Zadie Smith - On Beauty: This will be my first Zadie Smith, and I couldn't pass up this beautiful hardcover edition for $8.
Colm Toibin - Brooklyn: I've had this on my TBR list for awhile and finally tracked it down (half-price of course).
Margaret Atwood - Surfacing: I'm slowly making my way through Atwood's works of fiction. This is her second novel after The Edible Woman and as part detective novel, part psychological triller it sounds unlike anything else I've read from her so far.
Ah, okay - you can disregard that tweet, then. ;) On Beauty is very good - but it's even better if you have a working knowledge of Howard's End, by EM Forster. And, I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Toibin - never read him and I've heard a lot of differing opinions.
ReplyDeleteI love the spine of On Beauty. It's certainly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGreg, Interesting. I can't say I have a working knowledge of Howard's End. How does that fit in?
ReplyDeletehistoryofshe, I usually opt for paperbacks but this hardcover was so pretty I had to have it.
I almost bought a used hardback of On Beauty myself last week, but it didn't have the pretty book jacket - wonder if that would have tipped the scales. I haven't read any of these, though Surfacing and On Beauty have been on my TBR list for a while. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteSurfacing is crazy! I hope you enjoy it. I've been wanting to read On Beauty too. Can't wait wait to see what you thnk of them.
ReplyDeleteOn Beauty is a sort of response to or re-imagining of Howard's End. I found On Beauty immensely engaging and absorbing. I followed it up by reading Howard's End. You could always watch the film version of Howard's End first.
ReplyDeleteI loved Brooklyn! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it.
ReplyDeleteI like Brooklyn a lot; enjoy
ReplyDeleteI have heard of Colm Toibin a lot, seen his book around, but never took time to ever learn who he was. I'm curious now, at least!
ReplyDeleteOh and I would totally bought the Zadie Smith at eight bucks too good work.
I read Brooklyn last year and thought it was a great read. Love Zadie Smith--if you liked White Teeth, you'll like On Beauty. And that's awesome that you found such an inexpensive hardback version!
ReplyDeleteNice finds. I have both Brooklyn and Surfacing on my shelf waiting to be read. Hope you enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI loved White Teeth, so can't wait to see what you think of On Beauty :)
ReplyDeleteOn Beauty is such a great read! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Love Zadie Smith! White Teeth is also another awesome read by her - check it out if you haven't.
ReplyDeleteExciting! I went on a little book buying binge this weekend, myself. I saw Brooklyn too at the used shop, so perhaps your review will convince me to pick it up next time. I've got On Beauty on my TBR list, also. If you announce your intention to read it in the future, I might just do the same. Great finds!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Brooklyn! Hope you do, too!
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