Victorians! discussion

In several other threads, people mentioned their TBR piles are growing due to recent acquisitions - fess up here! Tell us what you've acquired, purchased, or what has randomly shown up on your doorstep looking for a new home :) Victorian, neo-Victorian, and anything else - tell us about your latest purchases here!

(Trust me, you're among friends! Your secret is safe with us!)

I'll start....

Hello... my name is Paula, and I'm a bookaholic. My most recent box of books includes:
Vile Bodies, The Quincunx, Children of England

Edit: Oops! I forgot one: The Meaning of Night A Confession. I hope the book doesn't get mad at me for forgetting it!

These two just walked through the door about ten minutes ago, thanks to my faithful UPS guy:

Holman QuickSource Bible Atlas with Charts and Biblical Reconstructions

Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics

I couldn't help myself. I was at Amazon looking for just one nice map of Israel to match my map of the travels of Paul for a Bible study that I lead, and these books lept into view and stuck out their thumbs.

And a few days ago, Audible had a half-price sale on audiobooks, and I got just a few things:

Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham, vols. 2 and 3

Flowering Wilderness and One More River by John Galsworthy

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

And then there are all those nicely matched Barbara Pym paperbacks (eight or nine, I think), and I wont even mention what's on my Kindle. And I'm not even rich.

Well, I recently acquired A.S. Byatt's new novel, "The Children's Tale." Read it and loved it! I just acquired and read the newest (13th) volume in Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. It was awesome!

In the immediate TBR stack I have just acquired Betsy Tobin's historical Norse fantasy, "Ice Land." Charles Palliser's "The Quincunx," John Gardner's "Grendel," and "The Complete Poems of Anna Akhmatova" round out the stack.

I am off to Death Valley National Park for a few days to indulge my landscape photography passion. I am taking Douglas Clegg's scary little novella, "Isis," to read to the fellas around the campfire; and "The Complete Poems of John Keats" for me. I'll see you all on Monday 11/23! Cheers! Chris

ahhh! This is shameful. I purchase somewhere between 5 adn 10 books a month . . . most recent were Dicken's a Christmas Carol and Our Mutual Friend; also in November, Rosa Shand's 'The Gravity of Sunlight', Vita Sackville-West's 'All Passion Spent' and a history of spain called 'The Ghosts of Spain' - I can't think of the author off the top of my head.

Chris - Anna Akhmatova's poems have been in my TBR pile for about three years. I take it off of the shelf and read one or two every once in a while, but I really just need to set aside a chunk of time and read them. To read poetry, for me, requires a state of calm borderign on meditation and I find it very difficult to achieve that some times.

PS - I am adding everyone's TBRs to my TBR list.

Laurele wrote: "all those nicely matched Barbara Pym paperbacks (eight or nine, I think), and I wont even mention what's on my Kindle..."

Barbara Pym? What does she write, what genre?

And what is on your Kindle? Do tell! How often do you order books there? I've found I order books there for one of three reasons: I have no desire to own the real copy, the real book is heavier so I get an extra Kindle copy, or I'm just searching around and stumble on a free copy of a book that looks at least semi-interesting.

Edit: I was wrong - there's a fourth reason: sheer lack of patience when I absolutely HAVE to have the book right now!

Paula wrote:

Barbara Pym? What does she write, what genre?

And wh..."

Paula, Barbara Pym wrote gentle novels, many of them about British women of a certain age and their enjoyment of spinsterhood or their attempts to get out of same. She is a novelist of manners who has often been compared to Jane Austen. You might want to start with Excellent Women . You are in for a treat.

Purchases in last 30 days:

Thomas Mann, Buddenbrooks
Balzac, Pere Goriot
Laclos, Dangerous Liaisons
Forster, Aspects of the Novel
James, The Victorian Novel
Auden, Forewords and Afterwords

Requested or received on Interlibrary Loan in last 30 days:
Goring et. al. Studying Literature: the Essential Companion
Beha, The Whole Five Feet (see my review, it was punk)
The Fireside Dickens
and five minutes ago (thanks, Laurel, as though I needed even more books to read!) Pym, Excellent Women

And I won't even mention the books I got out of the library not on ILL.

Any wonder that my TBR shelf grows rather than shrinking?

Paula wrote: And what is on your Kindle? Do tell! How often do you order books there? I've found I order books there for one of three reasons: I have no desire to own the real copy, the real book is heavier so I get an extra Kindle copy, or I'm just searching around and stumble on a free copy of a book that looks at least semi-interesting.

Edit: I was wrong - there's a fourth reason: sheer lack of patience when I absolutely HAVE to have the book right now!

If I have a choice between a paper book and a Kindle book, I almost always vote for Kindle. I just don't have any more room for non-virtual books (Is that the UPS guy who just drove up?) Of course, if I want gorgeous pictures or color maps or charts that read well, I choose paper, especially since I don't have a Kindle DX yet (I'm waiting to see how much the Plastic Logic Que is going to be). I have a lot of "Works of..." on my Kindle--Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Wilkie Collins, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Trollope, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Lewis Carol, Mark Twain, P.G. Wodehouse, Walter Scott, Victor Hugo, W.M. Thackeray, for instance. These sets are quite inclusive. I choose the ones published by Mobile Reference, because they are really well formatted. I also have a number of obscure things that are no longer in print--things like Chesterton's Return of Don Quixote, a glossary of Lummi Indian words, old British and universal history books, books about slaves, etc. Articles that I find on the Web I download to Kindle to save my eyes. Oh, lots of stuff. My Kindle 1 ("Thackeray") has 100 pages of home page. Kindle 2 ("Tolstoy") has 34 pages plus my subscriptions and personal documents. I'll get a list together for my Goodreads library one of these days.

I use crutches because of childhood polio, and it is so very convenient for me to always have my Kindle library in a cross-body bag. I'll be going to Bellingham soon for my warm-water therapy. While on the bus I'll listen to an audiobook on my Kindle (Les Miserables. Once I get there, I'll make use of my wait time (there is usually quite a lot of that) by reading up on Acts for the Bible class I'll be leading on Tuesday or perhaps reading a couple of short stories by Saki or some of the essays I've downloaded from the Web--whatever suits my fancy at the time.

I have a KJV Bible that has been formatted so I can go quickly to any chapter and verse I'm looking for. I use this for study and in church.

So basically, whatever I want to read I read on my Kindle. I have a very heavy hardcove copy of the Pevear/Velokhonsky translation of War And Peace, but I read the same translation on the Kindle for convenience.

I wish Amazon would sell Kindle in my country. Then my TBR list would really become unmanageable!

Sandybanks wrote: "I wish Amazon would sell Kindle in my country. Then my TBR list would really become unmanageable!"

It's in a lot of countries, now, so perhaps it will come. It became available for Canada the other day.

Laurele wrote: "Sandybanks wrote: "I wish Amazon would sell Kindle in my country. Then my TBR list would really become unmanageable!"

It's in a lot of countries, now, so perhaps it will come. It became available ..."

Laurele, when Amazon announced their Kindle International some time ago, Indonesia and Canada were among the list of the countries that were not covered. Maybe they are expanding their coverage? Where did you read about it?

Sandybanks wrote: Laurele, when Amazon announced their Kindle International some time ago, Indonesia and Canada were not among the list of the countries that were covered. Maybe they are expanding their coverage? Where did you read about it?

I get Google news updates every day about Kindle. Canada was added just this week. Indonesia is not available yet.
You can check here:

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless...

Click below the blue-banded "Live Outside the U.S.?" for a drop-down list.

That's dissapointing. : (

Thanks for the link, Laurele.

Laurele wrote: "Paula wrote: And what is on your Kindle? Do tell! How often do you order books there? I've found I order books there for one of three reasons: I have no desire to own the real copy, the real book i..."

Wow - thanks for sharing such insights! I love that the Kindle has helped with all the reading you want to do. I can somewhat understand the need to carry lighter materials; I had back surgery at 29 (2 yrs ago) and am somewhat limited by the weight I can lug around. No more are the days where I would happily lug around a backpack full of hefty hardcovers!

Thanks for mentioning Mobile Reference - I tend to gravitate to Amazon and forget all the other available sites for Kindle books!

Laurele wrote: "I was at Amazon looking for just one nice map of Israel to match my map of the travels of Paul for a Bible study that I lead..."

Did you find the map? I didn't know Amazon was a good resource for maps...

Paula wrote: "Thanks for mentioning Mobile Reference - I tend to gravitate to Amazon and forget all the other available sites for Kindle books!
"

And don't forget the free sites! Almost all Victorian works of any significance are available free, since they're all out of copyright.

Try

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/eboo...

and

http://www.feedbooks.com/

Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon. But I've stopped buying so many classics (despite having this amazing independent shop nearly, selling them new at as low as 99p!) because I never seem to get round to reading them.

Paula wrote: "Laurele wrote: "I was at Amazon looking for just one nice map of Israel to match my map of the travels of Paul for a Bible study that I lead..."

Did you find the map? I didn't know Amazon was a go..."

No. There were maps there, but not exactly what I wanted. My Journeys of Paul map did come from Amazon, though. I (or more likely Riley) even put in an order for Amazon to send me a case of Fancy Feast every two months.

Everyman wrote: "Paula wrote: "Thanks for mentioning Mobile Reference - I tend to gravitate to Amazon and forget all the other available sites for Kindle books!
"

And don't forget the free sites! Almost all Victo..."

Yes, Mobileread and Feedbooks can send very nicely formatted books directly to your Kindle once you do a simple set up.

Laurele wrote: "Yes, Mobileread and Feedbooks can send very nicely formatted books directly to your Kindle once you do a simple set up. "

Or, you can just download the files, plug in your Kindle, which acts just like another disk drive, and simply copy the files to the Documents folder of your Kindle drive (main drive, or supplemental card if you have one) using Explorer or any other file program -- I happen to like xplorer2lite, which is a free download from cnet, because it shows two disks or directories at one time in parallel columns, so it's easy to move things where you want them.
http://download.cnet.com/Xplorer2-Lit...

But Windows Explorer or any other file management program will do just fine. Just remember that your Kindle works just like any other disk drive, CD, etc.

Before I went on a temporary book buying hiatus I went to an annual book fair fundraiser for our local YMCA. I'm not sure how they acquire their books but most are brand new, hardback, and only $2. Here's what I got:

-The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier Clay by Michael Chabon
-Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
-Light in August by William Faulkner
-The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
-Don Quixote by Cervantes (I already have a copy but mine isn't readable - pages crumbling)
-The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich

I forgot to confess that I am also listening to Anne Rice's new book, Angel Time . It's on CD's, and I checked it out of the library.

Laurele, I got all nostalgic when you mentioned the map of Israel. I lived there for 2 years back in the early 90's and I still froth at the mouth with excitement everytime someone mentions it. I LOVED that country so much - I used to hitch all over the place and see different places every week - my favourite places were Jerusalem (my favourite place in the whole world and I've been to about 30 countries), Tiberias, Jaffa, Haifa and Acre. I'm sighing just thinking about it now......

Oh, Nicki, Shanghai Girls and The Grass is Singing were both so excellent! I've recently acquired "The MarriageThe Marriage Bureau for Rich People, Dreaming in Hindi, andDestiny Disrupted A History of the World Through Islamic Eyesand finally The Challenge for Africa. I get a lot of books as "promos" and these were recent ones that were lying in piles of less attractive stuff.

Boof wrote: "Laurele, I got all nostalgic when you mentioned the map of Israel. I lived there for 2 years back in the early 90's and I still froth at the mouth with excitement everytime someone mentions it. I L..."

I love Israel, too. I was there for a couple of weeks in the 1980s and it really made the Bible come to life.

So, only 3 days into the new year and I had to go book shopping :) Not that I don't already have more than enough to read, but I couldn't help myself. My future sister-in-law is in town and is another established bibliophile, so we made a trip to a nearby used bookstore. I picked up:

THE VICTORIANS
Daniel Deronda
Uncle Silas
About a Boy
Brave New World
A Room of One's Own
Hard Times
Queen Margot, or, Marguerite de Valois
Germinal
Under the Skin

Anyone else start the year with a book splurge, or get a book for Christmas?

Yeppers! For Christmas, I got:

Was That Really Me? How Everyday Stress Brings Out Our Hidden Personality
Lilith's Brood
Tipping the Velvet

My personal splurge a few days ago netted:

Astrology and the Authentic Self Integrating Traditional and Modern Astrology to Uncover the Essence of the Birth Chart
Moon Signs The Key to Your Inner Life
Passage
Anna Karenina
Our Mutual Friend

I really liked Tipping the Velvet because it was a completely new genre to me and the society portrayed was unlike the societies I've normally read about.

Glad to see OMF there! Are you reading AK for the Classics group?

Paula wrote: "I really liked Tipping the Velvet because it was a completely new genre to me and the society portrayed was unlike the societies I've normally read about.

Glad to see OMF there! Are you reading A..."

I *bought AK for the Classics and Western Canon group, yes; however, I am on a severe sidetrack with The Wheel of Time fantasy series by Robert Jordan. The horses have their heads; I'll be there when I can :-)

I'm looking forward to Tipping the Velvet. The plots in most books, no matter how gripping or intriguing, are relentlessly heterosexual.

I completely understand delay - there are about 6 books I should be reading right now, but am caught up in a Tudor historical fiction book right now (at least, thankfully, it's not part of a series!).

Over christmas seemed to have accumulated
Vanity Fair
The Woodlanders - Thomas Hardy
Les Miserable
Woman In White
The Count of Monte Cristo
and The Little Stranger

All ready for a year of reading the classics :)

Ohhh... great accumulation! I've been trying to get through LesMis for awhile now, and get easily distracted... I think I've stalled around page 600. I loved, loved, loved Vanity Fair and The Woman in White. Hope you enjoy them, let us know what you think as you read them!

I do not dare post my list....
Thats why I am also amember of Book Addicts....LOL!!

Having suddenly been engulfed with the need to read real life stories of my idols I've acquired several new AB's to read including :

Jimmy Nail - Life of a Northern Soul (a well known North East England personality and one of my favourite TV actors)
Roger Moore - My Word is My Bond
Andre Agassi - Open

I've also got:
Under the Lilacs by Louisa M Alcott
With Clive in India by G A henry
&
The Man who Would be King by Rudyard Kipling

in the pile, I'm looking forward to an enjoyable year of reading.

Sara wrote: "Roger Moore - My Word is My Bond..."

That title is a nice play on words :) Let me know what you think when you read this one - I love Bond movies!!

I'd be interested too as I recently gave Husband this as a gift.

@ Paula & DJ

Will do, I'm hoping to read it soon seeing as it's been waiting patiently for a few months now!

I've already started book buying again and so far have bought
Daughter of Fortune - Isabelle Allende
Cutting for Stone - ? can't remember name!
Precious - Sapphire
The Road - Cormac McCarthy

oh and two by Hilary Mantel - can't remember titles - thats terrible I know.

My partner bought me Every Man for Himself by Beryl Bainbridge as part of my christmas present (along with a Bonny Prince Billy CD - I buy nearly as many CD's as I do books) We are saving for his 50th birthday holiday so pressies were small this year!

Hi Maggie,Speaking of special Birthdays Husband is taking me to WIGTON Scotlands Booktown for part of mine....
I'm hoping that the anticipation will help me control what books I buy in the meantime...
I have to confess that I'm not too sure if I'll manage......

Hi Maggie,Speaking of special Birthdays Husband is taking me to WIGTON Scotlands Booktown for part of mine....
I'm hoping that the anticipation will help me control what books I buy in the meantime...
I have to confess that I'm not too sure if I'll manage......

Hi DJ, I don't think I will be able to stop myself - I'm off to Amazon in a mo! Still I do buy second hand - well thats my excuse!

Well every little saving counts and buying secondhand also helps the enviroment....
Reading in all good conscience :-)

Well yes I did buy what a surprise - 4 CD's though this time. 3 Richard Hawley and 1 Arctic Monkeys - only thing is they were all new!

Well just balance it up by buying 2 books secondhand....SIMPLES!!

Yes, DJ, will do! Simples!!

LOL!
You sound nearly as nuts as me!
I mean no offense...

Oh I think I am - none taken! Am on Amazon right now!

Ooooo what did you get?
Glad about the no offense :-)

Well, yes I did buy! I pre-ordered the Twin Peaks Season 2 DVD's - one of my favourite series of all time ( love David Lynch) and I bought some books of course, The Girl who played with fire and The girl who kicked the hornets nest - I'm reading The girl with dragon tattoo at the mo and its a real page turner! Also got Delia Smiths Winter Collection and How to cook vol. 1 for 1p each! I'm not the worlds best cook - in fact I hated cooking at school - but I love Delia and everything she does just seems to work. I can make fab cakes now!