January 2022

Yay! Two books arrived in the mail today.

Tinker, which I read on my iPad and knew I’d want to more readily re-visit.
And Project Elfhome, a collection of shorts in that same universe. Thankfully, the second came in hardback. Much easier on my old eyes.

And the third book in the same series arrived today; Wolf Who Rules.

First book buying spree of 2022:
Nick Hornby: The state of the union;
Nicolás Obregón: unknown male;
Banana Yoshimoto: Sweet hereafter;
Haruki Murakami: Desire;
Christina Henry: Red Queen;
Peter Swanson: Every vow you break

And today I bought (at Mannheim Main Station):
Cornelia Funke & Guillermo del Toro: Pan's Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun.

Picked up in an antique mall A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert Believe it or Not Ripley.

I need to slow the heck down. I've brought home a bunch of ARCs this month and on Saturday I bought 8 books!

First, the ARCs:
* All the Queen's Men by SJ Bennett (pub 3/22; humorous contemporary mystery, book 2 but I haven't read book 1)
* Angels of the Pacific by Elise Hooper (pub 3/22; historical fiction)
* The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper (pub 11/21; historical fiction)
* The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (pub 3/22; historical fiction)

I saw one of the Library of Congress Crime Classics on the shelf, ended up looking for more, and bought four (originally published between 1866 and 1940):
* The Dead Letter by Seeley Regester
* Final Proof by Rodrigues Ottolengui
* Jim Hanvey, Detective by Roy Cohen
* The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope by C.W. Grafton (Sue Grafton's father)

And succumbed to four more books:
* The Redemption of Philip Thane by Lisa Berne (historical groundhog day romance)
* The Rebel and the Rake by Emily Sullivan (historical romance)
* The Blitz Detective by Mike Hollow (historical mystery)
* How To Be Content: An Ancient Guide for an Age of Excess by Horace, trans by Stephen Harrison (philosophy; noticed it while straightening)

>6 ReneeMarie: 😂 You're awesome!

Nalbinding: What in the World is that? I have aspirations to learn Viking knitting. Wish me luck.

The Meaning of Jesus (plus) was specified in the syllabus for a class, and the library only had the original publication. So I ordered the (plus) edition. The (plus) materials prove to be not especially useful or relevant.😤

Do we include here random books that just appear without being purchased?
One of my neighbors sent out a blanket email that he has books to give away. Of course I had to stop by and browse. I was looking at his religion shelf, but it bled into history.
Doubt; a history
The Wisdom of Catholicism
Roger Williams: the Church and the State
Teaching a Stone to Talk - a lovely hardcover edition
Jefferson & Madison: the great collaboration
Intellectual History in America
Democracy in America, volumes 1 and 2

I was in the vicinity of a Barnes & Noble today, with a gift card in my pocket from a year ago. I bought a 2022 book calendar at 50% off and my own copy of We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

The day before yesterday I ordered online from my fave bookstore (because of special offers...🙄):
A series of unfortunate events: The bad beginning and A series of unfortunate events: The Reptile Room
by Lemony Snicket;
Simon Lelic: The house;
Carlos Montero: El desorden que dejas;
Mary Kubica: Pretty Baby.
The last three are psychological thrillers.

On a book-buying spree as it seems... 🙄😁 Today (Jan. 26) I bought:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: The sorrows of young Werther (in German);
Olga Tokarczuk: Drive your plow over the bones of the dead (in German - it's called 'Song of the bats' here...? I guess I'll understand that different title once I read the book?);
Christina Henry: Looking glass;
Kara Thomas: That Weekend;
Faridah Abike-Iyimide: Ace of Spades;
Maxine Mei-Fung Chung: the eighth girl;
Sosuke Natsukawa: The cat who saved books...

Had to stop by Powell's: https://www.librarything.com/venue/354/Powells-Hyde-Park today, their first day opening after another temporary closure around Christmas.

The timing was good; I just had some new bookcases installed yesterday! (Although, as my sisters have rightly pointed out, once I unpack the boxes in the back room, the new bookcases will be full.)

So I was pretty restrained:

Judge This, by Chip Kidd
Ichiro: Master Netsuke Carver, by Norman L. Sadfield and Huey G. Shelton

>14 lilithcat: oooh! Must look for the Ichiro book!

>7 Yuki-Onna: Not sure "awesome" defines me... Gluttonous, maybe.

>10 2wonderY: Fairly yummy list.

>13 Yuki-Onna: Goethe & Tokarczuk are on my "someday" list. I have the Natsukawa out from the library right now. Untouched as yet.

Not under control yet, as you will see.

One ARC: One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle (pub 3/22; contemporary fiction with a touch of fantasy)

And 4 purchases today:
* Miss Austen by Gill Hornby (historical fiction)
* A More Perfect Union by Tammye Huf (historical fiction)
* That Affair Next Door by Anna Katharine Green
* Escape from Paris: A True Story of Love and Resistance in Wartime France by Stephen Harding

I haven't actually bought anything this month, but I do have birthday money, and I am trying to decide what to buy with it. This is a very difficult problem, though obviously one that I am happy to have.

>17 Julie_in_the_Library:: 😁 Perfect!
>16 ReneeMarie:: Oh yes, awesome definitely defines you! There's no rule someone can't have several adjectives defining them, right? So: awesome and gluttonous!

Ok, so I went completely off the rails this month... 😎
But today is the 31st, so I won't be able to buy any more books this January!!! -Apart, of course, from the ones bought today at my fave local bookstore ... 😁:

Joyce Carol Oates: Blonde (in German);
Paolo Coelho: Manual of the Warrior of Light (in German);
Lydia Benecke: Psychopathinnen (= female psychopaths; non-fiction);

To excuse myself a bit: the three above were the only ones I bought full price. The rest all were in the bargain section (they had a lot of English books for a few € each, so HOW could I resist?):
Alex North: The whisper man;
Amy Heydenrych: The pact;
Annie Ward: Beautiful bad;
Mark Billingham: Their little secret;
Stephen King: Flight or fright;
Riku Onda: The Aosawa Murders;
Pico Iyer: A beginner's guide to Japan (non-fiction).
That's it... 😁

You reminded me to check my mailbox. I count them when they arrive.
Why Four Gospels? came today.

The Lost Man by Jan Harper

Burning Sunday by Michael McCoy

Came by mail.
The latest from one of my favorite authors.
Lily: A Tale of Revenge by Rose Tremain

Great collection from my charity shops.

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
March by Geraldine Brooks
Larry's Party by Carol Shields
The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill

Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg

The Green Road by Anne Enright