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Look what I’ve bought!

I don’t normally do posts like this, as I usually only buy one or two books at a time, but this morning I struck book gold!!

Someone with great reading taste must have made a donation to the charity shop recently!!!
16 books I really want to read…..

16newbook

 The Secret Scripture – Sebastian Barry

I’ve been wanting to read this for a long time. I’m so pleased I finally found a copy.

Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

I’m almost ashamed to admit that I’ve never read this. I must rectify this situation as soon as possible!

Rabbit at Rest – John Updike (The last book of his trilogy, so I’ll need to do a bit more buying before I can read this!) 

In the Beauty of the Lilies – John Updike

I have never read any books by John Updike, and don’t think these are the right ones to start with, but at least I have them for the future! Can anyone recommend a good Updike book to start with?

A Quartet in Autumn – Barbara Pym

I have heard so many good things about this book, so it is really good to finally find a copy.

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami

I love Murakami, but for some reason I’ve never read the most famous of his books.

Faceless Killers – Henning Mankell

I have a few of his books in my TBR pile already, but now I’ve finally got hold of the first in the series I can start working my way through them!

The Red Book – Meaghan Delahunt

Has anyone read this book? I saw an amazing print review of it in a paper once, but haven’t seen anyone mention it since.

Kristin Lavansdatter – Sigrid Undset

I have been wanting to read this ever since I saw Michelle’s reviews. I am so lucky to have found the complete trilogy!

New Moon – Stephanie Meyer

Eclipse – Stephanie Meyer

I still haven’t read Twilight, but it makes sense to have the rest of the series waiting doesn’t it?!

Cloudstreet – Tim Winton

Megan recommended that I try this book, so it is great to find a copy!

Birds of a Feather – Jacqueline Winspear

Messenger of Truth – Jacqueline Winspear

I have never read a Jacqueline Winspear book, are either of these a good place to start?

A Fraction of the Whole – Steve Toltz

This was nominated for the Booker prize last year, so is a compulsory addition to my TBR mountain!

Shadow Without a Name – Ignacio Padilla

Finally, this arrived in the post this morning via bookmooch. It is Matthew’s favourite book of all time, so I’m really looking forward to reading it.

and to top it all off I also found this brand new pasta maker for only £12:

pasta

You can’t beat days like today!

38 replies on “Look what I’ve bought!”

You scored BIG time! And I have so many thoughts!

I really want to read The Secret Scripture, and I haven’t read Rebecca either (but it’s on the list!). I haven’t read any Muriakami yet, but really want to (and you’ve snagged the book that I’d like to start with!)! I’ve heard mixed things about A Fraction of the Whole, but I still want to read it one of these days.

I read a Barbara Pym novel earlier this year (No Fond Return of Love) and had mixed feelings about it. It was sillier than I had thought it would be, but there were parts that were genuinely quite funny. That being said, I did pick up a book that contains three more of her novels the last time I was at the used bookstore, so obviously there were things about her I liked well enough. Here’s a link to my review if you’re interested: http://www.stephandtonyinvestigate.com/?p=1100

I do not like the Twilight books – Stephenie Meyer is a wretched writer, and even if the books are targeted YA, they’re very shallow and promote some pretty unhealthy behavior/ideas in my opinion… but that being said I did read the first three, feeling bad about myself the whole time because they were such rubbish.

Cloudstreet is a very good novel, and according to my Aussie friends, quintessentially Australian. We discussed it at my bookclub a few years back and pretty much everyone liked it. Also, the slang is awesome!

Finally, I like the Maisie Dobbs books a good deal (by Jacqueline Winspear). They don’t have to be read in order, but I really think you are best served by reading the first book in the series (“Maisie Dobbs”) first. Birds of a Feather is the second book and is good. Messenger of Truth is the fourth book, and unfortunately, is really quite bad. (Once more, I direct you to my review, which doesn’t really have any spoilers: http://www.stephandtonyinvestigate.com/?p=527 ).

All told, it looks like you have tons of great reading ahead of you!

Steph – Thanks for all the helpful points. It is a shame I can’t start on the Maisie Dobbs books until I find the first one. I’m sure I’ll find it sooner or later, but they’ll have to wait in the pile until then.

I don’t think I’ll like Twilight, but I do want to know what it is all about, so plan to read it at some point.

What a haul! I’d say you timed your visit perfectly! I’ve read a few books by Updike (not the Rabbit series) and In The Beauty of The Lilies is my favorite so far. I hope that’s the newer Nunnally translation of Kiristin Lavransdatter – it’s excellent.

Cathy – I only heard of Maisie a few weeks ago – I don’t know how I could have missed out for so long!

JoAnn – I’m pleased that Lilies is your favourite – perhaps I should start with that one after all?

What a great selection! I have Rebecca and The Wind-up-Bird Chronicle on my wish list to read soon too and have recently read The Red Book which is lovely.

Enjoy.

Great score!

I agree, start with Maisie Dobbs. I’ve only read the first three in the series so far (the next two await me, on my shelf).

I’ve also read Cloudstreet (didn’t love it though), and I *loved* Kristin Lavransdatter. (I was going to ask what translation of Lavransdatter you got, too!) I read the older, Archer translation, and I still quite enjoyed it.

In the Beauty of the Lilies is in my TBR pile; I haven’t read any Updike either.

Tracey – Thank you for commenting on my blog for the first time! I’m pleased you enjoyed The Red Book – I can go ahead and read it now, knowing it wasn’t a one off biased print review!

WordLily – I’ve got the Archer translation of Lavransdatter. I’m pleased that you enjoyed it anyway. Did you only love the Nunnally version? I hate it when I get the wrong version!

Wow! It’s like winning the lottery! Not only books, but a pasta maker too! I can’t believe you found all of these books in one place. As far as Twilight goes, you’ll read them each in about 2 days, so yes, you do need to have them all at the ready!

What fantastic finds! I have The Secret Scripture waiting to be read right now. I’ve actually had it for a long time and have started it a couple of times but I just don’t seem to be in the mood for it at the moment. Thankfully I have plenty of other books waiting!!

I’m so glad you found Cloudstreet! I always love to see people reading Australian literature – and you’ve also got Steve Toltz’s book there! I read that fairly recently, and while it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, I could definitely see what all the fuss was about.

Oh, and I forgot – I am a huge fan of the Twilight series, which I think is quite hilarious given my attitude towards it when all the fuss began. I think there’s so much about to dislike – the heroine is a horrible role model, it’s completely anti-feminist, the writing isn’t great and nothing much *really* happens in any of the books, but there is just something about the hero and the romance and the world of vampires that sweeps you away…I read the four books in very quick succession last year 😀 I am a huge Buffy fan, too!

Sandy – Technically they weren’t all in one place – they were all in the same town, but I found them in 4 seperate charity shops. It is still amazing to have found them all in one day though. I’m very happy. I can’t wait to try making pasta too!

Dorte – I really can’t decide where to start with them all – hopefully they will all be great!

Karen – Secret Scripture is on my Awards 3 challenge list, so I’ll proabably read it in the autumn sometime. I look forward to reading your review, as you’ll probably get to it before me.

Megan – I’m sure I’ll love Cloudstreet, hopefully I’ll read it fairly soon.

I think I may push Twilight to the top of the pile, as all these mixed messages are making me wonder which side of the fence I’ll be on after reading it!

Now that is quite a pile of incomings. I love these posts as you can visualise fellow bloggers lives that little bit more, where did you get them all. I have now added seveal to my wish list!

Simon – They all came from Surbiton. I’ve never been there before, but I will be going back!

I haven’t read Rebecca either, but I’m not sweating it. I know a lot of book bloggers love it, but it just doesn’t really interest me.

That pasta maker looks like so much fun.

Oooh what a great pile! I have only read one of them, which is Rabbit at Rest.

The Secret Scripture and Rebecca are on the top of my wishlist both. Cloudstreet is also in there somewhere, but not a big priority. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, too. I’ve only read Kafka on the Shore but would like to try another Murakami one of these days (not a priority again, though).

Happy reading! I always love reading these kinds of posts. It’s a treat to be peeking at others’ book binges.. 😀

Wow! What a great stack of books! And a pasta maker to boot! I’ve never made my own pasta, but I’ve heard that done right it is delicious. I recently picked up Wind-up Bird Chronicles as well.

What a haul!!! Several of the books are on my TBR list as well! I”m interested to see what others suggest for Updike! Have fun reading!

Wow that is quite a haul!

I loved the Winton and the Toltz,so hope you enjoy them. I also have a fondness for the Twilight series.

I’m another who hasn’t read Rebecca yet, so will be interested to hear what you think. I think to me it’s always seemed like Bronte-lite so I’ve avoided it.. I’d love to hear I’m wrong.

These books really look cool. I’ve read the most common ones, Rebecca, New Moon and Eclipse 🙂

I love it when I find books I wanted to read in a sale…

Jackie, Rebecca is one of my all-time favourite novels; I read it first aged thirteen, after seeing the Hitchcock adaptation, and re-read it periodically. I hope you enjoy it!

I found the Twilight books to be “popcorn” reads – addictive but hardly filling. Meyer cannot write if her life depended on it and there are many issues with it but life’s too short to hate on it; I read a lot of literature and sometimes I need a mindless break from it.

Also, that was my first Murakami novel (I’ve read a few others since then) and I also have The Secret Scripture on my TBR list.

I love the pasta maker!

Lots of great books there! Enjoy The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, though it is a bit meandering, it is also excellent. I checked out Kristin Lavansdatter from the library, but had to return it before I could start it. I’m excited to know what you think about it!

Fantastic haul, Jackie!
I am so pleased to find that I am not the last person in the world to have read Rebecca. I, too, found it in a second hand bookshop after ‘falling into it’ (as Simon would say:) a couple of weeks ago. I also found My Cousin Rachel at the same time and read both within a week – they are just wonderful.
With so many great reads to choose from, my vote goes with Rebecca for Top of the Pile.

So many conflicting recommendations as to which one to read first!!

I’m thinking about trying Twilight, just so I can join in with the abuse of it!

I think the end choice will just come down to how I feel next time I wander up to my bookshelves!

Thank you for all the comments!

I also loved Kristin Lavransdatter; finding all of them together is pretty amazing! I have a sidebar section entitled “Twilight Commentary” which has articles and parodies that have delighted people in both camps (loved and hated the series). I especially recommend the feminist article “Bite me! (Or don’t)” but maybe after you’ve skimmed the book.

Jeanne – I’ll have to look at your sidebar once I’ve read Twilight – thanks for letting me know about them.

Jeez, I’m jealous. Been ages since I picked up a book haul like that!

I haven’t read Twilight, and am apprehensive about all the fuss around it. That normally means I will not like the book.

Read A Fraction of the Whole last year, and it was interesting. It got kind of boring in bits and bobs, and could probably lose a couple of hundred pages in volume (I think I have the same edition as the one in the pic above). But, at the end of the day, I think it was a good book, and can easily see why it was shortlisted for the Booker.

Just stumbled upon The Secret Scripture myself, and hopefully, will read it sometime this month. It’s got great reviews, so really looking forward to it.

Have Updike’s ‘Rabbit’ series and Wind Up Bird Chronicle on my list as well… must read Kafka On The Shore before that. Heard WUBC is the better of the two, so… looking forward to both of them. I love Murakami!

Haven’t read or heard of the others (excluding Rebecca, but… for some reason, it’s never gotten on the list. Don’t know why!), but that looks like a delicious “little” summer treat for you!

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