Thursday, October 08, 2009

Latest stack of books


I have a nagging feeling that there's a book or two that's missing from tonight's stack of new books, but perhaps it's just that I expected a couple more of my preorders to have arrived by now. The Book Depository cancelled one of them over the weekend and refunded my money--after emailing me last Thursday to tell me the book was ready to ship. Since the book is showing this week as being available again, I've ordered it once more and am hoping for the best.

I've definitely placed my trust in Rebecca West since I've purchased four A.L. Barkers. John Brown's Body was shortlisted for the Booker in 1969, The Gooseboy won the Macmillan Silver Pen Award in 1988, The Haunt was Barker's last published novel; and A Heavy Feather was the one West herself was so taken with.

Notwithstanding is Louis de Bernieres' just published collection of short stories--stories of a vanished England, according to the dust jacket.

The Blank Wall and The Innocent Mrs. Duff by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. Two novels of suspense in one back to back binding.

More short stories: Clifford Garstang's In an Uncharted Country and Long Story Short, a collection of flash fiction from North Carolina authors edited by Marianne Gingher.

I won Norah Labiner's German for Travelers: A novel in 95 Lessons in a BBAW giveaway at Amber Stults' blog. Thank you, Amber, and I hope you enjoyed your vacation at Topsail!

Generosity by Richard Powers and Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. These are two that are making me regret all the reading commitments I have lined up for the next several weeks. Whatever happened to read at whim, I wonder?


5 comments:

  1. The day you posted about Barker, I went to Amazon (I know -- it's an illness) and found used copies of Body and Haunt. They're already on my ever-growing TBR pile. I think Body will be first up. And I dragged Woman in Black up from my pile, too, thanks to you.

    Melissa

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  2. What a lovely stack of books! We've been on a book buying embargo at my house so I love being able to live the new book purchases vicariously through others :)

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  3. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who's going to be reading Barker, Melissa. I'm going to read a collection of her stories just as soon as I finish John Marsden's YA Hamlet. Have you read that yet? I'm about a quarter through and I think it's fantastic.

    Stefanie, I think it's great that you and your Book Man can embargo together and provide support for one another. My husband is so against any more books coming into the house (he says the upstairs study is going to cave in and kill a cat or two in the process) unless I get rid of some first that I almost feel provoked into buying more. I'm too perverse for my own good.

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  4. I've been reading reviews of Her Fearful Symmetry and look forward to yours.

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  5. I've not even made it a whole week yet on my "I'm not going to buy anymore books until Christmas" promise, and seeing these makes me think longingly of some books I'd like to buy. I better go to the library soon--it's almost as good, though not quite...

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