I finally broke down and went to the bookstore this week. It's been a while (all summer) and I am always shocked by the cost of a few brand new books (for what I spent I could have filled three or four bookbags at my library sale). At least I had a coupon and part of a gift card to help defray the cost of the books. I also put a few back as I mentally added them up. I thought I would find a stack of brand new books recently published that I had not heard of to tempt me, but I only ended up with two books that were just published. The rest have been around a while. I saw a lot of the same old titles laying on the new book tables. Do bookstores only like the display the trusted bestsellers no matter how old they are? I was short on time, so I couldn't browse the shelves as much as I would have liked, but I still managed to find several interesting titles.
Murder Must Advertise, Dorothy Sayers - Many people have told me this is an excellent book by Sayers, that her descriptions of the advertising world are spot on. I'm really looking forward to reading about this period again. Although I didn't find any mysteries to my liking with a Medieval setting (still want to read something...), I was happy they had this one.
The Slaves of Solitude, Patrick Hamilton - I read about this somewhere, but I only chanced upon it at the bookstore. It's set during WWII in a "seedy" boarding house in suburban London with a "delightfully improbable heroine".
No Fond Return of Love, Barbara Pym - I was very surprised to see a few Pym novels on the shelf. I had to pick one of them as I've been itching to read more of her work. This one features "Dulcie Mainwaring" as one of those "excellent women" and is supposed to be a "delight" (and I bet it is!). "The novel has a delicious tangle of schemes and unfulfilled dreams, hidden secrets and a castle or two."
The Drinking Den, Emile Zola - This is another book I've been on the look out for. I've never read any Zola, but I am looking forward to it. He's probably nothing like Hugo? I expect some gritty realism here (isn't that what he's known for?). It's the seventh in his Rougon-Macquart cycle. Do you think it matters that I've not read the first six?
The Firemaster's Mistress, Christie Dickason - The only recently published novel that I came across that really jumped out at me. It is a historical novel (of course) set during the reign of James I at the time of the Gunpowder plot. It sounds good!
Best American Essays 2008, edited by Adam Gopnik - I've been wanting to read some essays, so it was timely to come across the display of all the new "Best of" books. Not a single of the essays inside looks familiar to me (but that's not surprising), but I do like Adam Gopnik. I might have to start sneaking these in now.
So I wonder if this will be the start of now weekly or biweekly visits to a bookstore, or will I be able to wait another three months before returning? Hmm.