For those who thought I’d forgotten about my earlier resolution to read Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle in this bicentennial year of his birth (as inspired by Nicki aka Fyrefly), I thought I’d better let you know that it’s still at the forefront of my mind. In fact in the interim I went and took advantage of an excellent offer from The Guardian in celebration of this year’s Darwinian anniversary, to own The Voyage of the Beagle, along with The Origin of Species for free (the only thing to pay is £3.99 for postage (plus an extra £6 for those outside of the UK)).

My order for these books arrived yesterday and I’ve got to say I’m delighted with them (although I’ve got to admit that I’ll probably never read Origin). The offer at the Guardian is still valid so if you’ve ever wanted to, now would be a good time to add a couple of Darwin’s to your collection.

Now would also be a good time to pass on my belated thanks to my good friend kimbofo, whose post drew my attention to the Guardian offer in the first place.

During that crazy time called Christmas I’d forgotten to post about on a batch of books I’d added to my shelves; books that were only able to come to me thanks to the generosity of both of my sisters-in-law. So I’m using the return of my weekly feature – ‘On My Shelves’ (sorry it went ‘offline’ for a bit) to run through the batch. First up from the sis-in-law No. 1 was a ‘juicy’ book voucher for Waterstones. Here’s what I picked up with it:

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell – Even though I knew I could download and read this in its entirety for free (courtesy of george-orwell.org for instance), this was a title I really wanted to put on my shelves in a physical sense. A sort of ‘hands on’ study by Orwell on the more abject side of life and living in Paris and London, but presented in a more fictional style, the moment I read the synopsis for this book I saw it as something a bit special. It brings to mind a big favourite of mine – Ernest Hemingway’s Moveable Feast, a memoir focussing of his time spent in Paris as a struggling writer during the 1920s.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – Remember I evangalised the Penguin hardback Classic range exclusive to Waterstones, the ones whose covers were mouthwatering-ly designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith? Recognise anything? *Grins* Yep I couldn’t resist picking up at least one which I could lovingly stroke, and it had to be the one I mentioned in that previous post, to already having a perfectly good paperback version of. Hehe I’m incorrigible! )

The Complete Short Stories by Frank Kafka – When you love short stories as much as I do, and your offered Kafka’s entire bibliography of short stories in a single title, how can one resist? Answer: I couldn’t! I eagerly lapped this one up, and I’ve since been caught a couple of times by my wife hugging it a lot closer than what’s considered normal )

The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald – The first time I became aware of this novel was when I heard writer Andrew Miller evangelising about it on an episode of the Book Show on Sky Arts. He couldn’t stop talking about how incredible Fitzgerald’s prose was, and he sold it so well I had to add it to my wishlist. I’ve since heard many other people speaking about the quality of Fitzgerald’s authorship so I couldn’t resist any longer.

Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski – This one’s been on my ‘50 Novels’ reading list since the beginning. It was one I was going to pick up when I needed to but its price fitted perfectly, what I had left to spend on the gift card. I’m chuffed it’s on my shelves now.

My other sister-in-law decided to go down the ‘physical book gift’ route, and not simply hand over a gift card; a risky business because like most bibliophiles I’m a tough customer to please ). She knows me well though, and she lovingly wrapped a shiny new copy of Michael Burleigh’s intriguing Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism for me. Come to think of it though I’m sort of worried my sis-in-law sees me as the kind of guy who looks like he’s into the bloodthirsty and callous world of terrorism. The shocking thing is – she’s not far wrong )

Ok that’s the lot. Thoughts? Comments? Opinions? I’d love to hear them!

I mentioned it being spoken about during the ‘Parisian bibliomaniacs’ video clip I pointed you to in a ‘Book Bites’ post last week. I twittered about ordering at the weekend, and in post-haste fashion a copy of John Baxter’s A Pound of Paper hit my doormat this morning.

I may have only just announced that I’ve started reading Torsten Krol’s Callisto, but I’m really excited about reading this one too. Check out this bit of the cover blurb:

“A Pound of Paper is a brilliantly readable, honest and funny account of a life spent in pursuit of a passion – of how a boy from the bush came to be living in a Paris penthouse with a library worth millions”

Mmmm…scrumdiddlyumptious as Roald Dahl might have said )

Anyway, I’ve had a quick flick through the book and it looks as though the chapters are set out more as essays rather than a chronological record, so I think I can read it rather loosely, fitting in the odd chapter or two as and when (difficult when I’ve all my short story reading to do as well, but where there’s a will..*grin*).

So who’s already read this? How did you like it? Love to hear from you!

Such is my passion for John Steinbeck, that it’s always a big day for celebration when an unowned work arrives at my home, and yesterday was one of those days when a copy of Steinbeck’s journalistic work, A Russian Journal hit the doormat, courtesy of biscotti_mio over at BookMooch.

Ironically brought to me by the other Steinbeck in my life (yes we’ve already taught puppy to bring us the mail, without ripping it up )), I tore open the packaging to reveal a mint copy of the Penguin Classics reprint of Steinbeck’s 1948 publication.

Just one glance at a single paragraph confirms that the book is wholly the work of the literary master, and that he is just as accomplished scribing reportage, as he is with writing fiction:

‘We moved onto a flowered meadow where there were hundreds of beehives, and a little tent where the beekeeper lived. The air was filled with the soft roar of bees working in the clover of the meadow. And the old bearded beekeeper came walking rapidly toward us, with nets to put over our faces. We put them on and shoved our hands into our pockets. The bees buzzed angrily about us.’

Geez, that makes my heart pound ). And if Steinbeck’s sublime prose wasn’t enough to excite, A Russian Journal also includes the photojournalistic record of the trip, as captured by Steinbeck’s travel partner, the acclaimed war photographer Robert Capa (he’s the photographer who captured the iconic ‘Falling Soldier’ image) .

So all in all then A Russian Journal looks to be one amazing and unique work, and I’m so delighted to finally have a copy in my hands. If you’re reading this biscotti_mio, you have no idea just how grateful I am to you for ‘gifting’ me such a valuable title. Thank you from the very bottom of my fuzzy and warm Steinbeck-filled heart, biscotti_mio. Thank you so much! )

You’ll remember before Christmas I pointed you to librarian Leah Smith’s Books about… Books! reading list over at Flashlight Worthy? You may even remember in the same post I spoke about two titles in Leah’s list that really took my fancy i.e. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman, and Sixpence House: Lost in A Town Of Books by Paul Collins? Well not one to rest on my laurels, especially when it comes to books, I managed to find, buy and procure copies of both of these books (gotta love Amazon Marketplace because Sixpence House wasn’t even available as new and Ex Libris only cost me £1 – a bargain). Both were delivered during the interim between Christmas and New Year, and the postman got a big hug (he didn’t really because we’d already given him a big box of M&S chocolates before Christmas for all of his book hauling efforts in 2008, so he’d had quite enough out of me already )).

I’ve read some of Sixpence House and love it so far. I expected Hay-on-Wye to be hugely idiosyncratic, and not surprisingly Collins paints it as such. I’ve not read enough of it yet to give a fully informed opinion on the book, but it’s certainly showing the promise so far that’s necessary to make it onto my sacred ‘golden bookshelf’. Take from that what you will.

I’ve also read a number of Anne’s essays in Ex Libris and I love them too. Anne’s first essay ‘Marrying Libraries’, which explains the conjoining of her pre-marital library with that of her husband’s, is a giggle-fest, and her essay ‘Never Do That To A Book’, on the differences between showing ‘carnal love’ and ‘courtly love’ for books, has seriously put into question my attitude of sacrosanct towards the books in my own library – believe me that’s a HUGE paradigm shift!

The highlight of receiving these books though has to be my wife’s reaction when they were delivered. Shaking her head as she walked away from me and my ‘still warm from the postman’s sack’ Jiffy Bags, my wife mumbled dejectedly ‘Great, now he’s buying books about books’. Hehehe..gotta love sharing your home with a ‘book widow’ )

• Steal You Away by Niccolo Ammaniti – Wahooo!!! – If you’ve been reading this blog lately then you’ll know there’s quite a bit of ‘Ammaniti fever’ going on around here as the Italian novelist is fast turning into one of my favourite contemporary authors. I’ve not long finished reading his most noted novel to date – I’m Not Scared (afterthoughts will be following soon but my forethoughts can be found HERE), and I’m currently reading, and massively enjoying his latest novel The Crossroads, which receives its translated UK launch on January 14th (more on that soon).

  So the excitement is well and truly building around RobAroundBooks so imagine my absolute delight when I strolled into the 2nd-hand bookstore and staring me in the face (quite literally because it was on a display stand) was a pristine copy of Ammaniti’s first novel Steal You Away. Published by Canongate to the same exacting standards as the other two novels, this is a beautiful copy and I was almost falling over myself to hand over the paltry cover price to the bookshop shop assistant. I don’t think she’s ever seen anyone so excited to be buying one of her books (it’s one of these shops that’s sells all kinds of charity thrift), but I’m all for spreading the ‘book love’ so I didn’t mind being a bit overly excited ). This ‘liquid gold’ discovery means I get to read ALL of Ammaniti’s translated novels published so far, and back-to-back which makes me stupendously happy….yaaaayyyyy!!

• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini – So many readers, included my good friend Clare over at Blue Archipelgo, have said so many good thing about Khaled Hosseini’s follow-up novel to The Kite Runner, that it’s been on my radar for ages. However I’ve never got around to buying a copy. Thankfully the ‘book gods’ were smiling on me and being in the right place at the right time I managed to pluck up a mint condition 2nd-hand copy for buttons. I’ve got The Kite Runner in my collection already and now I’ve got A Thousand Splendid Suns too. Am I happy? You bet I am! )
• Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs – As far as memoirs goes this title, from what I’ve heard, is considered to be one of the best. It centres on Augusten’s unhappy childhood, and while I’m no fan whatsoever of the the so-called ‘misery memoir’ genre, but apparently the way in which Burroughs relates his tale, both in terms of his prose and humour, makes this an unmissable read. I’ve been so desperate to get my hands on this work that, for this time only, I’ve even forsaken my strict rule of not buying books with movie tie-in covers (I abhor them)

So another trio of great titles added to the ever-expanding bookshelves at RobAround Mansion. Rest assured I’ll pass on my views once I’ve read this little lot, but I bet you can’t guess which one I’m going to be reading first? Here’s a clue – Ciao!! )

So where do I start? From where I left off I guess and just before the Christmas period began I trawled my favourite 2nd-hand bookstores and picked up a number of bargains, ones which I was hugely excited about adding to my collection. Here’s the rundown:

• A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami – One of the first titles I ever put on my ‘50 Novels’ reading list was Murakami’s The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, and since then I became intrigued by the popularity of one of Japan’s premier contemporary novelists. I’ve yet to read The Wind-up Bird Chronicle but I know from reading one of Murakami’s shorts – Sleep (available to read online HERE) and watching a documentary on the man, that he’s something a bit special, definitely my kind of writer. So I was delighted to come across A Wild Sheep Chase, one of his first and most bizarre novels, to add to my collection.
• Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami – This title was sitting right next to A Wild Sheep Chase on the bookshop shelf so how could I resist it? I couldn’t, so I was happy to snap up this title as well.

Along with already owning Kafka on the Shore, and the aforementioned Wind-up Bird Chronicle that now gives me four Murakami titles in my collection. Know what that means? A future Murakami Special! Watch this space )

• Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut – I’m not usually a fan of anything remotely sci-fi but having read Slaughterhouse-Five and enjoying it immensely (HERE are my afterthoughts), I’ve become somewhat enamoured by Kurt Vonnegut. It’s not often I see any Vonnegut titles coming up in 2nd-hand bookstores, probably because they are so popular, so I couldn’t resist snapping this one up, especially when its plot centres around the hunt for a deadly chemical that has apocalyptic potential ). It’s a small novel too so it shouldn’t be too hard to slip it in to my reading schedule.
• Catch 22 by Joseph Heller – It’s not often I let out an audible whoop in a 2nd-hand bookstore, well actually it is, but they don’t come much louder than when I discovered this title lurking on a lower shelf in the next 2nd-hand bookstore I visited. This is another title that’s been on my ‘50 Novel’ reading list since the beginning but it’s one, as far as 2nd-hand procurements go, that’s eluded me. Not anymore though and I’m delighted to own it. I can’t wait to read it!

  So there we have it 4 great titles to add to my collection. It may be a small number but it’s definitely a case of quality over quantity, and what makes the ownership of this batch all the more sweeter is the price; all for less than a fiver ($14). You’ve got to love the thrill of hunt, the 2nd-hand book hunt that is )

  ]]> http://robaroundbooks.com/2009/01/catching-up-some-2nd-hand-pre-christmas-reading-additions-part-one/feed/ 0 http://robaroundbooks.com/2008/11/on-my-shelves-my-latest-additions/ http://robaroundbooks.com/2008/11/on-my-shelves-my-latest-additions/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:19:45 +0000 Rob http://robaroundbooks.com/?p=2726

  Tuesdays are “On My Shelves” day and today I thought I’d give a quick run through of latest additions to my bookshelves. Most are older 2nd-hand titles, but all are important additions to my collection.

  • A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth – Weighing in at a colossal 1349 pages, this novel is about as epic as it gets. I picked this up because it’s one of the recommendations in Boxall’s 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Of the novel Boxall says “the novel is a remarkably accomplished example of restraint and temperance in narrative. It avoids excess despite its enormous scope, and there is a respect for character and detail that is now rare among modern writers.” High praise indeed and a recommendation that’s difficult to ignore. I look forward to reading it in the future, when I can find the time investment needed.
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – This is the new book of the batch and one I’m currently reading. I won’t say too much because I’ve already posted my ‘forethoughts’. I will say it’s receiving a lot of acclaim around the blogosphere, and currently on Chapter 5 I can see why; not a serious book by any stretch of the imagination, but one that definitely engages all sense of escapism.
  • Selected Works by F. Scott Fitzgerald – I was absolutely delighted to find this (especially for a princely sum of only £2 ($4)). Selected Works contains all five of Fitzgerald’s key novel – The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and the Damned and The Last Tycoon, making this an important an exciting addition to my library shelves.
  • The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai – I’m a real sucker for adding Man Booker winners to my collection and this latest batch of additions contains no less than three. The Inheritance of Loss was the 2006 Booker Prize winner, and this is a nice clean copy. The synopsis for this novel looks pretty exciting, and I’m looking forward to getting into in the near(ish) future.
  • The Famished Road by Ben Okri – Winner of the Man Booker in 1991 this is actually quite a tatty copy. I couldn’t resist picking it up though and it’ll serve as my library copy until I get a hold of a better one. The synopsis for this one looks incredible.
  • The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst – Winner of the Booker Prize in 2004, I’ve got to admit, judging solely on plot, this is probably not a novel I’d normally go for (maybe I don’t see it as exotic as I’d like it to be )), but the draw of ‘Booker Winner’ will always make me pick it up ).
  • Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide to World Fiction by Nik Kalinowski – Next are a couple of nice Bookmooch snags. The first is a guide to some of the finest fiction titles around the world, and after a brief flick through I can confirm I’m really happy with both the layout and content of this book. It’s giving me an idea for a ’round the world’ reading challenge, but for now I’m resisting )
  • The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers – This is one of the titles in my 50 Novels in One Year reading list, and one I don’t have a personal copy of. Imagine my delight then when a copy came up on BookMooch and my request was gracefully accepted. Happy Days!

  So that concludes a quick tour of my latest additions. There’s a lot of good reading here, reading that as ever I’m excited to be undertaking. Inevitably though it always comes down to time but the main thing is they’re all on my shelves, ready and waiting!

  ]]> http://robaroundbooks.com/2008/11/on-my-shelves-my-latest-additions/feed/ 0 http://robaroundbooks.com/2008/10/on-my-shelves-a-fresh-batch-of-booky-goodness/ http://robaroundbooks.com/2008/10/on-my-shelves-a-fresh-batch-of-booky-goodness/#comments Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:16:20 +0000 Rob http://robaroundbooks.com/?p=1929

  Tuesday is ‘On My Shelves’ day and today, instead of highlighting a particular book(s) that’s already on my shelves, I thought I’d turn instead to present the fresh batch of titles I picked up for my shelves, today in Waterstones (Edinburgh). I’ve built up quite a lot of points on my loyalty card over the past few weeks, and there’s currently a 3 for 2 on selected titles running in-store, so I thought I’d treat myself. What did I treat myself with?:

  • Blindness by Jose Saramago – This is a title on my ‘50 Novel Challenge‘ list (I love the cover too )), and it’s one I’ve had a really difficult job getting a hold of in second-hand stores. When I found it as part of the 3 for 2 offer I jumped on it.
  • Diary by Chuck Palahniuk – I love Mr. Palahniuk and anything I’ve read of his has enthralled me. I see him as a modern day Poe, only gorier and more shocking (although it’s probably comparative given how desensitised we’ve become in the 21st century). Diary is on my ‘50 Novel Challenge‘ list too and like Blindness this has been a notoriously difficult book to buy second-hand. I actually yipped when I saw this with a 3 for 2 sticker on it, drawing a few stares from surrounding browsers ).
  • The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne – With the movie adaptation on current release, this is a much talked about novel right now (although I’ve managed remarkably well to steer clear of any major spoilers). It’s one all in my family want to read so I picked it up as my third, and free title (my wife has first dibs on it though…grrr! ))
  • Selected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe – Now call me a cheapskate but sometimes I buy a book for practical, utilitarian reasons and for that, when it comes to the classics, there’s nothing better than the Penguin Popular Classics range which offers ‘no-frills’ titles printed on fully recycled paper for the measly price of £2 ($3.50). I guess you can call them ‘cheap and cheerful’ but sometimes that’s all you want.

    And that’s all I wanted from this Edgar Allan Poe anthology I picked up. I could easily have gathered up all of the stories contained in this anthology for free online, and for the most part I’m doing that already (and that’s where my Sony Reader really comes into its own), but sometimes it’s nice to have the option of reading in the bath (my favourite reading place) so I bought this solely for that purpose. Anyway I’m actually getting close to revealing the ‘flavour’ of my next upcoming reading challenge so I’m going to move swiftly on to my next purchase.

  • Dracula by Bram Stoker – Hooked on the opportunity to buy awesome classics for peanuts, and eager to get my daughters reading more classics, I picked up this title. It’s coming up for Halloween too, so I guess it’s a bit of a topical choice )
  • Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – Same reason as above with the added shameful admission that I’ve never actually sat down and read Mary Shelley’s version of Frankenstein. I know! I know! I bow my head in shame but come on guys! Give me a break. I’m making amends now ).

  So there we have it – the latest additions to my fictional bookshelves. Are any of these titles your absolute favourites? Have you read and reviewed any of them? Any comments to make on my choices? Whatever you have to say, I’d love to hear it.

  ]]> http://robaroundbooks.com/2008/10/on-my-shelves-a-fresh-batch-of-booky-goodness/feed/ 1 http://robaroundbooks.com/2008/10/on-my-shelves-the-oxford-classical-dictionary/ http://robaroundbooks.com/2008/10/on-my-shelves-the-oxford-classical-dictionary/#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:27:00 +0000 Rob http://robaroundbooks.com/?p=1539

  Tuesday is ‘On My Shelves’ day when I highlight particular books on my personal bookshelves, and this week is the turn of one of the most valuable books in my collection – The Oxford Classical Dictionary.

  Weighing in at a whoppin’ 1700+ pages, with over 6,000 entries, and a retail price of anywhere between £60-£90 ($120-$180), The Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD) is the dictionary for anyone interested in, or studying, the ancient Graeco-Roman world. When I began my history/archaeology degree at university just over four years ago, my initial historical focus was the Ancient World (before my focus changed to Medieval) and the OCD proved invaluable for every single aspect I studied. You can be guaranteed, whenever I was writing an essay, the OCD was always open by my side.

  

  As anyone who has studied any Graeco-Roman history knows, things can get confusing pretty quick – rulers, politics, arcane terms, long lost cities, battles, rituals etc. etc., but the OCD helps as a kind of ‘routefinder’ through the confusion. It achieves this by mainly giving brief definitions – a couple of lines of explanation on an entry, and this is more than adequate. However, when things get a little more complicated i.e. political systems, taxation, rituals etc…[rolls eyes]…then entries can extend to 2 or 3 pages, reading more as an essay than a dictionary entry. Thankfully these ‘essays’ always seem to be pitched just right, so that even a dummy like me can get his head around them )

  Reading all of this I know what you’re thinking! Why don’t you save the cash and just jump onto Wikipedia instead? Well after glaring at you for 10 minutes for even thinking such a thing, I’d say there’s 2 very good reason why the OCD should be your first ‘port of call’ every time. Firstly unlike Wikipedia, the OCD is a highly regarded academically. It’s edited by two of the greats in Ancient History – Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, and the entries have been contributed by many of the world’s most renowned classical academics (including some from the professors at my university). Secondly it’s just such a nice ‘showpiece’ book to own, reminiscent in size of some ornamental religious tome, and probably weighing about the same (definitely NOT portable )). It looks nice, it feels nice, and yes bibliophiles – it even smells nice ).

  

  I’ve used a lot of past tense talking about how I use the OCD here and I don’t want to leave you with the impression that my copy of the OCD now just sits there, moping on my bookshelf, gathering dust. That’s simply not true! There’s hardly a day goes by when I don’t come across somewhere, some arcane term or long forgotten ruler that’s just begging to be looked up, and additionally if you’re into watching Graeco-Roman blockbusters such as Troy, Gladiator or 300 etc. it’s a nice little ‘knowledge- giver’ to have by your side.

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