Hello, and welcome to another edition of Books I've Recently Acquired! I'm your host, Flannery, so let's get things started with random science fiction and fantasy books that caught my eye at Half Price Books the other day. I picked up Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr based on Kate Elliott's recommendation of the series at an event I went to two weeks ago. She said it was her favorite fantasy series of all time and that was obviously enough to sell me on it. I also grabbed a copy of A Horsewoman in Godsland by Claudia J. Edwards because I loved her book Taming the Forest King. Even though I already own a copy of Horsewoman, I never see copies of her out-of-print books anywhere and buy them when I find them. I kind of feel like the protagonist from The Shadow of the Wind trying to find all the existing copies of her work, especially considering there is basically ZERO information about the author out there on the net. [at this point in typing the blog post I went to ebay and bought two more of her books so I would have a complete set] Are there any mysterious authors of depressingly small fame that you wish more people would read? Do you have any authors whose works you automatically buy when you find those old used copies hidden in the shelves?
The other paperbacks I picked up--all were $1, I believe--were Groundties by Jane Fancher, One On Me by Tim Huntley, and Grasp the Stars by Jennifer Wingert.
The other paperbacks I picked up--all were $1, I believe--were Groundties by Jane Fancher, One On Me by Tim Huntley, and Grasp the Stars by Jennifer Wingert.
Speaking of Half Price Books, every few months they have a warehouse sale over in Greenwood. This go-round, all the books were under $3. I went early in the morning but it was absolutely bonkers with people so I made one quick perusal of the area and peaced out of there...after waiting for over half an hour in line. I picked up the seven books to the right for around $18. I was especially psyched about this because all but one are hardcover and all are in great condition. I haven't read any of them yet but some of them are definitely permanent collection pieces. I am particularly happy I found a copy of Skin Hunger since Catie and Tatiana really loved (love?) that series, and The Highest Frontier since it is about young adults in school in space. I tried to start it once before but my reaction was something like this: "Oh cool! A girl going to college in space! This is going to be so FUN! Wait, what about botany?...there certainly seems to be a lot of talking about plants in this bookzzzzzzzzzzz." I'm hoping my second attempt will be more successful.
Happy birthday to me! Well, it was last month, but these books were given to me as gifts, which is beyond exciting for a bookaholic. Maja sent me Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg and Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. Naomi sent me Six Impossible Things (signed!) and Wildlife by Fiona Wood. And Tatiana sent me The Zigzag Effect by Lili Wilkinson. All three of us Readventurers really enjoy Wilkinson's books and how she is able to keep them fun without crossing into the land of unbearable cheese. Thanks, buddies! (for the record, the equally awesome Catie gave me an Amazon gift card which I should've used on books but instead I used to buy a new cover for my phone.)
If you are a fan of graphic novels, you are probably already addicted to Saga by Brian K. Vaughn (of Y: The Last Man and Runaways fame) and Fiona Staples. If you haven't read it yet, please get on it. I preordered the second compiled edition and read it the day it arrived. It was just as weird as the first one, though it had a few more really awkward sexual inclusions that had Tatiana and I scratching our heads. Have you read it? What do you think the point of including the huge ogre balls and blowjob pics was? I thought they were just distracting and frankly, they made me kind of angry because they lower the number of people I would feel comfortable recommending the series to. The other graphic novel I bought recently is Empire Lanes by Peter Gross. I bought this one after I really enjoyed Gross' artwork in the Unwritten series by Mike Carey, and I read THAT because I basically loved Mike Carey's short story, "Iphegenia in Aulis". That story is included in An Apple for the Creature, a collection of school-related short stories from about twelve different authors. I recommended that particular story to Tatiana in our ongoing edition of She Made Me Do It and she enjoyed it as well. (spoiler alert!) If you get the chance, you should listen to it. The Ilona Andrews short in that book is also worth a listen. Anyway, Empire Lanes is about a group of people who come through a magical portal from medieval times into the back of a bowling alley. I haven't finished it yet but I kind of love stories about people working at bowling alleys, water parks, golf courses, etc. so I'm looking forward to it.
Hooray for friends! I wasn't able to make it to a recent conference, but some of my bookish buddies were there and they mailed me a few of the galleys they knew I was on the lookout for. My college roommate was also there but she is not as efficient as Arlene and Rachel, so I might have to include whatever she got signed for me in another edition...some other time...when she gets around to mailing it. The books are The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Eye of Minds by James Dashner, The 100 by Kass Morgan, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, The Vow by Jessica Martinez, and Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce. Thank you, thank you!
I haven't gone to a ton of author events recently but I did go see Neil Gaiman, Kate Elliott, and Margo Lanagan. I bought one or two books at each event to be signed so here is an amazing picture I took of them in my majestic wood-walled bathroom. I'm joking about the picture being amazing, obviously it is my usual point and click crapfest, but it is actually in my bathroom. True confession: On the other side of that wall is a book of Far Side cartoons that I look at every time I go to the bathroom. They make me laugh every.single.time. The problem with these books is that once books are signed, I never want to crack them open and change the quality. Library, here I come.
The other day I was at work and the store was having a 50% clearance event. I have never read any books by Anne Bishop but I am physically incapable of passing up mint condition, signed hardcovers for $7 by authors I think I might enjoy trying out. In addition to the two random books in the Black Jewels series that I picked up (I know the reviews are mixed!), I also grabbed an installment in the Chicagoland Vamps series that I was missing and Circus Galacticus, which I remember I requested and was denied on Netgalley when it was coming out. Isn't it funny how we remember exactly which books we were rejected for? I know how lucky reviewers are to even be given the chance to read prerelease books, but the rejection still hurts a bit. At least it does for me.
I drove down to Eugene two days ago to help one of my siblings move. On the way down and back up, I continued my alternation between the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews and the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones. I enjoy both series in audio format and I am almost finished with #2 in the CD series, after which I'll move onto #3 in KD. Two or three people have told me that Magic Strikes is where the true magic of the Kate Daniels series picks up so I am pumped to start that one tomorrow. When I was in Eugene, my sister and I stopped to get burritos for lunch and the place happened to be next door to Black Sun Books. What an interesting find! The store has a lot of lit, both used and new, and large sections of poetry, native peoples, and books in translation, among other sections. It isn't much for genre fiction, but the store is well kept and the owner seems to truly care for his books. I found a like new hardcover of War Dances and the Nobel Prize-winning book, The Passport by Herta Müller. I didn't look at the Goodreads reviews for that one before I bought it, and they seem very polarized. I have no idea what I'm in for, but I guess it will be interesting either way.
The last few books I recently acquired include Shadows by Paula Weston and two of The Edge books by Ilona Andrews. We are going to be part of the US/Can blog tour for Weston's book and I am pumped to read that one because it is very popular with my reader friends. Have you read it? What did you think?
I received the two Ilona Andrews books (and a handmade stuffed animal) from the amazing Olivia, one of my oldest friends from Goodreads. No matter how many times I try to tell her NOT to send me things, she always manages to sneak me back a package. Considering how much I am enjoying the Kate Daniels books, I am hoping that The Edge works for me as well. Thanks, Olivia!
So, these are most of the books that I have recently added to my collection. I know many bloggers do weekly posts to talk about what they buy/request/check out from the library but I don't have the discipline to do that. Random posts every once in awhile is the way I have to go. I also added an entire bookshelf to the house recently, and it is already filled with backlog. One of these days I will have a place with a room I can make into a library!
I received the two Ilona Andrews books (and a handmade stuffed animal) from the amazing Olivia, one of my oldest friends from Goodreads. No matter how many times I try to tell her NOT to send me things, she always manages to sneak me back a package. Considering how much I am enjoying the Kate Daniels books, I am hoping that The Edge works for me as well. Thanks, Olivia!
So, these are most of the books that I have recently added to my collection. I know many bloggers do weekly posts to talk about what they buy/request/check out from the library but I don't have the discipline to do that. Random posts every once in awhile is the way I have to go. I also added an entire bookshelf to the house recently, and it is already filled with backlog. One of these days I will have a place with a room I can make into a library!
