Last Book You Bought and Why

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Originally Posted by Dark Muse

No I have not. I know it feels like I have been here forever. Haha!

But I have only read The Rainbow and Sons and Lovers as far as novels go.

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Yeah, really it does to me; that is because you stay up late like I do.

Well, now you have the three most noted ones. I love "Women in Love" - it probably is my favorite of all of Lawrence's novels. The discussion went quite well here; in fact, manolia wants to us to discuss "The Rainbow" sometime next year. We had thought of doing it this year but already the year is at an end. Virgil agreed that late winter/early spring would be a good prediction. I hope you can join in the discussion group at that time. It is great book.

Dark Muse, you would laugh if you saw my 3 editions of the short stories - two are completely fallen appart. In fact, it got to the point where I simply took them appart; that way I could read each story, without being bothered with the whole book in pieces. I wish Cambridge would come out with one edition containing all the short stories, of which there are 3 editions currently. You were lucky to find the 3rd. Those are not easy to come across. I bought mine off Amazon and as I say, two are now in pieces.

Philip Pullman's "The Amber Spyglass" and "Crystal Legends" (I forgot the name of the author, but the book's a compilation of stories related to crystals.)

La France contemporaine - I forget the author
Daniel Deronda - George Eliot
Pudd'nhead Wilson - Twain
Huckleberry Finn - Twain
A Connecticut Yankee - Twain
All for classes.

Everyman - Philip Roth
It was only $6!

Today i purchased:

Jude The Obscure - Thomas Hardy: because of all the recommendations on here (the lady at the bookshop said "It's good to see someone reading Hardy" :) )
All Quiet On The Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque: because i wanted a book on WW1.
and two lovely hardbacks of The Trial - Franz Kafka and The Portrait Of A Lady - Henry James.
For a total of 30NZD(15USD).

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Originally Posted by Tallon

All Quiet On The Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque: because i wanted a book on WW1.

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I love that book! The movie was pretty good, but there is so much more to the story with the book, of course. It is excellent.

I just bought Joyce's "Ulysses". The Modern Library edition with the interesting dust jacket photo of Joyce with an eyepatch. He saw the human condition truer with 1 eye and glaucoma then most. The minutiae, the ego, the absurdity of existance. I'm hoping a good long read over these winter months, and help understanding the complexity of the text from new friends here, will quell my anxiety and make me feel good about the accomplishment.

Leviathan by Paul Auster

because I need my fix!

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Originally Posted by LadyWentworth

I love that book! The movie was pretty good, but there is so much more to the story with the book, of course. It is excellent.

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You know, I never did read this book, but I loved the movie; I saw it not long ago, since my library owns it. Amazing film. I do understand that there has to be so much more in the book though; there always is. Maybe I should put that one on my reading list.

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Originally Posted by Janine

You know, I never did read this book, but I loved the movie; I saw it not long ago, since my library owns it. Amazing film. I do understand that there has to be so much more in the book though; there always is. Maybe I should put that one on my reading list.

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Did you see the 1930 film? There is one from '79 that stars Richard Thomas, too. I searched and searched for this book, but I could never find it anywhere until I got a job at B&N. I was thrilled to find it there (and The Lost Weekend - have you read that book or seen the film?). After I finished AQOTWF I was very depressed and I remembered thinking "Why did I just read this?". There is something about this novel, for me, that brings me so down, but I love it at the same time. The point of view through the eyes of the narrator is so realistic and, at times, quite haunting. That is how I felt about this. I loved it. I think it is worth a read. Definitely.

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Originally Posted by LadyWentworth

Did you see the 1930 film? There is one from '79 that stars Richard Thomas, too. I searched and searched for this book, but I could never find it anywhere until I got a job at B&N. I was thrilled to find it there (and The Lost Weekend - have you read that book or seen the film?). After I finished AQOTWF I was very depressed and I remembered thinking "Why did I just read this?". There is something about this novel, for me, that brings me so down, but I love it at the same time. The point of view through the eyes of the narrator is so realistic and, at times, quite haunting. That is how I felt about this. I loved it. I think it is worth a read. Definitely.

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You know; I don't know which film I saw now but I tend to think it was the older one - the 1930 version. I can't really remember that much about it either. I saw it a few years back; probably due for a second viewing. I just knew I was highly impressed with it. Another film I love about wartime is about these two young men in the south of Africa who are runners, for the outfit. Both youths are Australian - actually one is played by a very young Mel Gibson...the name is maybe 'Calapala' sp? It is about a historic battle fought there.

By the way, who wrote "All Quiet on the Western Front" and how long a book is it?

No, I never read "The Lost Weekend". Who wrote that novel? LW, I did not know you had worked at B&N...how fun that would be. I love being in that store....and my local library...

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Originally Posted by Janine

You know; I don't know which film I saw now but I tend to think it was the older one - the 1930 version. I can't really remember that much about it either. I saw it a few years back; probably due for a second viewing. I just knew I was highly impressed with it. Another film I love about wartime is about these two young men in the south of Africa who are runners, for the outfit. Both youths are Australian - actually one is played by a very young Mel Gibson...the name is maybe 'Calapala' sp? It is about a historic battle fought there...

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Well, the one in '79 was in color, if that helps with the memory at all. :) Is that Mel Gibson movie called "Gallipoli", or something like that. I have heard of it, but I have never seen it. I will have to look into it. I seem to enjoy war films, and I don't know why. I just do. :)

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By the way, who wrote "All Quiet on the Western Front" and how long a book is it?

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It was written by Erich Maria Remarque. It isn't too long at all. Maybe the one that I read was around 200 pages. Maybe more than that. I think it is all based on what copy you are reading. It actually is a pretty quick read, I think, though.

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No, I never read "The Lost Weekend". Who wrote that novel?

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This was written by Charles Jackson. Have you seen the film with Ray Milland? It is the same story, but again, there is more to the story in the novel. If you read it, you will see what I mean. Even if you never saw the movie, you would be able to figure out what wouldn't have been included in a 1945 film.

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LW, I did not know you had worked at B&N...how fun that would be. I love being in that store....and my local library...

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It really wasn't fun at all. The idea of it was fun, but when I was actually working there (and with some of those people :rolleyes:) , it wasn't pleasant at all. In fact, I always blame B&N for the start of the downfall of my life. Long story! :)

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Originally Posted by LadyWentworth

Well, the one in '79 was in color, if that helps with the memory at all. :) Is that Mel Gibson movie called "Gallipoli", or something like that. I have heard of it, but I have never seen it. I will have to look into it. I seem to enjoy war films, and I don't know why. I just do. :)

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Well, I think it was the older one - it was in black and white for certain. Who starred in that one? Yes, the film was "Gallipoli" and it is fantastic. You must see it. I watched it twice now. I think my library owns it. I would even like to buy it but usually I don't buy war films as a rule. Still this one would be worth owning. I may do so someday. Ever see this very obscure film with Mel called 'Tim', with Piper Laurie. I bought it on a dollar bin and I like it. Mel is so young and wears the shortest shorts I ever saw on a guy before - they actually sort of make you laugh. The story is about a mentally challenged guy and the woman who changes his life. It was good I thought, rather sweet story.

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It was written by Erich Maria Remarque. It isn't too long at all. Maybe the one that I read was around 200 pages. Maybe more than that. I think it is all based on what copy you are reading. It actually is a pretty quick read, I think, though.

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Oh good a short book; seems lately those are the only kind I can tackle and actually finish. I am liking short fiction more and more lately. I can accomplish more that way and not feel overwhelmed. Currently I am plodding through the ending of a 380 plus page book and will be happy when I am done it, alhough I am enjoying it; just can't read that much each night...so it is going slowly.

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This was written by Charles Jackson. Have you seen the film with Ray Milland? It is the same story, but again, there is more to the story in the novel. If you read it, you will see what I mean. Even if you never saw the movie, you would be able to figure out what wouldn't have been included in a 1945 film.

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Nope, never saw the film, but like Ray Milland. I will see if my library might have it or the book.

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It really wasn't fun at all. The idea of it was fun, but when I was actually working there (and with some of those people :rolleyes:) , it wasn't pleasant at all. In fact, I always blame B&N for the start of the downfall of my life. Long story! :)

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Yeah, those things always sound like fun, but then routine sets in and sometimes co-workers can spoil it, too and nasty customers for certain; I worked in retail for years, so I know. However, those were the safter jobs I had. I worked around really toxic chemicals at a few printing houses - thought that was a step up, but now I am questioning whether that did not actually cause my health issues. It is highly possible and I might even have a case....long story...but a friend of mine also worked there and has similar issues.

-The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
-Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.

"The Ancestor's Tale" by Richard Dawkins as a Christmas gift for my best friend.

The Given Day - Dennis Lehane
I've read and loved his other books, all of them, and simply had to get this one as well.

The Adventures of Amir Hamza by Ghalib Labhnaul and Abdullah Bilgrami

It is an Indo-Persian epic of tales dating back to the middle ages that was definitively collected in the 19th century by the authors. The work has been described as something of tapestry of tales not unlike the Arabian Nights or the Decameron and a heroic epic worthy of the Iliad and the Odyssey or the great European romances. It certainly sounds quite promising... and relates to by current interests in Persian/Middle-Eastern art and literature.

Dubliners with lithographs by Louis le Brocquy - a gift for someone else.

American Short Story Masterpieces -- edited by Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks
Crime and Punishment -- by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Heart of Darkness and Other Tales -- by Joseph Conrad
The Good Soldier -- by Ford Madox Ford

And also because I got them for a very good price.

The Outsider. It is book club selection for next year

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Originally Posted by Joreads

The Outsider. It is book club selection for next year

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Ooops...I still have that book from English class 4 years ago...

On the Road - Jack Kerouac

I had it recommended to me by several different people, and it was only $10 which is dirt cheap for a new book.

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Originally Posted by Dori

Ooops...I still have that book from English class 4 years ago...

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Is it any good Dori? I have only just started it so it is a little hard to tell.

Jo

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Originally Posted by Joreads

Is it any good Dori? I have only just started it so it is a little hard to tell.

Jo

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It was okay, I guess. I wasn't a big fan, but apparently a lot of people in my class really liked it.

Sadly, The Gift by Richard Paul Evans because someone asked for it for Christmas.

Time for me to explore the sufi poets. So i bought these three books:

1) Hafiz - The Gift
2) Rumi - The Essential Rumi
3) Omar Khayyam - Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

"If on a winter's night a traveler" By Italo Calvino.

This one was quite spontaneous, since i picked the book and read the first page (something i never do in general) and it seemed quite fascinating.

Mesha Selimovich(Meša Selimović) - Dervish and The Death
Finally found it, the best book from Balkan so far, one of the greatest ever; I have quotes from it above my bed :D

The Luzhin Defence by Vladimir Nobokov.

Because it is about a chess player and, although I don't play it very well, the game fascinates me.

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Originally Posted by manolia

"If on a winter's night a traveler" By Italo Calvino.

This one was quite spontaneous, since i picked the book and read the first page (something i never do in general) and it seemed quite fascinating.

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I finished reading it a week ago. I think you will like it, it's a great choice. No wonder you've decided to buy after reading the first page. When I started it I thought it is going to be a great read after I read the first sentence. It makes you feel comfortable as a reader, makes you think the book was written specially for you :p. It consist mainly of beginnings and although at some point this become a bit tiring, it is definitely worth it. It's one of the best books I've read lately. I hope you will like it too :)

'Where the Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak, ostensibly for my baby daughter, but actually for my own visual and verbal devourances.

would be south beach diet... why because im over weight:yawnb:

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Originally Posted by gypsy_100%

would be south beach diet... why because im over weight:yawnb:

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That has to be one of the most logical answers on this forum.

Today I bought three new books :D
"The Complete Poems of Walt Whitman" - the Wordsworth Edition. I've been searching for it for a few months and finally saw it in the book store. It is actually quite hard to find here ;)
"The Collector" by John Fowles - I've heard good things about Fowles and I decided to read something written by him.
"The Sea, The Sea" by Iris Murdoch I've read one of her books and I was quite impressed so I was curious about her other works.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami - I've heard good things about the author and book in general.
Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper - I misplaced or lost my copy.

The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox

I was looking for a good murder, mystery read....I shouldn't have bought it, I needed the money for something else, but I just couldn't resist. lol.

The ground beneath her feet - Salman Rushdie, and two seconds later, Shalimar the Clown.

I've been meaning to read Rushdie for a long time, and I just couldn't resist the first title, and since they were both quite cheap (I work in a bookstore, and get a substantial discount) I bought the second one as well, since i've read more about it.

Notes from the underground
Possession


I bought them for school

The Complete Works of Walt Whitman

I bought it because when I was in Grade three, and still excelling academically, my teacher Mr.M gave me a book of poems by old uncle Whitman. I was hooked. Unfortunately, when I moved out of home, I lost all of my books. So this is the re-start of my poetry collection.

Queen, Empress, Concubine, Fifty Women Rulers from the Queen of Sheba to Catherine the Great by Claudia Gold


Why: It was a steal for the price I got on it and it looked like a great reference.

http://www.trutv.com/graphics/photos...ishment150.jpg

I don't know why. It was three dollars at the book store. I own three copies of this book, as of now.