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I know I said that I was going to buy less this year and read more from the tbr pile, but the whole point of some resolutions is that they are meant to be broken, and we’re now in August so I’ve done quite well really (special pleading or what?). So the latest additions are, in no particular order:
The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams – well reviewed on a number of blogs, I love books where “dark, unspoken secrets surface”
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson – because it feels like I’m the only person who hasn’t read this, and the Book God wanted it too
1536: The Year That Changed Henry VIII by Suzannah Lipscomb – because it’s 16th century history and that’s what I do; besides I’ve read a bit about this and her theory has a lot of merit, I just want to see the detail
The Children’s Book by AS Byatt – because I love AS Byatt and had been thinking that she was due for a re-read before I saw that this had come out; and the cover is just gorgeous
And then on payday I went to Forbidden Planet in London with Silvery Dude and got these:
The Margarets by Sheri S Tepper – because I want to read more science-fiction by women and this looks so good
The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd – as recommended by Silvery Dude and a possible for Carl’s RIP challenge later this year
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan – because I’ve read some good reviews and it just looked really interesting
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the Long Way Home – just because it’s Buffy and I’ve been meaning to get this for ages
Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? – because two of my favourite things come together: Neil Gaiman and the Dark Knight himself
Where Madness Reigns: The Art of Gris Grimly – because I fell in love with his style when I read The Dangerous Alphabet.
And I think that’s quite enough to be getting on with, don’t you?
Some new additions to the Bride’s library in recent weeks:
Margaret of York: The Diabolical Duchess by Christine Weightman: a biography of the sister of Richard III, a thorn in the side of the Tudors, wife of Charles of Burgundy, fomenting rebellion from across the Channel. Looks absolutely fascinating;
Leviathan, or The Whale by Philip Hoare: this book has just won the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction 2009, and is apparently a mixture of the natural history of the whale and Hoare’s own obsession with them which was triggered by Moby Dick. Already dipped in, and this may move to the top of the tbr pile;
The September Society by Charles Finch: the second Charles Lenox mystery, set in Oxford in 1866. I enjoyed the first one very much so looking forward to this as part of August crime month.
I’ve been reading a little of the Journal of Joyce Carol Oates each morning over breakfast before heading out to work (which is probably why it’s taken me so long to finish it….) but it has been a very rewarding experience getting inside the mind of one of my absolutely favourite authors. Reading journals and letters certainly satisfies something deeply inquisitive in my nature, and although I know published works like this do leave a lot of stuff out, I am still learning more than I would otherwise about someone I admire hugely. I still don’t know how she finds the time to teach, write so prolifically and have what seems to be a contented life, but I’m very, very glad that she does.
I’ve also started book buying again despite my resolution in January to cut back. I suppose I’m not buying quite as many as I used to, but given how many books there are in this house that I haven’t got round to reading then any new purchases are probably a bad idea. Anyway, the newest additions are:
Music for Torchingby AM Homes – an incendiary novel, apparently; read some of her other stuff an found it challenging and interesting so thought I would give this one a go;
Human Smoke by Nicholson Baker – the beginnings of WWII, the end of civilization, unusual structure for a non-fiction work about the war;
Dear Husband by Joyce Carol Oates – a new collection of short stories.
I’ve also been inspired by reading the Journal to buy a couple more Joyce Carol Oates to add to the ever-growing pile….
Just a few little bits and pieces that have grabbed my attention over the last couple of days. First things first, the good news that Alice Munro won the International Man Booker Prize. I love Alice Munro; the first of her books I read was The Moons of Jupiter back in (can you believe it) January 1986 and I’ve kept more or less up-to-date since (there may be a couple lurking somewhere that I haven’t quite got around to yet) But it’s great to see someone you admire win a prestigious prize like this, isn’t it?
Pandering to my geekery is news of the new companion for the next Dr Who. She is Karen Gillan and has been in the show before as a soothsayer in the Pompeii episode (and I’m going to have to go and look at my boxed set to see if I can find her….) The best thing in this BBC storyis the quote from The Great Steven Moffat who says she is “funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it”. I will be using that one a lot over the coming weeks, I’m sure….. I know there’s (thankfully) a lot of Mr Tennant still to come but I am beginning to get very interested in the possibilities for the 2010 series.
It was my wedding anniversary this weekend, and the Book God and I went out shopping. Various purchases were made and it wouldn’t have been a proper day out without a visit to a book shop. The following additions to the library were obtained:
- The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt – all about Nikola Tesla; I’ve been interested in him for years, long before David Bowie played him in The Prestige….
- Mr Toppit by Charles Elton – one or two favourable reviews of this on book blogs, plus I’m pretty sure I heard him being interviewed on Radio 5 at some point
- Snoop by Sam Gosling – or What Your Stuff Says About You; whenever I go to visit anyone in their home I immediately head to the bookshelves for scout around, and this is going to reinforce my nosy parker tendencies
Now all I have to do is find the time to read them….
So after the excitement of Star Trek on Sunday at the London IMAX, a short walk to the South Bank for dinner was followed by a mini-spree in a local bookshop which resulted in the purchase of a few more books, showing that my good intentions have almost certainly been thrown completely out of the window. The Bride’s haul consists of:
- The Logic of Life by Tim Harford – a follow up to the Undercover Economist which I enjoyed last year. This is about how we all make decisions and what the economic impulse underneath those decisions might be;
- The Double by Jose Saramago – so you’re watching a rented video and you see an actor who is identical to yourself in every physical way. You go and look for them, don’t you?
- Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose – a guide for people who love books and for those who want to write them, according to the subtitle blurby thing, and what could be fairer than that?
Yesterday, in honour of the Bank Holiday, I went on the first book spending spree that I’ve had in a long time. I haven’t been writing much about new books simply because I haven’t really been buying any; the Book God’s largesse at Christmas and my birthday at the end of January satisfied my cravings, and I was determined to make inroads into the tbr pile which now resembles nothing so much as the Great Pyramid.
But yesterday was a public holiday close to payday, and I found myself in a book shop and just had to succumb.
The spoils were:
- The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen – following on from my recent post I just had to get the next one in the series, possibly to hold for August Crime Month
- Henry by David Starkey – my love for the sixteenth century is well-known and I’ve been watching Starkey’s series on TV so this was a bit of a no-brainer
- Bloomsbury Ballerina by Judith Mackrell – this has been on my wishlist for ages, snaffled now that it’s out in paperback; and
- A Literature of Their Own by Elaine Showalter – British women writers from Charlotte Bronte to Doris Lessing – ’nuff said.
Not a bad haul for someone who really wasn’t intending to get anything at all – well, maybe Henry was always in the cards, the others were a bonus!
It’s that time of the month again……
Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots: The Perils of Marriage by Anka Muhlstein – haven’t bought any history books for a while, hadn’t heard of this one and simply couldn’t resist it;
The Victoria Vanishes by Christopher Fowler – the new Bryant and May mystery which I didn’t even know was out yet, so it was a lovely surprise to find this;
Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders by Gyles Brandreth – this just sounded like really good fun.
Bought a lot this month for some reason……
The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill – I have really enjoyed the other Simon Serailler crime novels and this may just drift to the top of my tbr pile
The Fairytales of Hermann Hesse – Demian and The Glass Bead Game are two of my favourite novels (and both due for a re-read now that I come to think of it) so I was thrilled to come across this
Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett – as recommended by Nymeth, because there are Golems in it
An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear – the fifth Maisie Dobbs mystery, I’ve been looking forward to this for ages
My Grandmothers and I by Diana Holman-Hunt – the second publication from Slightly Foxed
Wonder Woman: Love & Murder by Jodi Picoult – I’ve never read any of her novels but wanted to see what she could do in graphic form, plus I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Diana Prince
Following a visit to the Science Museum (to see the Dan Dare exhibition for the Book God’s birthday):
The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine MD – all about the “uniquely flexible structure if the female brain” complete with case studies which read a little bit like gossip to me (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing….)
The Curious Life of Robert Hooke by Lisa Jardine – a biography of Hooke, who lived and worked at the same time as Isaac Newton but isn’t as well known. A real Renaissance man, this looks fascinating
Critical Mass by Philip Ball – or how one thing leads to another as the subtitle says; human behaviour in all its glory
And then I made the mistake of reading the SFX sci-fi and fantasy book special, which led to the following:
White Apples by Jonathan Carroll – I already have two of his novels but this looked intriguing
The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones – not ready any of her stuff before and she’s a national treasure!
The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land by Diana Wynne Jones – “an indispensable guide for anyone stuck in the realms of fantasy without a magic sword to call their own” says one T Pratchett; I’ve already dipped in and this looks very funny indeed
Then one very stressful day at work I decided to go for a walk at lunchtime and ended up in the Covent Garden branch of Waterstones with absolutely no intention of doing anything other than having a look, but…..
Making Money by Terry Pratchett was out in paperback, the sequel to Going Postal which I had really enjoyed, and
Unseen by Mari Jungstedt looked interesting, another Scandinavian crime novel, and
Banquet for the Damned by Adam L G Nevill was set in St Andrews and looked suitably creepy, and finally
Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror by Chris Priestly – I’ll confess it was the cover that did this for me (the illustrator is David Roberts) plus the tagline is “you would not like it here after dark” so how could I resist?
This month’s book haul, in no particular order:
Lost Boy, Lost Girl by Peter Straub – I read quite a few of Straub’s novels when I was a student but haven’t picked one up in a while; Stephen King thinks this “may be the best book of [Straub’s] career” and that’s a recommendation I find difficult to ignore
Queen of Fashion by Caroline Weber – I think I looked for this after a recommendation from Danielle at A Work in Progress, and having dipped in I think it was a wise decision; I’m going to enjoy this one
The Mitfords – Letters Between Six Sisters edited by Charlotte Mosley – I think it’s about time I had a Mitford read-a-thon and this might just be the book to trigger it off
The Vikings by Jonathan Clemens – always been a bit keen on Vikings, but as to whether they were the last pagans or the first modern Europeans, we’ll have to wait and see….
Albion: The Last Good Companion by Patrick McCormack – can’t remember which blog this was recommended on but I thought it looked like a new approach to an old story
Ghost by Robert Harris – I haven’t read much Harris but I heard him being interviewed on the radio about this one and it sounds interesting
Flesh House by Stuart MacBride – the fourth Logan Macrae, set once again in Aberdeen and environs, but this time with cannibalism thrown in
The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman – illustrated by Gris Grimley, a lovely alphabet book for children with a Gothic sensibility as you would expect.
It’s that time again, when I confess what I’ve been spending my money on bookwise over the past month!
The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo – another of the Scandinavian authors I seem to have be drifting towards recently, this looks like a really good read
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron – full of amusing stuff about being a woman, apparently; the reason I bought this was a quote from the book on the back cover “if the shoe doesn’t fit in the shoe store, it’s never going to fit” – how true………….
On The Wealth of Nations by P J O’Rourke – I really don’t know that much about Adam Smith, one of Scotland’s greatest sons, and I’m hoping this will help me understand exactly why he has been (and still is?) so influential
Tatja Grimm’s World by Vernor Vinge – the Book God rates Vinge very highly, and I came across this book via this recommendation on io9.com, and particularly the following observation: “the most memorable aspects of the novel are set in a floating publishing house touring the world on a barge, selling science fiction to the people of Tatja’s continent”
Take Me, Take Me With You by Lauren Kelly – the second of Joyce Carol Oates’s pseudonymous (if that’s how you spell it) thrillers
Daphne by Justine Picardie – this has been reviewed and discussed on a number of the bookblogs so I won’t say more until I’ve had the chance to read it
Wild Nights by Joyce Carol Oates – a collection of short stories which focus on the last days of some of the greatest writers from the USA, including Poe, Dickinson and Twain
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith – another title that’s been discussed extensively elsewhere, and I ‘m really looking forward to reading it
Bride of the Book God 