Books Purchased:
Love Begins in Winter by Simon Van Booy
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell
A Room With a View by E. M. Forster
Margherita Dolce Vita by Stefano Benni
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy
Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery
Another month where I bought fewer books than I read. :) I found a lot of great books this month, most of them at Strand. Two of these were purchased because I read a book that I loved so much I needed to buy the author’s other book (The Secret Lives of People in Love and Gourmet Rhapsody).
My book group is reading The Graveyard Book for October, so I’ll be re-reading it to prepare. Before I read it again, I want to read the book that inspired Neil Gaiman, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. I got the new extremely cute (and affordable) Puffin Classics edition.
I’m really loving Europa Editions – a publisher that translates popular books in Europe and makes them available in the US. (The Elegance of the Hedgehog and Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery are both Europa Editions.) Last year I was painfully aware of how my list of books read was lacking much diversity. It’s nice to see a publisher dedicated to bringing the best books in Europe into the US with great translations. So when I read a review Amanda posted of another Europa book, Margherita Dolce Vita, I was interested right away. Strand had a copy for 50% off, and I plan on starting it soon.
I’m also adoring Vintage Classics’ new editions – their covers are gorgeous. I have all their Jane Austen editions, and also Villette by Charlotte Bronte. So when I saw A Room With a View by E. M. Forster was out in a new Vintage Classics edition, I had to get it.
Books Read:
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (re-read)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (re-read)
Love Begins in Winter by Simon Van Booy
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandall
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
Blankets by Craig Thompson
George, Being George edited by Nelson W. Aldrich Jr.
(Odd and the Frost Giants is not pictured because I read a digital advanced reading copy of it.)
Previously reviewed:
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler
When You Reach Me
Odd and the Frost Giants
George, Being George
After re-reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and seeing the movie three times in the theater in July, I felt seriously unresolved. (Despite the fact that I’ve read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows twice and thus definitely know what happens.) So, soon after, I decided to open up book 7 for the third time. I think it really says something about the HP books that even though it was my third time through in three years, I still couldn’t put the book down. I think I’m going to end up re-reading all or most of the series every year. I can’t stay away from Hogwarts for too long.
Another book that was a re-read this month was The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I read it two years ago, and enjoyed it then. I probably would not have re-read it again so soon, but my friends and I selected it as the first book for our newly formed book group. It was an incredible novel to discuss together. We talked about the book for three full hours, and had an amazing conversation. This book is a great novel on its own, and I highly recommend it for book groups.
I adored Love Begins in Winter by Simon Van Booy. It’s a collection of five short stories. The stories are wonderful, mainly because of Simon Van Booy’s writing…it’s absolutely beautiful. Immediately after I finished it I had to buy The Secret Lives of People in Love, his first book of short stories.
And lastly, I read two graphic novel memoirs. Blankets is the story of Craig Thompon’s first love, and his growing up in general. It’s a beautiful graphic novel. The illustrations are lovely. I loved his story and felt the heartbreak and hopefulness of his experiences. The Impostor’s Daughter is about Laurie Sandall’s relationship with her father – a con man who has been lying and scamming his friends and family his entire life. It was an interesting story, and I think I appreciated the story more in graphic novel form that I would have a traditional memoir.
My complete Polysyllabic Spree book lists can be found here.
(This post was brought over from emilyw.vox.com. Click here for the original post and comments.)
