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Confessions of a bookaholic

Written by Kirsten on May 21st, 2009

This has been a particularly heavy book purchasing week, with tonight’s haul definitely overshadowing the results of any other recent trip by far. Here’s the list, and a brief “why” for each title:

Shoeless Joe, W. P. Kinsella. Someone on LibraryThing inquired about books to help an older teen get into literary comprehension, and listed baseball as an interest. This turned up in a search and sounded good.

Dude, Where’s My Country?, Michael Moore. I’ve only seen a couple of his documentaries; never read his books. Part of a buy one, get one free deal.

The Battle of the Labyrinth, Rick Riordan. Picked this up twice tonight – once in paperback, new, full price; again remaindered hardcover, four bucks, also part of buy one, get one free. Anyone need a copy?

The Demigod Files, Rick Riordan. Had to get it to complete the series, I was told!

Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg. It was in the bargain box for three bucks. I couldn’t NOT buy it, even though I already own two other copies. I may run a contest at some point and offer a choice from a selection of books; this would go on that list.

My Life as Author and Editor, H.L. Mencken. Utter impulse buy. I’ve never read Mencken, but have meant to, and the fact that the biography was ordered to be held until 35 years after his death was too potentially delicious to pass up.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling. Mare had to get this one; it’s an early edition Bloomsbury Press release, one of the hardcovers with the illustrated binding.

Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum. Never read it; figured I’d pick up an el cheap-o used copy and give it a shot. Should have checked Gutenberg first; didn’t think of it. Need to work on that.

Oroonoko, The Rover, and Other Works, Aphra Behn. Another bargain box find; read some of her poetry I think in last semester’s women’s lit class.

Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie. Read the e-book and wanted to own a copy.

Ironhand, Charlie Fletcher. Book two in a trilogy; both Mare and I thought it looked interesting, and it was a remaindered hardcover in the buy one, get one boxes. Ratings are good on LT, and one review calls the first book “basically Neverwhere for children,” which is a positive recommendation as far as we’re both concerned.

The Last Olympian, Rick Riordan. Rounding out the series, since I’ll likely finish it this weekend.

Thunderstruck, Erik Larson. Mare’s pick from the remaindered books at Red Hill; definitely up her alley, and whether or not I read it will depend on her level of enthusiasm.

The Price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen Bank, David Bornstein. Another Mare pick; this could be fascinating, but not something I’d pick up on my own. Will again gauge her reaction and decide whether or not to read :)

Pure Dead Brilliant, Debi Gliori. Found this one for Mare; she’s read the first two and loved them.

Anyone have any feedback on any of the titles I’ve not read? Besides the Percy Jackson books, of course; I know you’ve got plenty to say about those! I’m getting there, I promise…!

 

6 Comments so far ↓

  1. Shanra says:

    ‘ello! Scooting over from the May Acquisition thread over on LJ. ^-^

    The Wizard of Oz is… different from the movie version. Just to warn you there. It’s… a bit of a paradox, I think, in that Baum wants to present a story to entertain children, whereas the book is as much about learning how to behave as it is entertainment. It’s reliant on the very motifs that Baum wants to be rid of. Just sanitised even more than fairytales already were at the time.

    As said, I did like the story, but for the story’s own sake not what Baum attempted to achieve. I like children’s literature (and fairytales) quite a lot. To me, it’s a fairytale stripped down to its barest ‘modern’ necessities. (If you like Oz, though, but not the idealised version, you might want to consider Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. You’ll never look at Oz the same way again.)

    Also read Oroonoko for class once, which I liked. Don’t ask me why, though. It’s been a couple of years since I read it last. The rest, alas, I’ve not heard of before. (No, I lie. I have heard of Rick Riordan before. I think he features highly on my recommendations list. And Rowling of course. But this is about books you haven’t read yet, so.)

    Uhm… Apologies for rambling?

  2. I assume you’re not looking for feedback about Azkaban either, so I’m useless about the rest of your books, however, if you’re serious about your extra copy of Battle of the Labyrinth, I read most of them through the library and am looking to collect them in paperback. (I already own The Lightening Thief in paperback and I’m compelled to collect series in one format.)

  3. Kirsten says:

    bib, I’ll double check with Mare, but she usually prefers hardcovers anyhow, so if I choose to send the paperback into welcoming shelves, she’ll probably not even know :)

    Shanra, welcome! So glad to have you. I figure that, like The Neverending Story, Oz the book is only hinted at in Oz the movie. I’ve been enjoying classic children’s tales pre-Disneyfication – so much more complex, and darker, than the now-common, watered down versions. I read Wicked a few years ago, and intended to re-read it before going to see the musical, but my tickets are for June 4 – not going to happen!

  4. While I haven’t seen the musical, I have The Grimmoire, which is a bunch of pictures and the story of how the musical came to be as well as the libretto and there’s really not much in the way of similarities between the two. Perhaps as much as between the book Wizard of Oz and the movie come to that!

  5. Shanra says:

    *nods* It’s a fair comparison to make. The Wizard of Oz leaves more out than that it alters from what I remember, but even so. Return to Oz, now, that’s a wholly different story. It’s a far, far darker portrayal of Oz.

    I grew up mostly with the fairytale versions as told by Grimm. ^-^ I was… shocked/astounded to learn that those were already sanitised. Not for the concern of impressionable children, but for the author’s own needs, often political, and always to present a better story.

    There are some great modern fairytale retelling out there, though. Both the more fluffy fairytale style and the darker, more sensual undertones.

    Oooh! You lucky thing! Enjoy! *has musical envy*

  6. Kirsten says:

    The same weekend we watched The Seeker, we watched The Brothers Grimm, with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. What a duo! I’ve never read the Grimm fairy tales (I know, I know! Tragic.), but they’re on my list. Reading The Book of Lost Things, I thought the level of darkness and brutality was probably closer to the original tales than in any I heard or read in my childhood.

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