Barnes and Nobles Raid

Went to Barnes and Nobles after church yesterday. I'd accumulated quite a stack of gift cards so I thought it might be time to spend them. I found quite a treasure. I had originally gone there to check if they had any nice new journals, but I didn't find any I liked. It took a bit, but I found some awesome things.

First of all, I hadn't realized Sherman Alexie had published anything recently. He had, so I grabbed Flight. I checked online last night and apparently there's one other he's published recently called, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. I might order that soon; if I didn't already.

Also, I found a new translation of Stéphane Mallarmé's prose, Divagations. Oh, boy, was I excited. It looks like there's a bunch of stuff I've never read in it. Can't wait to crack that sucker open.

Also, found Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake at a delectable $7 for a hardback. Oooo-wee. Jodi excited, I tell you what. I've really really enjoyed Margaret Atwood in the past but haven't indulged in her too much because I'm usually in the middle of a semester or preparing for some paper.

Oh, and I found a hardback of Neil Gaiman's Anasi Boys, which was also in the clearance. Yes, sir-rie.

I grabbed the last book of Paul Auster's I haven't purchased yet; the rest are coming via mail. This one is Moon Palace. Actually, I think I have one more after these that I need to get (Oracle), but I figure the other several will keep me busy for at least a few weeks.

Also found a book of Edgar Allen Poe's prose. I know this one seems random but is connected to the Paul Auster interest.

Also found a couple interesting and random books. One called The Reader: a novel by Bernhard Schlink. I haven't heard of this writer nor his book, but the title caught my eye, understandably. And the back description only made matters worse:

"Hailed for its coiled eroticism and moral claim it makes upon its reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany.

"When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover. She enthralls him with her passion, but puzzles him with her odd silences. The she inexplicably disappears.

"When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student and Hanna is on trial for a hideous crime. But as he watches her refuse to defend herself, Michael gradually realizes that his former lover may be guarding a secret she considered more shameful than murder."

I'm not sure about the last two paragraphs, but the first one has me intrigued beyond measure. Except maybe for the "coiled eroticism"; that part makes me want to cover the back cover with my hand over that part when I'm reading it. But, the reader/writer/narrator connection is too interesting not to read, as it reminds me of Whitman and has much to do with my research on Beckett, and my manuscripts as well.

This also interests me because of the possible connection to Postwar Germany, which also plays into my research in various ways.

Also found another random one that seems interesting. This one is called red earth and pouring rain by Vikram Chandra. The title for one is really awesome. Hints to me of the poetic language that might be in the book, and part of the back is interesting: "an eighteenth-century warrior-poet (now reincarnated as a typewriting monkey)..." Already reminds me of an episode of Futurama; if you know Futurama, you know what I'm talking about, hat-wearing genius monkey and all.

Also, I found a book by Anton Chekhov that I wasn't aware of, not that I'm overly familiar with his work, because I'm not. This one is called Sakhalin Island and is apparently travel non-fiction written by Chekhov when he was 30. The back describes it better than I can; especially as I haven't read the book yet:

"In 1890, the thirty-year-old Chekhov, already knowing that he was ill with tuberculosis, undertook an ardous eleven-week journey from Moscow across Siberia to the penal colony on the island of Sakhalin.

"Highly valuable both as a detailed description of the Tsarist system of penal servitude and as an insight into Chekhov's motiviations and objectives for visiting the colony and writing the expose, Sakhalin Island is a haunting work which had a huge impact both on Chekhov's career and on Russian society."

I'm intrigued in this work also because of the research I'm doing for the first section of my thesis.

All in all, makes me eager and excited to finish reading I am Legend; but at the same time, I want to take my time through The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. I started reading this yesterday after finishing The Brooklyn Follies, and oh boy, it's amazing. I plan on buying another copy soon and sending it to an unsuspecting individual; maybe several copies to several unsuspecting people. Yeah, that good.

Anyway, hopefully I can indulge for at least another week. However, I'm wanting to finish figuring out my classes soon. I'm super excited about that too. Can't wait. Seriously.