Mansfield Park (1814) - Jane Austen
There's a zillion editions of all of Jane Austen's novels, but this import at Daedalus Books looked pretty nice and the price was right. I haven't read any Austen in a few years, plus Vladimir Nabokov discusses the novel early in his book Lectures on Literature (which I hope to buy soon), providing even further impetus to purchase/read the book.
Trade Paperback - Price: $3.98
Foundling: Monster Blood Tattoo Book One (YA 2006) - D.M. Cornish
Mine's a British import, but the one being marketed in the U.S. is the paperback edition pictured on Amazon. My good friend Kelly mentioned this book awhile back, asking me if I'd heard anything about it. I didn't know much about it, but read the jacket at Daedalus and gave it the "first page" test and it passed. So there you have it.
Hardcover - Price: $3.98
The Outsiders (1967) - S.E. Hinton
Purchased at the Printer's Row Book Fair in Chicago. I'm really excited about this one. I didn't get to see S.E. Hinton (who was one of the speakers at the book fair), but I did snag a signed copy. Sure, it's a 2006 paperback, but hey, a signed S.E. Hinton? It's a no-brainer.
Signed Trade Paperback - Price: $10.00
Birds of America: Stories (1998) - Lorrie Moore
Another Printer's Row Book Fair purchase. Just because I've heard that Moore is a great writer and haven't yet read her stories.
Trade Paperback - Price: $5.00
Flannery O'Connor: Collected Works (Library of America 1988)
Also purchased at the Printer's Row Book Fair. I was about to leave the book fair when I saw a guy that had several LOA slipcased editions for sale. This one was (1) in superb condition and was (2) Flannery O'Connor. If you know me at all, you know that I adore Flannery O'Connor and would build a monument in her honor, deep in the heart of Georgia, complete with fine carvings of peacocks in marble, with... Sorry, sometimes I get carried away. Anyway, this volume contains Wise Blood, which I only have in a beat-up paperback.
Hardcover in slipcase - Price: $15.00
unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters (NF 2008) - David Kinnaman
I picked this one up at the library a few weeks ago, read the first chapter, and knew I wanted to buy it. Christians are supposed to represent Christ in the world, but we usually do a pretty lousy job of it. Kinnaman's book researches and analyzes data from 16-29-year-olds who hold negative perceptions of Christianity based on what they see Christians doing (or not doing) in the world on a day-to-day basis.
Hardcover - Price: $12.23
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel (2008) - David Wroblewski
I was very suspicious of this book. It's received glowing reviews from just about everyone who's picked it up. In fact I couldn't find a professional review that didn't like it. It's not that I always check out the reviews before I read a book, but when a novel is about a mute boy and his dogs, red flags start popping up all over the place. So what the heck - I bought it. I'll let you know what I think.
Hardcover - Price: $15.57
Total Book Purchases for June: $65.76
Total Book Purchases for May: $42.93
Yikes...
2 comments:
Dear Andy,
I noticed that you're reading EDGAR SAWTELLE and wonder if you might be interested in a review copy of another dog book, this one actually narrated entirely by a labrador (but no, it's not the Starbucks book).
A DOG AMONG DIPLOMATS (April 2008) is the second book in a quirky mystery series by J.F. Englert. The first book, A DOG ABOUT TOWN was published in May 2007, and the third book, A DOG AT SEA, is scheduled for publication in April/May of 2009.
I'm helping author J.F. Englert reach out to bloggers, and I'd be happy to send you review copies of either or both books if you're interested!
An overview of the books and excerpts from reviews already in are below.
Best,
Eleanor
adogabouttown@gmail.com
BULL MOOSE DOG RUN MYSTERY SERIES - A Dog About Town, A Dog Among Diplomats
In writing this fanciful mystery series, Englert adopts the daring and original conceit of employing a first-person narration by a labrador-cum-detective, Randolph. The first book in the series, A Dog About Town, was recognized with the 2007 fiction award from The Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA).
Unbeknownst to his owners, Randolph (a black lab) is both sentient and literate--even well-read, spending much of the time that he has to himself at their Upper West Side apartment immersed in books. A year before the first novel opens, Randolph's mistress Imogen disappears without a trace, leaving behind a broken-hearted and mystified boyfriend and dog.
In A DOG ABOUT TOWN, the object of Randolph's ability to read and to reason turns from private past time to undercover detective work as he gently prods his less-enlightened owner, Harry, toward the answers behind a suspicious death--which also holds clues to Imogen's disappearance. Combining his powers of reasoning with his superior sense of smell (100,000 more powerful than that of humans), he is able to literally sniff out the trail, as well as the guilty parties.
In A DOG AMONG DIPLOMATS, Randolph dedicates himself to a second murder case—this time one with ties to the U.N. and in which Imogen is implicated as a possible suspect.
Advance praise for A DOG AMONG DIPLOMATS
Englert's droll mix of mystery, philosophical musing about man and beast, political doings at the U.N. and the mysteries of love make this an elegant, funny and inspiring romp in the park. - Publishers Weekly
LibraryThing members on A DOG AMONG DIPLOMATS
"This book reminded me of two things, both very disconnected: the old-time movie serials where the heroine is always left in utmost peril until the next sequence and P.G. Wodehouse."
"the writing is sharp and witty"
"I couldn't help but fall in love with Randolph."
"a marvelous study of character, especially the dog's, and has some of the funniest writing I've ever read in the genre."
"Like Wodehouse, [Englert] often throws off phrases that you want to reread just for the sheer pleasure of it."
Eleanor, it sounds like a fun book, but I'm afraid I'm going to pass on it.
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