Three cheers for remainders! I wouldn't own nearly as many new books as I do if it weren't for remainder tables and a very eccentric sense of what makes a good book...
At B&N this weekend I bought the latest Harry Potter (finished in less than a day, gotta reread it right away) and a remainder called The Book of the Book Shelf. Yep, it's about the history of the bookshelf, and, necessarily, of the books that go on them. I've learned already that the edge of a book that opens (opposite the spine) is called the fore-edge, because for centuries books were shelved with the spine inward (toward the back of the shelf) and the fore-edge outward... Haven't learned why yet, but I'm sure it's coming...
I suppose the book fits right in, since the last nonfiction I bought was the history of salt...
I wish we could turn this discussion into a kind of AA meeting for those of us who have a bad enough time with remainders and second-hand books, but have a real problem with Amazon.
AA = "Avoid Amazon"! Help me! I've bought enough books! I have plenty! My credit card doesn't need to carry any more than it's carrying right now! Please!
(Or maybe avoiding this thread would be the answer? Too many interesting people; too many "must have" books?)
I know what you mean, Tartarin, re addictive book buying. I don't "do" Amazon, but only because I have access to several really good bookstores here.
But I've gone back to using the library again, just to keep the buying under some control. My income is a bit more limited now that it was, so this seems like a good plan...
I just bought a book on Amazon for the first time the other day. What's the problem with Amazon?
I don't think the problem is with Amazon, apart from how easy they make it to spend money on books.
(On the other hand, I have my own issues with huge corporations that have been putting independent stores out of business, but we'll save that for another thread.)
Aha!
And Iknow what you mean about the independent stores. That would be a good thread.
Amazon is, indeed, wonderful, particularly for the rural person. Latest: floor steamer. Next: Some old Patrick DeWaere films.
Books on the bedside table right now: The Left Hand of Darkness (LeGuin), Tales from the Land of the Sufis (Bayat & Jamnia), The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams (Nasdijj).
I'm reading two books now. The first is an Alexander Fullerton historican novel of the Russian Civil War "Look to the Wolves". The second is "Gold and Spices: The Rise of Commerce in the Middle Ages" by Jean Favier.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix of course !!!
Halfway through The Book of the Book Shelf, I temporarily abandoned it for a novel about Boudica, warrior queen of ancient Britain (she fought the Romans)...
I loved the ending of The Order of the Phoenix! (gotta reread right away!!!)
The Lake House, by James Patterson! Intriguing:)
Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates. Perhaps "Norma Jeane's" insomnia is the reason I can't sleep.
I've been working on this one, off and on, for about 18 months. I finally became completely wrapped up in it at the beginning of my vacation and have torn through about 400 pages in the past five days.
I feel the need to add that this is the first book I've ever picked up because of what the NYT had to say about it. I don't purposely avoid bestseller lists, but I also don't seek them out.
Bestseller lists and book-club pamphlets are a good place to start if you don't know what you want next. Sometimes I carry them with me to the library and just request a few...
I just read "The Secret Life of Bees." My enjoyment of a book has two distinct parts -- appreciation of the technical aspects of the book (plot, voice, pacing, etc.) and how my mood aligns with it. I have read books that I disliked or was lukewarm about in the wrong mood, then read later and loved it. I didn't expect to like "Bees", was kind of a dumbed-down choice for book club, but my mood was just right for it, and I had one of the most enjoyable reading experiences of recent memory. I hadda see what happened, loved immersing myself in the story, cried and cried.
I think that one disadvantage of my greatly decreased reading load (was 1-5 books a week until I had the sozlet, now MAYBE a book a month) is that I want to use my time on Quality books that are Worth My Time. They have their place, but it's nice to mix things up a bit.
I just saw Bees in Barnes n Noble when I bought Harry Potter and my bookshelf book. Thought to myself I should get it from the library, now I think go buy it.
Just finished Bastard out of Carolina; now I see the movie's on cable (which I don't have). I loved the book, but would probably hate the movie; I tend to get too involved in moom pitchers.
If you liked "Ya-Ya", you may well like "Bees." It's definitely a low-expectations book, though -- if you go into it expecting too much, the cardboard characters (not all, but a couple) and plot contrivances will drive you up the wall.
All I usually expect from a book like that is a good story for a few hours. One that makes it so I hafta know what happens next.
Heck, I even read Dick Francis!
Soz - I'm amazed you can read 1 book a month!
