Book Haul

So I was looking to buy some new books the other day, (and by new I mean second hand!) I usually only buy new books for gifts or I'm really anticipating an upcoming release. I was planning to buy on Amazon as that's where I've been shopping recently, but when I looked at prices I thought I'd go over to Play as I always used to use Play Trade to buy books and the prices were great. Turns out everything I was planning to buy was cheaper on Play, so I picked up the following;

Underworld - Don Delillo 
I have been meaning to buy titles from this author for so long! Underworld really struck me as a great first novel to try out. Amazon says "Opens at the Shea Stadium at the World Series Game of 1951, where the ball is caught by a young, black man in the crowd, and continues to change hands throughout the book. The various recipients of the ball tell the story of post-war US history giving a panorama of America from the 50s to the 90s."

The Waves - Virginia Woolf 

I've been hearing a lot about Virginia Woolf recently and so many people recommend her work, I'm really excited to read her work. I picked up two novels to start with as they both captured my attention; I'm a sucker for the sea. Amazon Says "Widely regarded as one of her greatest and most original works, it conveys the rhythms of life in synchrony with the cycle of nature and the passage of time. Six children - Bernard, Susan, Rhoda, Neville, Jinny and Louis - meet in a garden close to the sea, their voices sounding over the constant echo of the waves that roll back and forth from the shore. The subsequent continuity of these six main characters, as they develop from childhood to maturity and follow different passions and ambitions, is interspersed with interludes from the timeless and unifying chorus of nature."

To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf 
"This simple and haunting story captures the transcience of life and its surrounding emotions. To the Lighthouse is the most autobiographical of Virginia Woolf's novels. It is based on her own early experiences, and while it touches on childhood and children's perceptions and desires, it is at its most trenchant when exploring adult relationships, marriage and the changing class-structure in the period spanning the Great War."

Miss Wyoming - Douglas Coupland 

I love Coupland's books, I have quite a few already, but Miss Wyoming has been on my "To Buy" list for a while so I thought it was about time I picked it up! Amazon says "Susan and John need to disappear – Susan and John need to find each other. Meet Susan Colgate – Miss Wyoming. Winner of a hundred teen pageants, child TV soap star, owner of a hideously pushy mother… and now reduced to small, brainless parts in small, brainless movies. Oh, and sole survivor of Flight 802. If she were to walk away from the wreckage now, before the emergency crews get here, she could disappear and nobody would ever know…

Meet John Johnson – action film producer (Bel Air P.I… um, Bel Air P.I. 2), occasional sado-masochist, junkie. He just died – but only for 5 minutes. But while he was gone, he saw a vision of a woman’s face and realized that it was time to escape, to ditch the baggage of being horny, rich, lonely John Johnson and to lose himself. To disappear.

Wouldn’t it be nice if they were to find themselves and get together?"

Ham On Rye - Charles Bukowski
I'm a huge Bukowski fan but I don't actually own any of his work! I first got into his books last summer, when surprisingly, I found quite a large stock of them in my local library. It's only a 2 minute walk away so I never felt the need to buy books I could borrow for free, (though secretly, I do want to own most!) I hadn't read Ham On Rye though and it's about young Bukowski - so who could resist!? Amazon says ""Ham on Rye" follows the path of Bukowski's alter-ego Henry Chinaski through the high school years of acne and rejection and into the beginning of a long and successful career in alcoholism. The novel begins against the backdrop of an America devastated by the Depression and takes the Chinaski legend up to the bombing of Pearl Harbour. Arguably Bukowski's finest novel."

The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides

I saw the film adaptation of this novel years ago and never thought that much of it, (apart from the soundtrack!) but I wtched it again recently and it seemed like one of those adaptations that doesn't do justice to the book, so I thought I'd give it a try. Amazon says "The shocking thing about the girls was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one and only date of their lives. Twenty years on, their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them and who now recall their shared adolescence: the brassiere draped over a crucifix belonging to the promiscuous Lux; the sisters' breathtaking appearance on the night of the dance; and the sultry, sleepy street across which they watched a family disintegrate and fragile lives disappear."

The 6 books in total cost me just over £14, with free delivery which is such great value! Where are your favourite places to buy?

Mini Charity Shop Haul

Charity shops are such a good way of buying new books, actually, second hand books in general - whether it's from a shop, eBay, Amazon sellers or Play-trade - I just love a good book bargain. This week I went to Annan, which is in south west Scotland, and not too far from where I live. There's quite a lot of good charity shops in the area, but I only bought from one this time (it doesn't have a name! but if you know the area it's the one by the Corner House), Plus, books in that particular shop were 3 for £1 that day so it was a total bargain, I saved myself over £16! I picked up:

White Oleander - Janet Fitch

I'm not sure from where - it could have been from a review I've read recently, but I recognized this title when I saw it and it looked quite interesting. Amazon says "White Oleander is a painfully beautiful first novel about a young girl growing up the hard way. It is a powerful story of mothers and daughters, their ambiguous alliances, their selfish love and cruel behaviour, and the search for love and identity.Astrid has been raised by her mother, a beautiful, headstrong poet. Astrid forgives her everything as her world revolves around this beautiful creature until Ingrid murders a former lover and is imprisoned for life. Astrid's fierce determination to survive and be loved makes her an unforgettable figure."

The Reader - Bernhard Schlink

I saw the film adaptation on The Reader last year on TV and loved it, such a great story, and Kate Winslet - Bonus. Amazon Says "For 15-year-old Michael Berg, a chance meeting with an older woman leads to far more than he ever imagined. The woman in question is Hanna, and before long they embark on a passionate, clandestine love affair which leaves Michael both euphoric and confused. For Hanna is not all she seems. Years later, as a law student observing a trial in Germany, Michael is shocked to realize that the person in the dock is Hanna. The woman he had loved is a criminal. Much about her behaviour during the trial does not make sense. But then suddenly, and terribly, it does - Hanna is not only obliged to answer for a horrible crime, she is also desperately concealing an even deeper secret."

Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

I never really buy war novels, but this is the first time I've bought books in ages and I managed to come home with two! Birdsong was adapted into an ITV drama earlier this year and I was gutted to have missed it because it looked brilliant (I adore ITV drama's, they are the bees knees.) So I was so pleased to see this on the stacks! Amazon says "Set before and during the great war, Birdsong captures the drama of that era on both a national and a personal scale. It is the story of Stephen, a young Englishman, who arrives in Amiens in 1910. Over the course of the novel he suffers a series of traumatic experiences, from the clandestine love affair that tears apart the family with whom he lives, to the unprecedented experiences of the war itself."

I can't wait to start reading these books, have you read any of them? What did you think? And any other titles by the authors I should pick up?