Beyond Reality discussion

I saw this topic in another discussion group and shamelessly decided to steal it thought it would work in our group too! So, please let us know which books you recently acquired. That means any book you actually obtained a copy of as your own property - no library loans, no loans from friends, but books you've actually paid for, whether it's a new or second-hand copy.

And I'll go first: I just bought copies of books 7, 8 and 9 in C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner series, as well as the last 2 books in her Fortress series.

Titles:

In the Foreigner universe: Destroyer, Pretender and Deliverer. (I'm waiting for the paperback of book 10 (Conspirator) because it'll take me some time to get through these 3 - especially because I may re-read the first 6 before getting to them).

In the Fortress series: Fortress of Dragons and Fortress of Ice.

Two of these books I bought in Book Tales, an excellent second-hand bookstore in Encinitas (near San Diego), and the other 3 I ordered new from Amazon.

(Can you tell I've been in a CJ Cherryh mood lately?)

I bought a LOT last week but mostly Y/A.
I think only Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb and Elfland by Freda Warrington would interest this group.

I picked up To Ride Hell's Chasm and Royal Assassin last week. I read Assassin's Apprentice while on vacation and liked it very much. Books seem to make their way into my house just about every week, I should be able to keep this thread going single-handedly. ;)

(Both books were purchased second-hand)

I recently bought Fatal Revenant and The Runes of the Earthbut have no intention of reading them until the final two books come out. I believe that is 2013. In the meantime, I simply wanted nice copies of them.

Don't know if it counts, but I've recently been raiding Project Gutenberg for old books on mythology. :)
The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales
The Myths of the Norsemen
Legends Of The Middle Ages - Narrated With Special Reference To Literature And Art

I recently bought James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips largely due to discussions on Fem sci-fi in this bookclub. Thanks everyone.

Tiptree/Sheldon was one of my favorite writers back in the '70's and, though her stuff was a little hard to get back then, I tried to get everything that came out when I could. Because I went away from si-fi reading for quite a while I have not yet had a chance to get into any of the winners of the Tiptree award. But I'm really glad that such a thing exists now and I'll certainly be looking at it in the future.

Random wrote: "Don't know if it counts, but I've recently been raiding Project Gutenberg for old books on mythology. :)
The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales
[book:The Myths of the Norsemen|640..."

My son did a paper last year (7th grade) on Norse mythology. The library had a whole three books on the subject in the adult shelves and the newest one was 25 years old. One of them was so old, I had trouble reading it because of the outdated academic language.

That's impressive for seventh grade, Sandi. I studied Norse mythology in a junior-level college German class. I really enjoyed it.

Let's see,

War of Empire by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Something by P.N. Elrod (I can't remember the title). Both were brought used.

I brought Night Angel early this month. As well as a couple Dresden novels.

I've traded for Wolf at the Door.

I am not buying that much b/c I am out of work but did buy in late July and August on a gift card the following:

Treason's Shore (the 4th Inda book) by Sherwood Smith
Cast in Silence by Michele Sagara (the 5th Elantra book)

The Turning Tide by Diane Pharoah Francis (the 3rd novel in her Crosspoint series)

By Heresies Distressed by David Weber (the third book in his new saga)

Been taking a lot of books out of the library.

Sisimka wrote: "Books seem to make their way into my house just about every week, I should be able to keep this thread going single-handedly. ;)"

Oh, you and me both!

I just ordered Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card from Amazon and bought three books at a used book store: The Diamond Age Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (so I voted for that in the runoff poll), Midnight Tides (I think it was that one--one of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series), and a novel about 3 generations of a Celtic family--don't remember the name and it was an impluse buy, not on my list...

Nick wrote: "I recently bought James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips largely due to discussions on Fem sci-fi in this bookclub. Thanks everyone.

Tiptree/Sheldon was one o..."

I recently read this, fantastic biography of a very interesting woman. Let us know what you think once you've read it.

Do Audiobooks count? I recently acquired The Vor Game (to listen to for this group). I have a monthly subscription with them, but I have a hard time keeping up with my acquisitions...:-)

When in the States I picked up too many books! Of interest to this group would be:

Katherine Kurtz, High Deryni and Deryni Checkmate
Ursula K. LeGuin, Lavinia
Bujold, Cordelia's Honor, and Memory

I just started reading Power & Light, the second book of the 6 volume set of Roger Zelazny's work. Books 3 & 4 just arrived. 5 & 6 still aren't published yet, but should be by the end of the year. The books are expensive, $30 each, but worth every penny.

I'm torn right now because I also got personalized hardbacks of Janny Wurts books. I really want to read them too. I'll definitely be reading To Ride Hell's Chasm soon.

Oh god. Where do I start

Cicero The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician
The Gypsy Morph
The City & The City
Vixen 03
The Mediterranean Caper
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Distant Early Warnings Canada's Best Science Fiction
The Amber Spyglass

I knew I shouldn't have gone to the library today and I know this doesn't technically qualify as "acquired" books, but ...

I walked by the "new" fiction shelf and snagged The Winds of Marble Arch and Dragonheart Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern - both of which have been on my BookMooch wishlist for about a year.

If only I hadn't wandered down to the lobby and into the library for a copy of The Jungle Book. When I got back to my desk, I remembed I could download it from Feedbooks since it's a classic so there wasn't a need to go to the library in the first place. :)

Going to the library is so difficult for me. I take my daughter once a week and I try so hard not to go upstairs to the adult section, but somehow my feet just take me up there...and I browse the new books shelves...and, well, you know what happens. My TBR shelf gets higher and there's a neat stack of library books next to my rocking chair.

My problem is I got out of the habit of going to the library. My local library was closed down for years. It was actually cheaper to buy used books than to take public transit to the main branch.

Yippee! Just got two books in the mail today:

To Ride Hell's Chasmby Janny Wurts - Really looking forward to this one - it's a brick though! :-) I hope I finish it on time...

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb I've loved everything by Hobb, except the Soldier Son Trilogy. This one is set in the Six Duchies like all the others, so I have my hopes high. My husband and I will probably read this together - or rather I will read it out loud to him, but I'm not sure when we'll start it.

After a spring spree of bookbuying I haven't bought very many this summer, but today I did happen to be loafing in a bookshop and found a copy of "To Ride Hell's Chasm". Looking forward to it a lot, and to the discussion with Janny.

Picked up Agincourt Its about King Henry's rout of the French way back when.

Just got Chasing the Dragon by Justina Robson. I really enjoy this series, so I'm looking forward to getting to it as soon as I finally finish The Name of the Wind

Lots of surprises in the mail for me today and after a trip to the used book store:

The Boat of A Million Years
Etruscans Beloved of the Gods
I Am Legend
Miles Errant
Rose Daughter
Though None Go with Me
To Ride Hell's Chasm

I also added a few books to my BookMooch Inventory including:

The Curse of the Mistwraith
God Stalk (already pending international moocher)
Independent People
Lost in a Good Book
The Thin Man

Just a heads up for fellow BookMoochers or those who wish to become moochers.

Have a great weekend!

Jon, I just made a request for The Curse of the Mistwraith. Yippee!

Picked up a couple of books
Carrying the Fire An Astronaut's Journeys
The Travels of Marco Polo

Finally and at last, the mass-market pb of "Anathem" has arrived. Why do i keep buying books that could crush small mammals?

I found an interesting book at the library today. I help sort book donations for the annual sale - a great way to feed my habit as book sorters get first dibs on what comes through the door. Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones. I remember reading this perahps thirty years ago and liking it very much. My 'awareness' of Sirius and it's identity as the 'dogstar' came from this very book. I didn't remember the author and was pleasantly surprised to find out it was Diana Wynne Jones, as I didn't think I'd ever read her, but had planned to.

Sorry, bit of a ramble there...

Her The Tough Guide to Fantasyland is excellent - a really funny send-up of fantasy in the form of an alphabetically organized fake travel guide.

I have Howl's Moving Castle on the TBR shelf because I enjoyed the movie so much. I have heard it is merely based upon the novel though, and not at all faithful to it.

Got a handful of treasures from last weekend's library book sale, including: The Robots of Dawn; Darwin's Radio; Armageddon's Children; The Elves of Cintra and Spirit Gate.

The rest of them I'm giving away via BookMooch: http://www.bookmooch.com/m/inventory/...

I just bought a bunch of Zelazny books for about $1 each on Ebay, including shipping. 5 were paperbacks & 7 were hardbacks. Wow!

I tend to forget about this thread
Picked up a couple of books last week

Ariel
Flashforward

Glad you're keeping it alive, Ken!

I just got some books by Sandra McDonald: The Stars Down Under, The Outback Stars and The Stars Blue Yonder. Looks good!

Just got Sarah Zettel's Fool's War in the mail. I was actually kinda surprised at how well it did in the last poll for the BOTM -- missed the runoff by just one vote. If I like it I may renominate, or perhaps I'll leave that for another SZ fan.

At lunch I went to Borders and picked up Urban Shaman and The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective - which I was surprised to find in the British History section. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of the three graphic novels I was looking for. Thank the gods for amazon. :>

blackrose, Why were you surprised at "Whicher"? That's exactly where it should be.

Nick wrote: "Just got Sarah Zettel's Fool's War in the mail. I was actually kinda surprised at how well it did in the last poll for the BOTM -- missed the runoff by just one vote. If I like it I m..."

I'm not surprised at all - you will find Zettel's SF to be excellent, or so I anticipate!

Bill wrote: "blackrose, Why were you surprised at "Whicher"? That's exactly where it should be."

I'm sure it is - I just wasn't aware of that.

I only 'discovered' this book on amazon, as one of those "if you like x, then you'll like y" things. In this case, X book was The Meaning of Night A Confession which, while written in that faux-Victorian which is so popular right now, is not historical. While I knew that Mr. Whicher was based on a true story, I expected it to be either under mystery or true crime, and would never have thought to look for it under history.

In short, I'm not at all sure that what I'm getting is what I thought I would be getting, but only time will tell if this will be detrimental or not.

blackrose wrote: "Bill wrote: "blackrose, Why were you surprised at "Whicher"? That's exactly where it should be."

I'm sure it is - I just wasn't aware of that.

I only 'discovered' this book on amazon, as one ..."

Love, love, love
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective. It's the near perfect book about Victorian murder mysteries. The fact that the mystery and the detective are real only adds to its impact. In many ways, the public fascination with this story is why murder mysteries and gothic mysteries (different from the romantic gothics of a century earlier) became so popular in the last years of the Victorian era, and on into the present day.

Janny wrote: "Nick wrote: "Just got Sarah Zettel's Fool's War in the mail. I was actually kinda surprised at how well it did in the last poll for the BOTM -- missed the runoff by just one vote. If ..."

I'm finding it great so far. Sorry I've put your novel on hold for a while, Janny, but I think I need to clear my head with a little sci-fi.

I can only hope I enjoy it as much as you did. :)

Nick wrote: "Janny wrote: "Nick wrote: "Just got Sarah Zettel's Fool's War in the mail. I was actually kinda surprised at how well it did in the last poll for the BOTM -- missed the runoff by just..."

Nick - no problem! Ever. The right book at the wrong time, or/tastes simply differ.

Some people, anyway, sometimes take a bit to realize the flow of my books can be a slower build until the convergence happens and all heck breaks loose, never in the direction they'd predicted. That can make the start up chapters seem more opaque, to some.

There are many books that others love to tatters that didn't speak for me - or didn't at the moment I picked them up.

The great thing about books, they don't leave the theater. I am more than delighted you appreciate Zettel. I think she's not nearly as noticed as she ought to be.

blackrose wrote: "Bill wrote: "blackrose, Why were you surprised at "Whicher"? That's exactly where it should be."

I'm sure it is - I just wasn't aware of that.

I only 'discovered' this book on amazon, as one ..."

Ah, that makes sense now. I've come across a few titles I wouldn't have looked at otherwise that way. Of course Meaning of Night is fiction and Whicher is nonfiction. It's a slightly odd book in that it reads more like fiction than any nonfiction book I've ever read. I don't know where you are but here in the UK it certainly seemed like it was marketed more like a fiction book as well. If you liked Meaning (which has one of my favourite opening lines ever!)I think you'll love it. (ditto to everything Nick said)

Just bought Doubleblind and Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre. I've really enjoyed the Jax series of which Doubleblind is the latest. I admit to buying the second, which is supposed to be urban fantasy, mostly because I was fascinated by the blurb of its sequel and I need to read books in order.

I also bought Soulless by Gail Carriger, which looks like it should be fun.

Bill wrote: "blackrose wrote: "Bill wrote: "blackrose, Why were you surprised at "Whicher"? That's exactly where it should be."

I'm sure it is - I just wasn't aware of that.

I only 'discovered' this book on a..."

I'm in the States, and didn't see any marketing for Whicher. But, then, that's just another way in which I'm generally out of the loop. I did enjoy 'Meaning', so here's hoping. :>

Just got Canticle by Ken Scholes, the sequel to Lamentation. I thought the first book showed promise, and I've been told that he improved his writing skills since then, so I'm hoping it'll be good.

Also got Noonshade by James Barclay - haven't had the chance to read the first book of that series yet... I am so falling behind!

Falling behind even further...

Finch by Jeff VanderMeer and a reprint of Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber just arrived.

Just picked up Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller from my favourite specialist bookshop.

I just received (ordered through my son's scholastic book order at school) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. My son and I enjoyed her Gregor series a LOT, so when I saw this I ordered it - more for me than for him (he's 12).

I also recently purchased a few of the combo Miles Vorkosigan books from Baen Books in ebook format. I've really been enjoying them.