{"id":6360,"date":"2012-05-05T11:24:09","date_gmt":"2012-05-05T15:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=6360"},"modified":"2012-05-05T12:02:07","modified_gmt":"2012-05-05T16:02:07","slug":"bookbuys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/bookbuys","title":{"rendered":"Bookbuys"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since we’re building a library downstairs and adding a bunch more shelf-space, I’m no longer quite so constrained in my book-buying. I’m still on an austerity plan for 2012, so I’ll generally only pick something up on the cheap. Here’s what I’ve bought lately and why.<\/p>\n

AbeBooks<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay<\/a>\"\" – Michael Chabon – I’m planning to read this for a Secondhand Loves podcast with one of my old college pals. I detested it the first time I tried it, complaining, “If you write a novel about comic-book history, Jews in eastern Europe, escape artistry and the golem-myth and you lose me, you’ve seriously fucked up.” We’ll see if I’m still as uninto it. It cost me $2.62, plus shipping<\/p>\n

The Last Leopard<\/a>\"\" – David Gilmour – It’s the\u00a0biography of Giuseppe Di Lampedusa, who wrote The Leopard<\/a>\"\", one of my favorite novels. Cost $6.75<\/p>\n

The Anatomy of Influence<\/a>\"\" – Harold Bloom – I’m sure I’ll spend a little time with it. $8.31<\/p>\n

Labyrinth Books<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I stopped in Princeton for lunch on the way home from a client visit in Philadelphia, so I hit Labyrinth, which used to be Micawber Books. I found a used copy of Little, Big<\/a>\"\" for $12.74. Amy lent hers out, and I’m hoping to interview the author soon for the podcast, so I picked that up. Still, $12.74 is kinda high for a used paperback. I balanced things out by finding a backup hardcover of George, Being George<\/a>\"\" for $2.<\/p>\n

Raider<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

There was a street fair in Suffern, NY last weekend, as Amy & I discovered when going out to our favorite hole-in-the-wall taqueria in town. We meandered through that, and discovered a little used bookstore in the same building as the Lafayette theater, this great old movie house where I once saw The Empire Strikes Back. The stock wasn’t really my sorta thing, but then I noticed a copy of Mr. Crowley’s Four Freedoms<\/a>\"\" for $4, so I picked that up.<\/p>\n

The Strand<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

While staying in NYC for a conference last week, I hit up the Strand Bookstore on my last night, since my wife & I are content to do that sorta thing. I decided I wouldn’t buy anything over $10, but managed to get by without crossing the $8 barrier:<\/p>\n

Wise Blood<\/a>\"\" – Flannery O’Connor – I read it in the big ol’ Library of America collected works last year, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a portable copy. $7.95<\/p>\n

How Fiction Works<\/a>\"\" – James Wood – I generally like his literary criticism and book reviews. $7.95<\/p>\n

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City<\/a>\"\" – Nick Flynn – My pal Elayne loved this one, and implored me to give it a shot. $7.50<\/p>\n

The Lost Books of the Odyssey<\/a>\"\" – Zachary Mason – Praised in a recent Five Books interview<\/a>, I figured I’ll read it some weekend this summer. $5.95<\/p>\n

Role Models<\/a>\"\" – John Waters – I’ve always liked John Waters in theory much more than in practice, so I’m hoping the printed page works better for me than the movie\/TV screen. $7.95<\/p>\n

And that’s my recent book-buying binge. We’re still a few weeks away from having the library finished, but once it’s wrapped up, I’ll be sure to post a ton of pix.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since we’re building a library downstairs and adding a bunch more shelf-space, I’m no longer quite so constrained in my book-buying. I’m still on an austerity plan for 2012, so I’ll generally only pick something up on the cheap. Here’s what I’ve bought lately and why. AbeBooks The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay – Michael … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Bookbuys”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[1357,871,592,259,171,1382,1385,1386,1384,1383],"class_list":["post-6360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-literature","tag-flannery-oconnor","tag-george-plimpton","tag-harold-bloom","tag-james-wood","tag-john-crowley","tag-john-waters","tag-lampedusa","tag-michael-chabon","tag-nick-flynn","tag-zachary-mason"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s4C7K-bookbuys","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17036,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-604-benjamin-dreyer","url_meta":{"origin":6360,"position":0},"title":"Episode 604 – Benjamin Dreyer","author":"Gil","date":"September 10, 2024","format":"audio","excerpt":"Virtual Memories Show 604: Benjamin Dreyer \"When I started the book, what I was doing was trying to replicate everything that I've ever read in somebody else's style manual into my own voice. 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