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Took advantage of a New York Review of Books sale and ordered 17 volumes from their NYRB Classics series, including several titles by Soviet writer Vasily Grossman, in whom I’ve developed a strong interest. Reading the introduction tonight to a new translation of his novel Stalingrad, which is a sort of prequel to his better-known Life And Fate (also among the NYRB books I received today). 

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35 minutes ago, ghost of miles said:

Took advantage of a New York Review of Books sale and ordered 17 volumes from their NYRB Classics series, including several titles by Soviet writer Vasily Grossman, in whom I’ve developed a strong interest. Reading the introduction tonight to a new translation of his novel Stalingrad, which is a sort of prequel to his better-known Life And Fate (also among the NYRB books I received today). 

I'm a huge fan of the NYRB Classics catalogue.  Each month they publish a new book.  I belong to their book club, which sends you a new book every month.  You're never sure what you'll receive and I've read some books I probably wouldn't have read otherwise. The cost is only $150 for 12 books and it's well worth it, in my opinion.  Usually, when I go to a used book store, the first thing I'm looking for are books with the Classics logo.  

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9 hours ago, Brad said:

I'm a huge fan of the NYRB Classics catalogue.  Each month they publish a new book.  I belong to their book club, which sends you a new book every month.  You're never sure what you'll receive and I've read some books I probably wouldn't have read otherwise. The cost is only $150 for 12 books and it's well worth it, in my opinion.  Usually, when I go to a used book store, the first thing I'm looking for are books with the Classics logo.  

Yes, they keep sending me email invitations to sign up for the book club. If I didn’t own a small house full of filled-in bookshelves and book-piles, I’d be strongly tempted to join. This is what I bought from their 40% off and free shipping sale:

1x Fat City - Paperback 
1x Stalingrad - Paperback 
1x Berlin Alexanderplatz - Paperback 
1x Life and Fate - Paperback 
1x The Gallery - Paperback 
1x Everything Flows - Paperback 
1x Nothing but the Night - Paperback 
1x The Rim of Morning - Paperback 
1x The Stalin Front - Paperback
1x The Road - Paperback 
1x Slow Days, Fast Company - Paperback 
1x Stoner: 50th Anniversary Edition - Hardcover 
1x Black Sun - Paperback 
1x Part of Our Time - Paperback 
1x Conquered City - Paperback 
1x Nights in the Gardens of Brooklyn - Paperback 
1x In the Heart of the Heart of the Country - Paperback 

Should keep me busy for awhile! ☺️ I already have a dozen or so other volunes from the series.

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Fat City is a great one. I received that as part of the Club. Stoner is also great.  My favorites are the books by Stefan Zweig, especially Beware of Pity. I have them all. Under appreciated classics are the books by Alfred Hayes. They’ve also published some great WWI books, some fictional, some non fiction. My introduction to Russian literature came through their publication of Pushkin’s The Captain’s Daughter. 

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43 minutes ago, Brad said:

Fat City is a great one. I received that as part of the Club. Stoner is also great.  My favorites are the books by Stefan Zweig, especially Beware of Pity. I have them all. Under appreciated classics are the books by Alfred Hayes. They’ve also published some great WWI books, some fictional, some non fiction. My introduction to Russian literature came through their publication of Pushkin’s The Captain’s Daughter. 

I have both (?) of the Alfred Hayes NYRB Classics reprints, but haven’t read them yet. Trying to figure out a place in my house where I can group all of my NYRBs together. 🤔

News from another series I love, the Library of America:

Forthcoming spring-summer 2020 titles

Particularly excited to see that Robert Stone entry. Dog Soldiers is a classic.

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33 minutes ago, kinuta said:

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The final Bosch .

I've enjoyed the series...  The end of Bosch, and a crossover to Ballard, who has appeared a couple of times before, perhaps?  Connelly's a good straight-ahead story teller, so I guee I'll stick around.  (But we'll be saying goodbye to Bosch's musical taste, unfortunately.)

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7 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

I have both (?) of the Alfred Hayes NYRB Classics reprints, but haven’t read them yet. Trying to figure out a place in my house where I can group all of my NYRBs together. 🤔

News from another series I love, the Library of America:

Forthcoming spring-summer 2020 titles

Particularly excited to see that Robert Stone entry. Dog Soldiers is a classic.

 NYRB has only published two of his books although he’s written a few more. Both are good although I prefer My Face for the World to See. 

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9 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

News from another series I love, the Library of America:

Forthcoming spring-summer 2020 titles

Particularly excited to see that Robert Stone entry. Dog Soldiers is a classic.

Kind of torn on Robert Stone.  I had Outerbridge Reach forever and never cracked it.  I suspect the same would happen if I bought a 3-book anthology of his works.  (Also, if I bought them as used paperbacks it would be a small fraction of the cost of LOA.)  I'm about to start reading A Hall of Mirrors.  Perhaps that will decide me one way or the other.

The Joan Didion collection they are putting together is kind of odd, mixing fiction and non-fiction.  In this case, I would recommend the Everyman edition of her non-fiction (basically everything except The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights) instead.

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NYRB Classics is having what they call a 50% “flash” sale on Elizabeth Hardwick and Renata Adler books, for those who may be interested. 

“Two incisive, boldly experimental novels from the 1970s by Elizabeth Hardwick and Renata Adler (plus five additional titles from the two writers) are being offered at 50% off for the next 24 hours.”

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2 hours ago, Brad said:

NYRB Classics is having what they call a 50% “flash” sale on Elizabeth Hardwick and Renata Adler books, for those who may be interested. 

“Two incisive, boldly experimental novels from the 1970s by Elizabeth Hardwick and Renata Adler (plus five additional titles from the two writers) are being offered at 50% off for the next 24 hours.”

I thought Hardwick's NY Stories were pretty good.  I read Sleepless Nights, but it didn't really stick with me (probably a bit too experimental/impressionistic).  I do remember not liking Adler's Speedboat very much.

As an aside, Hardwick wrote the introduction to the NYRB edition of Powers' Morte d'Urban.  I don't think it is an appropriate introduction as she gives away far too many main plot points.  I also think the cover for this edition is not terribly fitting, so I guess I'm saying I would turn elsewhere to pick up this novel...  Incidentally, I have gotten back into this novel.  It's good, though not quite as good as I remembered (though I haven't gotten to the part where Father Urban is exiled to Minnesota and basically has a spiritual re-awakening).

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I just finished the 23rd Jack Reacher novel, "The Midnight Line" and it seems to me that Reacher may be nearing some sort of end of the line soon. (Spoilers in white - highlight to read) He seems to regret Michelle Chang's departure (Book #20, "Make Me") more than most of the other women he's been with, including Jodie Garber, who was looking like the future Mrs. Jack Reacher for a short while in book #3, "Tripwire".

He's also started facing some physical shortcomings, expected as he ages, so he's not winning every fight as cleanly as he did when he was younger. By the end of "Make Me", he was laid up for a few months after getting punched in the head. (End of spoilers) From the book timelines, he looks to be in his late 50's. I wonder if Child will keep him aging as the books move on or will he just start doing flashback books?

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