It’s been a while and although this is sadly not the review I mentioned in the last post, it is nonetheless a post. Recently I have been distracted by even more good literature (fiction and non fiction) and I’m really excited to be in the process reviewing. I will do that as soon as I can but first, here is a bunch of new books that cost less than a tenner.
There is a sensible reason for these purchases, wanting to downsize my books somewhat this year, It makes sense to buy more books so I can feel inspired to start clearing the ones I don’t want anymore as I read/review them.This is logical as otherwise I would be drowned by paper through my own laziness and/or hoarding tendencies.
these purchases also represent a pile of firsts, which just occurred to me as I was casting around for more to say about them…
The Early Church is the first book in Penguin’s six part guide, which I probably won’t read until I have collect the remaining four parts I am missing, luckily Diarmaid MacCulloch’s A History of Christianity waiting in the wings. The Tacitus book is the same version as the one my fellow passenger had, on my first flight to America, A Canticle for Leibowitz was one of the first books on my wish list and just happened to be placed randomly on the shelves and caught my eye.
Possession‘s author’s first name starts with the first letter of the alphabet. Point stretched beyond reasonable amusement, I shall leave you now so I can read some more and write, then head back out into Bloggaria tomorrow, where I see you have all been busy making it a challenge to catch up once again, in the best possible way!
Book to the Future 
There is real research that says that you are more likely to be a bestselling author if your name begins with one of the first letters of the alphabet, because that’s where most people begin their browsing.
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Interesting! Whenever I am looking for books in the first half of the alphabet, they never have the ones that I want,still if it pushes me to Zola, Wodehouse and Vonnegut, who am I to complain!
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Downsize book supply by purchasing more…makes perfect sense to me. 🙂
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It’s the only way I could think of to end up with less, I am confident that my approach will work, whilst helping the economy to boot!
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Hi Steve, I finally got my Asexual Perspectives book finished and published on Amazon – it will be the first time I have a book in print. The e-book has been out since the 16th of Jan and it is free to read on Kindle Unlimited if you wanted to throw in a completely new concept of book to your mix? – I presume you have Kindle Unlimited? If not, if will be on a free promo soon – when the printed version is out. Can’t wait to hold my first print book in my hands. I feel there is something so special and sacred about a printed book. Don’t think I could get rid of any of my books but they are almost all self-help/how-to books, as I hardly ever read fiction apart from kids picture books that I also like to write.
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I don’t have Kindle Unlimited, I really am not a fan of ebooks, nothing beats the feeling of holding that book in your hands and smelling the new book smell. I can feel your excitement from here. It is a challenge getting rid of any books but I am sure I will find a few!
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(I’m not an e-reader person either, Ste J. I want the real thing 😀 )
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It feels so much more real with the smell and the wear and such of a real book. Sometimes the book in question makes me look clever too!
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You crack me up, Ste J 😀 And I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say—you ARE clever 😉
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Happy International Celebrate Being Single Day. I love a printed book too but as I write ebooks – it kinda gets a bit addictive buying ebooks as they are so easy to download to the Kindle APP
on my Mac and I can can straight into them.
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I love Canticle. I think it’s time for a re-read. Thanks for the idea, Steve!
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I can’t remember where I first heard of this but as you rate it highly, I was right to finally get my hands on it…happy Ste J!
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Ste J, with all you’ve read, I wonder which books have actually had a life-changing effect on you, profound, subtle or otherwise.
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that’s a question and a half (and then some, just to mess up the fractions). I think that will have to be a blog post at some point soon!
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If you ever get to it, I know it’s a post I’ll enjoy! 😀
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Logical indeed…if you don’t have new ones, how would you reject the old piles… 😀 (logic of book lovers)
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Exactly, great minds think alike!
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Great way to start the new year!
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It’s going to be a really good year for books, I can feel it.
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If it’s more space on your bookshelves you’re actually looking for, then culling and purchasing more isn’t such a silly idea. I mean, what are the chances of the new books being larger and taking up more space than the old ones? Oh well…I never was much good with logic
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Exactly, if I aim for thin books then I will be more space sensitive. The real trouble will be looking for some to part with!
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I too am on a clean-up mission! Luckily there is a second hand book store close to my home that buys old books 🙂 Oh and my second-hand copy of Possession has been sitting on my shelf unread for about 6 months now! Eager to read your review of that.
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Getting money back is great as it usually goes straight back to he bookshop anyway haha. Possession looks great, my dilemma is the many other good books lined up along side it now…it’s always sad to have to say no to all the other books in favour of my latest read.
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You have to read “Possession” first. While it’s not a roman a clef, the characters smack very much of several Victorian poets, and you have to guess, don’t you? I know you’ll enjoy it. My guess is that at least half the male character was modelled on Robert Browning, and half the female character on Christina Rossetti, but it’s not that simple: there are other character traits and tendencies that they’re modelled on as well. They’re both sort of like composite characters. Have fun!
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Intriguing, it sounds like a whole different beast compared to The Children’s Book, On my last choosing I turned down Dickens and Zola in favour of something non fiction so you see the calibre of my to read pile and the challenge I face each time I go for a new book.
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Since my major downsize last year, I’ve been buying all hardbacks. (other than my kindles of course) Not sure if replacing books with all hardbacks is reasonable but it makes since to me. I guess us book hoarders will always find a way to explain our collecting. lol.
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Haha, yes there is always a reason logical to us. I can;t remember the last time I bought a hard back. Well there’s my excuse to go buy one!
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Yes indeed, go for it. 😀
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The fact that you chose a book because the author starts with the first letter of the alphabet makes me laugh. I’m surprised you didn’t start with something by A.A.Milne or (I had to look this one up) The Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon by Aaron Blabey
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It was the other way around, I chose the book then looked for some sort of theme between them, the first idea had run its course b the time I got to possession so I had to cast about for a bit. A.A. Milne, reminds me to go read Winnie the Pooh again.
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Possession is a fantastic book! Bronte
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It seems to be getting a lot of love here, I will make sure I get to it sometime soon!
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Good work, Ste J! Buy more books to have less books………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..———————————————————————eventually! 😀 😀 😀
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It makes more sense when in a bookshop.
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It’s a beautiful thing!
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This down-sizing business is very difficult to do. I have avoided going into bookshops and haven’t attended our local booksale for ages. I have an enormous heap of books on my shelf that I haven’t read yet and I have started to try to make more time for reading. I hope that eventually I will read a book that I won’t want to keep but so far they have all been good and worth hanging onto. And I still keep getting books as gifts!
I like your set of ‘firsts’!
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That’s the problem! My book recommendations either come from my fellow bloggers or referenced in books I am reading, and most tend to be very good so I keep lots. I am finding it easier to go into bookshops just to window shop these days but every so often, it just feels good to splurge!
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They look soo good!
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How do you resist such awesomeness? Answer, there’s no point resisting.
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Ahaa I agree!
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Good logic! I have just been through a couple of sections of my bookshelves getting rid of those I won’t ever re-read. It’s hard but there wasn’t room for books I know I will want to read again, and that helped.
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I know I haven’t settled down yet so I am in a perpetual thought process of trying to keep numbers slightly lower as one day I will move again and it is a nightmare packing all those books. Hopefully these few more will tip the balance so more go out than come in.
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Haha! Have your purged your shelves of the ones you said you were going to get rid of? Doubtful, if you’re like me. Books are the hardest possession to downsize. What if you want to read it again, look up a particular quote, or revisit a chapter or “what’s the name of that character”.
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It is a challenge, my thoughts are read lots and give away those that don’t make an impact which is good in theory, so far this year nothing has come about that way so far. Still year is young!
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If only it could be so simple that the biggest decision we ever have to make is which book to part with.
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I’m still very far from the need to downsize my library, but I do have some troubles when the opportunities to exchange an owned book for a new one arises. All of the books that I was glad to give away, I already gave. Even though I own quite a few books I don’t think I’ll ever read again, the thought of parting with them is not a pleasant one for I cannot be sure I wouldn’t want to reread them, who knows what could happen to stir me back to them…
It’s a tough business.
Great new titles! Have read only Possession and I recommend it.
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I understand that, every so often I want to read a certain book, long ago given away but I hope I come across a copy one day in a bookshop. Books are like companions, sometimes it is a book we are certain we would never read but it has been with us for so long that we cannot bear to part with it. I don’t really need to downsize but I do see books I think would benefit a new home. It does mean I can review the ones I never got around to and catch up with them as well.
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