Last Book You Bought and Why

[Wilde woman]

When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris, because I'm an unabashedly wild flaming fangirl of his

Tales of Beedle the Bard - JK Rowling, an Xmas gift for my best friend, aka Potter fanatic

Dante: The Poet, the Political Think, the Man - Barbara Reynolds, because while I was researching for my Dante paper, I discovered this book conjectured that Dante smoked weed to bring on his spiritual visions.

AND

T.H. White's The Once and Future King - Elisabeth Brewer for $70 on amazon!! Why amazon? Cuz I couldn't find it at any of the other SIX bookstores I snooped around. Why else? Cuz I'm an Arthurian superfreak. Oh, and I was writing a paper.

[Idril]

The Sagas of the Icelanders because I've decided I want to read all the sagas and this is a wonderful collection of several of them all in one place, only one of which I've already read so it was quite a bargain.

[thelastmelon]

I bought following books because I received a gift card for books this Christmas, and I only bought books that I've either been recommended or simply been wanting to read for a while.

Jasper Fforde: The Eyre Affair.
Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman: Good Omens.
John Ajvide Lindqvist: Handling the Undead.

[Mag Master 21]

Went on a bit of a buying spree thanks to this forum...

Doctor Zhivago (Everyman's Library)
Boris Pasternak; Hardcover

Oblomov (Everyman's Library)
Ivan Goncharov; Hardcover

The Complete Short Novels (Everyman's Library)
Anton Chekhov; Hardcover

The Adolescent (Everyman's Library (Cloth))
Fyodor Dostoevsky; Hardcover

Notes from Underground (Everyman's Library)
Fyodor Dostoevsky; Hardcover

Dead Souls (Everyman's Library)
Nikolai Gogol; Hardcover

The Collected Tales (Everyman's Library)
Nikolai Gogol; Hardcover

The Portrait of a Lady (Everyman's Library)
Henry James; Hardcover

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Everyman's Library)
James Joyce; Hardcover

The Master and Margarita
Mikhail Bulgakov

Les Miserables
Victor Hugo; Hardcover

The Child of Pleasure, 1898 edition
Gabriele D'Annunzio

The Triumph of Death, 1st Ed 1923
Gabriele D'Annunzio

The Flame of Life, 1919 edition
Gabriele D'Annunzio

[Phranchesskah]

I have come up with a plan with my friend, in which we each buy a book from a second hand bookshop (a bookshop which we are both in love with), read the books, swap them a week later, read the swapped books and then re-donate them to the shop a week after that. Today was the first day, and I ended up purchasing three books. I tried to buy things that we'll both enjoy, and I didn't want anything heavy because this week I am hoping to read some other books too.

The first book I picked up was Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Høeg. This jumped out at me immediately because of the word 'snow' in the title. This week, we've had an more snow here than I have ever experienced in my life, so I thought it was quite fitting. I wasn't sure that my friend would necessarily enjoy it though, and I was after something slightly shorter (this around 400 pages; not long long long but I am aiming to read quite a lot this week and wanted something really light).

The second book was Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. This is exactly the sort of thing I was after; entertaining and light.

The third book was JPod by Douglas Coupland. I just couldn't help myself.

Unfortunately when I came home, my mum immediately told me that she has both of the former two books so I needn't have spent money on them. I can't really get a refund as it's a charity shop, but oh well. At least I've donated money to a nice charity and therefore feel like a good citizen. ;p

[Bumbeli]

I've read the first one, Miss Smilla's feeling for snow quite a while ago, it was a good read. A few weeks later I saw the movie, and was really disappointed.
The movie version of High Fidelity on the other hand is really really great, I never read the book but the movie with John Cusack is among my favourite movies of the last years.

@topic: Finally got my hands on a copy of "The Sound and the Fury", I was looking for that for quite some time and I think it will be the next book after finishing the amazing Anna Karenina.

[Phranchesskah]

I tend to avoid films made from good books, if I can help it. In primary school I absolutely refused to watch any part of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone during an English lesson, because at the time I sincerely felt that the film had ruined my life. I was somewhat obsessed with the Harry Potter books at a young age, until the first film was released, to which I reacted ...quite negatively.

Films always tend to be disappointing if you've actually read the book, even if the film in and of itself is superb.

...sorry, off topic.

[Bumbeli]

Lucky me, I never read the book.

And I added Rawls- A theory of justice to my libary.
If I would only read books at the same rate I buy them.

[beth01081]

I recently went on a book buying trip just because i felt like it. I got three boks. Here they are:
The Importance of Being Earnest-Oscar Wilde- Because I watched the movie and wanted to see what the book was like. Btw, I loved it!!!

The Scarlet Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne- I just started reading it. It seem interesting but the language is complicated. We'll see.

A Passage to India- E. M. Forester- The back of it looked good. And it was relatively cheap. only 5 or 6 dollars.

So, now you know.
Bethy

[Janine]

Welcome to the forum, Beth! I have read all of the books below and love them all exceedingly. I love other books by the same authors. I read a lot of each. I am sure you will enjoy all three of these books.

I recently went on a book buying trip just because i felt like it. I got three boks. Here they are:
The Importance of Being Earnest-Oscar Wilde- Because I watched the movie and wanted to see what the book was like. Btw, I loved it!!!

I loved the film based on the play "The Importance of Being Ernest"; if you enjoyed that one, try "An Ideal Husband". I like that one even more. I believe that Rupert Everet is in both.

The Scarlet Letter- Nathaniel Hawthorne- I just started reading it. It seem interesting but the language is complicated. We'll see.

Incredible book; great complex characters; language may be a bit difficult, but stick with it, since it is worth the effort. Several films I found to be good, which are based on the novel. Another novel by Hawthorne which I enjoyed was "The House of the Seven Gables".

A Passage to India- E. M. Forester- The back of it looked good. And it was relatively cheap. only 5 or 6 dollars.

Great book and wonderful film version directed by David Lean. I own both and love them both equally. I also love his book "Room with a View". I read it twice. The movie with Helene Boheme Carter is marvelous.

So, now you know.
Bethy

Yes, now we know you real name. Nice to meet you!

[pagebypage]

The Grateful Dead and Philosophy.

I couldn't help myself. I'm a Dead Head.

[shortstoryfan]

Sense and Sensibility, because JBI said it was the only Austen novel he wouldn't recommend.

[Emil Miller]

The Grateful Dead and Philosophy.

I couldn't help myself. I'm a Dead Head.

But of course you are dear boy.

[subterranean]

I'm reading more non fictions these days and these are the last 3 books I bought in the last few days.

The Economic Naturalist: Why Economics Explains Almost Everything by Robert H. Frank
More or less like the series of Why Pinguin feet don't freeze. The book contains questions on many practical things that we found in every day life, which probably most people in general wouldn't know the answer. Maybe because we, in general, already have lots of important questions to answer, or simply because we just don't care about why milk is sold in rectangular container boxe yet soda drink is packed in a cylindrical can, or why cleaners charged more on women's clothes than men's, or why DVD box is larger than CD box though the two CDs are in the same size.

Why don't Spiders Stick to their Webs? by Robert Matthews.
Same genre, if I may call it genre. Questions and answers on practical things in life or things that we often found or heard every day from epxlained from scientific point of view. And it's pretty good for me personally as some of the explanations in the book deal with things that I used to believe to be true just because my mom told me while I was still a kid (don't read with dim light, you'll ruin your eyes!).

Falling off The Edge: Globalization, World Peace & Other Lies by Alex Perry
Award winning journalist shared his investigations and foundings on the victims of globalization, economic disparities, and the international efforts to achieve world peace.

[pagebypage]

But of course you are dear boy.

outta the ballpark!