the season approaches.
The Magnificent Ambersons, winner of the 1919 Pulitzer Prize, has been on my wish list for some time.

Not bad for seventy five cents.

Persephone Purchases

Persephone Reading Week may be over, but the acquisition continues. Last Friday, I stopped in Barnes & Noble to pick up a couple of review books for Twin B. From time to time they have classics editions in stock and, since it was Persephone Week, I just had to check.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day was on the shelf, of course, and so was Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple. Since they are already on my shelf too (I loved them both), I kept looking...

After Claire's mention of Team Whipple vs. Team Laski, my hope was to find Laski's Little Boy Lost, but no luck there. Although I'm firmly affiliated with Team Whipple, Laski remains an unknown - and that needs to be remedied soon!

I was very happy to find two other books from my wish list:

• Mariana by Monica Dickens
• The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This weekend, the plan is to finish Molly Fox's Birthday by Deirdre Madden and make a dent in The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (for my book group), but after that it should be time for another Persephone!