Musings from Brian J. Noggle: Good Book Hunting: August 22, 2008

Good Book Hunting: August 22, 2008

The final book fair of the season, the Carondolet YMCA book fair, no longer takes place at the Carondolet YMCA. As a matter of fact, I overheard at the new venue that the Loughborough YMCA is closing down since there's a new, more modern facility available. A shame, really, since the old building was historic in nature. Also, because the books were spread over a number of rooms, they didn't overwhelm one, unlike the hockey rink in a South County park that had a checkout line wrapping into the bleachers when we came in.

I didn't even hit the fiction section before calling it a day, as I'd carried my fifty pounds (eventually) of books for part of or most of an hour and a half just getting through four of the six rows of tables. I've got so many books and read so few these days that I get little joy from my compulsive acquisition these days.

So here's what I got:

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I bought:

Rush!, a biography of Rush Limbaugh.
Playwriting, a book about writing plays. Duh! Probably not as good as Backwards and Forwards, but I already have that.
How to Study History by Norman Cantor and an extra. I've read a couple of Cantor's history books and enjoyed them. Maybe he'll tell me I'm doing it right.
Five Women I Love by Bob Hope about touring with the USO in Vietnam. I think.
Interview with History by Oriana Fallaci.
A biography of Carl Sandburg.
The Kama Sutra, which is a game like Mah Jong.
A hardback copy of The Return of the Native, which is good because my unread paperback copy has a front cover that's torn off and taped on, badly. Something more durable will lend itself more easily to reading.
The Broken Spears, history of the conquest of Mexico from Aztec sources.
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
The Rush Limbaugh Story, another Rush Limbaugh bio. Which means I own three now (the other is Rush To Us, which was also available amongst the multitudes at the Y).
Before Jane Austen, a scholarly book about the rise of the novel in England.
I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore, a second copy of Clarissa Start's memoir to give as a gift to my mother-in-law.
Platoon, the book or novelization of the movie.
Churchill, a collection about Winston Churchill.
Urban Affairs, a collection of pieces by Elaine Viets. The cover photo was taken at the Coral Court motel, if I remember correctly.
The Fifty Year Dash by Bob Greene.
The Dragon and the Gnarly King by Gordon Dickson, because I don't have any unread Dickson, I think.
Thunder on the Left, a political bit.
Guns, Crime, and Freedom by NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.
Bob Geldof, a biography. Listen, because the guy played Pink in The Wall, I've bought an album of his (Deep In the Heart of Nowhere) and a bio. That's carrying it a little far just because I liked the movie.
Inside American Education by Thomas Sowell. My friend Glenn would be proud, if I ever talk to him again and let him know I got a book by his favorite columnist.
Warriors of the Way, an alternate history bit by Harry Harrison. The Vikings conquered England.
The Virginian in the Reader's Digest Classics edition. I actually bought this at an antique store we stopped in to kill some time between the book fair and dinner, so I paid a whole $3 for it, which is still only 10% of its original cost.
Cocoon, the movie paperback.
The Age of Reason, some small paperback summary history of the Enlightenment.
Old Yeller. Never read it. Nobody tell me it ends sadly. Actually, in 8th grade, I was kidding around with someone who read it and I blurted out an ending to ruin it for him. Someone told me the ending I made up (having not read the book) was the actual ending. What a waste of precognitive skills.
The Peter Principle. The book that coined the term, I think.
Event Horizon, the movie's paperback, which will be less gory than the movie since it won't have the special effects. Never saw the movie. Heard it was gory.
Smarter by the Dozen, a book about two families here in Old Trees.
The Study of American Folklore, the textbook about American Folklore by Jan Brunvand.
William the Conqueror. A biography.
England in Elizabeth's Time. A summary history book.
The Wizard and the Glass, which means I have the complete set now of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. I'll need to reread the first three, though, so this project will be in the future sometime.
The Aztecs, a book about the Aztecs.
A stray issue of the Missouri Historical Review from last year.
The Mysterious Maya. Not about the poet.
Mysteries of the Past, a book by American Heritage, so it's probably more credible than what the Reader's Digest people put out in this vein.
Appliance Service Handbook.

As you can see, Mrs. Noggle bought a couple cookbooks, a couple books, a stack of magazines, and dozens of cassettes. The children got a couple of books.

Loading these onto the to read shelves, I note I have just a litle space left. No doubt I'll accidentally fill this in the coming months. Then I'll have to start determining what furniture we sacrifice for more bookshelves. But that's not really a sacrifice, is it? Or perhaps I can somehow justify renting storage somewhere....

- posted by Brian J. @ 7:42 PM