(of the house, that is….)
Yes. I’m afraid the sorry state of the book piles continues with yet more arrived chez Ramblings… and here is the latest bunch:
Pretty, aren’t they? But not small… And probably not much I can say in mitigation, although there *are* yet more review books:
All of these are titles I requested and want very much to read – in fact, I’ve just finished “Malacqua” which was quite stunning and it’s going to take me a while to work out what I want to say about it. I’ve started the M. John Harrison and the first few stories have been outstanding, so I’m very excited about that one. And “Locus Solus” just sounds – very intriguing…..
Ahem. As I am prone to say, damn you Verso Books with your money-saving offers! Currently, the publisher has 50% of ALL of their books (so I make no excuse for using shouty capital letters because that’s an offer worth shouting about!). Yes, I know I have the e-book of “October”, but I loved it so much I wanted the tree version. And I’ve wanted “Night Walking” for ages too, and this was the time to buy it. 50% off. With a bundled e-book if one is available. Go check out Verso. Now!
This was a beautiful and unforeseen treat, in the form of the wonderful Seagull Books catalogue. It’s known to be a work of art in its own right and I was over the moon when the publisher kindly offered to send me a copy. It has masses of content including contributions from such blogging luminaries as Melissa, Joe, Anthony and Tony, so I plan to spend happy hours over the Christmas break with it. Plus they publish Eisenstein – how exciting!!!
As for this – well, it came from The Works over the weekend when I was browsing for Christmas gifts. I picked it up because it looked pretty, imagining I would find it a bit sappy or soppy, stuffed with twee verse. Well, there *are* the usual romantic love poems (the classics, which is no bad thing) but there were some powerful pieces I didn’t know, including one by Marina Tsvetaeva. I was hesitating till I looked at the last poem in the book, by Owen Sheers, and it was so stunning I had to buy the book…
And finally – a little bit of madness in the Oxfam:
This weighs a bloody ton, frankly, and I ended up lugging it round town for hours. But – it cost £1.99 and how could I resist pages like this:
and this????
Mayakovsky! A Bulgakov picture I’ve never seen! And so much more! I confess OH looked at it a little askance and sighed, but it was a no-brainer. My shoulder is still recovering, however…
So – I’m definitely still seizing the book – time for another clear out, methinks…. =:o
Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings 
Dec 04, 2017 @ 07:39:42
Oh my! That’s a big pile if books! Night walking sounds amazing, enjoy your haul, you have lots to keep you busy.
Dec 04, 2017 @ 09:31:26
I certainly do – just not enough time to read!!!!
Dec 04, 2017 @ 07:44:21
What a haul! Well done you 🙂 (I’m shameless – anything that makes me feel better about my own toppling TBR 😀 )
Dec 04, 2017 @ 09:31:10
LOL! Yes, seeing other people’s tottering piles is oddly soothing….
Dec 04, 2017 @ 08:28:08
You should be locked away, not on;y for the good of your house foundations, it also for being a bad influence on the rest of us 😉
Dec 04, 2017 @ 09:30:37
Always happy to be a bad influence! :)))
Dec 04, 2017 @ 08:28:39
I’m so glad you got a copy of the Seagull catalogue. It is a treasure in itself, as are their books. I will also be picking up at least one Verso title before year end too. I would love that M John Harrison but it’s a UK order so I think I’ll hold off until after the new year. I also have Malacqua and was looking at it tonight. I have three recent And Other Stories books from my subscription, plus another on its way and I’d like to try to squeeze one in before years end—I’m hoping for a December reading spree to get through a few of the infinite number of books I bought this year before I add more!
Dec 04, 2017 @ 09:30:21
That catalogue certainly is a thing of great beauty! And Verso books are just so tempting. Malacqua is I think my first from And Other Stories, and it’s remarkable – not sure how I can write about it. I think a December reading spree is going to be essential…!
Dec 04, 2017 @ 08:39:54
I enjoyed the serendipity of your blog update email following that of today’s word from Wordsmith – ‘bibliomania’. ‘Nightwalking’ was a very interesting book – follow on with Christine Corton’s ‘London fog: the biography’ (2015).
Not surprised about ‘Favourite love poems’ as Abse was an astute editor as well as a profound writer, and no doubt a good doctor, shame he’s not more of a household name. Must get myself a copy.
Dec 04, 2017 @ 09:02:26
Thanks for the London Fog suggestion – I shall check this out! And Abse is a name I know but I feel I don’t know his work very well, so I shall explore more! 🙂
Dec 04, 2017 @ 13:49:32
What a fabulous stack of books. I also have October and look forward to it.
Dec 04, 2017 @ 14:08:36
It’s a marvellous book – I hope you like it! 🙂
Dec 04, 2017 @ 15:41:12
A fascinating trove, Karen; I’m sure you’re thrilled. I just received a little package from the Book People, who we’ve spoken about before; they do some bargain bundles. Must post a pic of mine soon. Meanwhile I’ll go take a peek at Verso. Alma Books were having a good sale last week, too; not sure if it’s still on. When will we get the time to read all this?? Enjoy. Btw, when I was at school D. Abse came and gave us a talk on poetry and his work. Inspiring. M. Drabble came, too, another time. I guess that dates me…
Dec 04, 2017 @ 15:51:20
Yes, The Book People can be very dangerous – encouraging terribly bad book buying habits. Mind you, Verso and co with their offers are tempting too and apparently Pluto Press are running a 50% one too. *sigh*. I’m very jealous of the illustrious speakers you had at your school – we never got anyone like that….
Dec 04, 2017 @ 18:31:31
The last thing I need to hear is that there are book sales at the moment! Go away you temptress…..
Dec 04, 2017 @ 19:19:05
LOL! I’m just not good at not buying books – so I like to share that around! :)))
Dec 05, 2017 @ 14:22:27
I can manage quite well on my own thank you!!!
Dec 05, 2017 @ 14:35:21
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Dec 04, 2017 @ 19:54:52
That encyclopaedia of Russia was an absolute find, I can see exactly why you couldn’t leave it on the shelf. Amazing haul of books, I’m jealous.
Dec 04, 2017 @ 20:13:14
No, there was no way I could come out of the shop without it! Such a treasure! 🙂
Dec 04, 2017 @ 21:48:52
Well, I am sure those books would make good bricks for your foundation…
I’ve read a review of Malacqua in Asymptote and have been eager to get my hands on it – that and The Gurugu Pledge by Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel, about a refugee camp in Morocco. This is the kind of ‘cheerful’ but really memorable writing that I enjoy! I look forward to reading your review when you get around to it. But this time of year is not conducive to reviewing, I find.
Dec 05, 2017 @ 08:57:27
That’s a good point – instead of pruning and donating to clear the stacks, I’ll just use spare books to prop up the house…
Malacqua is just – incredible. I doubt I’ll be able to do it justice, but it’s definitely one of the reads of the year. Unforgettable.
Dec 04, 2017 @ 22:43:09
I read one of M John Harrison’s stories in the TLS the other day and was blown away by it—I hope you review the collection!
Dec 05, 2017 @ 08:55:22
His writing is incredible – I certainly will be reviewing the collection. It’s so good! 🙂
Dec 04, 2017 @ 23:22:45
I love your Cambridge encyclopedia! I have a thing about reference books, and wish I had collected more of them back in the day.
I can’t resist sales, either, and I often want a hard copy after reading an e-book.
I keep hearing that name M. John Harrison and must look him up because I haven’t the faintest idea who he is.
Dec 05, 2017 @ 08:54:59
I just couldn’t leave that encyclopedia behind – such fun to dip into, and a snapshot of a particular mindset at a particular time. MJH is definitely worth your time – a fine writer who straddles the genres and produces some remarkably fine work! One of our country’s best-kept secrets…. 😉
Dec 05, 2017 @ 11:04:23
What a wonderful pile of books, and I don’t see anything there you could have walked away from. Hopefully if you spread them out your foundations will survive.
Dec 05, 2017 @ 11:26:14
No – I really couldn’t have ignored these. And spreading them out is a good plan – after all, as the offspring have all left home, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t convert their old rooms into temporary libraries…. 😉
Dec 06, 2017 @ 17:00:08
Well, of course you had to bring that hefty tone back with you. Who else could give it a good home? And a 50% off sale cannot be ignored, because there might not be another and publishers need readers’ support. And you must follow up with so many good recommendations of books, else you aren’t being a good friend. Really, you had no choice.
Dec 07, 2017 @ 17:35:24
Exactly! Thank you for the justification…. :))))
Dec 07, 2017 @ 11:18:29
Great haul! And who could resist that encyclopaedia? I love Abse – and I’ve MET him, when I was a teenager. To my horror, I gave him MY poems – arghhhhh.
Dec 07, 2017 @ 17:33:18
Not me, that’s for sure! And how exciting to have met a Real Live Poet. I wouldn’t dare even try to write poetry, let alone offer them to anyone… =:o
The Last A to Z of the Year – Beyond Eden Rock
Dec 19, 2017 @ 19:04:13
Dec 19, 2017 @ 22:12:57
You need to check out the concept of antilibraries to justify unread books
Dec 20, 2017 @ 07:42:42
I just looked it up and found it defined as a corpus of potential learning. I like that a lot – thank you!!!
Dec 20, 2017 @ 07:51:45
I read about antilibraries on Apartment Therapy and it does make the TBR pile sound worthy rather than lazy! I also came across a Japanese word – tsundoku – which describes my habit of buying books and leaving them about unread…
Dec 20, 2017 @ 15:53:39
Anything that makes the TBR sound acceptable is fine by me. And that’s my favourite Japanese word… 😉