The Next Best Book Club discussion

2 Dawn-
Good luck with outlander... It's a very LONG, overly detailed read. I tried reading it once years ago and couldn't finish it because I got really mad at it. Same thing happened this past go around... I just got done trying to read it. But I got farther this time, and I just got sick of the details, and the wangst, and said other... Issues. I wish you the best of luck towards reading and enjoying the book.

Anyways my splurges

-"written in red" by Anne Bishop (completed that series of what is out, preorders to come)
-"after light" by Elle Jasper (completed that series)
-"unholy ghosts" by Stacia Kane (completed that series of what is out, preorders to come)
-"scent of darkness" by Cristina Dodd (completed that series)
-"halfway to the grave" by Jeanine Frost (completed that series)
-"house immortal" by Devon Monk (preorders to come)

What I meant when I said by completed that series, is that I bought the remainder of the books in the series. Had lots of gift cards that needed to be used, and already had read some of the books. So I already knew that I would like the series. Many gift cards, and now lots of books to keep me occupied. Yay!! Sometimes me and book buying comes in leaps and bounds, I go forever in not buying anything. And then there are times like this one where I'll buy in bulk to add to my read list. Makes me feel better to have no blank spaces in my book shelf, ya know? Surely someone can relate.... Right?
Ok I'm rambling, sorry.

Happy New Year book buyers!

Cassandra--I finished Outlander last month and it took me literally a month to read haha. I agree-there was a ridiculous amount of detail. I'm glad I watched the first episodes of the TV series before reading it. It was flawed but immensely enjoyable IMO.

Speaking of which, my yay-I-got-Christmas-money splurge was: Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander's sequel), Inside Madeleine by Paula Bomer, and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

John Grisham's Gray Mountain

I would define "splurge" as something I went out of my way to buy. After making the jump to Kindle, I read ebooks almost exclusively and now consider print books to be outmoded and inconvenient. (I'm not looking to start a print-versus-ebook discussion; preferences is preferences, I find.)

But I wanted to read Exit Kingdom so badly after finishing The Reapers are the Angels that when I discovered it was only available in paperback from bookstores in England, I waited a little bit and then ordered it.

Now, why I had to do that is another matter entirely, but when you want to read a book, you want to read a book.

Worth it.

The Tiger's Wife
Family Ties
Rebecca
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy

And it's only mid March :)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
In the Kingdom of Men
The Lacuna
Flights From My Terrace

So far thus month i have finished , , and . I am now reading , , and . i hope to have a few of these done by the end of the weekend but i don't know how far i will get.

I went to a library book sale yesterday and for $3.00 I bought:

Winter's Tale
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Where'd You Go, Bernadette]
Drowning Ruth
Wrapped in Rain: A Novel of Coming Home

There's a larger library book sale coming up in two weeks that I hope will have more books and a better selection.

My latest splurge was a combination or paperback and ebooks. It included:

North and South Part One
The Great War for Civilisation
The Portrait of a Lady
Wives and Daughters
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
Nana
When Christ and His Saints Slept

Hopefully these will keep me busy for a while :)

Why oh why do I come home with 9 books and I already have over 400 at the house!! That's what I get for going to town by myself. I go to the thrift store and Ollie's and come back with 9 books. Enjoyed myself, nobody rushing me!

Ended up buying:

Low Pressure by Sandra Brown
The Whites by Richard Price
The Search by Nora Roberts
The Hollow Man by Oliver Harris
The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey
The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
Change Me Into Zeus's Daughter by Barbara Moss
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory

Wonder how long these books will stay on my TBR list before I get around to reading them! HA HA!

The Devil Walks in Mattingly and The Other Boleyn Girl are both super

found out I had $5 worth of points, plus at least $9 on a gift card. so I bought Natchez Burning and they had a special on certain paper backs 2 for 15 so I also got The Three: A Novel and I also splurged on a decent book mark

I had a great haul at a local library sale, and got 11 books for 6 dollars! So I guess that isn't really a splurge.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell
Looking for Alaska, by John Green
Saving Fish from Drowning, by Amy Tan
Agnes Grey, by Anne Brontë
Letters from the Earth: Uncensored Writings, by Mark Twain
The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco
All the Names, by José Saramago
The Knights / Peace / The Birds / The Assembly Women / Wealth, byAristophanes
Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell
Run, by Ann Patchett
Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden

At the end of May, I really went on a spree — and the husband assisted in my addiction!

Friday night we were going out to dinner and I stopped by my favorite used book store (hadn't been there a while) to ask about a book I needed for a book club and a book I had been having a hankering to read. I walked out with 11 books!

The next day, the husband mentioned that a local library was having a "gigantic book sale" — so I bought 9 more books (how can you argue when they call came to a total of $3.75!). But I still hadn't found the book I was hankering to read, so walked into the Patrons of the Library book store, found it (Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck) and while at the counter, the clerk pulled me into the back room to show me that she had loads of "classics" and told me to remember because she was willing to sell them for a buck each just to slim down the volume! Well ... what can you say to that!

So I finished the weekend with 24 new books! Among the haul:
4 Michael Connelly
Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard
Death Angel
Cold Harbour
Badger's Moon
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Talking to Strange Men
The Island of Dr. Moreau
The Age of Innocence

I recently purchased Bring Up the Bodies before realizing it is a sequel to Wolf Hall. Can anyone tell me if it is necessary to read Wolf Hall first, or is it a stand-alone? I am usually a person who insists on reading things in order, but since I don't have the first one I am considering doing it this once. Thanks!

Patricia wrote: "I went to a library book sale yesterday and for $3.00 I bought:

Winter's Tale
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Where'd You Go, Bernadette]
[book..."

I read Drowning Ruth a really long time ago, but I remember really liking it!

Connie wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I went to a library book sale yesterday and for $3.00 I bought:

Winter's Tale
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Where'd You Go, Bernadette..."</i>


Connie, I've had [book:Drowning Ruth on my TBR for a few years. I will put it on the top of my list for July. (I've sworn to stay out of the library and read what I have at home for the month of July.)

Patricia wrote: "Connie wrote: "Patricia wrote: "I went to a library book sale yesterday and for $3.00 I bought:

Winter's Tale
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
[book:Where'd You..."

I hope you like it. As I said it was years ago, and sometimes tastes change. I just remember it being a fairly quick and interesting story with some mystery to it. It was the only one of the books you'd listed that I read. I have Where'd You Go on my list but haven't gotten to it. I will be checking out those other two right now. Thanks.

Connie wrote: "I recently purchased Bring Up the Bodies before realizing it is a sequel to Wolf Hall. Can anyone tell me if it is necessary to read Wolf Hall first, or is it a stand..."

Hello Connie,

I'm sure you would still enjoy Bring up the Bodies as a stand-alone, but I think you would get so much more out of it if you did read Wolf Hall first. There is a lot of background which will help you understand Cromwell and other characters better. I think it would be a shame to go back and discover that afterwards. Both books are fantastic and I think reading them in sequence will maximise what you get out of them.

Richard wrote: "Connie wrote: "I recently purchased Bring Up the Bodies before realizing it is a sequel to Wolf Hall. Can anyone tell me if it is necessary to read Wolf Hall first, o..."

Thank you very much, Richard. I will definitely wait, then. I picked up Bring Up the Bodies at a used book sale for $1. I hadn't known anything about it but had seen it on a lot of book lists and in general book buzz/newsletters. Now that I've read a few more reviews I'm anxious to read it!

I would read Wolf Hall first. I enjoyed both immensely, but it took a while to get into Wolf Hall - until I finally realized that the `He` the author refers to is Thomas Cromwell.

Connie wrote: "I recently purchased Bring Up the Bodies before realizing it is a sequel to Wolf Hall. Can anyone tell me if it is necessary to read Wolf Hall first, or is it a stand..."

I've read Wolf Hall and I would say you should read it before Bringing Up the Bodies. Its been a while since I read Wolf Hall, so I'm actually going to go back, read the last couple of chapters and then start Bringing Up the Bodies. I think that will help me get into the story again because it has been a while ... I also watched the PBS series and thought it was great, so that might help as well...

Michael wrote: "I would define "splurge" as something I went out of my way to buy. After making the jump to Kindle, I read ebooks almost exclusively and now consider print books to be outmoded and inconvenient. (I..."

So true!

Pamela wrote: "Michael wrote: "I would define "splurge" as something I went out of my way to buy. After making the jump to Kindle, I read ebooks almost exclusively and now consider print books to be outmoded and ..."

Thanks, Pamela. I am definitely going to do that. I hadn't known about the PBS series, so thanks for the info. Hope you enjoy the book as well.

Carolyn wrote: "I would read Wolf Hall first. I enjoyed both immensely, but it took a while to get into Wolf Hall - until I finally realized that the `He` the author refers to is Thomas Cromwell."

Thank you, Carolyn. Will do. I did read where Bring Up the Bodies is a bit more readable, but I am willing to put some effort in on the front end to get the most out of it.

I just found The Best Short Works by Mark Twain, complete with notes and theme overviews, buried elbow-deep in a bargain bin. So far, it's great, and has done a fantastic job of making me feel inadequate as a writer.

Being a book blogger and freelance publicist, I find my need to purchase books has diminished much over the last few years. I have so many ARC's that I actually feel guilty buying books to read for pleasure (How odd is that?!)

But here's what I have purchased recently:

Just this past weekend, my Bookish BFF Tara (she blogs over at Book Sexy Review) and I hit up the Small Press Flea in Brooklyn and I walked away with copies of Kyle Minor's Praying Drunk and If It Is Your Life by James Kelman.

Both books had amazing first paragraphs and hooked me immediately so into my wallet I went :)


It feels amazing to put some money into the small press community!

Sharyl - I'd actually heard a lot about that one from early buzz and hype. I purposely waited to pick it up. Something about reading a book while everyone else is chatting about it... : )

The last book I bought was Blessed Are the Wicked: The Terrifying Sequel to the Uninvited by Steven LaChance. I am waiting for it to come in the mail.

Kristen wrote: "Robert wrote: "I have like 35 books on the floor in my closet, so what do I do on my day off? Go to B&N buy two more, then order one off of Amazon...I need help"

Help setting up new bookcases, rig..."

I was thinking exactly and immediately the same... 'with putting up bookshelves?' :-)

I'm still on my winter break from college, so a week or so ago I got a bunch of books to read before I have to head back:

Station Eleven
The Lies of Locke Lamora
All the Light We Cannot See
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances
A Thousand Splendid Suns

Renee wrote: "Why oh why do I come home with 9 books and I already have over 400 at the house!! That's what I get for going to town by myself. I go to the thrift store and Ollie's and come back with 9 books. Enj..."

I know the feeling, Renee, but we have to admit that we got good deals. Now we just have to be disciplined about reading those we have. Its hard because every once in a while, I see a book that I really want and if its on a clearance or sale table, what are you supposed to do? :)

Renee wrote: "Why oh why do I come home with 9 books and I already have over 400 at the house!! That's what I get for going to town by myself. I go to the thrift store and Ollie's and come back with 9 books. Enj..."

Haha, I know exactly what you mean! Buy as many as your arms can carry, I say!! Hope you get round to reading them soonx

My latest splurge! I am very excited to get started but am currently reading two books (one fiction, one non-fiction). It won't be long, I'm sure!

I went crazy and bought all of Mark Edward's books and read them, then realized it was a very smart thing to do so bought his collaborations with Louise Voss. And then I realized I had no money left. Thank the Lord for parent's money.

Does an order of 2 books from Book Outlet count as a "splurge"? LOL. I got "Liesl and Po" and "The Rithmatist". Shipping costs more than the 2 books combined hahaha.

The last time I bought a full priced book is at WonderCon 2016. I bought "Vicious" because VE Schwab was there to do a signing.

Following up Sue Grafton's "W is for Wasted" immediately with "X" (that's it - the title is just "X"), which is fortunate because X is essentially a sequel that begins 4 months after W ended. (Did I need a spoiler alert there?)

Next on deck: Jonathan Kellerman's "Breakdown" - this year's newest Alex Delaware/Milo Sturgis work. I always keep a dictionary handy because of Kellerman's extensive range of vocabulary.

I wasn't planning on buying any more books until I read some of the ones I already own. However, I received a B&N gift card so I put it to good use & bought Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. I originally thought it was a graphic novel, since that was the format I first saw it in at the library. I later realized that the graphic novel is based on a book and part of a trilogy, which looks very interesting!

My latest splurge:

Breakfast at Tiffany's
A Clockwork Orange
As I Lay Dying
Naked Lunch
Slaughterhouse-Five

Eleanor & Park was a "daily find" for only $1.99 at B&N this week, so I caved. Also picked up seven from Half Price Books:

* The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman ($2 clearance item)
* Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton (Another $2 clearance item)
* Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller ($2 Clearance item)
* Murder of a Small-Town Honey by Denise Swanson ($1 clearance)
* Writers of the Purple Sage by Barbara Burnett Smith
* Kernel of Truth by Kristi Abbott
* The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer ($1 clearance)

John Grisham books. I have them all now except for 4 of them.
Nicholas Sparks' books-all but one!!
Several Danielle Steel & Nora Roberts books at a thrift store (75% off-paperbacks were .13; hardbacks .25)
20 Danielle Steel books for $18

My big splurge happened about a week ago at the thrift store(they have so many good books and they're a lot cheaper too) and I got five new reads. I picked up: The Gunslinger by Stephen King, Passage by Justin Cronin, My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares, Hitler's Secret by William Osborne, and Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

I'm excited to read them all!

Four from B&N:

The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin
Speaker of Mandarin by Ruth Rendell
From Doon With Death by Ruth Rendell
Next by Michael Crichton

I usually buy a lot of fiction, but I am also a lover of shells from the seas, so I splurged on a book of beautiful photographs: The Book of Shells: A life-size guide by 2 authors with nearly-unwritable names - Harasewych and Moretzsohn

Hey guys! I see this thread has gone quiet, are we no longer splurging on books? I have some new ones that I've added to the TBR recently.

Within the last month, I've purchased for kindle (or downloaded free copies) of

Tumour-Djinn

NVSQVAM

Ichthyic in the Afterglow

City of Sand

and my current read:

Swallowing a Donkey's Eye

Splurged, just haven't mentioned them here. Don't know how much of a splurge you can all recent acquisitions from the library used book sale, but this past weekend I picked up:

* Letters from Paris by Juliet Blackwell ($2!)

* Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (Only $1, in like new condition!)

* Once Upon a Time, There Was You by Elizabeth Berg ($2)

As well as a few mysteries or other genres. Don't even get me started on the $1.99 ebooks I've picked up for the Nook.

I finally splurged on Rivers of London. It is a book people keep recommending and for some reason I keep saving it as some sort of treat so I finally decided to just buy it.
Then The Uncommon Reader was on special offer and I just couldn't resist
And then I got My Policeman because the author was born in the town where I used to live and I heard a great interview with her.
These will all feature on my 2017 reading list when I will try to read my latest purchases and the most recently published books on my shelves.

So I was needing something to read last night and Vampire's Kiss showed up as a recommendation on my Kindle. I'd never heard of the author or the series but I figured what the heck. I love me a good vampire story and haven't read one in awhile.

Next thing I knew it was 2am and I had to force myself to put it down so I could get enough sleep to watch my Cubbies in the World Series tonight.

Anyway, if you're looking for a decent urban fantasy with a bit paranormal romance tossed in then this one is definitely worth checking out.

A few days ago, I purchased I'm Thinking of Ending Things with a free credit I had saved over at audible. You wouldn't think it from reading the blurb, but this book has an incredible creepy, slow tension to it. I'm listening on my way back and forth to work and I SOOOOO don't want to wait until Monday to get back into it!!!

Ripping my wallet to shreds, in three weeks I bought

The Mistborn trilogy
The Night Angel Trilogy
Crooked Kingdom Duology
Bane Chronicles and Tales of Shadowhun. Academy.

Good bye pocket money.