Just a few bits and bobs today. I had an errand to do downtown yesterday which meant walking by my favorite used bookstore. Since the errand didn't take as long as I anticipated when I passed by on my way home I decided I had to pop in for just a little peek. Is it possible to walk out of a bookstore (especially a really good one) without something in hand to take home? Apparently not if you are me.
The photo above is their 'new books' (or recently acquired) table. It is always the first destination, a little scan of what is new and interesting. I snapped up one of those books and then meandered over to the mystery section. I (unfortunately) left behind a quartet of Edwardian cozy mysteries written by M.C. Beaten, which I am hoping will still be there when I next visit. I did, however, still manage to bring home a few others. It is always so hard to decide which to take now and which to hope will still be there.
I did not expect Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell to linger long there so I nabbed it. I had been wishing for it (it literally is on my wishlist but it is still a little pricey for me in hardcover--new). What a treat to find a nice hardcover, UK published book that I had been lusting after. I have heard good things about it, too. I love the Pushkin Vertigo international crime series. I already have a few on my own shelves, so The Disappearance of Signora Giulia by Piero Chiara (Milan setting!) was a must have. And Torquil MacLeod's A Malmo Midwinter seems very appealing at the moment. Christmas in snowy cold Sweden is kind of nice to think about in the warmth of summer sunshine.
Mysteries and crime stories have been very appealing to me of late, though I admit I have about three different books started/in progress and not nearly enough time to read any of my books at all at the moment. As a matter of fact I tried to update my sidebar of books in progress and it has gotten a bit unwieldy again (impossible to share a photo of the night stand these days--maybe when I clear it off or otherwise get it under control, which is a lot of wishful thinking on my part at the moment). It is always a problem deciding whether to put books (partially read) back on the shelf or not--either because they have lost their momentum with me or I never quite got into them and they are just lingering making me feel guilty). So, new books get added to the old.
My "new" must reads are Clock Dance by Anne Tyler for August's Barnes and Noble big read. It is only my second Anne Tyler book that I will have read and so far I am liking it very much. I have added a couple more books to my summer reading pile, my Other Worlds/Alternate Realities project. I had requested Gene Ha's first volume of the comic Mae at the library and it came in this week, so no better time than the present to dive in. Another crazy strange world. Although I had planned on taking a little break from the Harry Potter books I find that I am drawn to the next book, so Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is on the pile, but I might not pick it up right away. It's a cliche to say this, but it is really true right now--so many books and not enough time.
So, very slowly I proceed.
I do have a few links to share today, too. The CWA dagger awards shortists have been announced. I have not yet even had a chance to do more than glance at the titles and look forward to exploring the titles more. And there is the World Fantasy Award finalists to look at, too. As I am reading Alice Bolin's book Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession now (and finding it really good and unputdownable) I want to listen to this podcast which is an interview/conversation with the author.
Really I don't need any new books joining the ranks, but I do need to think about my August prompt (and I am very ready to turn the calendar over to August), which is "a month in the country". I have this vision of a Persephone type story, but I've not thought about it too much yet. So, any book suggestions (interpret as you will) are most welcome.