The Next Best Book Club discussion

S. K. wrote: "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."
Aw, paying bills and buying food is overrated anyway. Happy reading.

I have just started reading all of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories. I don't want to finish. I feel like I right along in all there adventures.

I splurged on the Pillars Of Earth which was FORTY BUCKS, but I don't regret it, and then I got a few other historical fictions around 15 dollars

I have really wanted Lock In for ages and it was on discount so...
Then I realised I only had the second but not the first book in The Bookman series and it was available on Betterworldbooks.

And lastly I decided now was a good time to buy a replacement copy of 1984

Esther wrote: "I have really wanted Lock In for ages and it was on discount so...
Then I realised I only had the second but not the first book in The Bookman series and it was avail..."

I've been thinking I should pick up a copy.

Received Underworld: Rise of the Lycans today in the mail, very happy.

I don't know if two books would be considered a "splurge" per se... I am tight with money and have great strength in a bookstore, so one book is usually my limit per visit.
However, I had to have...HAD to... Donna Tartt'sThe Secret History and The Goldfinch all at once.
Currently reading The Secret History. I think I made a great decision.

Awaiting arrival of M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist, Agatha Raisin & the Wellspring of Death, Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage, Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of EveshamAgatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet, Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley and Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener. Got hooked on Agatha with the first one Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death which was such a fun read. I'm also waiting on a copy of Zoo.

I bought a rare-for-me paperback of A Noise in Time by Julian Barnes from Daunt Books in Hampstead (London) one of my fave bookshops

last week at B&N I bought The House At The End Of Hope Street by Menna Van Praag . I also found out that B&N are having a $5 sale on their paperback Classics series all summer long . so I bought Thoreau's Waldon too . Of course I'll be stocking up on more over the next few months .

I haven't splurged in a long while on books, or anything for that matter, but all of your posts have inspired me to do so, and guilt free. Look out Barnes & Noble, here I come! Unfortunately, in Honolulu, Hawaii, there aren't too many bookstores left. It's either the library, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

I just bought Mary Stewart - The Crystal Cave
Ray Celestin - The Axeman's Jazz
Sarah Bakewell - At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails

PETITION AGAINST EXPLICIT PHOTOS ON GOODREADS

Inappropriate images of skimpily clad women kept popping up in the "Popular Photos" sidebar when I looked at my, or a friend's, photos. I contacted Goodreads several times, flagged a certain image in question several times like they advised, yet it has kept appearing along with other explicit photos. When I sent them the link to 2 images that were not being removed, they told me that according to their regulations, the images in question weren't breaking the rules and wouldn't be acted upon.
I asked them to add a setting blocking the Popular Photos box, and that too was denied. The full conversation of 5 emails may be seen in the Thoughts thread.
So this petition is to repeat that request to include a 'block Popular Photos' setting. If they won't listen to one person, they may listen to a large group of people! No personal information is required except your username

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Today, I found the most amazing bookstore - Schuler's bookstore in lansing, michigan. Here for a college visit with my daughter. Since I have been very diligent about getting all my books from the library lately, I decided today I was going to splurge. I've been doing mostly audiobooks on my 45 minute commute to work, but I'm really looking forward to my newest acquisitions. This might also be a procrastination tactic, as i have a huge project due for my grad school class tomorrow evening and I have yet to really start it - eeeek! So, my latest purchases include:

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
The Horse Dancer by Jojo Moyes
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert
and....
The Portable Veblen by Elizabeth McKenzie (which is the one I am going to start with...)

So, I'm new to posting to goodreads in a group - do I just look for a thread on this page where you can report back on what you thought of your finds? Any tips are appreciated!

Thanks,
Julie

Lindsay wrote: "I don't know if two books would be considered a "splurge" per se... I am tight with money and have great strength in a bookstore, so one book is usually my limit per visit.
However, I had to have....."

I'm interested in hearing what you think about Goldfinch, I've heard mixed reviews.
-Julie

I'm one of those people who always finishes a book. There's probably only a half dozen in 50 years that I haven't. Sadly, Goldfinch was one of them. I've wondered if I had read it at a different time in my life if it would have made a difference.

Julie, I found Goldfinch to be engaging at the beginning, then it seemed to drag in the middle, but I did finish the book. I think it could have been shortened some.

Purchases:

To Heaven and Back: The True Story of a Doctor's Extraordinary Walk with God

7 Lessons from Heaven: How Dying Taught Me to Live a Joy-Filled Life

John's Story: Through the Valley and Beyond (the author and I sing in choir together and she has agreed to come to our book club to discuss this book about her son's illness.

News of the World

The Magnolia Story

New to the group. I'm currently reading "The Man with the Green Suitcase" by Dee Doanes. I'm still taken aback by the fact the entire book is written in present tense. As an avid reader and author I prefer reading a work written in past tense. It seems to flow better for me. I would love to hear how the group feels about past tense versus present tense writing and when the both are most appropriate.

P.G. Barnett

I may have been before but maybe not. In any event I joined some groups and particularly thought I would like this and I do.

I am a retired school teacher living in New Jersey with my husband of over 46 years. We have one daughter, a son-in-law and twin grandchildren who live 10 minutes away from us.


I have been with book groups both online and face to face. I led a large group on America Online, then went to Yahoo and now Goodreads in over 20 years. I am now running two book groups. Once a buyer of hardcovers and paperbacks, today I almost always buy from Kindle although it's gotten very expensive.

I look forward to meeting many you, discussing books and having fun.

My latest splurges are the following books on Kindle:

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott
A Piece of life by Christina Baker Kline
The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille

If you added the name Anne Tyler, you pretty much have a list of my recent favorite authors. One other thing, if I like an author I will read every book they've written.

Nancy from NJ wrote: "My latest splurges are the following books on Kindle:

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffma..."

you can sometimes find free ebooks in amazon kindle, and there are websites where you put in your email address and they send you emails with free or discounted ebook deals everyday.

my latest book splurge

festive peanuts; birthdays are no piece of cake by schulz (i grew up watching the peanuts so i just had to buy it. it's a small book with not that many pages and has peanuts comics inside)

the hobbit by J.R.R tolkien

the scorpio races by maggie stiefvater

the girl on the train by paula hawkins

italian step by step by charles berlitz (book on learning how to speak italian)

`the martian by andy weir

i got all these books for cheap at my local thrift store.

went to the store today and discovered these two books at my local dollar store. was surprised to find reading books there although these were the only ones they had. i decided to pick them up since they looked interesting and it's very rare that i find books to read at my local dollar store.

jake reinvented by gordon korman

all i want is everything, a gossip girl novel by cecily von ziegesar

I found all of these for cheap at my local thrift store for $0.99 each.

The Star Fisher by Laurence Yep
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
Mystery at Death Cannon (Book 1 in the Twin Pursuits Mystery Series) by Jeanette Windle
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Clockwork by Philip Pullman
Lily's Grossing by Patrica Reilly Giff
A Boy at War by Harry Mazer

So, I think I'll be set on books for a while. I also recently purchased Elites of Eden (the second book in the Children of Eden series) by Joey Graceffa and I ordered This is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp off of Amazon.

Mallorie - thanks for your suggestion about free kindle books. The truth is I have loads of free and 99 cent books. But there are certain authors like Alice Hoffman, Anne Tyler, Diane Chamberlain, Alice McDermott, Harlan Corbin and Celeste Ng whose books I must buy as son as they are published. I am a senior citizen and spent years scouring used book stores for bargains but after a lifetime of working I feel as though I am entitled to buy my books. I also have a closet which we shelved and houses all of my Keeper books. I may never read them again but I enjoy looking at them and skimming some pages.

my recent book splurge:

the memory of light by francisco x. stork

the names of dead girls by eric rickstad

little women by louisa may alcott

white oleander by janet fitch

the dark tower; the gunslinger by stephen king

(i got all these books from my local thrift store.)

I treated myself to several Kindle books, mostly 99 cent ones, but a few higher priced, including How to be Champion: My Autobiography by Sarah Millican.

Then I allowed myself 2 hardbacks, also from Amazon, which is about the only way I can afford new ones:

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian's Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to the Books in Her Life by Annie Spence

My splurge reflex kicks in at book sales. Haven't been to one in a while, but I am always picking up discounted books either on Amazon or at the local Shop Rite. So I'm more a slow-drip book buyer than a splurger. Recent purchases: Beloved by Toni Morrison, the Parade's End tetralogy by Ford Madox Ford, The Stories of J.F. Powers, Those Angry Days by Lynne Olson, The Forever War by Dexter Filkins, and a fresh copy of The Great Gatsby. Now, if I could just find the time...

I got The Gender Games: The Problem with Men and Women, from Someone Who Has Been Both today as it has been on my TBR since the start of the year after a friend suggested it to me. Today I also brought Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter as a result of the books you never finished thread on here haha. Already listening to it!

Just a few new ones! (Only a little splurge, I promise!)

Paperbacks:

The Bad Mother - Amanda Brooke
29 Seconds - T.M. Logan
The Lullaby - Leila Silmani
The Girl Before - J.P. Delaney
The Witchfinders Sister - Beth Underdown
On the Other Side - Carrie Hope Fletcher
You and me Always - Jill Mansell
Three Amzing Things About You - Jill Mansell
Meet me at Beachcomber Bay - Jill Mansell
The Forgetting Time - Sharon Guskin
The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden
How to Stop Time - Matt Haig
The Gracekeepers - Kirsty Logan

Ebooks:

How to be Happy - Eva Woods (Finished)
The Lives She Left Behind - James Long
Scarlet Widow - Graham Masterton
Philomena - Martin Sixsmith
The Girlfriend - Michelle Frances (Finished)
The Hygge Holiday - Rosie Blake (Finished)
The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton
A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon

Like R. my splurge reflex kicks in at book sales as well. I did crazily buy two fairly expensive hardcovers this week though (expensive for me at least).

The Name of the Wind 10 year anniversary edition
The Princess Bride illustrated version.

My May splurge below:

Ship of Fools: A Novel by Katherine Anne Porter
Souls on Fire by Elie Wiesel

I had a bad day yesterday, so I went to Target and splurged on books (oops!).

* Children of Blood and Bone
* Ash Princess
* The Shape of Water

My backlog is so large that I had to make a "to do" list yesterday and make sure I stick to that after I finish my current books. :OOO

My latest splurge included:
Barkskins because Tom Hanks liked it
The Bell Jar because my cousin was talking about it and since then I have seen it everywhere
Hotel Scarface: Where Cocaine Cowboys Partied and Plotted to Control Miamibecause it caught my eye the last three times I went into the book store and because I live in Miami

Marguerite Bourgeoys and the Congregation of Notre Dame, 1665-1700 by Patricia Simpson as she is my Patron Saint and a very early feminist (Canadian to boot). I purchased as I'm reading it for the Summer Challenge.

Canada's Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests by Peter H. Russell as it's good to keep abreast of one's countries political theorists and I am also reading it for the Summer Challenge.

I always seem to be picking up books, most recently I purchased

Senlin Ascends
Kill Creek
An Unwanted Guest
A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe

Also I got a indie comic called My dragon girlfriend and 2 comic anthologies from artist alley

I decided to treat myself this week. The hard part is waiting for the Amazon order to arrive!

I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
The Book: An Homage
A Family Recipe

Yesterday I bought some new books and they are Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse, Phantom Pains by Mishell Baker, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Flame Out by M.P Cooley and Bellwether by Connie Willis.

oh no! Has everyone stopped buying books? This thread hasn't been updated in a long time and I thought I would revive it.

This weekend, I purchased kindle copies of Hurricane Season and Slow Bear.

How about you?

Wow, didn't realize it had been 2 years since I posted to this thread!

I went on a British book buying spree over the weekend. Kindle copies proved to be cheaper than getting the physical books shipped from the UK. Here are the 5 I bought:

It Wasn't Me

Cautionary Tales

As Good As It Gets: Life Lessons from a Reluctant Adult

Straight Outta Crawley: Memoirs of a Distinctly Average Human Being

Life In Pieces


The pandemic actually zapped my desire to read, partly because I'm an "essential" worker and never got any time off to speak of. There was so much else to do that reading fell by the wayside. I intend to rectify that this year!

Book splurges are my favorite. Is anyone here a RE-read splurger?
The latest book has been Bias.

I read it 3 times in a row!! Many of my friends think I'm crazy, but I really feel like I get the story more if I re-read it. Same with Kasie West's books, I always go in for a re-read there, especially with the pandemic boring the heck out of me!!

Just sharing my recent book splurge! What is everyone else reading??

In Five Years - Rebecca Serle

The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

It Ends With Us - Colleen Hoover

Later - Stephen King

THE PARIS LIBRARY-Janet Skeslien CHARLES
HARPO SPEAKS-HARPO Marx
HANNAH’S WARS-Janet Eliasberg

Yesterday I went out looking only for Laura by Vera Caspary — and came home with 10 books!

Killer's Choice, Blood Relatives and Ghosts— Ed McBain

Murder for Christmas — Francis Duncan

Lucky Jim —Kingsley Amis

The Man on the Balcony — Maj Sjöwall

ARSENE LUPIN vs. HERLOCK SHOLMES: New Edition —Maurice Leblanc

The Dead Man's Knock and The Case of the Constant Suicides — John Dickson Carr

Lori wrote: "The splurge thread was another one that was getting awfully long and intimidating our new members.

So, on request, here is a new, squeaky clean thread in which you can share your latest splurges,..."

I live in Portland, famous for its Powell's City of Books. I hadn't visited in person since the pandemic began, but when my cousin from New Hampshire came to visit--well, I couldn't _not_ take her! We masked up and I loosed her in the enormity of the bookstore, agreeing to meet up again after an hour. I would have been embarrassed by how I'd filled my basket to overflowing, but when we found each other, she was staggering under an equally heavy load. Here's what I bought:

Against a Second Fall: Poems and Loss of Healing / Carolyn Moore
Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions / Valeria Luiselli
Weather (novel) / Jenny Offill
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line (novel) / Deepa Anappara
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous (novel) / Ocean Vuong
Erosion: Essays of Undoing / Terry Tempest Williams
Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home (graphic novel) / Nicole Georges
Changing Planes (short stories) / Ursula LeGuin

I surprised myself by picking up 3 books at Ollie's Outlet this weekend.

The Ultimate Tea Time Collection: Scones, Savories, and Sweets

The Chestnut Man

The Other Woman

The last 2 are books my library hasn't gotten and are still kind of pricey on Kindle, so I was happy to find them!

Mickey wrote: "

The Chestnut Man is amazing, you're gonna love it.

I myself bought Lonesome Dove, The Blade Itself and Last Argument of Kings recently. I love the covers. I never buy hardcopies anymore, so it was especially wonderful to buy something new for myself.

Don't usually buy many books admittedly, but fairly recently bought 4 at once, which is a lot for me. In order of how much I enjoyed them:

Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

The Green Mile - Stephen King

Night - Elie Wiesel

House of Leaves - Mark Danielewski

The first two titles quickly became absolute favourites of mine! I can see why Flowers for Algernon gets read at some high schools. One of those books you feel everyone should read after you've read it Lol :)

Couldn't stand the last book.

Cheers!

Oh I loved Flowers For Algernon (reread it as an adult too) and Green Mile!

Never read Night but I totally agree with you on HOL

I splurged and bought a beautiful new hardcover called Weyward by Emilia Hart. Yes, the cover completely drew me in! I loved the book also! I very rarely buy new books, let alone hardcovers, but I'm glad I had a little splurge :)