An Autumnal Book Haul

Sorry for the delay, but I've managed to "accidentally" buy a few books.  Whoops!  Between a BookOutlet sale, the recent Harrisburg Book Festival, and an ARC, I've managed to add some new books to my shelves.  Poetry, short stories, fiction, essays, a play, memoir, some non-fiction, and a collection of lectures round out this particular incoming class. 

As always, I'm really excited to read them soon, but in reality I probably won't get to them anytime soon.  I'm still trying to read through some of my 2017 challenges, and I'm afraid those will take priority in the waning months of the year.  There's always next year, right?  Anywho, here are the newbs:

Poetry

The Sobbing School, by Joshua Bennett - A collection focusing on the experience of being a black man in America, especially an academically-minded man in a society that doesn't encourage men like him to pursue such goals.

Cannibal, by Safiya Sinclair - The poet's Jamaican upbringing is explored within the context of living in America, and all the prejudices and preconceptions that American culture assigns to women of color.

Miami Century Fox, by Legna Rodriguez Iglesias (translated by Eduardo Aparicio) - A collection of Latina poetry, unique in that the original Spanish poem is on one side of the page, and the translator's English translation is on the other.  It explores the complexities of modern day life in South Florida.

Short Stories

Barbara the Slut and Other People, by Lauren Holmes - I read this book a year or so ago, checked out from the library.  I enjoyed it, and when BookOutlet had it on sale for less than $4, I couldn't turn it down.  The stories feature diverse female (and golden retriever) characters and situations, but that speak to the universality of our experience.

Public Library and Other Stories, by Ali Smith - A collection of stories focusing on books,  experiences of reading, and what books mean to us.

Fiction

Main Street, by Sinclair Lewis - A takedown of the American ideal of the open-minded, small town.  In the American political landscape, the "small town" is a microcosm that campaigning politicians love to talk about, but rarely understand.  Published originally in 1920, I expect this book to be just as relevant now as it was then.

Baba Dunja's Last Love, by Alina Bronsky - The title character, and many of her neighbors, decide to return to their home near Chernobyl, despite government warnings about radiation.  They return to a semblance of normal life, until a stranger and a young girl arrive and turn everything on its head.

Essays

Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living, edited by Manjula Martin - A number of well-known authors honestly discuss the realities of working as a writer and what it takes to be able to do your work and be able to live comfortably.

Common Sense, by Thomas Paine - An anti-monarchy essay that isn't so far away from the political landscape in which we find ourselves today.

Bad Feminist, by Roxane Gay - This reissue of Gay's classic essay collection was too good to pass up

How to Cook a Wolf, by M.F.K. Fisher - Written for an audience facing food shortages and rationing during WW2, the ethos of this book is cooking simply using ingredients you already have and a lot of imagination and adventure.  There are recipes to accompany the essays within.

Play

Fences, by August Wilson - Troy Maxson has lived his life in an America that crushes the soul of black men who express their pride.  As the repressive society of the 1950s moves into the more liberating 1960s, Troy finds himself at odds with his culture, his neighbors, his family, and himself.  This was recently released as a movie starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, which I hope to see once I've read the play.

Memoir

How to Be a Woman, by Caitlin Moran - The author's recollection of growing up in lower-class British small town, and discovering herself.

Non-Fiction

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi - I've already read (and LOVED!) this challenging and necessary work.  Check out my review here.

Lectures

The Origin of Others, by Toni Morrison - Toni Morrison delivered lectures as part of the Charles Eliot Norton series at Harvard University, and drew up on them to write this small-but-mighty book.



And that's it for this book haul!  I have no idea when I'll get to read any of these books, but I hope it to be sometime soon. Winter is coming, and there'll hopefully be a some cold weekends where I can bundle up and have my own mini-readathons.



Librorum annis,

August-September Book Haul

It's been a little while since my last book haul, and I've acquired a few more books since then.  Most of the books came home with me from a massive library book sale, but a few arrived from other avenues.

Sing Unburied Sing, by Jesmyn Ward
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America, by Michael Eric Dyson
The Dark Dark, by Samantha Hunt
My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter, by Aja Monet
We Wear the Mask: 15 Stories of Passing in America, edited by Brando Skyhorse

History of the Russian Revolution, by Leon Trotsky
Men Explain Things to Me, by Susan Sontag
Miss August, by Nin Andrews
The Art of Failing: Notes From the Underdog, by Anthony McGowan
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race, by Margot Lee Shetterly

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell
The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter
Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles
Atonement, by Ian McEwan
Decline and Fall, by Evelyn Waugh

The Known World, by Edward P. Jones
Sweetbitter, by Stephanie Danler
Battleborn, by Claire Vaye Watkins
Ariel: The Restored Edition, by Sylvia Plath
The Book of Tea, by Okakura Kakuzo

The Elements of Style, by William Strunk
Why I Write, by George Orwell
Nature, by Ralph Waldo Emerson



What books have you bought recently, and have you read any of them?  I've read about 1/3 of these books so far, which is pretty good for me!



Librorum annis,

Some Books I've Acquired Over the Past Month or So

Since my last book haul at the end of May, I've gone on some literary excursions and perused some discount book sales...things that I dearly love to do.  As a result, I've added quite a few books to my shelves.  Let's have a look.

Book Outlet

Every so often, Book Outlet has a sale offering an additional 15% off the already tiny prices.  During the most recent occurrence, they also offered a $5 coupon, which essentially covered my shipping costs.  I picked up a few Pocket Penguin classics, the final volume of Ferrante that I didn't yet own, and a WW2 historical fiction work that I was really curious to read.

Walden, by Henry David Thoreau

The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka

The Lost Daughter, by Elena Ferrante

Mischling, by Affinity Konar

Politics & Prose

I made a trek to one of my best-loved bookstores, in order to meet one of my most-recent-favorite authors, Yuri Herrera.  When in a sprawling bookstore, what to do but pick up a few books?  I couldn't resist, especially since I found the copy of Jeanette Winterson's book for less than $2!

The Abridged History of Rainfall, by Jay Hopler

Nothing More to Lose, by Najwan Darwish

Christmas Days, by Jeanette Winterson

Folio Society

I've long admired these beautifully designed and illustrated tomes, but was never able to justify purchasing them because they're quite expensive.  High quality comes with a high price tag, which I don't begrudge, but my book budget doesn't have that much allowance.  However, I saw on social media that they were having a 50% sale, so I decided it wouldn't hurt to take a peek.

Cider for Rosie, by Laurie Lee

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

Midtown Scholar Bookstore

I know this is a massive amount of books.  In my defense, the bookstore had a mammoth tent sale, which happens only once a year, and I couldn't help myself...$2 for hardbacks and $1 for paperbacks is a very tempting price point!

The Virgin of the Seven Daggers, by Vernon Lee
The Circle Game, by Margaret Atwood
The Mother of All Questions, by Rebecca Solnit
Kid, by Simon Armitage
The Universal Home Doctor, by Simon Armitage
Quoof, by Paul Muldoon
Eve Green, by Susan Fletcher
Bus Poems, by Gary Aspenberg
Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn
The McSweeney's Joke Book of Book Jokes, by various contributors
Not to Disturb, by Muriel Spark
The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston
Gourmet Rhapsody, by Muriel Barbery
I Shall Not Be Moved, by Maya Angelou
Hyde Park Gate News: The Stephen Family Newspaper, by Virginia Woolf
Aftershocks: Stories, by Grete Weil
The Making of a Matriot, by Frances Adler
American Sublime, by Elizabeth Alexander
The Creation of Patriarchy, by Gerda Lerner

"The Internet"

These are all books that I either ordered online - having been unable to locate them in a physical bookshop, received from the publisher directly, or won via social media contests.  

The Child, by Pascal Kramer

The Ministry of Nostalgia, by Owen Hatherley

Oola, by Brittany Newell

The Nakano Thrift Shop, by Hiromi Kawakami

I'm going to hold back on any more book shopping for now, hopefully until September when I'll be heading back to Washington, DC for the National Book Festival.  We'll see how well that goes...




Librorum annis,

May Book Haul

May was a banner month for bringing more books onto my shelves.  I already showed you the books that I acquired during Independent Bookstore Day (which you can read about here), but I also received a few books from publishers, placed my first Powell's order, received two books that I pre-ordered way back in January, and spent money at some local indie bookstores.  Here are the books!

 













Envelope Poems by Emily Dickinson
Urgent, Unheard Stories by Roxane Gay
Spring and All by William Carlos Williams  
The Transmigration of Bodies by Yuri Herrera
Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera

The Only Ones by Carola Dibbell
How to Get Into the Twin Palms by Karolina Waclawiak
Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi
Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez
Look: Poems by Solnaz Sharif

Invisible Beasts by Sharona Muir
The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
Round About a Pound a Week by Maud Pember Reeves
New Boy by Tracy Chevalier

God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant
The Heidi Chronicles: Uncommon Women and Others & Isn't It Romantic by Wendy Wasserstein
Translations: A Play by Brian Freil
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis




Now it's on to June...let's see what book-finding adventures await!




Librorum annis,

My Indie Bookstore Day

It just so happened that the weekend my partner and I were in New York City was the same weekend of Independent Bookstore Day.  I only get to the city once or twice a year, so with the whole of Manhattan at my fingertips, I knew that I had to visit a few bookshops.  I almost always pop into The Strand, because it's so huge and full of nooks and crannies that are just perfect for browsing, but this time I decided to seek out other indie bookstores.  Of course, there were so many that I wanted to visit, but just didn't have the time.  Here is a rundown of my bookish adventures:

Posman Books, Chelsea Market

In the hustle and bustle of Chelsea Market - chocked full of restaurants, tourist shops, craft stalls, Food Network - there exists the bright and modern Posman Books outpost.  It's actually a bit cavernous, with low ceilings and a long space, giving shoppers the impression that it goes on and on and on...and I wish that it did.  Especially inviting was the whistle seat in the children's section, which is at the very back of the store.  If there hadn't been a pre-teen curled up there reading, I might've tried to squeeze my adult self into it.  Maybe next time.

The store is clearly and conveniently laid out, with tables of books in the front, organized into neat stacks, and more books on shelves against the wall.  In fact, my clumsy self was very conscious of those tables, with books stacked many volumes tall, for fear of knocking them to the floor.  I had visions of myself bumping into a stack, and sending an entire table of books to the floor, like displays of navel oranges in a grocery store.  Thankfully the store wasn't too packed, and I (and the books) survived unscathed. 

Housing Works Bookstore & Cafe, SoHo

Part of the Housing Works charity organization, this bookshop sells new and used books, movies, and music; hosts a diverse array of literary and community events; and provides employment and volunteering opportunities.  The space is large and very inviting, with dark wood shelves, spiral staircases and plentiful lighting.  In fact, it looks just like my dream home library.  This is a place I could easily spend all day browsing, and I hope to someday be in town to attend one of their events.  

There is a cafe in the back that sells coffee, tea, baked goods, sandwiches, beer and wine, and other tasty treats.  It was a very hot day when we stopped in, and we were grateful for the free water dispenser.  All of the proceeds from the bookstore and cafe go back to the philanthropy, so giving them your money is good for you and the community.  An added perk was that all items were 30% off for Indie Bookstore Day, so I definitely didn't walk out of there empty handed.

The aims of Housing Works are to end the plights of HIV/AIDS and homelessness through advocacy, entrepreneurial businesses, and community services.  Read more about Housing Works here.

McNally Jackson Books, SoHo

Literally just around the corner from Housing Works is McNally Jackson Books, a modern and crisply organized bookshop, with an unbelievable range of books.  There are extensive Staff Picks, a whole shelf devoted to chapbooks, and even a hilariously tongue-in-cheek section of recommendations by contentious political figures.  My favorite was Steve Bannon recommending Sinclair Lewis' satirical, anti-fascist novel It Can't Happen Here with "challenge accepted".

I was gobsmacked by the depth and breadth of international and translated works that are stocked at McNally Jackson, organized by country/area of origin, making it incredibly simple to choose books from just about anywhere around the world.  The bookshop also has a full-service cafe and hosts a wide variety of events.  There are also quite a few autographed copies of books available, so if that's your fancy you would be many options from which to choose. 

Three Lives Books & Company, Greenwich Village

Walking into Three Lives & Co. is like passing through a portal into another world - civilized world, where calm and sensibility prevail.  The city melts away and you're in a piece of heaven, with dark wood shelves, exposed brick, and a masterfully curated library.  My ideal of what a bookstore can be, and a true gem in this neighborhood.  Despite its small size, I could easily spend hours perusing the shelves and finding books I've never seen before and can't possibly live without.  There are works from small presses, interesting editions of classic books, and thoughtful collections of poetry, among many other books.  There's no coffee, no food (although someone had brought in a plate of brownies for Indie Bookstore Day), just books books books! 

I had a really fantastic time, visiting some new-to-me bookshops around Manhattan.  There are so many more that I want to visit, the next time I have a weekend in the city, but I can't help but think I'll be back to visit some of these as well.  I just love how each shop is curated and arranged so that it has a personality and character all its own.  Everyone, go out (or go online) and support independent bookshops!  As for the books I truly couldn't live without, here they are:

• Six Decades at Yaddo by John Cheever, Malcolm Cowley, Eleanor Clark, Alfred Kazin, Hortense Calisher, Gail Godwin - Six authors provide brief, personal essays of their time spent at the artist's retreat Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, NY.  I spent a few years in Saratoga Sprints, and visited the beautiful Yaddo gardens often.  While I doubt I'll ever be accepted for a residency there, the colony is a place that will always be fascinating to me (Yaddo)
• The Little Buddhist Monk & The Proof by Cesar Aira, translated by Nick Caistor - Two short stories in one book, comparing East and West.  The cover photo is of a pile of french fries, so how can it be bad!  This will be my first Aira, and I'm so excited to dive in. (New Directions)
• Notes on My Dunce Cap by Jesse Ball - A revolutionary pedagogical text, encouraging the reader to re-think traditional, hierarchical power structures in the classroom.  I'm planning on reading this in tandem with a re-read of bell hook's Teaching to Transgress, for my own classroom use. (Pioneer Works)
• Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski - If I see a Persephone Books edition out in the wild, and I don't already own it, there's a good chance I'll pick it up.  That's the case with this one - a used Persephone Classics edition that is in fantastic shape. (Persephone Books)
• Such Small Hands by Andres Barba, translated by Edmund White - Not a book about Donald Trump, in case you were wondering!  Mariana arrives at the orphanage, very different from the other girls, and has difficulty finding acceptance.  The story is told, alternately, from Mariana's perspective and from a collective chorus of the other orphanage girls. (Transit Books)
• Olio by Tyehimba Jess - Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry collection that incorporates song, story, fact, and narrative to talk about African American entertainers who worked during the Civil War era through World War 1. (Wave Books)

Did you visit any bookshops during Independent Bookstore Day?  Which did you visit, and what books did you find?




Librorum annis,

Visiting Dupont - Kramerbooks & Afterwords

I'm no stranger to bookstore tourism, which you can read about here and here.  I had plans to spend a weekend in Washington D.C. recently, so of course I had to check out the map to see if there were any bookstores nearby.  It turns out - there were!

As I had already visited the other iconic bookstore of the area, Politics and Prose, I was so excited to pay a visit to Kramerbooks & Afterwords!  When my Uber dropped me off outside, I was struck by just how small the space seemed, and how many books there were.  Once inside, however, I saw that there was much more than meets the eye.

The space itself feels cavernous, with high ceilings stacked high with a huge selection of books.  On the walk from the entryway, there are books piled on tables and displays.  It feels like you've entered a literary wonderland.

I spent most of my time scouring the fiction section, which took up a whole wall.  There were the paperback copies of books you'd expect to see in any bookstore, like "the classics" and other perennial favorites.  What I was delighted to find was that, hidden amongst the populace were a surprising selection of books from very small presses.  It's funsies just to be around books, but encountering new-to-you things is the real reason I love visiting bookshops.  I walked away with three books from indie presses -

One Hundred Apocalypses and Other Apocalypses by Lucy Corin (McSweeney's)
Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria Luiselli (Coffeehouse Press)
The Revolutionaries Try Again by Mauro Javier Cardenas (Coffeehouse Press)

In the very back of the bookshop is a dedicated cafe, serving coffee, cocktails, and meals.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time to try it out, but I will make a point to do so on my next visit. The shop is open from 7:30am-1:00am every day, except Friday and Saturday when they're open until 3:00am - so I have no excuse not to stop in next time I'm in town. Thanks for a great first experience, Kramerbooks!

Librorum annis

Bringing Home the Books: Strand Bookstore & A Library Book Sale

This week has been a great one for acquiring books - not only did my local library hold its quarterly book sale, but my order from The Strand Bookstore in NYC arrived!  In total, I added 10 new books to my shelves. I'm certainly excited to read them, but I'm also excited to share them with you -

• Faber & Faber 1984 edition of T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
• Book of the Month Club edition of Jade Chang's The Wangs vs the World
• Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson
• The David Foster Wallace Reader (including selections from many of his works)
• Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

From The Strand, I placed an order for three books

• Frances Spalding's 1984 biography of Virginia Woolf's sister, and artistic phenom, Vanessa Bell
• Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Seeing Power, by Nato Thompson

I first heard about the Vanessa Bell biography on a Persephone Books blog post from February 1, 2017 , and knew I needed to find it...luckily at a very reasonable price.  I don't know how clear it is in the photo above, but this book has seen some life and love - the cover is quite badly ripped, but the text inside is in great condition.  I had pre-ordered Chimamanda's book, a long-form essay about raising children to be inclusive and rooted in equality, because she was doing an event at The Strand, and my book would be autographed.  Also autographed is Nato Thompson's cultural criticism of what it means to make meaningful art in the consumer-capitalist era.

Have you bought or acquired any new books recently?  Anything you're particularly excited to start reading?



Librorum annis

A Little Book Haul

Do you ever find yourself in the situation where you have a decent number of unread books on your shelves, books that you are thrilled to own and cannot wait to read, yet you cannot resist the siren call of the bookshop?  No?  Well, this happens to me all. the. time.  And it's not as though my shelf space is infinite at home either.  I have an Ikea Kallax wall shelf, and although its square shape is not ideal for holding books, it actually can contain a large amount of them.  Since I have a not-small collection of books, all of my cubes are double-stacked.  It's not the most photogenic of configurations, but it works.

But back to my poor self-restraint.  If I'm in the area, I can hardly resist stopping in to my favorite, local bookstore The Midtown Scholar.  They not only have a huge selection in their physical store, but they also maintain a warehouse of even more titles that you can order online and have shipped anywhere, or locals can have books delivered right to the store for easy pickup.  That's what I did.  I have been scouring library book sales and other booksellers for a copy of Tony Kushner's full play Angels in America for a long time, but so far had only acquired "Part 2 - Perestroika".  Low and behold, The Midtown Scholar had the full script for less than $5!  An author I've discovered, thanks to Persephone Books and Virago Modern Classics republishing her, is Mollie Panter-Downes.  I own all of her books from those two presses, but The Midtown Scholar had another of her works, At the Pines, so I couldn't not pick that up.  I felt so pleased with myself for finding these two gems, and didn't mind the fact that I'd have to squeeze them in on my shelves.

I maintain my library digitally, via the site LibraryThing, and they offer a monthly program where their members can sign up to receive an advanced reader copy of a forthcoming book for free, in exchange for an honest review.  Because the books come in very haphazardly, depending on the distance of shipping and the publisher, I ended up receiving three of them within a few days of each other.  Like One of the Family is a republished collection of short fiction pieces, by Alice Childress, written as a series of conversations between Marge and her friend Mildred, who is a black domestic worker.  They were first published sequentially in a Harlem newspaper called Freedom, and discuss overt and micro aggressions against black women.  Tell Me How This Ends Well, by David Samuel Levinson, is a near-future road trip adventure with three siblings of the Jacobson family returning home to confront their abusive father and reconcile their past.  I'm currently reading Like One of the Family and finding it really interesting - perhaps an influence on Claudia Rankine?  One of the benefits of ARCs is that, after I finish them, I pass them along to readerly friends who might enjoy them, so they don't take up permanent residence on my shelves.

One shelf that I'm never upset about squeezing more books onto is my Persephone Books shelf.  I love ordering directly from the publisher, and happily support them and their mission.  However, because they're located in London, shipping requires trans-Atlantic postage, so it can be quite cost prohibitive.  I know that Three Lives & Company carries Persephone Books, but there's no online ordering available.  Since I don't live in NYC, that doesn't work for me.  What does work for me is Strand Books, which often has secondhand copies of Persephone books available.  I tend to check their site frequently, and I snagged copies of The Wise Virgins by Leonard Woolf, The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, and To Bed with Grand Music by Marghanita Laski.  My Persephone shelf is looking very happy indeed.

The last book that I've added to my shelves is my February pick from Book of the Month Club.  Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee, is a family saga of four generations of a Korean family who immigrate to Japan. I'm familiar with pachinko, which is a type of Japanese pinball game, so I'm intrigued to see how it is interwoven into the story.  As with most "family saga" books, this one is a bit of a chunker; it would be lovely to tuck into Pachinko for an entire weekend, and savor each and every of its 500 pages.  This big book will take a bit of finagling to fit onto my shelves, but it'll be much worth it.

So that's it for this book haul.  I'm grateful to have space to keep bookshelves and books, and I'm thankful for the books that I have.  Have you brought any new or new-to-you books to roost on your shelves recently, or are you on a book buying ban?  I'd love to hear all about it.



Librorum annis

A Little New Year's Book Haul

Oh those Boxing Day sales.  So tempting.  It's hard not to just have an eensy weensy peek to see if there's anything on offer that I cannot live without.  A little look won't hurt anything, right?  When that website is BookOutlet, it can hurt my wallet a bit.  However, not enough for me not to check it out.  Having found a few goodies, I couldn't resist placing a little order - getting some books for myself that I didn't receive during the holidays.  Here's the glorious haul (cue the angelic choir) -

•  A Manual for Cleaning Women, by Lucia Berlin
• Ratio, by Michael Ruhlman
• The Blazing World, by Siri Hustvedt
• The Summer Without Men, by Siri Hustvedt
• Living Thinking Looking, by Siri Hustvedt
• The Shaking Woman or a History of My Nerves, by Siri Hustvedt
• Dance to the Piper, by Agnes De Mille

Also exciting were the January Book of the Month selections, which were available bright and early on the first of the month.  Of the five available choices, I picked the short story collection Homesick for Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh.  I have yet to read her novel Eileen, but I am interested to see what she does in the short story medium.  I had an extra book credit to use, as part of their Black Friday promotion that got me to join in the first place, so used it on one of last month's picks - Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller.  This will be my first time reading any Fuller, and I'm intrigued!  There was an extra-special surprise in there as well, an exclusive BOTM edition of Gillian Flynn's novella The Grownup.  I suspect that this was included because the company has only just made available a special reprint edition of Flynn's 2009 book Dark Places.  I had no idea this little book was being added to my order, and I'm interested to see what kind of story it has to tell!

Gillian Flynn's book is hidden behind that little jacket-wrapper.

• Swimming Lessons, by Claire Fuller
• Homesick for Another World, by Ottessa Moshfegh
• The Grownup, by Gillian Flynn

Lastly, I couldn't help making a small order from The Strand in NYC.  I only get up to the city once or twice a year, so I do most of my book buying online.  I'm especially excited by their signed new editions and huge selection of used books.  When I'm feeling the urge for more beautiful Persephone Books, but not flush enough to make a purchase directly from them, I turn to The Strand.  They don't always have Persephones in stock, but they do from time to time, and I stalk their site and usually make a purchase when they have some in stock that I want to add to my burgeoning library.  Here's what I found this time around -

• Paris I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down, by Rosencrantz Baldwin
• They Can't Ration These, by Vicomte de Mauduit
•  Plats du Jour, by Patience Gray and Primrose Boyd

I'm excited to get to reading these - maybe even this weekend!




Librorum annis

Holiday Bookish Haul

This past two weeks have been packed full of holiday celebrations for my friends and family, both in person and long-distance.  Last weekend, my partner and I spent the weekend visiting my friends in Washington DC, and their adorable 9-month old daughter Leelee.  My friend's husband cooked a 20lb pork leg in his smoker, and it was possibly the most delicious thing I've ever eaten!  Feasting, visiting, and gifting were the order of the day.

Are you on Litsy yet?  It's a social media app that combines the best of Instagram and Goodreads, with a community of tolerant, thoughtful, and caring bibliophiles.  December 21 was the Winter Solstice, and the day that all participants in the Litsy Secret Santa/Winter Solstice Book Exchange could open their gifts. 

Finally, Christmas Day was spent, first, with my partner and I enjoying a quiet breakfast of homemade bagels, quiche, and tea.  As is tradition with us, we watched at least two run-throughs of A Christmas Story on TV.  Later in the day, we gathered with family to share a large meal, play board games, and exchange gifts.  I must have been on Santa's Good List, because I received so many wonderful things.  Here are my bookish goodies in total -

1. How the Scots Invented the Modern World by Arthur Herman
2. In Spite of Everything by Curtis Robbins
3. Persephone Books book token for a future purchase
4. The Greek Coffin Mystery by Ellery Queen
5. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
6. March: Trilogy Slipcase Edition by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
7. A Woman Looking at Men Looking at Women by Siri Hustvedt
8. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Librorum annis

Black Friday & Small Business Saturday Haul

Black Friday is supposed to be the big shopping day of the year, happening on the day after Thanksgiving.  Shops offer deep discounts on some items, in an attempt to bolster their bottom lines before the end of the year.  More and more retailers are starting their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day, some as early as 3:00pm... with economists coining the term "Grey Thursday".  There is also a recent "holiday" called Small Business Saturday...meant as an antidote to the chain stores and other large retailers who typically rule the Black Friday scene.  It's meant to encourage shoppers to remember their small, local businesses amongst the madness of shopping at big box stores.

From the bookish stores I visited, these are my purchases...

• Barnes & Noble had advertised for Black Friday that their stores would have limited stock of some autographed books.  I was on a mission to buy Alton Brown's new cookbook Everyday Cook as a Christmas gift for a friend, and I couldn't resist snagging a signed copy of my childhood favorite novel The Giver by Lois Lowry.
• Barnes & Noble also had a promotion of 30% off all periodicals, so I bought the latest edition of Poetry Magazine, and the Cooks Illustrated compendium of Best Recipes of 2016.
• I spent a bit of time on Saturday browsing a small, secondhand bookshop and came out with a first edition hardcover of one of my favorite Christmastime novels 2 A.M at the Cat's Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino.  It takes place on Christmas Eve eve and follows a chain smoking, jazz singing little girl, Madeline Altimari, as she lives her life in Philadelphia.  As someone who lived in Philly for many years, I love returning to it and its colorful residents in fiction!
• A few months ago, I had pre-ordered Zadie Smith's new novel Swing Time from the Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington DC.  If you pre-ordered the book within a certain timeframe, you would be sent a Swing Time matching tote bag along with the book.  This was reason enough for me to buy the book, but then I saw that P&P was hosting the author a few days after the book's release, and she would be signing copies.  In my online order, I asked if there was any possibility that they could hold my copy of the book, so that it could be signed, and then send the autographed book along with the tote bag.  I was prepared for a resounding "nope", but they actually agreed!!  Seriously, their customer service is top-notch...I cannot say enough good things about Politics & Prose; I just wish that I lived closer, so that I could visit them in person.  Although I didn't place my order on Black Friday, the fact that the shipment arrived on Black Friday means that it counts, right?  Right!

Overall, this shopping weekend was relatively productive...I still have a few more bookish gifts to buy before Christmas, but I'm off to a good start.  If you did any bookish shopping during the Black Friday weekend, what did you buy?  Are there bookish gifts you're looking to acquire?



Librorum annis

Persephone Book Haul

Biannually, Persephone Books adds a few new additions to their collection.  In April of 2016, they republished their spring books: The Godwits Fly, by Robin Hyde; A Lady and Her Husband by Amber Reeves; and Maman, What Are We Called Now by Jacqueline Mesnil-Amar.  I ordered Maman a few months after its release; it seemed to ring similar bells to what I loved about Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky - the firsthand experiences of French citizens during the Nazi occupation.

On the 19th of October, Persephone released their fall selections.  Madame Solario by Gladys Huntington, Long Live Great Bardfield by Tirzah Garwood, and a new collection of short stories by Dorothy Whipple called Every Good Deed and Other Stories.  As someone who loves Dorothy Whipple's novels, I was excited to see a new bind-up of her stories, and decided it was high time to place my transatlantic order.

Living on the East Coast of the US, once I see the "Persephone Books: Shipment" email appear in my inbox, I know that my order will be delivered exactly one week later.  It's like clockwork!  The three envelopes that arrived hold the promise of weeks of delicious, reading pleasure...

The Closed Door and Other Stories by Dorothy Whipple 

(Persephone's first published Whipple collection)

Every Good Deed and Other Stories by Dorothy Whipple 

(Persephone's second published Whipple collection)

An Interrupted Life: The Diaries and Letters of Etty Hillesum 1941-1943 by Etty Hillesum

(a diary kept in the time frame and city as Anne Frank's famous diary, except that Etty Hillesum was in her late 20's)




I can't wait to cosy up with a snugly blanket and a mug of tea, and read these books!




Librorum annis