Hi. Happy Thursday afternoon. And belated happy Canada day! Can you believe it's July?
We've been having internet problems the past week, so I haven't been able to post properly. I also haven't been able to check your posts, but I hope to remedy that very soon. And since yesterday was Canada Day, we've been quite busy around here.
So I wasn't going to purchase any books for quite awhile, but the library had this sale with books selling for only 75 cents to 2 bucks apiece! And then we dropped a few things off at The Salvation Army and I ended up picking up more books for a dollar each!
- The Translator by Daoud Hari. The memoir of a translator from Darfur. You've probably heard me prattle on about What is the What, on the Lost Boys of Sudan. It got me addicted to real-life Sudanese stories.
- Miss Chopsticks by Xinran. I've only vaguely heard of this author, but the book looks like fun light-reading, about three Chinese sisters from the country who move to the big city and discover a completely different world from what they've known.
- Death and Restoration by Iain Pears. I've never read him before, but now seems a good time to start. This is art history mystery, and it's been a long time since I've read any mystery.
- The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears. A historical novel told through three narrators from the same town but from different time periods. Fascinating.
- The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. Which has been on my wishlist forever. Finally found one, although not in the cover that I originally wanted. But it's still a pretty cover, and in mint condition, too.
- The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Another historical novel that everyone says I must read.
- Among Flowers: A Walk in the Himalaya by Jamaica Kincaid. Because I adore Kincaid's writing style.
- The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie. Yes!
- Mothers and Sons by Colm Toíbín. Another author I would like to try but never have. Yet.
- Tori Amos Piece by Piece by Tori Amos and Ann Powers. Not sure if I'll read this. I might. But I actually got it for my little sister who loves Tori Amos to death. I love her, too, but not as much as my sister does.
- The Guermantes Way by Marcel Proust. The third volume of In Search of Lost Time. Just in time for the next installment of the read-along with Frances. (I've been going back and forth different translations!)
- Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. I can't believe how beautiful the writing is from the first page.
- Unless by Carol Shields. I read her the first time last month and fell in love.
- Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman.
- Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier. I haven't read her because I've been afraid of not liking her style, but the historical setting is too intriguing.
- The Wonder Singer by George Rabasa. I won this at Savvy Verse and Wit. Thanks so much, Serena!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think?
24 comments:
Cry the Beloved Country is one of my all-time favorites. The writing and the story only get better as you go.
Oooh, fantastic bounty! I read and loved The Blind Assassin and Fragile Things. I plan to get to the Tori Amos book this year (love her), and Burning Bright is on my wishlist. Happy reading!
I love finding books at the Salvation Army and Goodwill...it is like finding gold at a treasure hunt! You've got some good ones, there.
Happy Reading!
Lots of good-looking books there. I loved Blind Assassin, and Cry the Beloved Country is wonderful (although it's been years and years since I read it, so I don't remember details). I liked Enchantress of Florence, but Shalimar the Clown is my favorite Rushdie.
I'm sorry to say that Pillars of the Earth was a disappointment, but lots of people loved it, so I'm an outlier there. (Here's a helpful hint, though. Read it when you're in the mood for something slightly trashy. For trashy, it's not all bad.)
I read Fragile Things. I really really loved it. The rest I've heard of but haven't read. Happy reading.
Wow, you've got quite a big haul too, Claire... and great prices! Those are wonderful titles, many I'd like to read. Have enjoyed Tracy Chavalier's GWAPE, Burning Bright seems like a good one. Proust and Rushdie are two authors I've always wanted to read. And... busy on Canada Day, I suppose you're a fellow Canuck?
Yay! So many books! I haven't actually read any of them, but I do have thoughts...
I haven't read Atwood's The Blind Assassin, so I'm really curious to hear what you think of it. A lot of people feel that when she won the Booker Prize for it the committee was really awarding her the prize because they had overlooked so many of her better books in the past. As I said, I haven't read it, so I can't say, but if you haven't read The Handmaid's Tale or Cat's Eye, I would highly recommend either of those. But steer away from Lady Oracle, because it is really awful. Oryx & Crake is good too, but very different from a lot of her other stuff.
I was intending to read Pillars of the Earth a while back, but as Teresa said, I wound up reading some snippets and found it really smutty and trashy so decided it wasn't for me. I mean, I think smut and trash can have their time and place, but I had thought this was something less pulpy, so was disappointed to find out it wasn't really literature.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the Rushdie. I'm going to try to tackle Satanic Verses before I buy any of his other stuff, but I'll make an exception if I find a nice copy of Midnight's Children.
And finally, can't wait to hear about the Paton, Gaiman, and the Shields.
(Also, we visited the bookstore tonight and got some loot... Great minds think alike, I guess! ;) ).
What a lovely haul! I've read - and loved - The Translator, The Blind Assassin, Unless. Several others of those are on my wishlist or my TBR stacks.
Happy reading!
Lena.. So glad to hear that. I'm so looking forward to reading it.
Nymeth.. Maybe I'll wait for you to read the Tori Amos before I do?? :D
Missy.. Absolutely true! If I didn't practice any self-control I would've gone on and gotten more.
Teresa.. I haven't read Shalimar yet, but I plan to read all Rushdie eventually. My fave Rushdie is East, West.
I appreciate the Pillars comment. I steered away from it before, thinking I might not like it, but a lot of bloggers have been recommending it, so I thought I'd try. Hmm.. you'll know soon enough if I'll like it or not. :)
Vasilly.. Thanks! I'm reserving Fragile Things for a sunny day! :D
Arti.. As a matter of fact, I got inspired to pick up Burning Bright after reading your GWAPE post! :D
Steph.. Oh no.. Pillars = "not literature"?? I haven't read even the first lines so I have no opinion of it as yet. We'll see..
I expect to enjoy the Rushdie, as I've enjoyed most of his other books. I really love his style. If you find a copy of East, West you should grab it! And, yes, definitely Midnight's Children.
Ooh another loot post from you? I'll be noseying around in your blog again, of course! :D
Terri.. Yay! It's funny about Unless. I teared up a bit just reading the blurb.
I read Burning Bright and thought it was a surprisingly good story about two children who happen to live next to William Blake. I haven't read anything else by Chevalier yet, but will do one day.
I just wrote a really long comment in notepad, but I'm not allowed to paste it in. :/
So for now, I'll just ask, where would you recommend starting with Jamaica Kincaid?
I have both Cry the Beloved Country and The Blind Assassin but haven't read either of them! You have a lot of great books in there, though, and a number which are on my own wishlist.
Nice haul, Claire!
I really enjoyed The Enchantress of Florence; I am taking Fragile Things slowly -sampling stories here and there or listening to them and some are really, really good; The Blind Assassin is not one of my favourite Atwoods and it is quite complex; I reviewed Miss Chopsticks in May and didn't like; Burning Bright is on my wishlist - I really enjoyed Girl With a Pearl Earring and think she has a wonderful, minimalist style.
Enjoy!
I love Cry the Beloved Country and I'm going to reread it soon!
I have many of those books on my tbr but haven't gotten to them yet!
Wow, what a great book bounty! :) I have the Pillars of the Earth to read too, but I keep waiting for later (it's a huge book!). I have read some Tracy Chevalier and enjoyed it, but I haven't read Burning Bright yet.
Wonderful Book selection there am quite, quite envious!
P.S. Steph.. I've read Cat's Eye and while I wasn't blown away, I did really like it. I don't think I'd want to read The Handmaid's Tale or Oryx & Crake just yet. Or ever. But thanks for the Lady Oracle tip. I'll steer clear.
Sarah.. I'm glad to hear something positive about Burning Bright. That's a major thing why I picked it up, by the way, because of William Blake.
Eva.. I've only read two books by Jamaica Kincaid: Mr Potter and At the Bottom of the River. I have two on the nightstand, but saving them(!). I'm not sure where you should start. Maybe with her more popular ones (Annie John or Lucy)? Mr Potter seems to be one of the most criticized of her works. She experimented with the style in that book, making her words redundant, repeating. A lot of readers were annoyed, but I loved it because it was done so tastefully. She's such a talented, unique voice. She's a bit bizarre, too, but she writes so beautifully. If you like short stories, At the Bottom of the River would be a good place to start, too. Her stories don't even feel like stories, just fragments. She's more of a stylist, I would say. But with so much soul and depth.
Meghan.. I'm looking forward to comparing notes with you. Are you reading them sometime soon?
Claire.. I missed your Miss Chopsticks review. I'll read it as soon as I'm done with the book. Good to hear about Fragile Things. I should start reading short story collections that way, sampling, not devouring in one gulp. It may be more beneficial. You think?
Rebecca.. When are you planning to reread??
Kay.. I do feel daunted by the sheer volume of Pillars. I don't know when I'll ever get to it. Not soon, that's for sure. I'm in the middle of 2666 and Proust, so it'll take awhile before I tackle another tome.
Simon.. I'm always envious of your loot, too, you know. :D
Wow, you made out even better than I at the AAUW sale! I read Pillars of The Earth, really enjoying the medieval aspect, and Proust I've only made it part way through. You've got to love Margaret Atwood (especially The Robber Bride!) I liked The Instance At The Fingerpost FAR MORE than Pears' Dream of Scipio; I'll be interested to know what you think.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today, and I'm glad you're looking forward to the Japanese Literature 3 Challenge as I am. We'll have fun! It's nice to meet you, B.
Book sales are the best. It's just so satisfying to walk out with a stack of books to call your own.
Claire, it's certainly my approach to short stories, or at least Fragile Things as it's a chunky volume. I find my concentration lapses when I read numerous consecutive short stories. I've been sampling them, reading them here and there, as well as listening to them on my ipod. Neil Gaiman is a fabulous reader and if it is at all feasible for you to borrow the audio version of Fragile Things from the library then I would definitely recommend doing so. I reviewed the first story in the volume (at least in the UK edition), "A Study in Emerald", which is one of the best short stories I have ever read.
Great Haul! I haven't read most of them but I loved, loved The Translator, The Blind Assassin, Cry, the Beloved Country and Pillars of the Earth. Pillars obviously wasn't for everyone but personally, I couldn't put it down.
I'll be interested to read what you have you think about The Enchantress of Florence. I didn't think it lived up to the hype.
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