02-03-2020, 01:57 AM | #16 | |
cacoethes scribendi
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The problem with "anything goes" is that I am awash with possibilities, and my DMD (Decision Making Disorder) has me floundering. What I finally settled on is...
I nominate Nation by Terry Pratchett Description from Goodreads Quote:
Example prices from Kobo: USD $9.99, CAD $11.89, GBP £4.99, AUD $11.99 Written for younger readers but by no means childish, this is a more serious offering from Terry Pratchett. It certainly has moments of his trademark humour but his serious side is more obviously exposed. It is one of the books that, for me, highlights a similarity between Dickens and Pratchett: what might be described as: "your morals are showing". I know some don't like overtly moralistic tales, but I think that Dickens and Pratchett get away with it ... but then I'm prejudiced. Last edited by gmw; 02-03-2020 at 01:59 AM. |
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02-03-2020, 07:51 AM | #17 |
cacoethes scribendi
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I second: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton. I had not heard of this before and it sounds intriguing.
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02-03-2020, 09:54 AM | #18 | |
o saeclum infacetum
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I had a hard time focusing this month, with nothing to narrow it down. I chased several rabbits that didn't work out (price or length), particularly Ireland or women for March, and settled on a book that is related to neither but is someplace that's different from our usual and a genre (travel) we usually don't pursue.
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple. I haven't read this, but I loved his To the Holy Mountain about Mount Athos. From Goodreads: Quote:
352 pp. |
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02-03-2020, 12:36 PM | #19 |
Grand Sorcerer
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I know. I don't believe I've ever seen a price that high for a non-textbook. And this is a book that's over 65 years old and has been available digitally for some 10 years--it was one of the first e-books I ever bought.
P.S. The Dollmaker isn't yet listed in the nominations. Last edited by Catlady; 02-03-2020 at 12:39 PM. |
02-03-2020, 01:34 PM | #20 |
o saeclum infacetum
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02-03-2020, 02:44 PM | #21 |
Wizard
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I was flooded by too many choices as well. However, I finally decided to propose an old classic, The Maltese Falcon, by Dashielle Hammett. It just sounds like fun.
The story itself needs no introduction, so just a bit of background but from Wikipedia: Sam Spade is a private detective in San Francisco, in partnership with Miles Archer. The beautiful "Miss Wonderley" hires them to follow Floyd Thursby, who has run off with her sister. Archer takes the first stint but is found shot dead that night. Thursby is also killed later and Spade is a suspect. The next morning, Spade coolly tells his office secretary, Effie Perine, to have the office door repainted to read simply "Samuel Spade". "Miss Wonderley" is soon revealed to be an acquisitive adventuress named Brigid O'Shaughnessy, involved in the search for a black statuette of unknown but substantial value. The Maltese Falcon is a 1930 detective novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett, originally serialized in the magazine Black Mask beginning with the September 1929 issue. The story is told entirely in external third-person narrative; there is no description whatever of any character's internal thoughts or feelings, only what they say and do, and how they look. The novel has been adapted several times for the cinema. The main character, Sam Spade (who also appeared later in some lesser-known short stories), was a departure from Hammett's nameless detective, The Continental Op. Spade combined several features of previous detectives, notably his cold detachment, keen eye for detail, unflinching, sometimes ruthless, determination to achieve his own form of justice, and a complete lack of sentimentality. Although Hammett himself worked for a time as a private detective for the Pinkerton Detective Agency in San Francisco (and used his given name, Samuel, for the story's protagonist), Hammett asserted that "Spade has no original. He is a dream man in the sense that he is what most of the private detectives I worked with would like to have been, and, in their cockier moments, thought they approached." Overdrive: as best I can tell, it appears to be available though not at my library. Kindle $2.99 US; $0.99 CA Kobo $0.99 CA; $9.99 US; $12.99 AUD Sorry - it seems to be quite a bit more expensive in via Kobo. Last edited by Victoria; 02-03-2020 at 02:54 PM. |
02-03-2020, 03:08 PM | #22 |
(he/him/his)
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The Maltese Falcon is Public Domain in Canada (at least until they pass the new NAFTA), and is available from FadedPage, the Canadian PD download site. Of course, you should only use that if you're in Canada, or in another Life+50 country.
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02-03-2020, 03:37 PM | #23 | |
Wizard
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Quote:
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02-03-2020, 04:00 PM | #24 | |
o saeclum infacetum
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Quote:
If you don't mind, I'll just go ahead and list this as PD in Canada and let it go at that; people have to do their own research anyway. |
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02-03-2020, 06:33 PM | #25 | |
Wizard
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Quote:
(First time I’ve come across the expression ‘IANAL’ - fun ) Last edited by Victoria; 02-03-2020 at 06:36 PM. |
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02-03-2020, 07:08 PM | #26 |
Snoozing in the sun
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I'm in a bit of a dilemma this month, as I have a busy time coming up (family stuff, a short holiday, life in general) and I also have problems finding a number of the books at my library.
However, at this stage I am able to second City of Djinns, which the library can provide, and The Maltese Falcon which I own. |
02-03-2020, 09:13 PM | #27 | ||
Grand Sorcerer
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I nominate Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian (2008, 386 pp.). I've read around ten of Bohjalian's novels, and haven't been disappointed yet.
Quote:
Quote:
Amazon U.S., $12.99 |
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02-03-2020, 10:27 PM | #28 |
cacoethes scribendi
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A number of these have been on my wish-lists for quite some time, so I'm going to flip a virtual coin and ...
I third The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett |
02-04-2020, 06:49 AM | #29 |
o saeclum infacetum
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I'm going to second The Dollmaker and As You Wish.
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02-04-2020, 04:43 PM | #30 |
Wizard
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It’s hard to spend my last vote this time! They’re all so different from one another. I wish I could borrow ahead from myself.
After combing through reviews, I need to add to my tbr, and will second Nation. |
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