Category Archives: book haul

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Bookish Travels: NYC Edition

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Warning: this is a very nerdy and picture-heavy post 🙂

I’ve been MIA from the blog a bit lately, mainly because of work, but also because last week I went to visit two of my friends from grad school in New York. I go to the city pretty often (usually a few times a year) but this was my first trip since I started book blogging and bookstagramming, so I decided that in addition to catching up with my friends (which was amazing!) I was going to nerd out hard.

And nerd out I did! I had the opportunity to do some awesome bookish sightseeing, as well as add a bunch of books to my ever-expanding TBR shelf, because I have a book buying addiction that I’m really not even attempting to curb at this point. The main event I was looking forward to, book-wise, was a visit to the Strand, the famously gigantic indie bookstore (18 miles of books!). I’ve been twice before and absolutely love climbing up the ladders to explore its gigantic shelves.

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My first bookish stop was Chelsea Market, which I’ve somehow never been to before. I used my book-ray vision to find this extremely cute bookstore, where I stared hungrily at all of the books; they had some gorgeous editions of modern classics that I somehow resisted buying.

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The next day, I stopped for a snack at a coffee shop my friend recommended, as she had passed it by and immediately thought of me when she noticed the wall of books inside: Ground Central Station on East 52nd. I loved the interior, which was dimly lit, with eclectic furniture and a wall of bookshelves; it seemed like it would be a perfect place to escape the craziness of the city and pop open a book.

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I then headed toward a main literary New York landmark, and one I was embarrassed not to have visited in the past: the New York Public Library!

I used to live in Boston and was pretty obsessed with the Boston Public Library; now I am totally devoted to my local library system that has the most ridiculously wonderful (and frequent) used book sales that I have ever encountered. But now I know that the NYPL, as well, is going to hold a special place in my library-obsessed heart.

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First of all, the library really builds up your anticipation as you walk along East 41st aka Library Way; there are plaques set into the sidewalk with quotes from famous writers that you read as you walk.

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Then you finally get there and see the humongous library in all its glory:

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And then you go inside and start geeking out about how beautiful it is:

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And then you discover that there is a STORE inside the library that not only sells books and bookish accessories but whose proceeds also benefit the library system! Seriously, this is a fantastic idea and one that I wish other libraries took advantage of (I’m looking at you, Boston). I ended up buying: a tote bag; a book of love poems by Pablo Neruda; and a mug with a Jane Austen quote about reading on one side and the NYPL lion on the other.

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The moral of this story is: if you are a bookish person and you happen to be in New York, GO TO THE LIBRARY. You will not be sorry!!

My last bookish stop was the main event: the Strand!

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Honestly, I was so wowed by the library that the Strand wasn’t quite as exciting for me as it was the first two times I’ve gone. But it was still awesome! And I still bought a bunch of books!

If you’ve never been to the Strand, it has a bunch of really fantastic aspects that I always enjoy. The basement floor has reduced price books, all of which are in great condition; there are sooo many bookish goodies including mugs, clothing, bags, writing accessories, etc; the shelves extend up so high that you have to use strategically placed ladders to find the books you want; and the display tables are excellently curated with not only a New Books table but also tables for Banned Books, books you may have missed, books everybody loves, etc. And then there are the stacks, which are ridiculously extensive and so fun to spend time exploring.

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I ended up buying another mug (this one says “A well-read woman is a dangerous creature”) and four books: Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson, and Nobody is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey.

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Also, on a non-bookish note, do any of you watch Unreal? Because this happened:

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Does anyone have any recommendations for bookish spots in NYC? I want to make a list of new places to check out during my next visit 🙂

book haul

April Library Book Sale Haul, Part 1

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There were book sales at three of the main libraries in my city this month, which made my April book buying absolutely out of control. I’m lucky to live in a city with this many libraries and this many sales (my favorite 2 libraries have sales every 4-6 months, and occasionally I’ll hit another library sale if I’m in that area). Usually the sales don’t all fall together like this, and usually all the library sales aren’t this good! Sometimes I’ll walk out of a sale with nothing, or only find one or two tempting titles. But this time…this time I struck gold at not one, not two, but three sales!

Here’s what I picked up at Book Sale #1:

Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins: I was totally shocked to find this at a used book sale, since it just came out last September. I added it to my TBR pretty much instantly after hearing about it, and feel like this is the book I’ll end up picking up first. It’s a near-future scifi set in Southern California, and it’s an ARC, and I’ve never read an ARC before. If anyone has, how much do they tend to differ from the final book?

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: this won the National Book Award in 2011, and centers on a pregnant teenager and her family in Mississippi; it sounds like it will be heartbreaking.

Neuromancer by William Gibson: this is sort of a sci-fi classic (although it was published in the 80’s) and I’ve heard it referenced so much that I need to experience it for myself.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende: Generational saga with magical realism that sounds like it’ll be completely absorbing.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: I got really into Marquez senior year of high school when I read both One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, and then somehow have not picked up one of his books since then.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll: total impulse purchase, but for $1 it’s hard not to give in! It was sitting next to Gold, Fame, Citrus and then suddenly it was in my hand. It’s gotten Gone Girl comparisons and that’s enough of a temptation for me to try it. Has anyone read this? Would you recommend it?

And I’ve already read these two, but I like to buy books that I loved if I see them at library book sales so that I can reread them or refer back to the stories:

Euphoria by Lily King: highly recommended short novel about anthropologists in New Guinea

Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson: mystery surrounding a murder that delves into racism against Japanese-Americans in the WWII era

 

 

Parts 2 and 3 of my library book sale buying binge to come! Try not to judge me too hard for my excessive book purchases 😉

 

book haul, Bookish Events

Recent Bookish Events: Adventures at a Small Press Book Fair and a Reading with N.K. Jemisin!

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Something I’ve realized over the past few years is how much I absolutely love attending bookish events. Readings, library book sales, author speaking series–it never fails to reignite my passion for books, reading, and writing. I was able to hear Kelly Link read from her newest short story collection Get in Trouble last winter, and this year I was able to listen to both Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dinaw Mengestu speak about their lives, their writing, and current social and political issues during the Babel reading series in my city. I also went to hear Alyssa Palombo, a local author, read from her novel The Violinist of Venice at a local independent bookstore, and although historical romance isn’t typically my genre, I was very intrigued by the concept and added yet another book to my TBR.

 

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Last weekend, I was able to make it to the 10th annual Buffalo Small Press Book Fair, and I really wish I had known about it the nine previous years as well. It’s a very friendly community event geared toward all things bookish: it includes local small presses, authors, comics artists, and bookish crafts.

Because I physically cannot be around books without buying some of them, I picked up 3 books at the BSPBF:

 

The Girl Wakes: StoriesDeath My Own WayLeo@Fergusrules.Com: A Novel

 

I picked up two of the books at the Leapfrog Press booth, where they had amazing prices and fascinatingly weird story concepts. I was told that I shouldn’t pick up anything by author Michael Graziano if I didn’t like weird books, so I immediately grabbed one of his called Death My Own Way. I was also enticed to pick up leo@fergusrules.com by Arne Tangherlini because it was described to me as “Alice in Wonderland on the internet.” I mean, obviously I need to read that right away. And I absolutely cannot wait to start reading The Girl Wakes by Carmen Lau, which I found at the Alternating Current Press booth–it’s a fantasy short story collection featuring female-centric fairy tales. I also picked up the gorgeous bag in the picture from artist Claudia E. Berger.

Being at the small press book fair made me realize that I haven’t been paying enough attention to the importance of reading books published by local authors and independent presses. I feel like it’s difficult to break out of the habit of reading highly promoted new releases and books already famous, but I’d like to try. So, one of my bookish goals for the rest of the year, and carrying over into next year, will be to track down and read more lesser-known small press books.

 

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I didn’t realize until recently that I’d completely forgotten to blog about another recent bookish event–I was able to hear N.K. Jemisin, one of my absolute favorite authors, read her newest soon-to-be-released short story! I don’t want to give away too much (she told us that it would be published in the next few months by Tor.com) but it’s a contemporary fantasy set in New York, and the main character is a young homeless man coming to awareness of the ancient threat facing his city.

I also was able to meet N.K. Jemisin and asked her to sign my copy of The Fifth Season, during which I completely geeked out and had no idea what to say to her. I was totally intimidated by her awesomeness.

 

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What bookish events have you all attended lately? I’d love to hear about them!

book haul

March Book Haul!!!

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This month, I did not go a little crazy with book buying. I went a lot crazy.

But! I am so ridiculously excited about all of the books I found this month, so it works out 🙂

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell – I fell in love with the BBC miniseries version of this novel (I’ve seen it 3 or 4 times) and really wanted to be able to read the original novel. This will also help me with my goal to read more classics this year.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami – After reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle last year, I’ve been anxious to start another Murakami book, and the concept of this one has fascinated me for years.

Embassytown by China Mieville – I’ve read two previous books by this author (Perdido Street Station and The City and the City), and both were wonderfully weird. This one is supposedly focused on language and the interactions between humans and an alien race.

And Again by Jessica Chiarella – I won this awesome and unique-sounding book in a giveaway from Tor.com! It’s a debut novel about disabled people given a second chance at life in perfect new versions of their bodies.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – I loved this book so much that I wasn’t content just to check it out from the library and read it once–I had to buy a copy so that I could repetitively re-read it.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski – I’m so fascinated by this complex and notoriously difficult to read horror novel.

The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead by J. Gordon Melton – because of course I need a reference text for my love of vampires.

 

 

book haul, TBR

February Book Haul

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I cannot overstate my excitement about the books I bought this month. Usually I tend to be more restrained with my bookish purchases, or else I find most of my books at used bookstores and Friends of the Library book sales, but this month I went crazy with some Barnes & Noble gift cards I’d gotten for the holidays. It’s going to be hard for me not to read all of these immediately. Here’s what I picked up:

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – this is cheating, because one of my family members received this as a gift for the holidays and decided he didn’t want it (who turns down a book?!). Being the opportunistic book poacher that I am, I immediately snagged this historical fiction Pulitzer Prize winner so that I could find out what all the hype is about. I feel like I’m always saying that I don’t read historical fiction very often, but I actually do, and I’m looking forward to this.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – one of my bookish goals for the year was to read more classics, and another was to read more long books, since they tend to become my favorites. I also find it embarrassing that I have yet to read any classic Russian literature. I’m so intrigued by this story and plan to tackle it this spring.

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley – amnesia! Secret agents! Supernatural goings-on in London! I have my fingers crossed that this will be one of those books that sucks you in completely. And I apparently have good timing, since the sequel comes out in June.

Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood – Margaret Atwood is one of my absolute favorite authors and I’ve never read any of her short fiction. I hope it’s just as prescient and disturbing as her longer works.

Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt – this book sounds strange and creative, which is really all I want from a book. The author is compared to Kelly Link on the back blurb (see below!).

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link – I am a huge fan of Kelly Link’s short stories. I was lucky enough to be able to meet her at a reading in Boston where she read part of one of the stories from this book about an actor who played a demon lover in a hit movie–and was tortured when she stopped in the middle of the story! Since then I’ve looked forward to reading this latest collection. Hopefully it will be as surprising, intricate, and wonderfully weird as her other collections.

Grave Visions by Kalayna Price – I started this series a few years ago when I first discovered urban fantasy. I had just gotten fully caught up with Kate Daniels after binge-reading the first five books in about a week (apparently I didn’t study at all that week? Not sure how I did that) and was having a serious book hangover. I started a few other UF series and nothing was working for me (I always do this after I find a new genre or subgenre that I like–try to find something similar to assuage my craving–and it rarely works) when I discovered Alex Craft, a witch with necromancy powers involved in a love triangle between a hot fae guy and a hot grim reaper guy (I’m 100% Team Death, for any other Alex Craft fans reading this!) However, due to some personal struggles the author has been going through, there hasn’t been a new book in several years. Until now! It’s here!

 

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January Book Haul

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This month, I picked up 4 books I’m really excited about–one from B&N, and the other three from a really cool local used bookstore I found the other day. Seriously, it was amazing–I can’t resist any bookstores that have separate science fiction and fantasy sections. That always bodes well for a book-hunting trip. So here’s what I found:

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders — this is one of the books I’m most excited to read this year. The first B&N I went to hadn’t put it on the shelves yet, but I was able to find it at another location. I’m intrigued by the premise of two friends taking different paths to study science and magic, then reuniting to (possibly?) save the world.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood — Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite writers, and I’ve been wanting to reread this book ever since I checked it out from my high school library. It’s disturbing and engrossing, like all of her books, and has a profound feminist impact.

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank — dystopian/post-apocalyptic reads are one of my favorite genres, and this comes highly recommended from a friend. It focuses on small-town life after a nuclear holocaust and was written in the 1950’s.

When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro — I’m currently reading Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, and I love his writing style that focuses heavily on the unreliable nature of memory. This book’s plot revolves around a detective attempting to solve the mystery of the disappearance of his parents that occurred when he was a child.