I couldn’t let another Sunday go by without posting the books I picked up at our local university library book sale earlier this month. I love library book sales, but this one has always been particularly good because there’s such a wide variety of academic and popular nonfiction to choose from. It’s also really well-organized by topic, which makes it easier to browse.
But, without further ado, here’s my pile:
The first book on the pile is Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Death in Africa by Mark Seal, which was an impulse grab during my last perusal of the Biography/Memoir table. The book is about Joan Root, an environmentalist and filmmaker, and her life and romance in Africa.
Next is The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life by Tom Reiss, another grab from the Biography/Memoir table about “a Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim prince in Nazi Germany.” That just sounds awesome.
I’ve had a oft spot for Joseph Conrad ever since I read Heart of Darkness in high school, which is why I brought home a copy of The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. I read Lord Jim in college and and didn’t like it as much, but I’m willing to give Conrad another shot.
I picked up Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley because I loved the movie and think the book might be funny. I think I read a “meh” review of it at one point, but for $.50 it’s worth a look.
I have a major weakness for buying essay collections, so of course I nabbed a copy of Major Modern Essayists by Gilbert H. Mueller and Alan F. Crooks. The problem is that I buy collections and then never read them! Honestly, I must have almost 10 of them on shelves that I just never seem to pick up. I also have this idea to try and read an essay a day for a full year, but that’s probably a pipe dream 🙂
I may have squealed out loud and scared an undergrad when I saw a copy of Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes on the popular fiction table. I still haven’t read the copy of Marlantes’ memoir I got at BEA (shame!), but perhaps now I can have a Marlantes Read-a-Thon some weekend.
And finally, The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida, a look at the growing role of creativity in the economy, which I think came to my attention after a friend read it a few years ago.
As for what I’m reading today… not much! I’ve been slowing working through The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, which I really like but also have to read carefully to be sure I’m understanding all of the subtext and social comedy. I also have a lot of blogging that I want to get doen today, so I’m not sure I’ll have much time to read. Happy Sunday everyone!
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I love library sales! They can be pretty dangerous though 😉
So dangerous. It’s hard to say no to books selling for less than a dollar.
Ooh, I’ll be interested in reading your thoughts on The Orientalist. The title is very provocative.
It is! I think I picked it up because of the subtitle — how do you skip something like that?
Aren’t library sales great? You found some really wonderful books at yours and bought a great mix of non-fiction and fiction!…Matterhorn alone is a great find but Wildflower sounds intriguing and I like Buckley’s work and though Thank you for Not Smoking was a very good and funny book.
Enjoy!
Happy Reading, Kim!
Yes, when I found Matterhorn I knew the sale was totally worth it. I’m glad Thank You for Smoking is good!
It looks like you found some winners! I had no idea Thank You For Smoking started as a book.
I don’t think I knew that initially either. I love the movie though.
Such a manly pile of books! hahaha. I really want to read Matterhorn, and I did quite enjoy Thank You For Smoking (both the book AND the movie).
True, it is pretty manly. I wasn’t really paying attention to that. I’m glad you liked both of those too!
That’s a good haul!
Yay, library!
I love library book sales too! We have a great one once a year and I always do way too much damage.
I’ve always liked this particular sale — the variety is pretty good.
Wait, Thank You for Smoking was actually a book first? I have to check it, the movie was great!
Yes, it was! I think maybe my sister told me that; I didn’t know it for a long time.
You’re in for a real treat with Matterhorn–a novel that plunges you right into the thick of the Vietnam War. Great haul overall.
I’m not sure when I’m going to have time to read it, but I really want to. Maybe it’ll be my Thanksgiving vacation read?
I’ve never met a Christopher Buckley book I didn’t love.
Good to know!