January 09, 2010

A Last Book Splurge...

Unlike the Northern Hemisphere we are experiencing summer in all its glory this weekend. I'm not complaining - this is the first fully sunny weekend we have had since before Christmas and it does mean I finally get to wear my new swimmers seen below (trust me, this photo from the catalogue is much better to view than me actually in the swimmers but I still love them!).

But until our air conditioning is installed it does make being at home during the day light hours a little uncomfortable so my partner and I hit the bookshop for some browsing today and I came home with a little bundle. As I have mentioned before my partner and I have made a decision to cut back on our book spending this year - not cut out altogether but definitely reduce our spending. We have some rough guidelines for this plan - basically unless a new book is released from our favourite authors or we can't find a book that we really want to read at our local library we can consider buying a copy - first seeking out where we can find a copy of the book the cheapest. We are trying to stop that impulse book spending habit that we have developed so well! We are also planning to go through our bookshelves - sell or give away those that we no longer want to keep and arrange the others in some kind of logical order - more about that in the future...
So today's purchases from top to bottom are:

The Art of Travel - Alain De Botton - Since reading A Week At The Airport I have wanted to read more of De Botton's work - particularly his writing and reflections on travel so this was the perfect choice.

Consolation - Anna Gavalda - Apart from this being an absolutely stunning book to look at I did enjoy the author's last book Hunting and Gathering.

Seasons - Donna Hay - The latest cook book by an Australian chef whose books I adore - they look gorgeous and I can actually cook the recipes in them!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

That Consolations book looks gorgeous. I wonder if it has the same cover her, if so thats another one to covet. Looks and sounds wonderful.

JoAnn said...

A nice stack of books - and I love hearing about summer as we are stuck in the deep freeze! There's an award for you at:
http://lakesidemusing.blogspot.com/2010/01/tss-over-top-catching-up-on-awards.html

Steph said...

Aren't all of us book bloggers always claiming that this last splurge will be our last? ;)

When I saw The Art of Travel in your pile I thought, "Wait a moment! Hasn't she already read that?" but then I realized it wasn't the same as the other De Botton book you recently read! I guess I need to read more carefully! I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!

Andi said...

Lovely purchases! We're doing a lot of streamlining around our house, and not buying books (unless they're e-books) is on the menu. Enjoy your splurge!

Iliana said...

We've got plenty of sun here but it's still cold so send us some warmth will 'ya? :)

Love your bathing suit. So cute.

And, looking forward to hearing more about the Gavalda book.

Karen said...

Hi Simon - I'm such a sucker for a beautiful book. I hope you have a nice cover for it too.

Hi JoAnn - Thank you so much for my award - that is very kind of you!

Hi Steph - I know, I know! I'm sure what I say I will do in regards to not buying books and what I end up actually doing will be two completely different things! I'm hoping to stay strong though.

Hi Andi - it is enjoyable to splurge every now and then - just have to make it infrequent!

Hi Iliana - I will try and send some of our warm weather your way!

Anonymous said...

I didnt know there was a new Gavalda novel , I will have to get that pronto!

I got the Donna Hay book for Xmas and have been finding the food is delicious and quite easy to make. You can always rely on Donna.

Serena said...

looks like you got some good books...happy reading. I am probably just about on my buying ban again after this weekend.

Karen said...

Hi adevotedreader - I didn't know it existed either - it just jumped out at me from the shelf!

Hi Serena - it sounds like a lot of us are placing bans on ourselves - it will be interesting to see how they go...

Tara said...

I want that Donna Hay book!!

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