Tag: Autographed

Books

Book 840: Saint-Exupéry – Stacy Schiff

Geoff W

This one has been in my TBR pile for over a decade. Seriously, it’s been on my shelf since I heard Schiff speak at the first Boston Book Festival back in 2010. The one I really wanted to purchase at the time was her biography of Cleopatra, but couldn’t afford it.

I ended up waiting to read it until I could get a digital copy (don’t want to mess up that signature) and the last dozen or so times the library had one I either didn’t have the time or was feeling meh about reading a biography. This time however, after building up so many advance posts I figured I had the time and wanted to read some nonfiction so here we are.

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Random

A Book Reading and Obnoxious Readers

Geoff W
2015 03-09 Boyne and Vann at Harvard Book Store
David Vann, left, and John Boyne, at Harvard Book Store.

Monday night, I had the pleasure of attending a reading at Harvard Bookstore (Shop Local!) featuring John Boyne, of The Absolutist fame, and David Vann, whom I haven’t read yet! It was an enjoyable event and both novelists’ new works, A History of Loneliness and Aquarium respectively, sound fascinating! (I will definitely request them from my local library in the near future.) Boyne’s humility impressed me and I was glad to see him shift focus to Vann when everyone kept asking him questions.

While there, I took the chance to get my copy of The Absolutist signed (SWOON!) and that photo is at the end of this post. Did you know that it was his favorite as well? I nearly hyperventilated (and actually clapped out loud like an awkward lunatic) when he said that and immediately messaged Heather (who is getting a signed copy of a surprise book). When John, first name basis obviously, signed my book I told him how Heather and I are still getting a lot of traffic from our responses to The Absolutist and that I got a long email just last week about it. He commented that he was always fascinated about how long a story can continue to gain traction.

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Books

Book 290: One More Thing – B.J. Novak

Geoff W

This was quite possibly the strangest and quirkiest book I’ve read in ages. The majority of it comes from the randomness of the collection of short stories, but a lot of it comes from Novak’s rather odd, but incredibly witty imagination. My friend Caitrin lent me this ages ago and I finally got around to reading it.

The first I heard about it was on the podcast Dinner Party Download where Novak read a few of his short stories and then he was in Boston for a reading and book signing and Caitrin and a few friends went. I didn’t go as I’m super selective over what books I want signed, my bookshelf space is severely limited, but I would definitely go to hear him speak now, having read the book! Doesn’t hurt he’s a local boy from Newton and went to Harvard so even more reason to pay attention (never really followed The Office so wasn’t familiar with him at all).

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Culture Corner

Boston Book Festival, Part III: The Books

Geoff W

I’ve blogged about the panels and my awesome workshop, but I haven’t written about the plethora of books I purchased!

Going into the day, I set aside $40 knowing there would be book deals of some sort and that I would end up purchasing at least one book to get signed from a great panel presentation. I was very proud of myself, by the end of the day I only went over by $13! Honestly, I expected it to be closer to going over by $30. The major problem however is I’ve added an additional 14 books to my bookshelf to read (that are now staring at me) and an additional at least 20+ books to my list of books to read eventually (some of those I bought were already on my list). I encourage you to check out my bookshelf for books that are physically (or digitally) sitting on my bookshelf(/Kindle) waiting to be read, and check out the green on my reading list to see all the new additions as they are books I didn’t purchase I now want to read!

So without further ado here is my collection of new purchases!

You can see the festival program and the One City One Story booklet bottom center. The short story was a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. It was The Whore’s Child by Richard Russo, and was about a nun in a writing course and her professor’s views/opinions. I thought it was well written and an intriguing enough story, if a bit bland overall. I didn’t go to the discussion, but I am glad I read it.

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Books

Book 9: Bella Tuscany – Frances Mayes

Geoff W

You can’t help but love the way Frances Mayes writes her books. You can tell she has a background in literature, but truly loves writing. Her rich descriptions and colorful asides take her beautiful memoirs from just being books to being journeys. Having read Under the Tuscan Sun and A Year in the World, when I found out Ms. Mayes was speaking as part of the Lowell Lecture Series at the Boston Public Library I had to go and listen. I had a brief opportunity to speak with her after the lecture about A Year in the World and her growing up in the South, however it is her time and writings in Tuscany which brought her into the public eye and to Boston in particular.

In Bella Tuscany we once again join Ms. Mayes and her partner Ed and their various friends, acquaintances and neighbors in Tuscany. We are immediately reintroduced to Bramasole, their house, which is almost a character in its own right with a unique and quirky personality. Although it has been a few years since I read Under the Tuscan Sun, the similarities in the beautiful writing style and the ill temperament of Bramasole remain. There are a couple of sad portions of the memoir, but the ebb and flow of life in San Francisco and Cortona, Italy show that with sadness comes change and the future.

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