less than twenty dollars

Since I (finally) have the pictures ready let's take a look at my Friends of the Library book sale FINDS:



Case Histories by Kate Atkinson - have you read this book? If you like mysteries, you should! It's so good and twisty and interconnected. (And the first of a series.)  Atkinson's such a good writer and she  lets the readers figure things out - one of my favorite moments in this book was when I put something together that the detective (Jackson Brodie) never discovered. I think that's hard to pull off from a writing standpoint, but it's so satisfying to the reader!

BBC recently did a very good Case Histories series starring Jason Isaacs (currently the lead of the NBC series Awake, which is interesting, well done, and sadly cancelled).  Read the books first, if you can! (But I believe the books would still be a pleasure if you happened to see the show first.)

Animals of the Seashore - Look at the cover and spine illustrations! how great are those? I saw that swirly spine and reached over another lady to grab it up. (she was looking at something else, it's not like I snatched it out of her hand.)

Charlie All Night by Jennifer Crusie -  Love her!  I think this is one set in a radio station? I'm pretty sure I've read it before, but I didn't have a copy. I'm not a huge fan mass market paperbacks (they don't last, the pages fall out, etc.) but if it's an author or title I particularly like, I'll grab it up and then pass it along when I find a binding I like better.

Golden Guide to Trees of North America - I love these Golden Nature guides and pick them up when I see them.  TREEEEEES, many illustrations of trees!

A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters - this is one of her more recent Amelia Peabody books (featuring Victorian lady adventures in Egyptian archaeology). I haven't read most of this series and this book is no exception. However, I do love (and collect) some of her other series, so I decided to start collecting the Peabody books as well. One day I'll have a beach house, and that beach house will need books!

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke - I have this in paperback and have yet to read it. This hardcover was in such great shape (and has such an attractive spine!) I decided that a duplicate at $2 was a worthy expense.

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan - this was one of the few books over $2 that I picked up. (It was $5.) But it's a nice tight hardcover and I did enjoy this book. I would really like to find a nice copy of Second Nature, though.

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn - First in the Lady Julia series, which I have been enjoying so much! This book is in near perfect condition and would make a nice gift if I don't keep it myself. I wish they'd published all of them in hardback, but I think the rest came out in headless victorian bosom covered trade paper.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - I haven't read this since it was released, but my recollection of reading is one of staying up waaaay too late because my eyes were too wide with surprise to shut and the pages compulsively turned themselves as I read my way though plot twist after plot twist down narrow Victorian streets. Here's a sentence from the goodreads description: But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.  Thrills and reversals!



The covers. I think my total was something like $17, what a deal!

ocean views, accidental stabbing, and ebook bargains

    

went to the beach on Saturday - it was lovely, as always. I feel like I hardly went at all in 2011, so it was nice to get a visit in early this year - may it be the first of many.   There are a lot more photos but I still need to upload them -  haven't fixed my camera yet as none of the tiny screwdrivers I've acquired are tiny enough! I did discover that they are just the right size for accidentally stabbing myself in the index finger, though. GOOD TIMES! 

++++++++

Oooh - more ebook deals: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere  for 2.99 on kindle, nook, and ibooks - this was the first Gaiman book I ever read and I have an abiding fondness for it. 

Jennifer Crusie's Welcome to Temptation/ Bet Me bundle is only 6.99 on kindle , nook, and ibooks. These are both romantic, fast, and funny full length novels - 6.99 for two is a good deal! 

These deals won't last long, so if you're interested, act soon. 

five things

1) I just painted my toes An Affair in Red Square, which makes me think of the Pink Martini song Dosvedanya Mio Bambino

2) Water has tasted weird all week and I thought maybe I was getting a sinus infection, but it turns out that the city switched from our normal Bull Run (mountainy, wonderful) water to some weird ground water (groundy, tolerable) because of mudslides. Maybe it wasn't mudslides - I saw roiling muddy water on the news, but I wasn't really listening. ANYWAY. The important thing is that delicious Bull Run water will be back soon.

3) RAYLAN! BOYD! Justified is back on TV and I am so happy. Downton Abbey: I hate (but secretly love) that this show is making me soften my position toward evil Edith.  Also, why does everyone hate Mary? Even season 1 Mary had some redeeming features. I feel so sorry for Daisy - she got railroaded every which way for that wedding. (here endeth my cryptic manor house talk, except for one more gossipy thing: did you know that Julian Fellows -creator of Downton Abbey- is also an actor who appeared as pompous comic relief (Earl Kilwillie)  in many episodes of Monarch of the Glen?)

<--- this is what Raylan looks like when he explains things plain and simple to lowlifes and criminals, usually right before they go and do the thing he just asked them not to do. Since he also explained the consequences, I can't feel too bad for them. Crime makes you stupid.


4) earlier this week I went to the Title Wave Bookstore, which is where the library sells withdrawn items. I totally scored and got there when they were having an incredible sale on CDs. I got 2 box sets - the What it Is! Rhino collection and the Complete Stax/Volt singles 1958-1968 set for a very good  price.  They don't have the booklets, but as far as I can tell they're in good shape otherwise.
This song is on What It Is!


and both these songs are on the other:

(not this version, but I couldn't resist the live performance/ dancing studio audience.)

5) Otis the kitten is growing so fast he doesn't have the best control over his limbs or center of gravity; he's gangly and awkward like a teenager. (he's also ADORBS, so no worries that anything has changed on that front.) I'm sure the complicated parkour jumps and free running he plots in his head are flawless but his execution is a little off, which results in crashing and whining and more mad dash capering before anyone notices that he's knocked something over.