Book Chat Saturdays || Library Sale Book Haul!

So I gave myself an idea when I was filming the 10 Most Influential Books Tag—which went up on Monday, I think. Click here to go watch that very quick video if you haven’t seen it yet—and that idea was to do a book series on my blog. So what I'm planning is to do book reviews and sometimes other random book-related posts most Saturdays. Sometimes they’ll be reviews of books I've preciously read that I want to share my thoughts on, books I’ve read recently, I’ll also do some book tags, and rarely, book hauls. I’m not really a book haul-er though, but that’s what I have for you today!

Today (as I’m writing this), my local library had their annual book sale, so of course I had to check it out! The paperbacks were on for 25 cents, or 5 for $1. But while I was picking out books, the librarians came around and changed all the signs to half-off, so in the end, I got 10 paperbacks for a dollar, and also a magazine for another 10 cents. Most of them are random books I’ve never heard of, some by authors I know, or authors I have heard of and wasted to read, and some just sounded interesting. A couple are actually parts of series, and not always the first books in their series, but that’s okay... I can get the first books out of the library when I get there.

So anyway, here’s a look at everything that I got, as well as the back cover blurbs. For any that didn’t have blurbs on the back covers, I’ll insert a quote of their blurb on GoodReads

Enjoy!

1. Animal Farm by George Orwell

My Comments: I know most people read this in school, but somehow I avoided it all through Highschool and University. I want to read it though, and this sale seemed like a great time to pick up my own copy!

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1. The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

My Comments: I love Merlin/Arthurian books, and that is what this is. This is the beginning of a series, or something, but at least it's the first book! This seems like a cool, more historical, realistic approach to the legends, but obviously with magicky stuff. Yeah. I honestly know nothing about this book or author, so we'll see.

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3. The Cry of the Dove by Fadia Faqir

My Comments: This one looks really interesting. And it's about a culture I don't personally know a lot about. It sounds dramatic and intense, so I hope it's good.

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4. Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

My Comments:I love dragons, and I know that a lot of people like Anne McCaffrey, though I don't know if these are my type of books. We shall see. This is the first of a series as well.

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5. The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

My Comments: I've wanted to read this book for some time. It actually has pretty harsh ratings on GR (GoodReads), but it sounds really good, and I think it basically pioneered steampunk as a thing, so that's really cool. Plus I know I like Gibson as an author. Looking forward to this one!

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6. Hello Magazine Diamond Jubille Collector's Edition

My Comments: I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to all kinds of British stuff, including the royal family, and the Queen is freaking awesome, so I was excited to see this collector's edition of Hello celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee for only 10 cents! I'm sure I'll enjoy this!

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7. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

"A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose -and change - their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.

"Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction." (Blurb as on Goodreads)

My Comments:I don't remember why, probably because I wanted to read more Ursula Le Guin, but this book was already on my GR want to read list before I bought it.

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8. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee

My Comments:This one actually sounds really good. Of the ones I've never heard of, it's probably the one I'm most looking forward to. I love WWII period books, and this one fits that, while also being set in an area I've read little to nothing about. Hope it's awesome or at least good.

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9. Changing Planes: Armchair Travel For The Mind by Ursula Le Guin

My Comments: I again bought this because Ursula Le Guin, but this one sounds quite odd, and possibly really good.

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10. The Romance of Tristan and Iseult: as retold by Joseph Bedier

"A tale of chivalry and doomed, transcendent love, The Romance of Tristan and Iseult is one of the most resonant works of Western literature, as well as the basis for our enduring idea of romance. The story of the Cornish knight and the Irish princess who meet by deception, fall in love by magic, and pursue that love in defiance of heavenly and earthly law has inspired artists from Matthew Arnold to Richard Wagner. But nowhere has it been retold with greater eloquence and dignity than in Joseph Bédier’s edition, which weaves several medieval sources into a seamless whole, elegantly translated by Hilaire Belloc and Paul Rosenfeld." (Blurb from GoodReads)

My Comments:I was simply intrigued. This is a side-story to the Arthurian stuff, if I remember correctly. Tristan being one of Arthur's knights. Hopefully this retelling is good, it was originally sold at a University Book store, so that seems hopeful.

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11. Valley of the Soul by Tamara Siler Jones

My Comments: Finally, this is disappointingly the third book in the series. Blah. Still, it sounds interesting, so I'll just have to get the first two out of the library when I finally get around to this book. Oh well. 10 cents. *shrugs*

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Let me know if you’re read any of these, or heard of them, and what your thoughts were! Also let me know what new books you’re picked up recently! Hope some of you are interested in a book series! =P

Thanks for watching!