Thrifty Thursday #5: The Border of Paradise

Thrifty Thursday is a meme started by my friend Sal over at Motion Sick Lit, which is a great book blog.

The idea of Thrifty Thursday: each week you link up a used book you get for (preferably) under $5. Grabbing a book you've never heard of is encouraged. It's a cool way to support local shops and maybe find a new favorite book. Since I love judging books by their covers, this is just the activity for me.


THE BOOKSTORE: Magers & Quinn

© LitHub

Prepare yourself, for I already felt like I was cheating by talking about Magers & Quinn (the bookstore where I work). I'm about to cheat even harder.


THE BOOK: 

The Border of Paradise by Esmé Weijun Wang

Check out my Instagram for more book photos

In booming postwar Brooklyn, the Nowak Piano Company is an American success story. There is just one problem: the Nowak’s only son, David. A handsome kid and shy like his mother, David struggles with neuroses. If not for his only friend, Marianne, David’s life would be intolerable. When David inherits the piano company at just 18 and Marianne breaks things off, David sells the company and travels around the world. In Taiwan, his life changes when he meets the daughter of a local madame — beautiful, sharp-tongued Daisy. Returning to the United States, the couple (and newborn son) buy an isolated country house in Northern California’s Polk Valley.

As David's mental health deteriorates, he has a brief affair with Marianne, producing a daughter. When Marianne appears at their doorstep, the couple's fateful decision to take the child as their own determines a tragic course of events for the entire family. Told from multiple perspectives, The Border of Paradise culminates in heartrending fashion, as the young heirs to the Nowak fortune must confront their past and the tragic reality of their future.

This is an ARC that I totally didn't buy! I've been SO thrifty lately, that I'm not even buying books. Not for any reason (or potential trip) in particular, though............

Anyway, bookstores get sent a lot of advanced review copies for booksellers to read, and I snatched this one immediately when I saw the cover. Normally I'd run the opposite direction when I see the word "multigenerational," but I physically felt ill at the thought of leaving this book behind. @jjoongie, one of my favorite Bookstagrammers, told me she read it and loved it. So I have faith. And I'm super curious to read my first Unnamed Press book.

TOTAL PRICE: $0

Because it's illegal to sell ARCs.

Thanks for hosting this, Sal!

Would you have picked this book up?
What cheap books have you found recently?

Thrifty Thursday #4: The Children of Llyr

Thrifty Thursday is a meme started by my friend Sal over at Motion Sick Lit, which is a great book blog.

The idea of Thrifty Thursday: each week you link up a used book you get for (preferably) under $5. Grabbing a book you've never heard of is encouraged. It's a cool way to support local shops and maybe find a new favorite book. Since I love judging books by their covers, this is just the activity for me.


THE BOOKSTORE: Magers & Quinn

© LitHub

Is this cheating? It feels like cheating talking about the bookstore where I work. But it's where I found the book!! And where I find most of my books at this point, considering I get to look at them as they come in before civilians do. Lately I've been cutting way way back on how many books I bring home with me, but every once in a while I see a weird little mass market paperback I need to use my employee discount on.

If you've never been to Magers & Quinn in Minneapolis, it's SO BIG. The picture above is only the back half of the store. It's pretty glorious and I'm still charmed by it.


THE BOOK: 

The Children of Llyr by Evangeline Walton

In stark, gaunt prose, it chronicles the years of Bran the Blessed - he who was so vast a man that no house could hold him nor ship bear his bulk - and of the tale of his beloved sister Branwen, his brother Manawyddan, and of his half-brothers Nissyen and the ghastly Evnissten. It is a tale of change and storm, of love beyond death, of high courage, of the end of an era - and the beginning of another. It is epic fantasy in its purest form - marvellous in its compass and power.

Technically, this book is the second in a series of four. But it sounds like the books are only related in that they're retelling stories from Welsh book of mythology, Mabinogion. I've never heard of this. I don't know aaaanything about Welsh mythology/folklore. All of the reviews on Goodreads that I've read, but one, are 4 or 5 stars. They praise her writing, several referred to it as a feminist retelling, and someone called it "disturbing." So I'm pretty much sold. Plus it looks like a ship is coming out of the big guy's butt, which is kind of funny.

TOTAL PRICE: $1.80

It was already cheap, but my employee discount definitely helped.

Thanks for hosting this, Sal!

Would you have picked this book up?
What cheap books have you found recently?

Thrifty Thursday #3: Beggars in Spain

My reading and internet usage has been a little slumpy these past couple weeks considering how I keep going on weird trips. But one thing that hasn't changed is my interest in buying books. I've been exploring the bookstores available to me now that I'm in Minneapolis, and let me tell you, what I've found has been great.

Thrifty Thursday is a meme started by my friend Sal over at Motion Sick Lit, which is a phenomenal book blog (that is sort of on hiatus, unfortunately).

The idea of Thrifty Thursday: each week you link up a used book you get for (preferably) under $5. Grabbing a book you've never heard of is encouraged. It's a cool way to support local shops and maybe find a new favorite book. Since I love judging books by their covers, this is just the activity for me.


THE BOOKSTORE: Uncle Hugo's

If you like science fiction and/or fantasy, aren't intimidated by enormous piles of books, and live anywhere near Minneapolis, get yourself over to Uncle Hugo's IMMEDIATELY. They have the most amazing selection of new and used science fiction and fantasy that you could ever dream of. It's actually insane. AND the back half of the bookstore is called Uncle Edgar's, where they have a similarly impressive collection of mystery books, if that's what does it for you.

I came here for an N.K. Jemisin book (which I got), but I totally didn't expect to leave here with anything else. I just saw the author's name and knew I needed to make an additional purchase.


THE BOOK: 

Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress

In this future, some people need no sleep at all. Leisha Camden was genetically modified at birth to require no sleep, and her normal twin Alice is the control. Problems and envy between the sisters mirror those in the larger world, as society struggles to adjust to a growing pool of people who not only have 30 percent more time to work and study than normal humans, but are also highly intelligent and in perfect health.

The Sleepless gradually outgrow their welcome on Earth, and their children escape to an orbiting space station to set up their own society. But Leisha and a few others remain behind, preaching acceptance for all humans, Sleepless and Sleeper alike. With the conspiracy and revenge that unwinds, the world needs a little preaching on tolerance.

What physically looks like an inconspicuous and pretty typical science fiction novel is actually written by brilliant powerhouse, Nancy Kress. I've only read her short story, Out of All Them Bright Stars, but it was SO SO GOOD and I want to read everything else by her immediately. She's amazing at using minimal, interesting prose and using aliens to highlight issues of prejudice here on Earth. This book is the first in the Sleepless series, so if I like it, there will be more!


TOTAL PRICE: $2.50

All of the used mass market paperbacks are half off the listed price! You get some incredible deals at Uncle Hugo's.

Thanks for hosting this, Sal!


What cheap books have you picked up recently? Tell me about your favorite used bookstore!

Thrifty Saturday #2: Oyster & Chorus of Mushrooms

Ok, so obviously this is supposed to be Thrifty Thursday, because Thrifty Saturday doesn't sound nearly as good. But I've been absent for almost a week and I missed Thursday, so here I am doing what I want. I swear I'm still reading and stuff. It's just really hard to get a moment to myself when a bunch of people are living in my apartment and I have to entertain them. I will be a solitary creature again on Tuesday, thank god.

Thrifty Thursday is a meme started by my friend Sal over at Motion Sick Lit, which is a phenomenal book blog.

The idea of Thrifty Thursday: each week you link up a used book you get for (preferably) under $5. Grabbing a book you've never heard of is encouraged. It's a cool way to support local shops and maybe find a new favorite book. Since I love judging books by their covers, this is just the activity for me.


THE BOOKSTORE: Myopic Books

If you live in Chicago, you're probably well aware of Myopic Books in Wicker Park. It's an absolutely enormous used bookstore with winding shelves and three floors. And they're open until 11pm every night, so it's kind of catered to my lifestyle. It's so much fun to get lost in, and there are a bunch of great stores, restaurants, and bars nearby.

Normally when I go into used bookstores, I kind of have a list of books in my head that I'm looking for. This time, I wasn't really finding anything. So I just grabbed two books based on their names and covers. I have never ever heard of either of these books. And they ended up being perfect for me (as far as I can tell based on the descriptions and reviews on goodreads). I need to do this more often.


THE BOOK(s): 

Oyster by Janette Turner Hospital 

Outer Maroo, a small, opal mining town in the Australian outback, is stewing in heat, drought, and guilty anxiety. Some ghastly cataclysm has occurred on the opal fields, but this is a taboo subject. At the heart of the mystery is the cult messiah, Oyster, dressed in white, sexually compelling, and preaching the end of time.

Small town! Harsh Australian outback! Cult! An ideal trifecta, honestly. According to the goodreads reviews that I skimmed, the writing is beautiful and it gets really dark. I want to start this one RIGHT NOW.

Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto

"Chorus of Mushrooms" heralds the debut of a young Japanese Canadian feminist, Hiromi Goto. Until the publication of "Chorus of Mushrooms" in 1994, the primary voice heard from Japanese Canadians was that of the people interned during World War II. Hiromi Goto examines the immigration experience of the Japanese Canadian beyond war and into present day Alberta. Celebrating cultural differences as a privilege, Chorus of Mushrooms explores the shifts and collisions of culture through the lives of three generations of women in a Japanese family living in a small prairie town.

You had me at "Japanese Canadian feminist." I grabbed this one solely for the title, and that was a good choice. Apparently the protagonist is absolutely amazing. And the writing is lyrical. So I'm very excited.

TOTAL PRICE: $15

Not the least expensive, but I do what I want.

Thanks for hosting this, Sal!


What cheap books have you picked up recently? Tell me about your favorite used bookstore!

Thrifty Thursday #1: The Wild Shore

First for a little update. You may have noticed that my blog was completely gutted and redesigned! Yay! I started this project on a whim last night. At first I was about to buy a $5 premade template, but as I was looking at them, I was like "nah, I can figure this out." So that's what I did. It was a fun/very frustrating way to stay up until 3 am. AND I added disqus, so commenting and comment notifications will be much less horrible! I hope you guys like it.

Ok, back to the topic at hand. I know it's a little late in the day to be doing a Thursday post, but I was sick all day. Because of that, I may or may not have drank an entire 2 liter of ginger ale. To be fair, I knocked over a full glass in my sleepy stupid. Ginger ale is medicine AND hardwood floor polish, right?

Thrifty Thursday is a meme started by my friend Sal over at Motion Sick Lit. He is like my weird fiction muse. He always has a good recommendation for me that I've NEVER heard of. And he's really good at analyzing writing too. He's a new book blogger, so check him out!

The idea of Thrifty Thursday: each week you link up a used book you get for (preferably) under $5. Grabbing a book you've never heard of is encouraged. It's a cool way to support local shops and maybe find a new favorite book. Since I love judging books by their covers, this is just the activity for me.


THE BOOKSTORE: Bucket O' Blood

This is one of my all time favorites in Chicago. If you're anywhere near Logan Square, you MUST check out Bucket O' Blood. It's a used bookstore AND record store. They sell sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and some literary fiction. So obviously it was made for me. Everything is super cheap and it's hard not to find something fun to bring home.


THE BOOK: The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson

Do you see that? Do you see that on the cover? It's a blurb from Ursula K. Le Guin. "There's a fresh wind blowing in The Wild Shore." That's ALL I NEED. But also that cover is super nice. And I've heard of Kim Stanley Robinson's science fiction before, but hadn't actually read anything. So I took the plunge! Here's what it's about:

2047: For the small Pacific Coast community of San Onofre, life in the aftermath of a devastating nuclear attack is a matter of survival, a day-to-day struggle to stay alive. But young Hank Fletcher dreams of the world that might have been, and might yet be--and dreams of playing a crucial role in America's rebirth.

Sounds cool, right? I don't read a lot of dystopians/utopians anymore, but I'm very intrigued by this imagining of an alternate history of America. And it's a trilogy, so if I REALLY like it, there's more where that came from!

PRICE: $5
I couldn't even feel guilty about buying it.  

Thanks for hosting this, Sal!


What cheap books have you picked up recently? Tell me about your favorite used bookstore!