Saturday, May 16, 2015

3 Library Book Sales in Less than 24 Hours

For the past 2 years I've been avoiding library book sales simply because I have so many unread books --  it was getting  ridiculous. My streak is officially broken now though since between 2pm yesterday and 9:30a.m today, I hit 3 local library sales and selectively scored 22 books for $12.00. All are books that have a high probability of being read by me.....grin.....

Take a look and let know if there is anything here you really loved.


  • The Luminaries; Eleanor Catton - THE LUMINARIES is at once a fiendishly clever ghost story, a gripping page-turner, and a thrilling novelistic achievement. It richly confirms that Eleanor Catton is one of the brightest stars in the international literary firmament.
  • Please Look After Mom; Kyung-Sook Shin - When sixty-nine-year-old So-nyo is separated from her husband among the crowds of the Seoul subway station, her family begins a desperate search to find her. Yet as long-held secrets and private sorrows begin to reveal themselves, they are forced to wonder: how well did they actually know the woman they called Mom?
  • The Caprices- Sabina Murray - Winner of the PEN/Faulkner award for fiction in 2003, The Caprices is a collection of stories artfully told across the theatre of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. 
  • The Harder They Come; T.C. Boyle - a powerful, gripping novel that explores the roots of violence and anti-authoritarianism inherent in the American character.
  • The Strangeness of Beauty; Lydia Minatoya - A quietly daring exploration of art, family, culture, and conscience, as three generations of women, American and Japanese, face a strained reunion in pre-World War II Japan. 
  • My American Unhappiness; Dean Bakopoulos - “Hilarious and heartfelt . . . This funny-sad novel seems to take elements of the author’s own life . . . and twists them in a funhouse mirror—with delightful results.” —NPR
  • Hattie; Anna Bozena Bowen - HATTIE an award winning novel is a soulful journey about what it means to be human in a sometimes inhuman world.
  • The Weekend; Bernhard Schlink - Old friends and lovers reunite for a weekend in a secluded country home after spending decades apart.
  • Flannery O'Connor: The Complete Stories - 
  • The Enjlish major; Jim HarrisonWinner of the National Book Award--The publication of this extraordinary volume firmly established Flannery O'Connor's monumental contribution to American fiction. There are thirty-one stories here in all, including twelve that do not appear in the only two story collections O'Connor put together in her short lifetime--Everything That Rises Must Converge and A Good Man Is Hard to Find.
  • At Last; Edward St. Aubyn - a work of glittering social comedy, profound emotional truth, and acute verbal wit.
  • The Beet Queen; Louise Erdrich - A vibrant and heartfelt tale of abandonment and sexual obsession, jealousy and unstinting love that explores with empathy, humor, and power the eternal mystery of the human condition.


  • The World as we Know it; Joseph Monninger - A subtle and heartrending—a love story of friendship, nature, and the surprising twists that can alter our destinies forever
  • The Tennis Partner; Abraham Verghese    - An unforgettable, illuminating story of how men live and how they survive, from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Cutting for Stone
  • Ruby; Cynthia Bond - Utterly transfixing, with unforgettable characters, riveting suspense, and breathtaking, luminous prose, Ruby offers an unflinching portrait of man’s dark acts and the promise of the redemptive power of love.
  • Human Voices; Penelope Fitzgerald - If you love language, quirky and vividly drawn characters, delicious irony, and above all, if you want to spend some time with the creative work of someone possessing an exquisite gift for writing, read this book.
  • Out; Natsuo Kirino    -   Out is also a moving evocation of the pressures and prejudices that drive women to extreme deeds, and the friendships that bolster them in the aftermath.
  • Beauty and Sadness; Yasunari Kawabata -The successful writer Oki has reached middle age and is filled with regrets. He returns to Kyoto to find Otoko, a young woman with whom he had a terrible affair many years before, and discovers that she is now a painter, living with a younger woman as her lover. Otoko has continued to love Oki and has never forgotten him, but his return unsettles not only her but also her young lover. This is a work of strange beauty, with a tender touch of nostalgia and a heartbreaking sensitivity to those things lost forever. 
  • Night Train; Martin Amis -  Fusing brilliant wordplay with all the elements of a classic whodunit, Amis exposes a world where surfaces are suspect (no matter how perfect), where paranoia is justified (no matter how pervasive), and where power and pride are brought low by the hidden recesses of our humanity.
  • A Traitor to Memory; Elizabeth George - When an elderly woman is deliberately run down and killed on a quiet London street, Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley must discover why. 
  • Powder and Patch; Georgette Heyer - "This story sparkles with witty dialogue and wonderful descriptions of costumes and festivities of the 1700s. I re-read it at least once a year and I enjoy it as much as the first time, again and again!"
  • A Place of Hiding; Elizabeth George - In one of her most compelling mysteries, bestselling novelist Elizabeth George explores the darker landscapes of human relationships. Here she tells a gripping, suspenseful story of betrayal and devotion, war and remembrance, love and loss . . . and the higher truths to which we must all ultimately answer.

22 comments:

  1. Good for you
    I've stayed away from library sales for several years now. Too many unread books as it is. Of all that you bought. I'm most interested in The Tennis Partner. Loved Cutting for Stone.

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  2. You scored with The Luminaries alone. Then I see At Last, and Out and Of Beauty and Sadness, and all of a sudden I want to reread each one again. I was crazy about all of those!

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  3. p.s. I picked up Night Train at a library sale, too. But, I still haven't read it. :)

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  4. Wow, that is a great score and now you'll have lots and lots of reading to get through :)

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  5. Those library sales are dangerous, aren't they? But lots of fun. And economical. I'd read the Elizabeth George books. Can't remember where I left off in that series. Need to get back to it.

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  6. Three sales in 24 hours??? I'm impressed ;-)
    Several of your books are on my wish list, but I haven't read any of them.

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  7. I'm impressed, not only with your haul, but also with your restraint. If I allowed myself to attend three library book sales, I would have a back breaking amount of books, which is probably why I should avoid them at all costs this summer. ;-)

    I think the only one of your haul that I've read is The Beet Queen. It was good, but not my favorite by Erdrich.

    Happy reading!

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  8. I've avoided my library's sale for the same reason. But wow what a deal! Sadly I haven't read any of them but I hope you enjoy them all.

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  9. I like your response - "All are books that have a high probability of being read by me.....grin....." LOL!

    I haven't read any of these books but have several on my to-read list as well. I think I got Please Look After Mom at a library sale too. Someday, I hope to read Ruby and Out.

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  10. The two Elizabeth George and the Heyer book are excellent reads. I'd love to go to sales like this.

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  11. Oh this sounds so fun! I haven't been to a library sale in forever but I miss them. What's one more (or two or three more) stacks of books. Thanks for the reminder of how much I enjoyed them! I"ll have to go check my library's schedule. Enjoy your new goodies!

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  12. As many books as I read - I've never read any of these! But many caught my eye and I've jotted them down. I don't go to library sales at my closest branch, because so many of the books I'd want - are ones I've donated - LOL!

    Linda in VA

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  13. Good day for you, 3 sales, wow! I have only read Please Look After Mom. Out of my comfort zone and yet I liked it very much. I am interested in Ruby, The World as We Know It, and The Harder They Come. Enjoy them and thanks for sharing your finds.

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  14. What great finds! I haven't been to a good library sale in a while but it's not like I don't have books to read :) Enjoy your books.

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  15. The Luminaries sounds especially good. I bought a bag of books for five dollars on Saturday, at our library sale and will post about the ten books I bought next week.

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  16. You found some good ones!! I saw some good ones at the library went I checked out their little store but I convinced myself that I could just as easily get the ebook from the library it and when I want to read them, so I was strong and held off.

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  17. 22 books for $12? You can't pass that up! And you really found some good ones.

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  18. You did well with your book sales! I never say no to a book sale. I haven't read any of your selections, but I've been wanting the read The Luminaries. Also, I keep coming across articles about Penelope Fitzgerald, and I'm curious about her work. Hope you enjoy all your new finds!

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  19. Wow, the time time is very impressive! Good for you :)

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  20. It seems a few of my comments have gotten eated tonight :(

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