Have I mentioned that I've been buying a few new (or used but new to me) books lately? Here's the pile. Not so bad, right? Relatively speaking it's not so bad, though this is indeed an abridged version. I've a few more to share later. Something to look forward to, right?
I know Ian Fleming isn't to everyone's tastes, but I kind of enjoyed my visit to 007 territory, so now I have James Bond's first adventure in Casino Royale.
Yes, more M.F.K. Fisher please. I have two of her books about living in France on hand already, but I wanted more essays. And now I have them: Consider the Oyster, How to Cook a Wolf, Serve it Forth, and there is one more I'm missing that I'll have to add to my next order.
Looking ahead a little bit, Jean Giono's To the Slaughterhouse is the March read for Caroline's Literature and War Readalong. This was a pricey one new, but I found a nice, used copy. It's another WWI story but told by a French author.
I borrowed Eric Newby's Love and War in the Apennines before, but I decided it was worth owning. Italy may be on the back burner for the moment, but I'll be returning there soon. The war part refers to WWII. Newby was a POW in Italy. When he escaped he met the woman who would become his wife.
And then I think I'll need a quick trip to Fez, Morocco. Remember Ann Bridge's The Lighthearted Quest? I thought I could do with a little more of that exotic locale. This is one of those--bought a run down house cheap and fixed it up stories. But nothing like doing that in Fez! A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco by Suzanna Clarke sounds like a fun read even though I'm sure I'll spend the entire time feeling envious. Why don't things like that happen to me?
I loved War in Val D'Orcia so much I had to have Iris Origo's autobiography, Images & Shadows: Part of a Life. More Italy. Of course.
And then an impulse buy. The rest of these, of course, are Not impulse buys. They are well thought out and planned purchases. Me? Books? Whims? Nah. Never. Margaret Mazzantini is an Italian author, but her book is set during the siege of Sarajevo. Now that'll be a new to me location, so I'm looking forward to it. Twice Born won Italy's Premio Campiello. Not sure how I came across it--probably one of Amazon's recommendations that I can't help looking through.
Too many books started and on the go at the moment, so I won't be contemplating which to read right now but will tuck them away for just the right moment. Hopefully that moment will come sooner rather than later.
