Recently Purchased/Borrowed

[StillILearn]

Wilkie Collins - The Moon Stone
Wilkie Collins - The Dead Secret
Wilkie Collins - Iolani; or Tahiti as it was.
Wilkie Collins - The Haunted Hotel
Mary Elizabeth Braddon - Lady Audley's Secret
Linda Bloodsworth Thompson - Liberating Paris

You'll have to let us know which of these Wilkie Collins books are good, venus. I wasn't aware of most of these titles.

 

[abecedarian]

I just have to ask: are you guys filthy rich or what? Because at the prices that books are, roughly $20 CDN a book, depending on the size of the book, I would think you guys are rolling in the dough, so to speak. I make $8/hr at a job where I work about 4 hours a week, plus the $5-10 I get in tips, depending on what the resturant brings in. Plus I don't have a credit card to order all those books. For me purchasing a book is a luxury and I sometimes go to the second hand store to see what I can find there. Of course I go for the covers more than for the book, but more often than not it is because of the book...

We went to two bookstores this week, Borders and a UBS. At Borders, we bought two books, and a couple of magazines. The lion's share of our haul was from the used store. I normally don't get there often, and rely on the sale cart at my local library or online bargain shopping for most other book buys. Otherwise, it's whip out the library card like everyone else. We're a single income family, with lots of kids, so we try to be careful with our money. On top of that, we just found out this evening, we have a wedding to pay for in September

 

[kuroc]

Just bought The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury.

 

[jaynebosco]

I was just curious is all. I do have a discount card for the Chapters/Indigo/Coles chain up here in Canada where I have bought books because I could get 30% off the price for the book.

But I have walked out of the bookstore without purchasing anything at all. And I whip out my library card more times than my debit card.

 

[Stewart]

Yes, I'm stinking rich.

 

[StillILearn]

The Penelopeiad

The Accidental, by Ali Smith

link

ABC = On top of that, we just found out this evening, we have a wedding to pay for in September.

See what happens when you leave the kids home alone?

(Congratulations, ABC )

 

[angerball]

I get a lot of Amazon vouchers too, for stuff I do on online sites, that's why I can order books more than I normally would.

How can you get Amazon vouchers? Is that from doing online surveys etc?

 

[angerball]

I just have to ask: are you guys filthy rich or what?

I mostly borrow books from the library. Don't forget there are secondhand book stores, Ebay, or library book sales (dirt, dirt cheap), so you don't need to fork out the price for a new book.

 

[abecedarian]

I mostly borrow books from the library. Don't forget there are secondhand book stores, Ebay, or library book sales (dirt, dirt cheap), so you don't need to fork out the price for a new book.

Somehow it goes against my grain to pay retail for books or much of anything..my mom was a bargain shopper and some bits of training DO stick now and then I just used amazon as a reference source, then the library site and overstock, to buy and borrow a few books on planning cheap weddings...

 

[pontalba]

Somehow it goes against my grain to pay retail for books or much of anything..my mom was a bargain shopper and some bits of training DO stick now and then I just used amazon as a reference source, then the library site and overstock, to buy and borrow a few books on planning cheap weddings...

We have 2 really nice second hand book stores here, and then library sales every third saturday of the month. Great hardbacks are available from 1.75 to 4.00 U.S. dollars. One need not be "filthy rich" to afford that. I mean, it would be nice....................... But it ain't happening.

 

[steffee]

How can you get Amazon vouchers? Is that from doing online surveys etc?

I joined up with RPoints a few months ago, who give you points for clicking links and signing up to sites, and purchasing from other sites etc, and have earned a fair bit (over £150 in a few months). You can have the money as cash paid into your bank account, or in Amazon or (I think) CD Wow vouchers, where you get 10% extra for redeeming £50 worth. It's quite worthwhile... if someone signs up using my link, I get £5 free and you do too. There's a few other sites out there with the same sort of idea, but this is about the best. There's a forum too, and you can always find details of good deals online or offline, which is quite handy. I think it's UK only though

 

[angerball]

Thanks, Steffee. I'll look at the link. Vouchers are always good.

 

[jaynebosco]

We have 2 really nice second hand book stores here, and then library sales every third saturday of the month. Great hardbacks are available from 1.75 to 4.00 U.S. dollars. One need not be "filthy rich" to afford that. I mean, it would be nice....................... But it ain't happening.

My town of about 150,000 people has only really one second hand bookstore has a decent selection of books that I am aware of; I don't know of The Salvation Army and their selection of books and MCC doesn't have that great a selection. The only other place that has a buy back policy for books has a very small selection of second hand books.

Even when I do I buy second hand books, I tend to pay about $8-10 (they are the better quality books at the front; mind you I haven't scoured the shelves for the other books that they have cause they have quite a bit and see what those books go for) a book. I also look to see a book is in good condition and if I like the cover as well. I might go and see if they have In Cold Blood.

 

[pontalba]

The second of the stores only opened up in the last few months, and they have the larger of hard back selection. So I suppose we are quite fortunate in this area! And I came out of the last library sale with two bags of books (nice ones!) for only about 10 U.S. dollars.

 

[muggle]

I strongly recommend that you read Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row before reading Sweet Thursday......or, you may already know that. In any case thought I would bump it up again for you.

And some more:

Burning Bright, John Steinbeck
The Pastures Of Heaven, John Steinbeck
In Dubious Battle, John Steinbeck
The Moon Is Down, John Steinbeck
Sweet Thursday, John Steinbeck

And some more:

 

[Stewart]

Thanks. I knew Sweet Thursday was to be read after one of them. So, it's two of them.

In other news, seeing as I've almost finished buying the complete works of John Steinbeck, I've now turned my attention to getting a collection of Vladimir Nabokov. I bought Bend Sinister this evening.

 

[steffee]

I've now turned my attention to getting a collection of Vladimir Nabokov. I bought Bend Sinister this evening.

Applause! Strange first choice, but fantastic nevertheless

 

[Stewart]

Applause! Strange first choice, but fantastic nevertheless

It was on eBay. I already have Lolita.

 

[steffee]

Ah! Lolita is great. All of Nabokov's works are great. Pnin is the best of his I've read so far; it's also the easiest read. Ada is very very clever, I'm gonna need at least one more reread to fully get that. It reminded me of Eco's The Name of the Rose, a little.

You'll most likely get swarmed by the Nabokovophiles amonst us now.

 

[pontalba]

Applause! Strange first choice, but fantastic nevertheless

Regarding Bend Sinister in Brian Boyd's Vladimir Nabokov, The American Years, p.93 states as follows:

In the years between Hitler's rise to power and his defeat, Nabokov wrote more works with a political cast than at any other time of his life, partly in reaction to Hitler, partly in reaction to the communism that so many saw as the only bulwark against fascism. Bend Sinister is the most political of all.

Nabokov above all things hated any type of police state. Well, look at his history, of course he did.