Afterwards Amanda had to run off to another engagement, so we didn't have time for a full show-and-tell. I told her I'd list my new acquisitions here so she could get a feel for what I came home with. =)
Fiction
1. The Willows in Winter by William Horwood (read 12/2014)
2. The Willows and Beyond by William Horwood (read 06/2016)
These books are sequels to Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, a book which I adored when I read it a several years ago. I look forward to going back to it, and then seeing how this new author developed the story.
3. Mary Poppins Comes Back by P L Travers (read 05/2015)
This book looked charming. It was first published in 1935, and this small hardcover is from 1963.
4. I Am Morgan le Fay: A Tale from Camelot by Nancy Springer (read 06/2014)
I first heard of Morgan le Fay, a character in the Camelot myths, in Stargate SG1. After that I started watching Merlin on Netflix, where "Morgana" has a central role. This book will tie in to that, and will hopefully be another entertaining perspective on Arthurian legend.
5. Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
This book, written in the early 1800s, retells 20 of Shakespeare's plays in prose. It's unlikely that I will ever harness my attention and efforts enough to make it through (any of) Shakespeare's works on my own, but I feel like an understanding of his plots are important if I'm an intelligent person. This book will help me out immensely with that.
Classics
6. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
This good-condition Penguin publication "draw[s] another evocative portrait of life as it is lived by those who unabashedly put the highest value on the intangibles - human warmth, camaraderie, and love."
7. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
This Penguin paperback is old and faded but in really good condition, and I really liked Eliot's Middlemarch so I thought I'd give this a try. It claims to be "an affectionate and perceptive study of provincial life, a brilliant evocation of the complexities of human relationships and a heroine whose rebelious spirit closely resembles George Eliot's own."
8. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
This Norton Critical Edition matches many of the textbooks I used in the English class I took a few years ago, and the title finds itself on many best-book lists.
9. Tales from the Thousand and One Nights (read another edition 07/2023)
These Arabian Nights stories are also on a must-read list I'm following, and the Penguin paperback should match others that I own. =)
10. The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
This book won a Pulitzer Prize in 1918, and records a man's fall from American aristocracy down to the working class. Confession: I bought it because it was published by The Modern Library Classics, and its copper spine will fit in with others on my shelf.
Observation: I purchase classics for the publisher/edition/condition as much as for anything else. I guess when they've been deemed that popular, lots of different companies publish them so I can afford to be choosy - and I like it when my bookshelf matches itself.
Carol Shields
11. The Stone Diaries
12. The Republic of Love (read 05/2015)
13. Larry's Party (read 12/2014)
14. Swann
Danaya lent my a book by Carol Shields (Unless) and it was so good. Although it didn't have much of a plot, its writing and the ideas it explored were beautiful. At the book sale, with excitement I bought all that I could find by Shields.
15. The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler (read 12/2014)
Anne Tyler also wrote Saint Maybe, which stuck with me for a long time after I read it. Unfortunately this book didn't describe itself on the back or inside cover - it advertised itself only by reviews. That bothers me (what's it about?!!), but I bought the book anyways. According the the St. Lois Post-Dispach, "Tyler's heartbreaking new novel... evokes the entire sweep of Michael and Pauline Anton's marriage with uncommon delicacy and dignity... This is a story not of extraordinary but of everyday drama. Just two people fumbling through life, amateurs in a game you must occasionally fail at first to become a pro."
16. A Recipe For Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz (read 01/2016)
While watching a woman retrace her life, this book "is saturated with bee lore, and is full of rich, domestic detail, wondrous imagery culled from rural kitchens and gardens, and shining insights into the delights and exasperations of ageing, family and friendship. And at its heart is the life, death and resurrection of an extraordinary marriage."
17. Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott (read 09/2014)
I have also enjoyed Anne Lamott's writing, and her authorship was a large factor in my choosing this book. The description explains: "Rosie Ferguson is seventeen and ready to enjoy the summer before her senior year of high school. She's smart, athletic, and beautiful - everything her mother, Elizabeth, and stepfather, James, hoped she would be. But as the school year draws to a close, there are disturbing signs that the well-adjusted teenage life that Rosie claims to be leading is not as it seems, and that Elizabeth's hopes for her daughter to remain immune from the world's darker impulses could be dashed. Slowly and painfully, Elizabeth and James are forced to confront the fact that Rosie has been lying to them - and that her deceptions have profound consequences for them all."
18. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (read 06/2014)
This book is about a knitting club, and it's popular, and I like knitting so I guess I should read it. It says that USA Today said that it's "Like Steel Magnolias set in Manhattan." I wonder if it's like Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons (a fantastic story of a neighbourhood book club) or The Yada Yada Prayer Group (a pretty good story of community in a prayer group). I guess I'm less excited about this book because the idea of a group of women sharing life's highs and lows is getting a little tiresome... but it is also about knitting, after all.
19. Summer's Child by Luanne Rice (read 03/2016)
Certain authors were very, very well represented at the book sale, and Luanne Rice was one who had a number of books on the tables. This doesn't mean the books aren't good - it mostly means lots of people purchased them and then didn't feel the need to keep them. It generally represents a book or author's popularity. It's a good place to try out a popular author! I picked this author and this book because it was in good condition and it looked interesting enough. A character "will find the magic that exists in people we love the best... the everyday miracles that can make the extraordinary happen anywhere," set in a community in Nova Scotia where years ago a woman disappeared. (And one of the characters is named Mara!)
20. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (read 03/2015)
I saw the movie about an LA lawyer who works from his car, and decided to give the book a try. I wonder how it will compare to the John Grisham lawyer-y books I've been reading lately!
21. A Case of Need by Michael Crichton (read 07/2016)
This is a medical drama, one of Crichton's early works - back when he was using a pen name.
22. A Morbid Taste for Bones: A Mediaeval Whodunnit by Ellis Peters (read 06/2014)
There were lots and lots from this series available at the book sale, so I thought I'd give the first one a try. It's a mystery set in a monastery in the 1100s.
23. Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso
I bought this book completely because of its publisher: it's part of the New Canadian Library series, and these editions have stopped being printed. To expand my collection (they're really pretty!) I look closely for them whenever I'm at a used book sale - but this time I only found this one and one other I already owned. There must be other collectors out there? Or everyone is just hanging on to what they have. First published in 1925, set on the Canadian prairies, and introducing a wild feminine heroine, this book claims to be a "milestone in the development of modern realist fiction," as opposed to "sentimental escapist literature."
Non-Fiction
24. Wiped: Life with a Pint-Sized Dictator by Rebbecca Eckler (read 05/2014)
This book humorously explores the not-so-fun newborn period - and I'd like to gain a better perspective on that to relate to those I know of who have just had a baby and are having a hard time.
25. Belonging by Isabel Huggan (read 05/2014)
This book "contemplates the meaning of home and the importance of remembrance," a memoir that explores the world and then settles in southern France.
26. My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme
Since watching and reading Julie and Julia, Julia Child has become increasingly interesting to me. As well as writing a famous cookbook, she was an original TV cooking personality. And I saw her actual kitchen in a museum when I was in DC! So I decided it was time to read her memoir - or own it at least.
27. Incontinent on the Continent by Jane Christmas (read 05/2015)
At first I was a little startled by the title of this book, but as I picked it up and looked over it, I decided it looked pretty interesting. It is subtitled, "My mother, her walker, and our grand tour of Italy."
28. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig (attempted but abandoned)
I've been half-intending to read this classic for a while, and here's my chance!
29. Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage by Elizabeth Gilbert (read 06/2017)
This book is by the author of Eat, Pray, Love - of which there were a zillion copies at the book sale. I really liked that book, and am interested to read what else she has to explore!
Non-Narrative
30. The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton (read 03/2015)
I really like Alain de Botton and his interesting perspectives on his topics, and I really like travelling, and I was surprised that he has a book about it! (I guess I've developed new interests since the last time I explored de Botton's writing.)
31. Insight Guides Boston
I think I'd like to visit Boston someday, so I picked up a travel guide to prepare for that eventuality. Hopefully it doesn't just get lost on the shelf and forgotten before then; I just discovered a little guide to DC on my shelf, now that I've gone there and come back!
31. Hail to the Chiefs: Presidential Mischief, Morals, & Malarky from George W. to George W. by Barbary Holland (read 05/2014)
I think it would be valuable for me to learn something about all the American presidents, and this would be a humorous way to do so!
32. Emotional Vampires: Dealing with People Who Drain You Dry by Albert Bernstein (read 12/2016)
I've had some people like this in my life, and have found myself so drained that I start to look at everyone as "emotional vampires," and I have a hard time considering new friendships in fear that I will find more of them! I hope that in reading this book, I will find some strategies to deal with such people so that I won't need to feel so self-protective towards everyone else.
33. Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger
This book explores the Meyers-Briggs personality types (which I can never keep straight in my head) and applies them to work. Although I'm not looking to change jobs right now, it should be interesting.
34. Company's Coming Squares by Jean Pare
I recently tried to make Puffed Wheat Squares, but discovered I didn't have the recipe!! I had to call my Mom, and she looked it up in this classic book for me. I couldn't believe I didn't have it - but that's remedied now!
35. Company's Coming Gifts from the Kitchen by Jean Pare
This colourful book has a bunch of fun recipes, as well as ideas for wrapping. I felt like I couldn't turn it down.
36. Time-Life Foods of the World: A Quintet of Cuisines by Michael and Frances Field
The books in this classic series describes an area's cuisine as well as providing recipes, and this book covers Switzerland, the Low Countries (including Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands), Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, and North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco). I have some sort of connection to several of these countries, and I have a few other books from this series, so I decided to add this one to my collection.
For Mom
37. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
I started my Mom a collection of the Outlander series. She hasn't started reading them yet, but this book adds to the middle of that collection - this is number three, and I had previously given her one, two, and four. Unfortunately it's a little tattered.
38. Red, White, and Drunk All Over by Natalie MacLean
I know my Mom loves this book about wine. Although she already has a copy, I got her another to pass off to a friend.
