best get this out of the way

So, I was having a bit of a breakdown last night--just overly tired and worrying about getting things done. Rich decided I just needed to get out of this house, so he hauled us all off to Taco Bell for supper (yes, we are pathetic enough to eat at Taco Bell--what can I say, their classic limeades are pure heaven). Anyway, aside from the limeades, Taco Bell also has the fact that it's located by a decent little used bookstore going for it. Well, I was obviously too exhausted to practice any self-restraint...I bought 9 books. Despite the fact that I knew that I would be buying truckloads of books this coming week when Chris is here--yes, enablers we definitely are to one another (and face it, neither of us even need enablers to go overboard).

Figured I ought to get this one last post out of the way now.

From the used book store:

 *Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger. Just been wanting to read this one for a while.

*I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-Ha Kim. Okay, so the gorgeous cover might have been enough. But then I read the blurb on the back...it sounds dark and original and...well, I'm not really sure what it will be like. But I am incredibly intrigued.

*Homeland and Other Stories by Barbara Kingsolver. Justification for this purchase? Hmmm...well, I haven't actually read anything by Kingsolver before, but I'm convinced I'll enjoy her writing. And, well, despite the fact that I haven't read many short stories lately, I really do love them. How about--the price was right? Or--I'm supporting small business?

*Oscar Wilde: The Fisherman and His Soul and other Fairy Tales. This volume collects the tales from The Happy Prince and The House of Pomegranates together in one book. And an adorable little book it is, too! Now I just have to get the guts to read it...because yes, he intimidates me.

*The Plague by Albert Camus. Yes, and speaking of being intimidated. But I've really wanted to read this...so maybe someday I really will take the plunge.

*City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende. I've been wanting to try Allende for quite a while. But it was Kelly that really, really got me excited about it here recently during an email conversation. And while this was not one of the books she recommended I start with, I picked it up anyway since it was the only one I saw there. Thus, I am passing off all blame to her anyway...you know, because no one can stop me. ;) POINT FOR KELLY.

*Generation X by Douglas Coupland. And speaking of Kelly. Well, I'm blaming her and Ana and Chris and Nancy for this one. Possibly not a fair thing to do, but tough. See, I've yet to read one of his books...but I've gotten pretty good at picking them up whenever I see them. And it's all because of them...every time they talk about Coupland, it just gets me so excited. I know, I know, so why haven't I read any of them then, right? Yeah, good question. POINTS FOR KELLY, ANA, CHRIS, and NANCY.

*I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron. More blame. This time, it's Eva's fault. Absolutely, positively, without question. This book went immediately to my wish list when she reviewed it. In fact, if I'm remembering correctly, that particular post added several books to my wish list. POINT FOR EVA.

*French Milk by Lucy Knisley. And I'm pawning off responsibility for my final purchase from the used book store on Eva as well. While she wasn't head-over-heels in love with this book, it was her that first brought it to my attention. Not entirely sure if I'll enjoy it or not, but for the price I figured I couldn't go wrong. POINT FOR EVA.








From elsewhere:

*The Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston. Yep, yet more blame for Eva. I was so excited to find this in the used book section at Barnes & Noble the other night. Eva got me really excited about reading this series, as they were childhood favorites of hers. And over the past year or so, I've managed to find a couple of them used. But never the first one...until now. :) POINT FOR EVA.

*Women of Science: Righting the Record edited by G. Kass-Simon and Patricia Farnes. Originally found this in the used section at B&N as well, but as it was still a bit on the expensive side, Rich looked it up on his phone for me and managed to find a much cheaper copy online. As you can probably tell from the title, it's about many of the largely unacknowledged women of science. Know what I already really love about it--the dedication, which reads: To those we didn't find.

*Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. I always feel guilty blaming someone else when they were kind enough to send me the book in question. (Oh okay, I'm a big fat liar--I don't feel guilty at all!) Sorry Kara, but you're going to have to suck up a point for this one---it was *you* that made me really want to read this one, after all. And despite blaming you, I am extremely appreciative--thank you so much for sending it to me! POINT FOR KARA.

*The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. And then there's this one...and I actually paid retail for it (well, minus the B&N discount anyway). I just couldn't help myself. I've been wanting to buy it ever since it came out, and well, what can I say--I was just caught in a moment of weakness. And hey, you know what--I'm not even sorry! :P  I've been trying to convince myself that I can blame this on Eva...but that might be stretching it even for me. See, it was because of her that I read Bacigalupi's story, "The Fluted Girl," a year and a half ago. And I fell utterly in love with his writing. And thus the extra-strong desire to buy this book.




So who's read what? And what did you think?