I bought no more than a dozen secondhand books this year. I’m pretty sure of that. Let me see—a few westerns, thrillers and spy fiction, some Lee Child, P.G. Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner, Enid Blyton and Kurt Vonnegut. Yes, that’s about it. I haven’t read any of the books yet.
I also ordered some nonfiction from Amazon. They're all there in the picture on the left. I haven't read those either. Although I have been dipping into the books on writing, I don't read them from cover to cover.
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Separately, I also picked up Khushwant Singh’s autobiography Truth, Love & A Little Malice (2002). Singh was a diplomat, journalist, columnist, parliamentarian and author. He was also one of India's most entertaining storytellers. I enjoyed his clear, straightforward style. The book itself had a troubled publication history and was delayed for several years because of a court case.
I also added a handful of comic-books to my collection as well. These included two graphic adaptations from the Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunter, the shared pen name of several children's writers. I also downloaded a few titles offered during Amazon's Free Comic Book Day promotion. Most of my comics reading happens during the daily commute.
Of the fiction books, I plan to start with Kurt Vonnegut's Timequake. It's presented as a novel, though from what I've gathered it's part-fiction, part-autobiography and part-reflection on writing and life. Vonnegut himself described it as a "stew" and his last novel.
The central idea is an intriguing one. A glitch in time forces everyone to relive ten years of their lives exactly as before, unable to change a single decision or action. Vonnegut uses that premise as a starting point, but the book seems to wander freely into memories, observations and stories about family, aging and the business of being a writer.
We'll see how it goes.
Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favourite writers. I like his writing so much that I'm often tempted to imitate his style. His sentences were short, simple and almost staccato. He had a knack for saying a lot with very little. Add to that a wry sense of humour, and it's easy to see why I keep returning to his books.
 |
| © Prashant C. Trikannad |
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Separately, I also picked up Khushwant Singh’s autobiography Truth, Love & A Little Malice (2002). Singh was a diplomat, journalist, columnist, parliamentarian and author. He was also one of India's most entertaining storytellers. I enjoyed his clear, straightforward style. The book itself had a troubled publication history and was delayed for several years because of a court case.
 |
Of the fiction books, I plan to start with Kurt Vonnegut's Timequake. It's presented as a novel, though from what I've gathered it's part-fiction, part-autobiography and part-reflection on writing and life. Vonnegut himself described it as a "stew" and his last novel.
The central idea is an intriguing one. A glitch in time forces everyone to relive ten years of their lives exactly as before, unable to change a single decision or action. Vonnegut uses that premise as a starting point, but the book seems to wander freely into memories, observations and stories about family, aging and the business of being a writer.
We'll see how it goes.
 |
I like your selection. The Vonnegut one especially and also the Khushwant Singh one. Thanks for the updates.
ReplyDeleteMystica, I'm also looking forward to reading Khushwant Singh's autobiography because he had a wonderful storytelling style. I followed his popular newspaper column "With Malice Towards One and All" for many years.
DeleteKilgore Trout wasn't solely Vonnegut's alter ego...it was also his exaggerated portrait of a writer who work he admired enormously, with good reason, and whose life choices he deplored, with just about as much good reason, Theodore Sturgeon. (You'l note the similarity of the names.) Sturgeon particularly was selling a lot of short stories to skin magazines as well as to other markets in the '60s, when Vonnegut introduced the character. Sturgeon was also able to place a science fiction story in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED in 1963, not a common occurrence. Vonnegut wrote the introduction to one of the volumes of Sturgeon's collected stories. Ray Bradbury was Sturgeon's most assiduous student, and wrote almost as well, sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that bit of info, Todd. I was confused about Kilgore Trout's identity when I read VENUS ON THE HALF SHELL a few years ago. Back then, I remember you wrote saying that he was a fictional character created by Vonnegut and that he was used as the fictitious author of the book actually written by Philip José Farmer. This would be only the second time I'd be reading (about) Kilgore Trout.
DeleteA nice set of books you bought this year. Timequake sounds good, thanks for the information on that.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Tracy. I need to read some of the nonfiction, too, before ordering more books as part of the current year's book quota.
DeleteYou've got a fine variety of books here, Prashant. I like it that you got both fiction and non-fiction, too, and on a range of topics. I hope you'll enjoy!
ReplyDeleteMargot, one my problems is reading both fiction and nonfiction which doesn't do my reading numbers any good. I want to read them all!
DeletePrashant – Singh’s autobio sounds like my kind of book. I will look for it. As for Vonnegut, I enjoy his work, but haven’t read him in years. My first “real” job was in Manhattan and I occasionally saw Vonnegut in midtown. Tall, with bushy hair, he was hard to miss. Observing the unwritten code of New York, I never spoke to him, just left him alone to go about his own business.
ReplyDeleteElgin, I'd have loved to meet Vonnegut or at least listen to him speak, which I do on YouTube and elsewhere. I think he was a bit of a recluse and kept to himself. Almost like, "Okay, I wrote that book you liked so much. So what? Let's get on with our lives, shall we?" At least that's how I can picture him. Not as much to do with modesty as with wanting to live his life his way. I don't know if that makes sense.
DeleteI'm in awe of your restraint when it comes to buying books Prashant. Can you send me some of it in time for 2019 please?
ReplyDeleteCol, I don't hesitate to buy books that are either rare or hard to find in my neck of the woods. I want to try and reduce my existing collection before I add new books. How long that's going to take is anybody's guess.
DeleteGreat to see you back, Prashant! I'm envious of your book catch, and did not know of Timequake. I hope it's on Kindle!
ReplyDeleteGreat to have you back, Mathew! I'm not so envious because I haven't read any of the nonfiction, so basically I'm just hoarding for now. I was lucky to find the Vonnegut paperback at a pavement seller and it's almost brand new. Cost me about $2.
DeleteI love reading the lists of people's book purchases, so thank you for sharing. And like the poster above, I would like to say how nice it is to have you back posting.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to be back, Moira. Even if I don't post frequently, I intend to visit blogs as often as I can. The problem with reading other people's year-end book lists is it adds to my wish-list and there's only so much I can read in a year. If only reading was the only thing we did in life...
Delete