Welcome to my weekly Saturday feature here at Erin Reads, where I highlight new books that have entered my life, what I’ve been reading, and what’s happened on Erin Reads over the past week.
New Acquisitions
I have a mix of newly acquired books to share today: some new, some used, and some for review.
Purchased at a Borders in Chicago that was going out of business:
- Follow the River by James Alexander Thom: I read this novel, about a woman who is kidnapped by Shawnee Indians and then escapes, years ago and loved it.
- Ballistics by Billy Collins: I don’t read much poetry, but I love Collins’s combination of accessibility and depth.
Purchased from the Half Price Books clearance section (I can never resist!):
- Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann: The line for the audio is quite long at the library, so I picked up a hard copy of this novel I’ve been meaning to read for quite some time.
- The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery: I love the audiobook of this novel and am happy to have a hard copy as well. (Yes, I loved it that much!)
- Hyde Park Gate News by Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, and Thoby Stephen: A book of the newspaper Virginia Woolf and her siblings wrote as children.
Received from Frances at Nonsuch Book:
- Skippy Dies, Part 1: Hopeland by Paul Murray: I’ve been wanting to read Skippy Dies, and having Part 1 should give me enough of a taste to decide if I’d like to read the others.
Received for review:
- Original Sin by Peg Kingman: Received from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program, Original Sin is the story of a slave woman who, after 18 years of freedom in the East Indies, returns to America for unknown reasons.
- Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran: Set during the French Revolution, this novel should have some character overlap with Sandra Gulland’s Josephine B. trilogy, which I loved.
Read This Week
During my recent trip to Chicago, I zipped through Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan, which I enjoyed. I also read a bit of Queen Hereafter by Susan Frazer King, which will be published later this month. I’m nearly finished with The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and have been pondering which classic off my list to pick up next.
On audio, I finished Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson. I started The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, which I’m enjoying very much so far, but I doubt I’ll finish its 15 discs before I head home for the holidays!
Erin Reads Recap
- In my Sunday Salon post, I talked about the challenges I would join, were I joining challenges, and how they fit my reading goals for 2011.
- On Monday I reviewed Daring to Eat a Peach by Joseph Zeppetello.
- Tuesday I announced my acceptance of the TBR Dare!
- I talked about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll for my weekly Wednesday Classics Reclamation Project post.
- On Thursday, I reviewed Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan.
- Finally, yesterday, I shared my thoughts on the audiobook of Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork.
Your Turn!
How was your reading week? Do tell!
Skippy Dies is a multi-part book? I have to admit, that’s one of those books that has been talked about so often on Twitter and in blogs that I’m not in the least bit interested in reading it. Especially since many of the talkers have been very pushy about it. There are quite a few books I’ve been turned off of that way this year…sigh. Well anyway, I doubt it’s one I would have liked even without that!
Wow you get through audiobooks fast…
I LOVE that Hyde Park Gate News idea!!!
Maybe three parts? I think you can get it in three separate volumes (usually sold together) or one big volume. I’m kind of glad to have just the first part, so that if I don’t like it, I won’t have invested in the whole thing! But, I am kind of intrigued by the premise, so I’ll give it a go.
The audiobooks I listened to this week were 2 hours long and 3 hours long. I listened to Juliet, Naked last week, mostly, but finished the last bit this week!
Isn’t the Hyde Park Gate News thing cool?? I’d never heard of it but was intrigued by the cover. I hope it’s interesting to read!
Dude, I remember reading Follow the River in high school too! I think i may have even borrowed your copy. 🙂 And do I spy you wearing your new sweater from our shopping trip?
You probably did! I saw it on my mom’s shelf when I was home not long ago and thought, I’d love to reread that! Now I can 🙂 I can’t believe Borders had it in stock! And yes, that’s my new sweater. It’s pretty much a wardrobe staple now. So toasty!
Wonderful collection, Erin! Glad to know that you found ‘Follow the River’ which you read when you were in high school. Maybe it is your ‘lost classic’ 🙂 ‘The Elegance of the Hedgehog’ is one of my alltime favourite books! Hope you enjoy the reading experience. Hope you enjoy reading ‘Skippy Dies’. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it. Enjoy reading your new books! Happy Holidays!
Maybe it is, Vishy! Wouldn’t that be fun? I certainly remember being enthralled with it in high school. If you like audiobooks, I’d very much recommend The Elegance of the Hedgehog on audio. It is simply exquisite and is, in fact, the audiobook that got me interested in audiobooks. I’m happy to have a print copy as well…I liked it that much! Happy holidays to you, too 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion, Erin 🙂 I will look for the audio book version of ‘The Elegance of the Hedgehog’.
I’ve had the “Let The Great World Spin’ sitting on my Kindle for months now. Must get to it soon!
I’m sure my copy will sit on my shelf for just as long 🙂 It’s starting to pop up on “favorite books of 2010” lists, so I thought I should at least own it…even if I don’t get to it for a while!
I loved the Elegance of the Hedgehog so much ! Have you seen the movie (not as good as the book, though, but Renée and Paloma’s characters were excellent) ?
I’m still waiting for my copy of Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares.
I heard a lot about Follow the River but never read it. It sounds like it’s a great book !
Have a great week end and a happy holiday !
I didn’t know there WAS a movie! I’ll have to see if it’s available here! Have you listened to the audiobook? I loved both readers and thought it was a spectacular production.
Happy holidays to you as well! 🙂
I also have Let the Great World Spin and The Elegance of the Hedgehog and have heard a lot of good things about them. I hope you enjoy all your new reads!
Ohh, The Elegance of the Hedgehog is wonderful. If you like audiobooks, I highly recommend you give that one a shot! Though I hear it’s good in print as well. As for Let the Great World Spin, I’ve heard both formats are good! I hope I get to it soon. Enjoy both when you get to them!
I am glad to hear you loved The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I did too, and was disappointed when the rest of my book club did not share the same sentiment!
I’m glad you liked it too! That must have been frustrating, discussing a book you loved with a bunch of people who didn’t!