Bookish Retail Therapy -- BOOK THOUGHTS

 

BOOK THOUGHTS

Bookish Retail Therapy

Work has been crazy the last couple of months. When I am under the gun, my retail therapy choice is online book shopping. I did some stress-induced shopping from Blackwell's Books the other day and the books just got here. I like a Blackwell's binge every now and again because they have books that are hard to find here in the US, or in editions we don’t have.

I keep a comprehensive wish list of books I want to read. Most of the books on the big list are from the book lists I'm working on -- certain prize winners, must reads, and books by favorite authors.  Others are books that caught my eye, often from the Slightly Foxed quarterly or recommendations from friends. The books in this picture have all been on my wish list for a while. That means they are not available as an audiobook from my library or on Spotify, because I always look for those free audiobooks first. 

Here's what's in that stack: 

The Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai came to my attention because it is on Erica Jong’s list of Top 100 20th Century Novels by Women, one of the lists I'm working on. It’s a great list and I've found several new-to-me authors on it, like Joy Kogawa and Lore Segal.

Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett won the 1923 James Tate Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. Based at the University of Scotland in Edinburgh, the James Tait Black Prize is one of the oldest and most prestigious book prizes, awarded since 1919 for literature written in the English language. Overall, I think I prefer these prize winners over the Booker winners. 

An Unofficial Rose by Iris Murdoch is one of the few Murdoch books not already on my shelves. I’m a Murdoch completist, so this buy made me particularly happy.

Highland River by Neil M. Gunn won the James Tait Black prize in 1937. It is about a young man on an introspective journey to the source of the river he grew up with.

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is for a buddy read in January some of my bookstagram friends. I could have bought this classic from an American store, but, oddly, I couldn’t find the Penguin Classic edition.

Inside the Wave by Helen Dunmore is her last book of poetry. It won the Costa Book of the Year Award, yet another list I’m working on.

It’s true, I can’t resist a list! Do you have any book lists you are working on? Maybe we share a few. Or I can tackle a new one!

The Costa Book of the Year Award -- LIST

THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Costa Book Awards "celebrates the most enjoyable books of the year by writers resident in the UK and Ireland." The awards were formerly known as the the Whitbread Literary Awards from 1971 until 1985 when the name changed to the Whitbread Book Awards. Costa Coffee took over over in 2006, changing the name, but not the purpose, of the awards.

There are five categories of Costa Book Awards: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry, and Children's Book. The Book of the Year Award debuted in 1985 and is chosen from any of the five categories.

I am not going to keep updating the winners after 2021. My enthusiasm for prize-winners is waning with the 2020s. I plan to focus my efforts on reading the winners up to 2020 then declare victory and move on to other bookish projects.

I'm working my way through the Costa "BOTY" list, but because I'm not much of a poetry reader and I'm no fan of sci-fi, I don't know know if I will ever get through all the books on this list. On the other hand, if they really were "most enjoyable," then maybe reading these prize winners would be the easiest way to expand my reading horizons.

If I've read a book or it is on my TBR shelf, it is noted in the list below. So far, I've read 13 of the winners. 

2021: The Kids by Hannah Lowe

2020: The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story by Monique Roffey ON OVERDRIVE

2019: The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Infiltrated Auschwitz by Jack Faitweather ON OVERDRIVE

2018: The Cut Out Girl: A Story of War and Family, Lost and Found by Bart van Es ON OVERDRIVE

2017: Inside the Wave by Helen Dunmore TBR SHELF

2016: Days Without End by Sebastian Barry FINISHED

2015: The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge 

2014: H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald FINISHED

2013: The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer FINISHED

2012: Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel FINISHED

2011: Pure by Andrew Miller TBR SHELF

2010: Of Mutability by Jo Shapcott

2009: A Scattering by Christopher Reid 

2008: The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry (reviewed here) FINISHED

2007: Day by A.L. Kennedy 

2006: The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney (reviewed here) FINISHED

2005: Matisse the Master by Hilary Spurling 

2004: Small Island by Andrea Levy (reviewed here) FINISHED

2003: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon FINISHED

2002: Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin

2001: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman ON OVERDRIVE

2000: English Passengers by Matthew Kneale TBR SHELF

1999: Beowulf by Seamus Heaney FINISHED

1998: Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes TBR SHELF

1997: Tales from Ovid by Ted Hughes

1996: The Spirit Level by Seamus Heaney FINISHED

1995: Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson  (reviewed here) FINISHED

1994: Felicia's Journey by William Trevor FINISHED

1993: Theory of War by Joan Brady TBR SHELF

1992: Swing Hammer Swing! by Jeff Torrington TBR SHELF

1991: A Life of Picasso by John Richardson 

1990: Hopeful Monsters by Nicholas Mosley TBR SHELF

1989: Coleridge: Early Visions by Richard Holmes TBR SHELF

1988: The Comforts of Madness by Paul Sayer 

1987: Under the Eye of the Clock by Christopher Nolan 

1986: An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro FINISHED

1985: Elegies by Douglas Dunn 



NOTES

This post is a redo of the original Cota BOTY list I posted in 2009. Updated December 28, 2022. 

OTHERS READING THESE BOOKS

If you are working through the books on this list, please leave links to your progress reports or reviews of these books in the comments and I will list them here.

Mailbox Monday: Box of Books from Powell's

A box of books from Powell's Books was the highlight of my week last week! What new books came to your house?

Do any of these catch your fancy? There was a reason I picked each one:

A Crime in the Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne. Berne won the 1999 Women's Prize for Fiction (then called the Orange Prize) for this debut novel. I'm working my way through the winners of the Women's Prize.

Theory of War by Joan Brady. Brady won the Costa Book of the Year Award (then called the Whitbread BOTY Award) in 1993 for this novel about the American Civil War. I'm also reading the winners of this prize.

The Cat Who Went to Paris and The Cat Who'll Live Forever by Peter Gethers. These are for my mom and sister, who just finished Gethers's other book about Norton the Cat, A Cat Abroad.

Bamboo by William Boyd. I'm working my way through all of Boyd's books, including this collection of essays and criticism.

Powell's Books is Portland's – and the world's – largest independent bookstore. It is a book-lovers' Mecca, general tourist attraction, and the cultural heart of downtown Portland. Known as Powell's City of Books, Powell's downtown store is a labyrinth of new and used books.

Like most retail stores, Powell's has been closed for almost two months now because of coronavirus. Portlanders have rallied around our favorite shops and restaurants, including Powell's. I've been trying to buy as many books from as many local bookstores as I can, including Powell's. I ordered Easter books for my grandkids and ordered a batch of used books for myself. Powell's offers free shipping on orders over $25.

Lots of local bookstores are offering curbside pickup or even local delivery these days. If there is no local bookshop where you live, you can also order from Bookshop.org and it will find the nearest independent bookstore or your favorite book shop and that store will get a percentage of the proceeds from every order.

Mailbox Monday is  a weekly "show & tell" event to share the books you acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught Our Eye the prior week.

Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf host Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday: The Spirit Level by Seamus Heaney

In 1996, Seamus Heaney's The Spirit Level won the Costa Book of the Year Award (fka the Whitbread Award). I'm working my way through the winners, particularly slowly the poetry winners, so finally ordered a copy.



What new books came into your house last week?

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday, a weekly "show & tell" blog event where participants share the books they acquired the week before. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is graciously hosted by Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.

Book Beginning: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Forty-five minutes northeast of Cambridge as a landscape I’ve come to love very much indeed. It’s where wet fen gives way to parched sand.

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. I'm listening to the audio edition, which is read by the author. I generally enjoy that experience with non-fiction books, but she is a particularly excellent reader.

I finally got around to this popular book because I am working on the list of Costa Book of the Year winners. H is for Hawk won in 2014.

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING