Kevin's Watch

Not to be confused with "What Are You Reading Now?". Tell the truth-you're like me-you're either too busy to read right now or taking your sweet time tearing up your TBR list. But, still, you can't control your urge to pop inside the local bookstore and snatch up a few selections. Yes, you have no idea how and when you'll get a chance to read them-but you're proud as hell!

My problem is that Don's Paperback Exchange, the best used bookstore in town, is almost around the corner. I went in looking to buy a copy of Lord Foul's Bane for a friend, find the 3rd book in SRD's "The Man Who.." series and to replace A Game of Thrones, that my buddy in Santa Fe has-and still has not read . I couldn't find those but did walk out with Simmon's Endymion and Melissa Scott's Five Twelfths of Heaven.

I almost got Jack the Bodiless by Julian May-but wanted to hear other's opinions on that first. It will be great reading the 1st book of Scott's great "Silence" trilogy-I've read Silence in Solitude and Empress of the Earth but couldn't find 5 12ths...this will fill in alot of holes

Now when I ever find the time to actually read these books-that's another story...

I rarely purchase a book unless I'm in need of something to read. If it's part of a series I might buy multiple, but I tend to read a book to the end, buy another, read it, buy another, etc. I do sometimes have a sort of 'to do' list, but I don't buy them in advance. Atm the 'to read' books would be The Warrior-Prophet and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which you can consider as good as bought.

Back when I was in the sixth form I used to pop into the bookstore every day and I'd buy a book maybe once a week, but that was nearly a year ago now.

Considering that the average paperback at Don's is $1.50 and that you have to be lucky that the book you want is there-it pays to go "wild" every once in awhile!

I too have a problem with buying books even though I have "several" I haven't read yet. I like to look at book on the shelf almost as much as reading them....weird I know. I also read what I'm in the mood for and to do that you need a large collection of different types of books. I read classic literature every once in awhile just to get back to "normal" fiction and read non-fiction as well, currently reading An Army at Dawn about WWII in Africa and....Shadowmarch by Tad Williams which I just started...like it already! I recently purchased Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe.

Jack the Bodiless was a lot of fun, and I'm sure the rest of the series is. Great ideas about how telepathy might be used; mysteries; mysterious cool beings; etc.

I have yet to read past JtB, however, because it's not particularly concerned with the kinds of philosophical/psychological/spiritual explorations that I love. (TCTC, Neverness, Earthsea, etc) More of a great adventure. I'm sure I'll pick up the next book at some point.

I buy a alot of book through a couple of difernt avenus, but recently I have been trying to fill some holes in my collection in regards to some older first prints.

Generally I avoid paperbacks, unless it's from a non-major publisher nad a first printing (ie a lot of the New Weird stuff is like that) often not getting a hardcover until second printing or major U.S. release.

Some recent pick ups (admittedly I had other copies before) bu in regards to first printings:

Left Hand of Darkness (1969) (near fine conditon) - Ursula Leguin

Hyperion (1989) uncorrected proof (fine condition) - Dan Simmons


Some New books I have preordered or waiting for in mail or just got:

Mist of Everness - John C Wright
Woken Furies - Richard Morgan
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
The Keys to the Kingdom Book 3: Drowned Wednesday - Garth Nix
The House of Storms - Ian R. Macleod
Od Magic - Patricia Mckillip
A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin (for whatever that's worth)
Shaman Crossing - Robin Hobb
The Dark Mirror - Juliet Marillier
Olympos - Dan Simmons
Hallowed Hunt - Lois Mcmaster Bujold
White Wolf's Son - Michael Moorcock
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Rowling

2 Advanced readers copies coming:

Starwater Strains- Gene Wolfe
Hidden Family - Charlies Stross

I just purchased Eon, by Greg Bear, and Grass, By Sheri Tepper. I intend to buy Time Out of Joint, by Philip K Dick, next week.

Tell me how you like Eon LM! I liked Movings Mars alot but thought he was either trying way too hard or not enough in City of Angels-overembellishment is the word-I stopped Eon four chapters in. Need to give it another chance still had CoA's bad taste in my mouth.

I buy books obsessively. It's an addiction, I'll admit it. When I start getting stressed or life gets out of control, I head to the used bookstore and go on a binge. Do I even read them all? Nope. Do I buy doubles of books I already have on purpose? Yep. (You can never have too many copies of the Del Rey Riddle-Master of Hed paperbacks! Much easier to transport than that montsrous omnibus edition!) Wandering in the dusty quiet of a really good hole-in-the-wall bookshop is very therapeutic, and buying something gives me a feeling of accomplishment. So even when everything else is completely horrible, I can say, "Well, at least I went shopping today and found another copy of Titus Groan."

The last book I bought was Narcissus in Chains by Laurel K. Hamilton. I know the later books aren't as good as the early ones (and are a lot more pervy), but I seem to be addicted to them, too.

Julian May's Galactic Milieu trilogy (of which Jack the Bodiless is the first part) is excellent . . . but not as good as The Saga of Pliocene Exile. Not really written in the same style, either, so if you're looking for more of the same, you might be disappointed. The character of Marc Remillard, though, is one of the best portrayals of a villain in all of speculative fiction.

I'm a book-aholic, too. My TBR pile is disgustingly large. The problem is I go into a bookstore at least once a week, and I buy three books for every two I manage to read. It doesn't take a math genius to realize that my TBR pile will forever be growing.

Nevertheless, I do manage to occasionally read a book that has languished in the pile for years. Just recently, I read Stackpole's Eyes of Silver, which was published in the late nineties.

Certain authors, of course, bypass the TBR pile. They are immediately bought and read next, no internal debate necessary.

Mr. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
the three Kushiel books by Jaqueline Carey (I've heard they're filled with S&M, but still interesting fantasy, so we will see -- if I can't deal with the S&M they will go into a donation box )
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke
The Scavenger Trilogy by K.J. Parker
the two books available by Erickson,Gardens of the Moon and Deadhouse Gates
I have a couple of copies of the latest Harry Potter book on order for my kids, and I will read one of them when they are done.
also, someone gave me about ten books written by some guy named Dean Koontz, and a bunch of Stephen King books

I do not know when I will get a chnce to read a lot of these, but will get around to them eventually. I have a huge "to be read" pile (and since I have the same problem as Roland, it will still be huge at the time when I pass from this earth) but disgusting things like my job keep getting in the way of my reading time.

My husband has been saying lately that maybe when the kids are done with high school he will again start working on his long-abandoned half-completed PhD thesis, and see if he can get a job at UNM, so we can move to Albuquerque, and I can start my own used bookstore. I can certainly stock it with the books I already have.

Cool! By that time I'll have my Phd. at UNM and you can operate out of my big Fantasy/Sci Fi bookstore--that is--after I win the lottery.

duchess of malfi wrote:Mr. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
the three Kushiel books by Jaqueline Carey (I've heard they're filled with S&M, but still interesting fantasy, so we will see -- if I can't deal with the S&M they will go into a donation box )
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke

All good books, duchess! I really enjoyed the Jacqueline Carey series, though it does get a little extreme. But for me, anyway, it seemed that she meshed the sex scenes so well with what was happening in the story that it read pretty seamlessly--even when I had eyebrows raised.

Sunshine is just wonderful, and so is J.S. & Mr. N. When you open your used bookstore, I will come and wander the aisles, even if I have to fly to Albuquerque to do it!

Joy says she wants to work there--we'll fly you out for SRD's 1st reading!

danlo wrote:Cool! By that time I'll have my Phd. at UNM and you can operate out of my big Fantasy/Sci Fi bookstore--that is--after I win the lottery.

You wouldn't need to win the lotto. After I sell the apartment building and my way over-priced Ann Arbor area house, there would be plenty of money to start a business.

Ah well, what would life be without dreams?

Hyperion Omnibus (Dan Simmons), Gormenghast Trilogy (Mervyn Peake), A Spell for Chameleon (Piers Anthony), Hero in the Shadows and Lion of Macedon (both David Gemmell), Eric (Terry Pratchett).

Lessee.... the first 3 books in the 'Dragon and the George' series by Gordon R. Dickson; Dolphins of Pern, Masterharper of Pern, Dragonseye, and Harper Hall of Pern by Anne McCaffrey, and the three George R.R . Martin 'Song of Fire and Ice' books.

Used the book-voucher that the company I work for gave me as a birthday present to pick up two Pratchett books, The Truth and Thief of Time, (bringing my Pratchett collection to 21), and also finally replaced Feist's SilverThorn, lost these many years ago. It was a good weekend.

--Avatar

Freedom's Apprentice by Naomi Kritzer
The House of Storms by Ian MacLeod
Devices and Desires by K.J. Parker
The Hidden Family by Charles Stross
No Present Like Time by Steph Swainston

Today:
-Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke [Finally found a copy, stuck at the bottom of one of the books-yet-to-be-shelved trolleys in Waterstone's.]
-Spiral by Koji Suzuki [Wasn't particularly impressed by Ring, but have always been curious about the plot of the original sequel. May get Loop when it comes out, just to complete the set.]