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The Sunday Salon: Library Book Sale Loot

The Sunday Salon.comI couldn’t let another Sunday go by without posting the books I picked up at our local university library book sale earlier this month. I love library book sales, but this one has always been particularly good because there’s such a wide variety of academic and popular nonfiction to choose from. It’s also really well-organized by topic, which makes it easier to browse.

But, without further ado, here’s my pile:

library book sale loot

The first book on the pile is Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Death in Africa by Mark Seal, which was an impulse grab during my last perusal of the Biography/Memoir table. The book is about Joan Root, an environmentalist and filmmaker, and her life and romance in Africa.

Next is The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life by Tom Reiss, another grab from the Biography/Memoir table about “a Jew who transformed himself into a Muslim prince in Nazi Germany.” That just sounds awesome.

I’ve had a oft spot for Joseph Conrad ever since I read Heart of Darkness in high school, which is why I brought home a copy of The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. I read Lord Jim in college and and didn’t like it as much, but I’m willing to give Conrad another shot.

I picked up Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley because I loved the movie and think the book might be funny. I think I read a “meh” review of it at one point, but for $.50 it’s worth a look.

I have a major weakness for buying essay collections, so of course I nabbed a copy of Major Modern Essayists by Gilbert H. Mueller and Alan F. Crooks. The problem is that I buy collections and then never read them! Honestly, I must have almost 10 of them on shelves that I just never seem to pick up. I also have this idea to try and read an essay a day for a full year, but that’s probably a pipe dream 🙂

I may have squealed out loud and scared an undergrad when I saw a copy of Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes on the popular fiction table. I still haven’t read the copy of Marlantes’ memoir I got at BEA (shame!), but perhaps now I can have a Marlantes Read-a-Thon some weekend.

And finally, The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida, a look at the growing role of creativity in the economy, which I think came to my attention after a friend read it a few years ago.

As for what I’m reading today… not much! I’ve been slowing working through The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, which I really like but also have to read carefully to be sure I’m understanding all of the subtext and social comedy. I also have a lot of blogging that I want to get doen today, so I’m not sure I’ll have much time to read. Happy Sunday everyone!

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Stephanie October 30, 2011, 1:53 pm

    I love library sales! They can be pretty dangerous though 😉

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:34 pm

      So dangerous. It’s hard to say no to books selling for less than a dollar.

  • Christina October 30, 2011, 2:04 pm

    Ooh, I’ll be interested in reading your thoughts on The Orientalist. The title is very provocative.

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:35 pm

      It is! I think I picked it up because of the subtitle — how do you skip something like that?

  • Amy October 30, 2011, 2:24 pm

    Aren’t library sales great? You found some really wonderful books at yours and bought a great mix of non-fiction and fiction!…Matterhorn alone is a great find but Wildflower sounds intriguing and I like Buckley’s work and though Thank you for Not Smoking was a very good and funny book.

    Enjoy!
    Happy Reading, Kim!

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:37 pm

      Yes, when I found Matterhorn I knew the sale was totally worth it. I’m glad Thank You for Smoking is good!

  • bermudaonion (Kathy) October 30, 2011, 3:06 pm

    It looks like you found some winners! I had no idea Thank You For Smoking started as a book.

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:37 pm

      I don’t think I knew that initially either. I love the movie though.

  • Cass October 30, 2011, 5:32 pm

    Such a manly pile of books! hahaha. I really want to read Matterhorn, and I did quite enjoy Thank You For Smoking (both the book AND the movie).

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:38 pm

      True, it is pretty manly. I wasn’t really paying attention to that. I’m glad you liked both of those too!

  • Kailana October 30, 2011, 5:41 pm

    That’s a good haul!

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:38 pm

      Yay, library!

  • Amused October 30, 2011, 6:13 pm

    I love library book sales too! We have a great one once a year and I always do way too much damage.

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:39 pm

      I’ve always liked this particular sale — the variety is pretty good.

  • Aths October 30, 2011, 10:30 pm

    Wait, Thank You for Smoking was actually a book first? I have to check it, the movie was great!

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:39 pm

      Yes, it was! I think maybe my sister told me that; I didn’t know it for a long time.

  • David Abrams October 31, 2011, 6:13 am

    You’re in for a real treat with Matterhorn–a novel that plunges you right into the thick of the Vietnam War. Great haul overall.

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:41 pm

      I’m not sure when I’m going to have time to read it, but I really want to. Maybe it’ll be my Thanksgiving vacation read?

  • Jeanne November 1, 2011, 9:37 am

    I’ve never met a Christopher Buckley book I didn’t love.

    • Kim November 3, 2011, 6:41 pm

      Good to know!