Saturday, January 19, 2013

Book Binge Report 2013


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So....2013 has barely begun and I've already gone on a couple of book binges.  I think I have a "little" problem.  Maybe.  The weekend of January 7th I went back to my hometown to help my parents settle into their new house and I couldn't resist the chance to stop by The Reading Room.  The Reading Room came into being when my favorite used bookman of all-time sold Mason's Rare & Books to some of his employees.  It's not quite as good as when Mr. Mason had the store, but it will do.  That weekend I brought home:

The Street of Seven Stars by Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Breaking Point by Rinehart (1st Edition)
A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (Tower Edition w/dust jacket)
The Corbin Necklace by Henry Kitchell Webster (1st Edition)
The Mystery Woman by John Ulrich Gisey (1st Edition)
The Black Stage by Anthony Gilbert (1st American Edition w/dust jacket)
The Clock Ticks On by Valentine Willaims (1st American Edition)
The Clue of the Leather Noose by Donald Bayne Hobart (1st Edition)
The Missing Widow/The Scarlet Feather/I Want to Go Home by Anthony Gilbert/Frank Gruber/Frances & Richard Lockridge (3-in-1 Detective Book Club Edition)
Outrageous Exposures by John Penn (library edition)
Man Dead by Selwyn Jepson (Crime Club edition)
Dread Journey by Dorothy B. Hughes (Tower Edition w/dust jacket)
The Man in Shadow/Vanish in an Instant/Something to Hide by Rae Foley/Margaret Millar/Philip MacDonald (3-in-1 Detective Book Club Edition)
The Missing Link by Carolyn Wells (Triangle Books, w/dust jacket)
More Lives Than One by Wells (1st Edition)
Supertales of Modern Mystery: House of Intrigue by Arthur Stringer (1918)
 
Then, my good friend John over at Pretty Sinister Books sent me my prizes for winning his Vintage Mystery Trivia Contest:
Death at Swaythling Court by J. J. Connington (reprint, VG)
The Ticker Tape Murder by Milton Proper (reprint, VG)
About the Murder of Geraldine Foster by Anthony Abbot (2nd Printing--and a book that had been on my TBF, To Be Found, List forever)
PLUS Through a Glass, Darkly & The Deadly Truth (2 Map Backs) by Helen McCloy
[Don't you all wish you'd played the trivia game this year? If John is generous enough to sponsor this again next year, y'all better jump in.  He gives great prizes!!]

Next--some Friends of the Library Bookstore finds:
Death on the Agenda by Patricia Moyes
The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas
 
A couple of impulse Amazon buys (both Rue Morgue Press reprints):
The Youth Hostel Murders by Glyn Carr
The Far Traveller by Manning Coles 

And finally--a trip to a couple of bookstores near Indianapolis:
Ellery Queen's 20th Anniversary Annual by Ellery Queen (1st Dell pocket size edition)
Murder for the Asking by George Harmon Coxe (Dell Map Back)
Giant's Bread by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott (Dell pocket size edition)
The Seeds of Murder by Michael Underwood
Outsider in Amsterdam by Janwillem van de Wetering (reprint)

Um.  That makes for 30 new books in the new year.  And I've managed to knock off four books from the TBR pile.  That would seem to be negative progress so far.......




5 comments:

TomCat said...

I hold a minority opinion on The Youth Hostel Murders, but loved the book from start to finish and it's basically plotted like a Scooby Doo episode. A fun read at the very least.

About the Murder of Geraldine Foster is one of those pleasant, intricately set-up mysteries from the genres Golden Era, however, the pseudo-scientific police methods in this one can be somewhat off-putting. I have a full review up on my blog, if you're interested in more details.

Anonymous said...

You're shameless! But I love it. I've been really proud of myself. So far in my book ban I've bought TWO books! (They were both on sale on Kindle daily deals for $1.99 so I had to!) And my sister has purchased three for me, but that's a deal from helping edit/proof her papers for grad school.

Also, LOVE that picture wouldn't you love to do something like that with all the books you own? It would just be a pain putting them away again :)

Bev Hankins said...

TomCat: I'll be sure and check out your review on Geraldine once I get her read.

TracyK said...

I am always interested in book buying binges. Sounds like a great haul.

I bought quite a few books at the beginning of the year online, so I am holding myself back for two or three months to even it out. It is hard, though.

Jen K said...

I thought I was bad - I've restrained myself to seven so far this year, and have read four of those. However, I'm probably going to the bookstore with my mom tomorrow when we meet for lunch . . . I can never buy just one book, it always has to be at least three or four.