Book Hauls!

[Extollager]

Not exactly Harlan's best...

Personally, I prefer the early Ellison of the Outer Limits screenplays, "Life Hutch," etc. to some better known "attitudinizing" stories!

 

[Ringti]

My first haul of February included such wonderful texts as "Becoming a Writer" by Dorothea Brande. Not exactly what I'd call amazing fantasy, but I need it for my studies, so I can't complain. In terms of fantasy stuff, I picked up The Stormcaller by Tom Loyd and The Wise Man's Fear by Pat Rothfuss, so I'll be happy for a couple of weeks.

 

[j d worthington]

Personally, I prefer the early Ellison of the Outer Limits screenplays, "Life Hutch," etc. to some better known "attitudinizing" stories!

Not entirely sure about that word, myself; however....


If you prefer this sort of thing from Ellison, I'd suggest you look up Ellison Wonderland as well; there are some things which are in both, but there are also plenty of others you're likely to enjoy... though I'm not quite sure what you'd think of "All the Sounds of Fear". (You'd probably like "In Lonely Lands", though; a personal favorite of mine from that period in his writing.) And some of the things in Paingod and Other Delusions would also apply....

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I was at one of those "little free libraries" I mentioned in a post a while ago, and picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I know that book won many awards and has been widely praised, so I hope I will enjoy it. I have to admit that I am a little bemused by the sheer thickness of the book; I can remember when most SFF books were on the thin side.

 

[hitmouse]

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was a huge bestseller a few years ago. Many people loved it. I suspect most of them did not usually read fantasy fiction. It has its merits but I was largely underwhelmed.

 

[JunkMonkey]

I read fantasy - though my tastes run more to SF - and I picked up a second-hand copy Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell back when it was first published, started reading without knowing anything about it, and loved it. I re-read it again last year.

 

[Randy M.]

I was at one of those "little free libraries" I mentioned in a post a while ago, and picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I know that book won many awards and has been widely praised, so I hope I will enjoy it. I have to admit that I am a little bemused by the sheer thickness of the book; I can remember when most SFF books were on the thin side.

Drat. There's a title I should have added to my list of favorites in another thread.

I thought it was smart, not just about its fantasy premise and world, but about the actions and motivations of people.


Randy M.

 

[Bick]

A nice haul to report.
I visited my local second hand bookstore here in Auckland and managed to pick up very clean copies of:

Clark Ashton Smith - Out of Space and Time Volume 1
Eds Pohl, Greenberg, Olander - Galaxy I (Collection)
Spider Robinson - The Callahan Touch
Elizabeth Moon - Against the Odds
Greg Bear - Foundation and Chaos
Bob Shaw - Cosmic Kaleidoscope
Alan Dean Foster - Dirge
Alan Dean Foster - Bloodhype
Ian Watson - Deathhunter
John Ringo - A Hymn Before Battle
Christopher Priest - A Dream of Wessex
Eric Frank Russell - Like Nothing on Earth (Collection)
James Blish - Cities in Flight (Anthology of four novels)
C J Cherryh - The Morgaine Saga (Anthology of three novels)
Mike Resnick - The Widowmaker Reborn
Ben Bova - Test of Fire
Ben Bova - The Precipice
Ben Bova - The Rock Rats
Peter F. Hamilton - The Neutronium Alchemist
Nebula Science Fiction #14 (1955)

Pretty cool, huh. All for $108.90 -a bargain, I think. Anyone read any of these?

 

[Rafellin]

The Morgaine trilogy is stunning and you can rarely go wrong with Clark Ashton Smith.


My little surprise acquisition this week was a 1916 copy of The Beetle, by Richard Marsh. A wierd horror novel released in the same year as Dracula (1897), it apparently outsold Stoker's work for several years. The one I got is an 18th edition!

 

[JunkMonkey]

All for $108.90 -a bargain

What's that in real money?

EDIT: Short visit to XE.com later:

108 New Zealand Dollars =
54 UK pounds
90 US Dollars

 

[dask]

A nice haul to report.
I visited my local second hand bookstore here in Auckland and managed to pick up very clean copies of:

Clark Ashton Smith - Out of Space and Time Volume 1
Eds Pohl, Greenberg, Olander - Galaxy I (Collection)
Spider Robinson - The Callahan Touch
Elizabeth Moon - Against the Odds
Greg Bear - Foundation and Chaos
Bob Shaw - Cosmic Kaleidoscope
Alan Dean Foster - Dirge
Alan Dean Foster - Bloodhype
Ian Watson - Deathhunter
John Ringo - A Hymn Before Battle
Christopher Priest - A Dream of Wessex
Eric Frank Russell - Like Nothing on Earth (Collection)
James Blish - Cities in Flight (Anthology of four novels)
C J Cherryh - The Morgaine Saga (Anthology of three novels)
Mike Resnick - The Widowmaker Reborn
Ben Bova - Test of Fire
Ben Bova - The Precipice
Ben Bova - The Rock Rats
Peter F. Hamilton - The Neutronium Alchemist
Nebula Science Fiction #14 (1955)

Pretty cool, huh. All for $108.90 -a bargain, I think. Anyone read any of these?

Read Crosstime Saloon and really liked it but haven't got around to Time Travelers yet. Don't have The Callahan Touch but I bet it's good. The Eric Frank Russell looks like something worth having.

Read Galaxy I and Gate Of Ivrel (the first Morgaine) and remember liking them a lot.

 

[nomadman]

Picked up a couple of Flashman remainders in a favorite haunt of mine today, Flashman's Lady and Flashman at the Charge. This brings my sum total up to six at the moment. Also picked up Ian Fleming's Thunderball, one of the few Bond novels I've yet to read.

 

[Bick]

Read Galaxy I and Gate Of Ivrel (the first Morgaine) and remember liking them a lot.

Thanks - that's the same Galaxy volume 1 edition I found.

 

[dask]

Saw but didn't take Margaret Atwood's THE HANDMAID'S TALE on the library's freebie shelf today. Left with William James's PRAGMATISM instead. It was mass market and the Atwood was trade. Space is now a major consideration. But I'm having second thoughts. It's supposed to be sf, I guess, but is it any good? Is it worth going back to get?

 

[Abernovo]

Go back! Go back now!

It's a superb book. Very disturbing, due to real-life parallels, and not always comfortable to read, but it's a modern classic for a reason. I read it years ago, and it still resonates.

Get it, dask. You can always give it away again later, if you want.

 

[Bick]

I tried to read Handmaid's Tale many moons ago - I found it rather dull and unengaging and I didn't finish it. So opinion's vary, I guess!

 

[Abernovo]

That they do, Bick. A good thing, too - more books written for different tastes.

 

[dask]

Well, if HANDMAID is there next Friday I'll pick it up. Or keep an eye open for it at book sales.

 

[j d worthington]

Just received a new shipment of things from Derrick Hussey of Hippocampus Press, which included:


The Ancient Track: The Complete Poetical Works of H. P. Lovecraft (revised ed., which includes several items discovered since the publication of the original)
The Village Green and Other Pieces, by Edith Miniter
Letters to Elizabeth Toldridge and Anne Tillery Renshaw, by H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft: Art, Artifact, and Reality, by Steven J. Mariconda
H. P. Lovecraft in the Merrimack Valley, by David Goudsward (foreword by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr.)
13 Conjurations, by Jonathan Thomas
Lovecraft's Pillow and Other Strange Stories, by Kenneth W. Faig, Jr.
Simulacrum and Other Possible Realities, by Jason V. Brock
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky & Other Monstrous Geographies, by John Langan
Suicide in Brooklyn, by S. T. Joshi
Dead Reckonings #s 12-14
Lovecraft Annual #7

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Went to the local library sale and got a few things. Of SFF interest were:

The Lifted Veil (1993) edited by A. Susan Williams. A collection of fantastic literature by women, from 1806 to 1934. The only very familiar story here is C. L. Moore's "Shambleau."

Victorian Fairy Tales (1987) edited by Jack Zipes. Just what the title says, with stories from 1839 to 1902. The only familiar one is "The Reluctant Dragon" by Kenneth Grahame.

The Late Great Creature (1971) by Brock Brower. Apparently not actually fantastic in content, although the main character is an old horror movie star making a comeback. It was featured in one of the "Curiosities" columns in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, so it should be interesting.