I went to Half Price books and scored some pretty cool stuff.

Here's the list:

FICTION:

Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem - This looked like a publisher overstock and normally I'm wary of those because in my experience they just aren't that great, but the title was unique enough to catch my eye and so I opened it up and read this:

I sat down in the chair and left the couch for Phoneblum. He'd need it. When the elevator closed on the kangaroo, the fat man moved to a position behind the couch and gripped the back of it with both hands, then tilted his bulk over it. His scarf tumbled loose across the cushions. "You say we have something to talk about," he said. His voice was deep and theatrical, with a quality of burnished wood, but the tone was neutral.

"I keep turning corners and bumping into your kangaroo," I said. "That'll do for starters."

LOOK, KANGAROOS WERE MENTIONED TWICE. PLUS IT IS SCIFI MYSTERY NOIR. CLEARLY THIS BOOK IS GOING TO BE AWESOME.

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis - I already own this twice over (regular copy + e-book of all seven), but this is a pretty sweet vintage hardcover with this totally retro cover art.

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis - This is the sole Narnia book I have not read more than once. It is the sole Narnia book I have not read more than four times. I always skip over that section of the e-book but I feel like I should PROBABLY re-read it, especially seeing as how it has Eustace, and my favorite line in the Narnia series (+ my favorite starting sentence of ANY book EVER) is about him (VotDT: "There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." WINNNNNNNNNNNNn.) so I thought maybe I should brush up on his canon.

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis - I didn't like this book until I reread it last year. I still dislike the OMGRELIGION aspect, but... it's pretty. If you can ignore the religious elements, it's very pretty. The "further up and further in!" call just sends shivers of exhilaration down my spine every time. idk why.

The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia McKillip - Read of it on a recs list.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley - Found it at the same recs list as above.

The Gates of Twilight by Paula Volsky - The back cover says this: "In a tale of portents and bloodshed, passion and honor, monstrous secrets and primal enchantment, Paul Volsky sweeps us to the dusty, sun-hammered plains of an exotic land where two cultures are locked in a dangerous embrace." I saw "bloodshed" and "dusty, sun-hammered plains" and was like SHYEEEEEEAAAH I'M GETTING THIS! So I have no idea how it will be. Other than violent but sunny.



NONFICTION:

Compendium to Narnia by Paul F. Ford - Can I claim that I grabbed this by accident with The Last Battle and The Silver Chair so I don't look like a total Narnia geek?

War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges - I've seen this recced all over the place. This is why the inside cover says: "Chris Hedges of the NYT has seen war up close -- in the Balkans, in the Middle East, in Central America -- and he has been troubled by what he has seen: friends, enemies, colleagues, and strangers intoxicated and even addicted to war's heady brew. In War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, he tackles the ugly truths about humanity's love affair with war, offering a moving and thought-provoking meditation on the subject that is also gritty, powerful, and unforgettable."

The Sorrows of Empire: Miltarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic by Chalmers Johnson - I wanted Blowback but they didn't have it. His books are mentioned all the time on political blogs, so I want to read them so I can understand the discussions better.

On Writing by Stephen King - Everyone recs this book so hard. At Portus, pixies reiterated the recommendation and that finally pushed me into getting it.

Words Fail Me by Patricia T. O'Connor - Another book on writing I've heard was good, though this looks a great deal more simplistic. But it was $4 and I liked the cover.



I always mean to read more but in the past few years I've really soured to published fiction. It just... most of the authors I like, I already own everything by, and most of the new-to-me stuff I try out bores me to tears or has typos or is awkwardly constructed or ends up having nothing to say, and I'd rather just go read fanfic since there's still tons of stuff I haven't read that I know will be good. And I love fiction way, WAY more than nonfiction, but for the past two years I have read so much more of the latter. I'm hoping that if I post about the books I read in my journal, it'll encourage me to read more. I also like it when other people post about the books they've read because I'm always looking for recs/warnings. I find scoradh's rambly reviews especially entertaining.

With that said, books I mean to read rather soon:

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome - consistently recced to me by people when I say I like humorous fiction.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - recced to me by scoradh.

Harry Potter and the Seven Books of Magical Shit by Hermione Granger, Wizard Historian JK Rowling - So I can brush up on my canon and apply to H_E without getting squibbed.

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose - This book has a pretty cover. Plus, the premise is interesting.

Good mystery novels - to understand the plotting conventions.

eta: aside: GOD, ROCK CANDY IS FUCKING AWESOME.