I’ve mentioned before how I like to make lists. As much as I enjoy making them, I also enjoy crossing things off them, too. So my books wishlist on Amazon had become a bit unwieldy, a bit out of control. It looked somewhat like my bookshelves, full of books that appealed to me at the time, books I once had every intention of reading someday. Some books had been languishing on the list for years, hidden by dozens of other books. It was getting to the point where I didn’t even remember why I put half of them on there in the first place, many of them held no current interest for me, and so I decided to give it a good cleaning up. I would be ruthless, deleting any book that did not spark my interest and give me the feeling that yes, I would truly want to read this book at some point in the near-ish future. I wanted to start fresh, and told myself I would limit my list to starting at just one page – which meant I had to cut out about six other pages of books. And you know what? I did it.
I also finally actually ordered some of the books from my wishlist, books that had been out of print or not readily available for whatever reason. It was do or die time for those books, and happily, I chose do. I ordered them all used through Amazon’s marketplace, and they arrived in my mailbox just a few short days later. Is there anything better than receiving a wrapped package in the mail, especially when it contains a book? Probably there is, but still, it was pretty fun to open up my mailbox and see multiple padded enveloped inside. Here’s what I got:
The titles are Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark, Old London Bridge by Patricia Pierce, Where Books Fall Open edited by Bascove, Why I Hate Canadians by Will Ferguson, Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb, and River Thieves by Michael Crummey. Two of the books – Latitudes of Melt and River Thieves – take place in Newfoundland, my home province. I’m in the middle of Latitudes right now and really enjoying it.
One of my black cats, Mojo, jumped on the books as soon as I laid them out and insisted on having his photo taken, too, so here he is:
His eyes look pretty freaky in this photo, but he’s not my demon familiar, I swear!
There is no happier feeling than received books in the mail, shopping for books, or getting them as gifts. Don’t you just want to touch them and admire them? It doesn’t take much for us book lovers, does it? Congratulations…I am happy for you. (I think I need to do a little spring cleaning myself…)
Latitudes of Melt was on my wish list several years ago. The library didn’t have a copy at the time, and I forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me!
I read River Thieves back when it frist came out and I remember liking it! I have Why I hate Canadians here to read, but haven’t got to it yet. I did read How to be a Canadian, though. That was an entertaining read.
Thanks for the ideas of some new books to read, especially those that take place in Newfoundland!
Mojo looks quite pleased with himself …
I hadn’t heard of any of these, but the Old London Bridge looks like it would be interesting.
Now that is something my black cat would do as well. Always wanting to be somewhere they are not suppose too; Mojo is adorable.
I love getting books in the post! I haven’t heard of any of these, but hope you enjoy them!
Pretty kitty!
I love the Bascove book! Enjoy your new books.
I know what you mean about your wish list getting all out of control. My Bookcrossing wishlist is a true nightmare. I’ve been working on getting reacquainted with its contents and whipping it into shape. I’ve dumped a lot of titles I’m no longer interested in, but it still needs a lot of work. I’m pretty sure, at some point, it may have been adding titles to itself, but I’ve put a stop to that!
Your demon *ahem* I mean, your cat is a cutie!
You are doing exactly what I’ve put off – cleaning out my wish list. I keep mine in an excel spreadsheet so when I’m looking for something I can glance at the genres to see what might interest me. I went through the list (which is now more than slightly overwhelming) and some titles I cannot even remember why I put them on there to begin with!
Congrats for being so disciplined! You’ve given me inspiration!
You should see my TBR list. I just can’t stop adding to it. I love to read a book and then cross it off of my list though
Congrats on all of the new books!
I did this with my wishlist recently, though I probably need to go in again and be even more brutal. Congrats on your new books (and your cat is gorgeous)!
Ola! I see there are more books on Newfoundland here… thanks! My wish list on Amazon is about a couple of pages and I really do want most of the books there. But I think I should start pruning it down a bit. For some of the out-of-print books, I rely on Alibris as Amazon marketplace doesn’t always ship to Singapore.
The title of Why I Hate Canadians made me laugh…and so did Mojo–thanks
Ohhhh you have just made me want to do the same thing with my bookshelves!! They are overflowing & many of those books I no longer feel like reading! I’m going to try!
Do you ever do things that were not on your list, and then do them, but go back and add them to the list, JUST TO CROSS IT OFF?!
I totally do!
I can see my Amazon Wishlist getting like that. I try to order a book from it once every few weeks. I just found (and posted about) one I got for $0.68!
My daughter enjoyed the photo of your kitty
Every once in a while, my husband buys me everything on my wishlist – it’s so sweet!
I loved Latitudes. Nice to hear you are enjoying it so far!