Although I'm technically not supposed to be buying books at the moment, I do have a few new ones to share. These three are thanks to a gift card. I did go over a bit as I opted for the free shipping rather than staying under my limit and only buying two. If I'm going to spend money I'd rather it go towards a book rather than postage. The top book was a total impulse buy however, as I looking for something relatively inexpensive to fill out my order. I was also in a very "thriller-ish" mood, so it seemed good at the time. Has anyone ever read Vena Cork before? Thorn is her first novel. The Guardian called it "A compelling dark-hued psychological thriller" and The Times said "One of those rare and energetic books you can't put down yet don't want to end". There's a new Persephone Classic out, The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Yay, and I didn't even have to send to the UK for it. I wish I could get regular Persephone editions over here as well. And as I enjoyed Joshua Zeitz's Flapper so much (am working on a post about it now), I wanted a follow up read. Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties by Marion Meade sounds interesting. The author discusses Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dorothy Parker, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Edna Ferber. If I wasn't trying to catch up on my end of the year reading, at least one of these books would be on my night stand right now! And do you see the Bas Bleu catalog on the bottom? I'm looking forward to seeing what's new and adding more books to my wishlist!
I've had a few new review copies show up recently, too. More vacation reading perhaps? I've been curious about Nobel Prize Winner, Herta Muller, and now I have a copy of The Passport to try. As this one is less than 100 pages I will definitely be reading it on my break. I'm not at all familiar with Juan Carlos Onetti. A Brief Life was published in 1950, and Onetti is considered "one of the great Latin American writers of the twentieth century". Born in Uruguay he lived in Spain. I don't think I've read any South American authors, so I'm looking forward to this. Carlos Fuentes called Onetti's novels "the coner stones of our modernity". And last but not least, Thomas Fleming's The Intimate Loves of the Founding Fathers was all set to be my next read until Louisa May Alcott came along. I've plans to read this for the Women Unbound reading challenge, so I'll get to it eventually.
I do so love new (at least new to me) books. And after reading Litlove's post, I'm not going to feel an ounce of guilt for them.