Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Latest Acquisitions

I realised I haven't posted a book pile in awhile! So I suppose the time has come for my latest confessions. :)


First, a member of bookmooch was running a 3-for-1 deal, and I saw two books that'll be great additions to the R.I.P. II challenge (if I get through everything else early). The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr is described as a gothic take on the supernatural Holmes from Hound of the Baskervilles. I adore Laurie King's take on Sherlock Holmes, and I don't expect Carr to live up to her, but this one sounds much spookier. I'm not a Holmes purist, so I'm just hoping for a good story. :) I also grabbed a *gorgeous* edition of The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, which isan awesome take on Dracula. I read it for the first time last year (borrowed it from my mom), and that I've been meaning to buy a copy ever since. Since I got another free pick, I went with Tracy Chevalier's The Virgin Blue, which I've seen recommended here and there. I'm not sure what to expect, since I really didn't enjoy The Lady and the Unicorn, but a friend who's read both assures me that The Virgin Blue is much better. Plus, that happens to be one of my favourite colours!

I ended up mooching quite a bit this past month. I grabbed War in a Time of Peace by David Halberstam after reading about him at Book Chase. He sounds like a great writer, and this book which sounds really interesting and discusses US military action taken during the Clinton era (i.e.-peacekeeping, a topic near and dear to my heart). My final original R.I.P. II challenge pick is The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons, based on a glowing review at Super Fast Reader (for sure this time!). A bookmooch member and I made a 'trade' off each other's wishlists, so I got Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (a 'prequel' to Jane Eyre). I also managed to grabThe Golden Compass by Philop Pullman in the Knopf edition. I love the series, but I'm picky about covers, so I already had the second. Now I'm just waiting for the third to appear on bookmooch! Finally, The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander, a historical novel of Russia (another topic near and dear to my heart), which I somehow expected to be as big as The Historian. It's gotten good reviews, but I probably wouldn't have mooched it if I knew how small it was!

All of that leaves three 'guilt' books: Midwives by Chris Bohjalian, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I found them on the 3-for-2 tables at B&N; I've been coveting the Ishiguro forever, plan on reading the See soon, and Midwives sounded very interesting.

10 comments:

Ana S. said...

I enjoyed Wide Sargasso Sea a lot. The only Tracy Chevalier I've read was Girl with the Pearl Earring and I loved it. I haven't actually heard much about The Virgin Blue, so I look forward to your review

Anonymous said...

I love Bookmooch and have gotten some really great books through them (including The Historian, which I plan to read for RIP II. Unfortunately, since taking my bookmooch account off of vacation (while I was in China) I am no longer receiving their e-mails! They suggested starting a g-mail account, but I have enough of a hard time keeping up with my blog e-mail and personal e-mail addresses. This stinks!
Stephanie
www.thewrittenword.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed The Historian and I'm intrigued by the Caleb Carr--I've wanted to read his books for a while now, so I'm looking forward to reading your take on The Italian Secretary. And I'm currently reading The Wide Sargasso Sea and enjoying it. Lovely pile o' books!

Andi said...

I have Never Let Me Go on my nightstand as we speak. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it if you get to it before I do. :)

Gentle Reader said...

Isn't Bookmooch great? I'll be interested in hearing what you think of Wide Sargasso Sea. It was really popular when I was in college, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn't what I was expecting...

Eva said...

Nymeth, I'm glad you enjoyed Wide Sargasso Sea!

Stephanie, I'm sorry about the e-mail problem. :( I use gmail for everything; that's weird that it won't work. I'm so jealous of you getting to read The Historian for the first time. I loved it. :)

Sarah, I'll let you know what I think!

Andi, I'm sure you'll get to it before me! I have sooo many books for challenges, doesn't leave much free time.

Gentle Reader, Bookmooch is amazing! Glad to see another vote for Wide Sargasso Sea. :)

Bybee said...

Nice pile of books! You rock!

Anonymous said...

I just read Wide Sargasso Sea this year - an interesting book. I did really like it. I'll be looking forward to your thoughts!

Heather said...

The Italian Secretary is an excellent book!!

Eva said...

Bybee, *blush* I rock? Awesome! lol You rock more-I'm still waiting for a teetering pile of all those books you got. :)

Verbibore, I'm excited to read it. :)

Heather, oh-I'm glad someone read it annd liked it! I'll try to get it read soon. :)