Monday 27 July 2009

Monday Mailbox and Library Loot

Monday Mail is hosted by by Marcia at the Printed Page and you will find her blog here.
I did not actually get any through the post today, but I did pick up these four from the charity shop.

As you can see I have picked up three books by A.S. Byatt. After reading about how good Possession is, I just had to buy it. Whilst I was in the shop I noticed these other two by A.S. Byatt too. I think someone one must have been having a clear out.

Possession is described as 'an exhilarating novel of wit and romance, at once a literary detective novel and a triumphant love story. It is the tale of a pair of young scholars investigating the lives of two Victorian poets.Following a trail of letters, journals and poems they uncover a web of passion, deceit and tragedy, and their quest becomes a battle against time. '

The Virgin In The Garden is the first one in a quartet of books. It is said to be 'set in the 1950s and cleverly evokes life in suburban northern England. The Potters are a fairly horrific family - bullying father, subservient mother, obnoxious Frederica and troubled Marcus. '

The Shadow Of the Sun was A.S. Byatt's debut novel about a troubled, sensitive seventeen-year-old called Anna Severell, who struggles to discover and develop her own personality in the shadow of her father, a renowned novelist.

I also bought The Palace of Strange Girls by Sally Day. This was the Sainsbury's Book of the Month back in February and I have wanted it since then. It is the story of a family's week long holiday in Blackpool in the late 1950's. I am really looking forward to reading it.

I also ventured into the library this week and actually got chucked out. I hear you gasp in horror, but they did ask me nicely to leave as they were closing. Luckily, I had collected some goodies before I left.
1) Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeiffer - a big hit in the book blogging world, about teenagers dealing with an imminent end of the world scenario.
2) Magyk by Angie Sage - this is the second time I have had this out from the library - hope to actually read it this time.
3) Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout, originally shortlisted for the Orange Prize, another book that is making the rounds of the book blogging world.
4)The Spellbound Hotel by Tom Eglinton - I nearly bought this last week, as I just loved the cover and it is a children's book involving ghosts!
5)The Shack by WM Paul Young - I have been meaning to read this since Christmas when it came out.
6) Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I know a lot of people are presently reading Shanghai Girls, but I thought I would start with this one.
So there is my haul, what books did you get this week?

21 comments:

  1. Hi Viv, those are some great books you've got there! I strongly recommend Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I loved that book.

    I also have A.S. Byatt's Possession and hope to read them all soon.

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  2. I haven't had any luck with getting into A.S. Byatt's books. It seems like I should like her, but I just wasn't able to get into Possession or any of her other books. One day I will try to just plow through to see if they get better further along.

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  3. Possession is on my shelf as well. I've heard really great things about it, but I'm a little intimidated by the length!

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  4. I haven't read anything by A S Byatt, will have to check out your reviews. Have a great reading week :-)

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  5. You've got some great reads to look forward to. How long can you keep your library books?

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  6. Possession is wonderful, my favorite book of all time, but I haven't been able to get into any other Byatt books for some strange reason.

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  7. Those Byatt books look really good to me. You got some great deals there. Have a great week and enjoy your new books. My MM is here .

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  8. Good mailbox and loot :)
    I did read a Byatt book once but I can't remember what I thought

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  9. Hope the Byatt books are good! Enjoy them all : )

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  10. I've read all 3 of the AS Byatt books & they're all wonderful in their very own ways. Enjoy!

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  11. You've got some nice reading there. I loved Possession and have The Children's Story on reserve at my library. I look forward to what you think of those two by Byatt too. I enjoyed Olive Kitteridge so I'm curious about Amy and Isabelle. Enjoy your books.

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  12. It looks like you have quite a few books to keep you busy! I hope you enjoy reading the books by A.S. Byatt! :)

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  13. I loved Possession. I always mean to read more by Byatt but just haven't managed to yet. I look forward to hearing what you think of your Byatt books!

    Amy

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  14. I have Possession on my TBR shelf. I picked it up last year and still haven't read it. Let me know if you're interested in reading it together and doing a joint post. No pressure on timing. :)

    Oh and I wanted to give you props

    clicky here

    :)

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  15. I've never read anything by Byatt before. I'm curious as to what you'll think of The Shack. It wasn't one of my favorites but lots of people have just loved it.

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  16. yay, A.S. Byatt! I haven't read The Shadow Of the Sun yet, but I loved the other two. And I started her new one, The Children's Book, today, and a hundred pages in I am seriously in love.

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  17. You, my friend have a lot of reading to do LOL Enjoy!

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  18. A few books to hold you over for a few days, huh? :D Looks like some good ones. You'll whip right through Life As We Knew It...it's definitely one of those hard-to-put down kind. Though I've heard such wonderful things about A.S. Byatt, I've never read anything by her. She's one of those authors that seriously intimidates me, and I have no clue why. Hope you enjoy them all!

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  19. I still haven't read Possession, despite having owned it for years. I keep trying to read it, but some shiny new book always comes along and distracts me from it. Maybe your review of it will push me over that edge!

    Also, I went into a library recently because the online catalog said they had a copy of Life As We Know It - but the librarian couldn't find it on the shelf for me. He said he would look for it. I checked the other day and the book has been taken off the system entirely! So no book for me :(

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  20. Very jealous! I've heard how good Possession is as well and think I'd love it too. I am waiting to buy it as well. I did find a copy of her short stories called Little Black Book of Stories. Can't wait to hear what you think of her other books!

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Hiya, thanks for stopping by, it is always nice to hear what you have to say, so do leave a comment if you have time.