What would a vacation be without also acquiring a few new books? I didn’t get a lot, I restrained myself, and only have four books to add to my shelves. But there are few things as wonderful as even one new book, am I right?
I already mentioned early in my vacation that I used a gift card and coupon for Barnes and Noble to get Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. I read Wolf Hall at the end of last year and really loved it. The book arrived in my mailbox lickety-split by Friday. Those of you who have read and loved Wolf Hall will understand my reaction of disappointment when I removed Bring up the Bodies from the box: it’s so small! I was expecting another big doorstop, but no. I am sure I will love the book, couldn’t it have been longer?
Then yesterday Bookman and I ventured to a real bookstore where I found three lovely books:
- Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf. I’ve been wanting to read this book ever since I first heard about it. It looks at a few of America’s founders, George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, through the lens of the farmers and gardeners that they were.
- The Other by Thomas Tryon. I got the 2012 NYRB edition. Twin thirteen-year-old-boys, a recently deceased father, a large summer-long gathering at the family’s ancestral farm in New England. Billed as psychological horror worthy of Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith. Bring it! I am totally going to read this in the fall for Carl’s annual RIP Challenge!
- The Judges of the Secret Court by David Stacton. Another NYRB edition. I think I could spend the rest of my life reading NYRBs almost exclusively. This one is about the American Civil War and John Wilkes Booth and his brother Edwin. According to the back cover description it is about “how the roles we play become, for better or for worse, the lives we lead.” Doesn’t that sound like historical fiction yumminess?
Hooray for new books!
New books are ALWAYS good 🙂 Glad to hear you had a super staycation!
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Helen, thanks! It was really super 🙂
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Founding Gardeners sounds really interesting. That promises to be a new perspective!
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Glad you had a nice holiday and hope you enjoy your new books – looks like historical fiction will feature heavily in future reading! I am reading just now a historical novel – Pure by Andrew Miller which is set in pre-revolutionary Paris and is wonderfully atmospheric.
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Ian, thanks! Historical fiction seems to be a draw for me at the moment. Pure sounds quite interesting. Atmospheric books can be really marvelous. Enjoy!
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Iris, doesn’t Founding Gardeners seem like an interesting historical approach? I look forward to diving in!
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The Other is a superior thriller. I read it years and years ago and should reread it to see if it holds up as well. I can still see one scene vividly, and the novel was seriously disturbing!
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Jenclair, oh so glad to hear that! I look forward to reading it in the fall and being appropriately disturbed 🙂
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New books! What fun. When my eldest child lived in Charlottesville, VA I loved going to Monticello. Jefferson’s gardens were magnificent (they’ve been lovingly re-created) and my God…what a view that man had from his garden! Hopefully, there are lots photos in the book. I got a couple of NYRB classics this month myself: Equal Danger, Sometimes Charlotte and A High Wind In Jamaica. And, the one I am most excited about, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman. I hope you thoroughly enjoy your new stash and that you share your reviews with us.
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The Gaiman is not an NYRB.
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Grad, I can only imagine from photos how amazing Monticello must be. How lucky you’ve got to in person! Yay for NYRBs! High Wind in Jamaica is on my list for sure, I don;t know about the others so when you read them, be sure to share! And the new Gaiman, how exciting! Enjoy!
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Whenever I have a vacation I always put money to one side for books because nothing is more certain that even a stay at home holiday will see me ending up in a book shop at least once if not half a dozen times. I’m actually quite glad ‘Bring Up The Bodies’ is slightly shorter than ‘Wolf Hall’ as it’s my next book club read and I’m running things a bit close time wise:)
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LOL Alex … I know what you mean. It was my reading group book for June. I loved it but was glad of the slightly shorter length.
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Alex, heh, indeed, what is a vacation without at least one trip to a bookstore? Well I will forgive the shortness of Bring up the Bodies for your sake 😉
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Hmmm…two NYRBs! Were you influenced by their catalog or just coincidence? I added the Tryon to my wishlist–sounds right up my alley. And I really need to read the Mantel book–it must be really, really good if you were disappointed the second was not as long! 😉
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Danielle, I had heard about The Other at Magnificent Octopus blog, but the John Wilkes Booth one, definitely catalog influence there 🙂 I very much enjoyed the first Mantel book and since you like historical fiction I think you would like it too! 🙂
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Hooray for new books! The Other sounds fab (anything likened to Shirley Jackson is good by me). And I’ve heard good things about Founding Gardeners. As you know, I’m right there with you on the Hilary Mantel – I’ll probably not get to it until the autumn but I’m looking forward to it immensely!
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Litlove, I am hoping The Other gives me chills 🙂 I was thinking I would dive in to Mantel this summer but if I am realistic, it will probably be fall or winter before I get to it.
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480 or so pages not big? I grant you it’s not as big as Wolf Hall but it’s plenty big enough! That said, it’s a great read — as you’ll probably see I have just read and reviewed it. It’s shorter because it’s tighter but it’s just as good – some say better but I couldn’t really say that. It’s certainly as good though.
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whisperinggums, heh, well compared to Wolf Hall it’s tiny 🙂 I am still catching up on blog reading since my vacation but I will be visiting you shortly!
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It’s all relative! Compared to my previous and post reads it’s huge! You are welcome to visit whenever you have the time! I know where you are!
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Oh my, it makes me want to go shopping for books too!
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smithereens, go on, go shopping, why not? 🙂
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Book purchases and vacation – yep, sounds like a great combination! 🙂
I’m very interested in The Other which sounds like my kind of book!
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Iliana, you have a vacation coming up soon, don’t you? Doesn’t The Other sound great? I am hoping to get maximum creepy from it 🙂
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