Recent Acquisitions: Two

I was at the mall to buy erasers for my clearance form (big boss middle initial problem) today and came home with these. I had no intentions of going inside Book Sale, but the neatly arranged shelves of wonderful books drew me inside the store. I always pass the store on my way out of the mall and I always resist the urge to hunt for great finds. The bookstore always wins.

1. Edward Trencom's Nose by Giles Milton. As a self-confessed book hoarder, book covers are what usually attract me. The cheese and the word nose were the things that caught my eye. Upon picking up the book, the other thing I noticed was the cover's texture - it was rough. It felt different and that factor may have added to the probability of me buying the book. I read the summary and BOOM, I didn't care if it was 145php. Also, I have a fascination for odd stories.
2. The Angle Quickest For Flight by Steve Kotler. I found this book (along with "More") behind the bookshelves and I can't help but think that somebody is trying to hide it. I know you do it sometimes, hiding a rare book to "reserve" it for yourself, the next time you have enough funds to buy it. Anyway, what brought me into buying this book was, yes you guessed it right, the cover. The title also intrigues me. What is the novel all about that it has this title?
3. More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman. John Hodgman is one of my favorite fake correspondents on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. I used to be an avid watcher of the show when JackTV got a hold of it. I find the satire and puns hilarious though it's mostly about the US politics. I browsed through the pages of the book and I loved how the whole thing is presented. It's made up of pure randomness, quirky musings and made-up facts about random topics. 

The thing I do after buying these books is to go to Good Reads and see the ratings and reviews for the title. I'm glad the latter 2 had so much positive reviews. I'm a bit irked about the ones for Edward Trencom's Nose, but since I like absurdities, I might sit through it. 

See the pattern here? All of these books was bought partly because of their physical appearance. You have to admit, it sometimes help with the marketing of books. An unknown novel with an interesting or cover design has a larger chance to be picked-up by a passer-by than a book with a poorly designed cover. But have you also remembered that time you bought a beautiful looking book and you realized the whole story was crap? I sometimes can't help it when it has such a beautiful design, so I always remind myself to read the blurbs before buying a book. You should too if you have the same problem as mine.

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I know all I've been posting are recently acquired books and no reviews, whatsoever. I still haven't finished gathering my thoughts about the latest book I've read and I find it quite hard to use words other than the usual over-used adjectives. Lol, I'm quite clueless really. 

Recent Acquisitions: One

Hello sales! What a better way to kick-start a blog but to post about Recent Acquisitions! I made an unplanned visit to National Bookstore because of people hunched over a small discount shelf by the entrance. Then I saw the sign P20. I spazzed, took a deep breath and dived in the sea of curious people. I encountered a funny group of teens rummaging through the piles. They were shouting, "Kunin nyo yung may mga nakalagay na Best-seller sa harap!" (Get the ones with Best-seller printed on the cover). I don't know if they had the intention of reading them all or they're just excited about the books being 20php. I mean, who wouldn't be?

I also had this silly plan on moving "thin" books to the top of my TBR list to increase my count of read books for this year. It may be a form of cheating, but what's wrong with wanting to read more for the year? With this notion in mind, I got hold of  some short but much raved-about titles.

1. Animal Farm by George Orwell. I still have Orwell's 1984 waiting patiently in my shelf for it's turn. I've heard great things about this book, and it's already a classic. So why pass the chance of getting this one?
2. The Tempest by William Shakespeare. I've mentioned on my about page that I've never read a work by Shakespeare before. I've browsed through the book and man, it will be such a challenge.
3. Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer. I asked a stupid question on my Tumblr yesterday about this book. This is one of the series' I've been wanting to read, but never had the chance to (also, funds). I got the book for 50php and I believe they’re not selling the first three books for 50php as well (if they are, they’re probably sold out by now).
4. Indignation by Philip Roth. What I noticed about the 20 peso pile is that almost 3/4 of them are about war and the army, etc. I got this one because of Philip Roth. I know a little about him, but I know of his famed reputation. Testing out the waters for war fiction.
5. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. My favorite buy out of the bunch. It's such a steal! This book for 50php? Ridiculous.
6. Southtown by Rick Riordan. I might have once said that I'm a Rick Riordan fan. The Percy Jackson series is really good so I thought of trying out his other works. I'm not setting my expectations too high though. 

You may have noticed I left out two books from the stack. Those are books Alki lent me today, so that doesn't really fall under the category of "my purchases". Nonetheless, I'm very excited to read them. The fact that he lent me the books without me asking for it also makes me want to finish them right away. 

1. My French Whore by Gene Wilder. Gene Wilder! I'm already half-way through this book and loving every bit of it. 
2. Trash by Andy Mulligan. Next on my TBR list. The summary blurb sounds interesting and I'm fairly curious about the story. 

Oh gosh, I have to get ready for The Manila International Book Fair next month and I need money! How am I supposed to save when these book sales are happening around me?

Hello, if you have stumbled here by accident. How 'bout you tell me about your set of newly hoarded books?