Thursday, April 5, 2012

Used Book Haul



Man, my shelves are groaning. Every so often the thrift store nearby has a bumper crop of goodies. Anyone familiar with any of these titles? I enjoyed The Woman in White last year and have been looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of The Moonstone. Today was my lucky day. Then there's Oscar Wilde. I loved The Picture of Dorian Gray, so Complete Short Fiction is a logical next step. Fitzgerald! I haven't read anything by him except The Great Gatsby, which I was actually kind of so-so on. But I at least want to be a little more familiar with his other works before I make a call on whether I like him or not. This Side of Paradise for less than a dollar? I could hardly pass that up. The Emperor's Children (a couple of women friends finding themselves in NYC) sounds kind of . . . campy. And it won the NYT Book Review's Book of the Year award, which is something, so into the basket it goes. Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man looks like it will scratch my addict-memoir itch quite nicely, as will The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, which is a memoir of stroke recovery. Then, lastly, The Bookseller of Kabul (a stalwart fellow keeps a bookshop open in war-torn Afghanistan) How could ANYONE with a bookshelf and a heart pass that up?!

10 comments:

Sam (Tiny Library) said...

Ah, I loved the Moonstone! It's different from The Woman in White, more of a straightforward detective story, but still of course awesome :)

I've not read The Diving Bell & The Butterfly but I have seen the film and the story was very touching.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Who can resist a bargain, and especially with great title like these.

Trish said...

Sam - that's great to hear! I just looked back at my review of WiW and see that I had some issues with it that I had totally forgotten about, which is funny since I seem to remember quite liking it. Must have been an off day. Anyway, if Moonstone is a straightforward detective story then I'm all for it.

Dinae - I know, right?! Seven books for $5. is pretty cool.

Beth said...

I’m sure there are many others but I don’t know anyone other than you and I who take such delight in “scoring a stash” from a used book store – and write about it. Such a great feeling, isn’t it?

Trish said...

Beth - haha 'Scoring a Stash' - I like that!

Laura said...

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is so good! I actually prefer the film veeery slightly, but the book is very good too, albeit a little heartbreaking.

Kayla said...

I've been wanting to read The Diving Bell and the Butterfly for a while, ever since I heard about it in a neuroscience class. I finally saw the film last year and I really enjoyed it.

I've owned The Emperor's Children for a long time now but I've been hesitant about starting it because it received some really bad reviews, and it has one of lowest scores on Goodreads that I've seen. But something prevents me from giving it away until I've tried it and come to my own conclusions about it. The premise sounds like something I'd really enjoy.

laughingwolf said...

heard of most, read none...

good find :)

Lee said...

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is one of my favorites memoirs. I hope you enjoy.

Trish said...

Laura - I'd heard of the movie but maybe I'll wait to watch it until after I've read the book.

Kayla - The books sounds interesting from a neuroscience point of view, doesn't it? It makes me think of Stroke of Insight from a few years ago.

That's funny about Emperor's Children! I'll have to proceed with a due grain-of-salt.

LW - yes, I thought so too.

Lee - that's good to hear! I'm quite looking forward to it.