Book Hauls!

[AE35Unit]

I have about 5 spellsinger books, or rather my partner does! I wouldnt normally have a fantasy series on my shelf but I do like Foster's stuff!

 

[dask]

Passed up the opportunity to get a BIG thick trade paperback of Irwin Shaw short stories at the library booksale this weekend in super good condition for a buck. Should I have gotten it, anyone know? Shaw any good?

 

[Extollager]

I never or virtually never run across mention of Irwin Shaw by, or in connection with, authors whom I know I like, as far as I remember.

 

[Grimward]

My wife just got back from London where she got me two much loved books by their previous owner:

Spellsinger (Spellsinger #1)
by Alan Dean Foster

and

The Hour of the Gate (Spellsinger #2)
by Alan Dean Foster

Anyone read these? They sound pretty cool!

I read them a long time ago too, and I enjoyed them thoroughly. Just the right amount of tomfoolery mixed in with the fantasy, at least for my taste. Enjoy them!

 

[Connavar]

I'll third that on Mishima's novel.

Temple of the Golden Pavilion is also worth reading as is Forbidden Colours.

I've not yet bought into his renowned Sea of Fertility Quartet.

Have you read your copy of The Sailor of Who Fell from Grace with the Sea yet Conn? or have you literally just purchased it?

I have just bought The Sailor book like few days ago and havent had time to read it. I plan to read more acclaimed Japanese general fiction, genre authors to explore their literature and i thought to start with the most hailed author of that country in the last century. I have only read Vampire Hunter D books it seems. He sounds like a complex writer to read and i just must finish my Homer book first.

 

[Lord Captain Woden]

Just won 1984 by George Orwell on a Ebay auction. Also gota tatty old copy of Dune by Frank Herbert yesterday for free! It was a discarded library copy from Shropshire county library, who knows how it got up here but from the dates in the back it was taken out of the library over 30 times between 1984-87 so as you can imagine it is extremely well read, good enough for a reader copy though.

 

[Southern Geologist]

Just won 1984 by George Orwell on a Ebay auction. Also gota tatty old copy of Dune by Frank Herbert yesterday for free! It was a discarded library copy from Shropshire county library, who knows how it got up here but from the dates in the back it was taken out of the library over 30 times between 1984-87 so as you can imagine it is extremely well read, good enough for a reader copy though.

Excellent. Both of those are very important works.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Passed up the opportunity to get a BIG thick trade paperback of Irwin Shaw short stories at the library booksale this weekend in super good condition for a buck. Should I have gotten it, anyone know? Shaw any good?

In addition to his many bestselling novels, Shaw wrote at least one short story which is considered a classic, often reprinted, adapted, and mentioned in articles: "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses." You can read it here:

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/dresses.html

I have also read another story by Shaw called "The Inhabitants of Venus," which is NOT science fiction; the title is a metaphor. It's a chilling
tale of a Jewish man who, in adulthood, encounters a Nazi who left him for dead as a child.

My limited experience with Shaw is that his short stories tend to be terse and plainly written. Here's a long essay on his short fiction:


http://www.hackwriters.com/Irwin.htm

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

I received a couple books as gifts this weekend:

Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

 

[GOLLUM]

I have just bought The Sailor book like few days ago and havent had time to read it. I plan to read more acclaimed Japanese general fiction, genre authors to explore their literature and i thought to start with the most hailed author of that country in the last century. I have only read Vampire Hunter D books it seems. He sounds like a complex writer to read and i just must finish my Homer book first.

Mushima is certainly an important figure in Japanese fiction but I wouldn't go quite so far as to say he is Japan's most acclaimed writer of the 20th Century. not when you have writers to consider like Yusianara Kawabata, Natsume Soseki, Shisuyko Endo, Kenzaburo Oe, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Fumiko Enchi, or even Kobo Abe or Edogawa Rampo for that matter or more recently Murakami who admittedly straddles both 20th and 21st Centuries and is viewed more as a 'popular' writer.

I don't mean to nit-pick here Conn or appear as a 'know-it-all' as Mushima would definitely figure in the top 3 or 4 Japanese writers of the 20th Century but there would be plenty of debate with him being the most hailed (internally or externally) of the last Century. I don't think it's the majority opinion amongst academics, critics or readers whose commentary I've encountered or the view of my Japanese friends (and relations).

If you get more into Japanese literature there are several decent anthologies including An Anthology of Japanese Literature put out by UNESCO that covers the beginning of Japanese writing through to the mid 1880s or Columbia University Press' 2-volume set which is even wider sweeping.

Good reading...

 

[GOLLUM]

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Sweet....

That was one of my favourite reads of last year. Not all Booker Prize winners (as with any prize) are what I consider to be great reads but this is one. The sequel, Bring up the Bodies, is already out and despite Mantel indicating this was initially going to be a 'trilogy' of novels it's clear now it's going to be extended beyond that.

If you like Wolf Hall, check out her stand-alone novel Beyond Black, it'll do your head in...

 

[Connavar]

Mushima is certainly an important figure in Japanese fiction but I wouldn't go quite so far as to say he is Japan's most acclaimed writer of the 20th Century. not when you have writers to consider like Yusianara Kawabata, Natsume Soseki, Shisuyko Endo, Kenzaburo Oe, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Fumiko Enchi, or even Kobo Abe or Edogawa Rampo for that matter or more recently Murakami who admittedly straddles both 20th and 21st Centuries and is viewed more as a 'popular' writer.

I don't mean to nit-pick here Conn or appear as a 'know-it-all' as Mushima would definitely figure in the top 3 or 4 Japanese writers of the 20th Century but there would be plenty of debate with him being the most hailed (internally or externally) of the last Century. I don't think it's the majority opinion amongst academics, critics or readers whose commentary I've encountered or the view of my Japanese friends (and relations).

If you get more into Japanese literature there are several decent anthologies including An Anthology of Japanese Literature put out by UNESCO that covers the beginning of Japanese writing through to the mid 1880s or Columbia University Press' 2-volume set which is even wider sweeping.

Good reading...

I forgot to say i meant here in Sweden he is more acclaimed than any other Asian let alone Japanese author. He has all his books in Swedish. Frankly i choose to start with because he was easy to find in all book stores. Only Oe is close to him here. I dont want japanese authors in English translation.

Murakami is popular author i dont have interest in right now
, he was a bit fake prose,story the book I read.

I will of course look up other modern greats some of the ones you mentioned. Mishima sounds absurd like Camus and that is more important to me than his Swedish hype.

 

[Lady of Winterfell]

Sweet....

That was one of my favourite reads of last year. Not all Booker Prize winners (as with any prize) are what I consider to be great reads but this is one. The sequel, Bring up the Bodies, is already out and despite Mantel indicating this was initially going to be a 'trilogy' of novels it's clear now it's going to be extended beyond that.

If you like Wolf Hall, check out her stand-alone novel Beyond Black, it'll do your head in...

Thanks Gollum! I am actually really looking forward to Wolf Hall. I have heard such great things about it, and after your recommendation I have more hope that it will live up to it. I'm going to read it next after I finish my current book, Chasm City.

 

[K. Riehl]

The mailman was good to me- Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs, Turn of Light by Julie Czerneda, Astounding Stories Aug 1955, Oct 51, Sept 52, Sept 51, Aug 54, and The Mystery Companion Popular Library #130 1943.

The Mystery Companion is pretty good with stories by Leiber, Bloch and Woolrich.

 

[dask]

In addition to his many bestselling novels, Shaw wrote at least one short story which is considered a classic, often reprinted, adapted, and mentioned in articles: "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses." You can read it here:

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/dresses.html

I have also read another story by Shaw called "The Inhabitants of Venus," which is NOT science fiction; the title is a metaphor. It's a chilling
tale of a Jewish man who, in adulthood, encounters a Nazi who left him for dead as a child.

My limited experience with Shaw is that his short stories tend to be terse and plainly written. Here's a long essay on his short fiction:


http://www.hackwriters.com/Irwin.htm

I tend to lean toward terse and plain prose. Maybe it's from being a life long comic fan (even though I don't collect anymore I still love comics). Kind of wish I picked it up now. Thanks for the links.

 

[Southern Geologist]

On Kindle:

J.G. Ballard - The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard
John W. Campbell - The Black Star Passes, Islands of Space, Invaders from the Infinite, The Ultimate Weapon
Raymond Z. Gallun - A First Glimpse and Other Science Fiction Classics
Stanley Weinbaum - Stanley Weinbaum Resurrected: The Short Stories of Stanley Weinbaum
Jack Williamson - The Humanoids

In the mail:

Groff Conklin - A Treasury of Science Fiction
Damon Knight - Science Fiction of the Thirties
Alexander Levitsky - Worlds Apart: An Anthology of Russian Science Fiction and Fantasy
Jack Williamson - Three From the Legion
Vincent Di Fate - The Science Fiction Art of Vincent Di Fate
Steve Holland - Sci-Fi Art: A Graphic History
Stephen D. Korshak - Frank R. Paul: Father of Science Fiction Art
John Picacio - Cover Story: The Art of John Picacio
Nigel Suckling - Ultraterranium: The Paintings of Bruce Pennington

 

[dask]

What's harder to find than a second hand copy of a Wilum Pugmire short story collection? Not much, but just a shade less hard is this:

Known primarily to me as an anthologist, here she showcases her own work, and any book with a dedication that reads "To W.H. Pugmire, My Lovecraftian Chum" is off to a very good start.

 

[Southern Geologist]

[...] and any book with a dedication that reads "To W.H. Pugmire, My Lovecraftian Chum" is off to a very good start.

You're certainly right about that!

A few more things, partly as a result of Ian Whates' classic SF thread:

On Kindle:

Algernon Blackwood - The Collected Works of Algernon Blackwood
Arthur Conan Doyle - The Lost World
Ward Moore - Greener Than You Think
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
Jules Verne - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth
A.E. van Vogt - Slan, The World of Null-A

In the mail:

John W. Campbell - The Best of John W. Campbell


By the way, dask, I think it may be of interest to you to know that I picked up the Algernon Blackwood collection because of a Lovecraft quote I found speaking of being enamored with Blackwood's short story The Willows.

 

[Tim_Eagon]

This week, I bought and started reading A. Merritt's The Face in the Abyss. His The Ship of Ishtar, as well as Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death and Henry Kuttner's Robots Have No Tails are currently en route to my house.

 

[Mangara]

Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner
Ringworld by Lary Niven
Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh

All second hand. Stocking up for a trip to Scotland in May to a remote log cabin with my wife