Yesterday while we were doing some chores around the place my husband said that he wanted to go to Half Price Books. Well, I quickly dropped what I was doing and said when are we going? A trip to the bookstore definitely beats chores any time don’t you agree?
I hadn’t been to HPB in a while and I really lucked out. I went to the clearance section and found a bounty. Here’s what I got:
- Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen. It was the summer on Vliet Street when we all started locking our doors… Sounds intriguing doesn’t it?
- Half Broken Things by Morag Joss. I finished her book, Funeral Music recently and would like to read more by this author, although, this one seems to be a stand-alone.
- Jackson’s Dilemma by Iris Murdoch. The NYT called this a psychologically rich tale of romances thwarted and revived. I can’t believe I’ve never read anything by Murdoch.
- The Death of Achilles by Boris Akunin. According to the Wall Street Journal, Akunin’s novels feature a Slavic Sherlock Holmes who speaks Japanese and English, is skilled at martial arts and has ladykiller good looks. Wow, why haven’t I read any of this books before? This isn’t the first one in the series though so I may have to put this one on hold for a while.
- The Gardens of Kyoto by Kate Walbert. “I had a cousin, Randall, killed on Iwo Jima. Have I told you?” A novel about war, loss, and love.
- Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala. A stunning debut novel about a young boy in an unnamed West African nation who is recruited into a unit of guerrilla fighters as civil war engulfs his country.
- Love Always by Ann Beattie. “A very funny book….If Jane Austen has been crossed with Oscar Wilde and Re-Crossed with the early Evelyn Waugh, and the result plunked down among the semi-beautiful people of the late 20th-century media-fringe America…the outcome might have been something like this.” — Margaret Atwood, The Chicago Sun Times.
Want to know how much I spent? Only $7. I think I need to go back and see what else I might have missed.
Anyway, hope you are all reading some very good books. I’m going to finish the chores I didn’t do yesterday because we ran out to Half Price Books, get a bit or reading done and of course continue going through my blog feeds. Happy Sunday everyone!
20 Comments
I picked up a copy of Whistling in the Dark for $1 at Half Price Books this summer. My book outing today is to the library to pick up some books I have been waiting for and of course they all arrive at once.
Half-Price is SUCH a good time! I have several boxes of books to sell, so I need to head over to the big one on Northwest Highway. Great haul, by the way. The clearance shelves are HEAVEN.
Woo hoo! We were on the same wave length yesterday. My husband and I went to HPB too though we didn’t score as well as you did. I have been curious about the Death of Achilles so will be particularly interested in what you think about it.
Wow Half Price Books looks like a book lovers dream! You picked up some really interesting books on your visit, I’m waiting for Whistling In The Dark to come in at my library. Hope you enjoy all your reads and have a wonderful Sunday!
Juliann – I guess they must have had a lot of those books! I’m trying to stay away from the library for the rest of the year because I want to make a dent into my stacks. Oh but I think about the library and now I want to go. Hope you got some good books!
Andi – It’s wonderful isn’t it. Oh and the last time I was in Dallas and checked on the big HPB store I noticed that their fiction clearance section was a whole wall! I miss that one.
Stefanie – Ha – that’s awesome. I have heard a lot of good things about the Akunin novels so I hope I’m not disappointed. So did you get some goodies though? I need to catch up on your blog and see 🙂
Joanne – It is! I have one very close to my house and it’s a bit dangerous 🙂 Hope you enjoy a good sunday with books!
Oh yes! A trip to the bookstore is never to be passed up! I was quite shameless yesterday in my mentioning of a sale at a local bookstore near where I live. My poor husband did get the hint–whether it was the first or fifth time I mentioned it, I am not sure. It sounds like you got some interesting ones there.
Whistling in the Dark is in my TBR collection, waiting its turn. Beasts of No Nation is an awesome book. For its short length, it packs a very powerful punch.
Have a great week, Iliana!
A trip to the bookstore definitely takes priority! You got some great books. I’ve had The Gardens of Kyoto in my TBR mountain for a few years, I’m sad to admit, one of these days though… and I really need to read the first Akunin book. I’ve had it for ages too.
P.S. I love your Halloween banner! 🙂
Wow! What great finds! I have Whistling in the Dark on my shelf, but didn’t pay $1 for it (lucky you!), I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Half Broken Things (yea 50 cents for that one), and I thought Beasts of No Nation was good, but liked others of that type better.
Have fun reading your great deals!
LOL I love that. It’s like a kid going to a candy store eh? I love book shopping, especially when they are cheap.
Holy smokes! Only $7? You really lucked out. Hope you have a good rest of the weekend, even if it does have some chores.
Okay I have to consider moving to Texas for the bargains on books! I’ll be lucky will I can find something for $7 here! Even the brittle, beaten-up, dog-eared pocket paperbacks cost $3 a piece!
Love Always sounds very intriguing and funny. I’ll have to look into that. I have never read any Evelyn Waugh or Iris Murdoch.
Literary Feline – Oh that’s too funny! I’m really looking forward to Beasts of No Nation although I get the feeling I have to be in the mood for it. It sounds very intense. Hope you are doing great!
Tanabata – Isn’t that the way it goes with our books. I know I’ve had some on my TBR stacks for years! I love Halloween so I had to get my husband to make a Halloween banner for me 🙂
Joy – So glad to hear you liked it. I do plan to continue with her Sara Selkirk series but for $1 I couldn’t pass this one up 🙂
Callista – You got it! I think I almost gave my husband a heart attack when he saw my stack but was pleasantly surprised to find it was such a steal 🙂
aka Nik – I’ve been enjoying the weekend. Got out of doing chores again as we ran out to an exhibit – chores can wait 😉
Matt – Ha,ha… That is one good thing about Texas – the HPB stores. I think if I ever leave TX that is one of the major things I will miss. I love that Atwood quote for the Love Always books. When I saw that, I couldn’t pass it up!
7 books for $7? That’s the best deal I’ve heard of in a long time. I miss HPBs. 🙁 There’s one in Omaha, but that’s an hour’s drive and I rarely get up there.
All that for seven dollars! Wow. That’s great. And what a nice list of books you got. Enjoy!
Oh you did do good! I’d be going back very quickly!!
Wow, that’s amazing! I’ve never been to a HPB –never have even seen one! I hate to think about what I’m missing, so . . . I just won’t. I’ll enjoy it vicariously, through you. 🙂
Great haul!
I read Morag Joss’s Half-Broken Things which was very, very good. Then tried Puccini’s Ghosts which I disliked so intensely (hated all of the characters) that I couldn’t finish it. I think I’ll try Funeral Music. Thanks!
Les in NE – I think it’s time you went on a little road trip then 🙂 I know I’d miss HPB terribly. I actually do miss the big one in Dallas a lot but I keep going up there to see my mom so it’s not so bad!
Dorothy W. – I’m still pretty excited about my finds 🙂
Lisa – I want to go back but I’m trying to show some restraint – haha
Bookfool, aka Nancy – Oh you are so missing out! If you are ever down here in Austin, I’ll take you 🙂
jenclair – Ah, I’m so glad I got this one. I vaguely remembered you mentioned there was one you didn’t like but I couldn’t remember. I need to do my review of Funeral Music. It was good. Not great but for the first one in the series it definitely shows promise and it’s set in Bath so it gets extra credit 🙂
That’s a great bargain, Iliana! Enjoy those books!! 🙂