Hello, everyone! How’s everyone’s March going?
So, I pretty much always consider myself on a “book-buying ban”. In a way, I guess this could be good as it seems like I’d be fairly strict and/or principled about the whole thing. Instead, it makes my slip-ups all the more normalized. And, honestly, I’m not really complaining! Most of my book-buying is limited to thrifting so the budgeting thing isn’t much of a concern. With that being said, though, I plan to not get anything else at least through the rest of March — my books are already overflowing off my shelves, so there’s that to keep in mind…
Bunny by Mona Awad
After reading this digitally back in 2022, I knew I wanted to get a physical copy to reread and wrap my thoughts around more. I had such strong mixed feelings about this book which seemed to differ a little from the general love-it-or-hate-it consensus. I’ve not reread it yet but I definitely hope to at some point!
All’s Well by Mona Awad
I started this one digitally at the beginning of 2023 and read it in bits and pieces throughout the year till about two-thirds completion. By that point, I’d come to terms with the fact that while I still will read digitally on occasion, I infinitely prefer a nice tangible paperback (I had to return my library loan of Rouge before finishing it so I hope to get a copy whenever the paperback edition comes out and finish it then). I hope to finish reading this one sometime this year!
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
After reading Autumn Krause’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Here, I was hugely interested in finding more horror fantasy stories. When I came across this one, I bit the bullet without batting an eye and ordered a copy from ThriftBooks. Like the rest of the first-time books on this list, I have yet to start it but would like to soon.
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
I have to admit, I snatched this one up from a local thrift store with no idea what this book even was: all I needed to see was the Van Gogh painting on the cover, and I was sold. (I know nothing about art history overall but I know a bit about Van Gogh, and his oldest works–“The Skull With a Cigarette”, “The Potato-Eaters”, various works centering “peasants”–before moving to Paris and honing his most recognizable style–the various “Sunflowers”, “The Starry Night”, etc.–are some of my favorites!) I don’t read much nonfiction/essay collections but I’m looking forward to something a bit different.
The Book of Lost Things (The Book of Lost Things, #1) by John Connolly
I read a chapter or so of this digitally quite a while ago now and–as you can probably guess–I jumped at the opportunity of a physical copy. There’s no bookstore that’s very local to me so the books I end up purchasing are either ones I buy online or ones I find in thrift stores or at library book sales, so my accumulation of books tends to be a bit haphazard. Having revisited the idea of reading this book in a Top Ten Tuesday post a while back, I made sure to be on the lookout for it!
Wicked Saints (Wicked Saints, #1) by Emily A. Duncan
This young adult fantasy is another one I picked up with no prior knowledge of it. The average rating on Goodreads is a tad mediocre but I’m still planning on giving it a try! Have you read it? If so, what’d you think?
The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1) by Lemony Snicket
This may seem like an odd one to have on this list for anyone who knows how much I love Lemony Snicket. But, actually, I don’t have a nice copy of each A Series of Unfortunate Events book — I shared a mix of battered and nicer paperbacks and hardcovers with my brothers growing up, and it’s been a habit of mine for years to get any Lemony Snicket book I see at a thrift store, regardless of condition or quantity. Now, I’m trying to hone a collection of nice hardcovers of each book for a more curated collection, hence this book’s presence!
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Along with the ASoUE books, I’m always thrifting classics, although I do try to limit those to one copy per story (though I will buy any Catcher in the Rye I come across — think Conspiracy Theory with Mel Gibson…). I didn’t have a copy of Dracula before so I made sure to get one!
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
In the same thrifting trip that I got Dracula (and VHS cassettes of The Addams Family, Practical Magic, The Craft, and The Princess Bride), I also picked up Memoirs of Hadrian — another one I hadn’t heard of before. It’s quite a bit different from what I usually read but I thought I’d give it a try!
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
I read the first few pages of this one in a library aisle and quite enjoyed it–but I was pressed for time and was going to be out of town, so it wasn’t a good idea to check out anything at that point. That being said, I’ve wanted to pick up this book since then. So when I saw a pretty good deal for it on ThriftBooks, I went ahead and ordered!
Fight Club (Fight Club, #1) by Chuck Palahniuk
I’ve been wanting to read some of Chuck Palahniuk’s work and more satirical fiction for quite a long time now so Fight Club seemed like a good place to start. Additionally, my younger brother has come to me for some book recommendations lately (I’ve passed along one of my Catcher in the Rye copies to him and lent him The Outsiders which I actually have yet to finish myself), and we both loved the movie so I may lend him this one as well! (And, don’t worry, I make sure he understands the point of these stories…)
Of all of these, they’re all thrifted/used which makes me personally feel a lot better given how many (at least for me) there are. Like I said, I’m going to try to hold off on buying too many more for a while but, hey, the heart wants what the heart wants.
Have you read any of the books mentioned? If so, what’d you think? What’s your most recent book purchase(s)? Do you prefer your books new? Why, or why not? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!
Little Bit of All That 