I was really good about not buying more books in the month or so up to our move at the beginning of the month… but then I sort of lost my mind and bought a ton of new books. In my defense, I got to visit three different bookstores when I was in the Twin Cities last weekend and I cannot resist books in bookstores.
The first stop was Common Good Books in St. Paul, the bookstore that Garrison Keillor owns. After meandering for quite awhile, I came across two titles that I’m really excited about:
- Minneapolis Madams: The Lost History of Prostitution on the Riverfront by Michelle Alexander, a look at the little-known history of prostitution in St. Paul.
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, a look at how people of color are disproportionately prosecuted and incarcerated because of the U.S. criminal justice system (and the war on drugs).
Later that evening, I met another friend at a local Barnes and Noble to wander around before our 10 year high school reunion. Despite my best efforts to only buy one book, I came out with three:
- The Undertaking: Life Stories from the Dismal Trade by Thomas Lynch, a collection of essays on the end of life that several people recommended after I shared this list of books.
- Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, fiction about a mysterious place called Area X and the twelfth expedition to understand it. This trilogy has been getting raves from the writers at Book Riot.
- Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, a classic my friend recommended as her favorite of Vonnegut’s novels.
While there, I managed to convince my friend to pick up The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell and tried to sell her on The Magicians by Lev Grossman (but they didn’t have it in stock – sad!).
Finally, on Sunday I made a quick stop into Half Price Books to check out their comics section. I hit a bonanza, grabbing three titles:
- Fun Home and Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel, two of the most commonly recommended graphic memoirs I’ve come across that I’ve been super curious to read.
- Reinventing Comics by Scott McCloud, a third comic on comics that looks at how comics have changed over time. I’ve read Understanding Comics and own Making Comics – it’s fun to complete the set.
Last week I also ordered a couple of books online (not pictured above) because I was just so dang excited to read them. They arrived right before my trip:
- What We See When We Read by Peter Mendelsund, an illustrated look at how we visualize when we read (so nerdy and so awesome).
- Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier, a new paperback version of a classic look at the female body.
Whew! Ten new books in the first 12 days of the month. I have a problem. Which ones should I pick up first?
Comments on this entry are closed.
Sounds like me! I cannot walk into a B&N without getting at least three books. I need more books like a need a hole in the head, but there you go. This is the way we are wired. I do really want to read Annihilation et al…someday. And I loved Fun Home, but really loathed Are You My Mother. I’ll be interested in what you think. Honestly I think Are You My Mother was written more for her than for us.
That’s an interesting response! I’ve been reading a ton of comics lately, but mostly fiction so I haven’t been writing about them much on the blog. I’m really looking forward to some graphic nonfiction and exploring that side of the format more.
Yeah, it’s pretty much a given that I’m going to buy a book when I go into an indie bookstore. It looks like you’re in for some good reading!
RIght? It’s impossible to go into an indie and not buy something.
Great graphic novel picks! I just picked up two by Mariko Tamaki and can’t wait to get to them.
I’ve been losing my mind lately as well. At least in part due to my Panels participation. I want to buy ALL the comics.
I am so excited to see what the folks at Panels are up to — the comics recommendations I’m already getting have been so great.
I would not have been able to walk past The New Jim Crow without buying it so I don’t blame you at all. Can’t wait for your review.
Hahahaha, you DO have a problem! I went on a big e-library-checking-things-out binge yesterday evening, and I checked out The New Jim Crow. I started reading last night and had to stop — with everything that’s happening in Ferguson, and the guy with the toy gun who was killed recently, I’m just feeling too angry and sad for The New Jim Crow at the moment. I’m going to wait a few days and go back to it. I love that the book exists, and I have heard wonderful things about it.
I many not read that one immediately either, but it’s on my list of books to get to before the end of the year. It’s such an important topic right now, and all the mentions I’ve seen of the book have been good.
I’ve also heard good things about The New Jim Crow, but haven’t started reading it yet. I always need some impetus to read non-fiction.