Books, books, books

I ended up going a little crazy at the book sale this year. I thought paperbacks were $1 a piece when they're actually $2, so I picked up a several volumes that I was on the fence about. Sure, I could've abandoned them at checkout, but that seemed a little ridiculous. So herewith the new additions to my already overstuffed personal library:

• FICTION
  1. DOYLE, Roddy. The Van--I just finished Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (see below) and I've seen the film versions of The Snapper and The Commitments, so this will round out my knowledge of Barrytown nicely.
  2. ELORRIAGA, Unai. Plants don't drink coffee [Translation of Vredeman]--Basque short fiction. How could I resist?
  3. FUENTES, Carlos. La cabeza de la hidra--Will I ever read it? Probably not, but it makes me feel good to think I might.
  4. KRÜGER, Michael. Das elfte Gebot/The Eleventh Commandment/An t-Aontú Aithne Déag--This is the real oddball in my selection and the one I can least justify paying for. I could probably have disappeared it from the shelf when it was awaiting review and no one would have said boo.
  5. McNALLY, John. Ghosts of Chicago--Short stories by a local.
  6. NGŨGĨ WA THIONG'O. Petals of blood--It's well past time I found out whether my fond memories of Ngũgĩ from my undergraduate days are justified.
  7. TOKARCZUK, Olga. House of day, house of night [Translation of Dom dzienny, dom nocy]--New Polish writing, set in Silesia. Checks in several columns
• NONFICTION
  1. BROWN, Gillian. Speakers, listeners and communication--Discourse analysis is something I'm woefully underread on, plus this was one of the shiniest titles in a very dogeared and dated linguistics section.
  2. CHRISTIAN, Shirley. Before Lewis and Clark--An account of the Chouteau's, St Louis' founding family.
  3. MATHEWS, John Joseph. The Osages--For all its flaws, a classic work. My luckiest find.
  4. RANDOLP, Vance [comp.]. Pissing in the snow and other Ozark folktales--Surprisingly bawdy and at the same time reassuringly scholarly
  5. SYNGE, John M. The Aran Islands--A little something for Irish month.

It was another disappointing year for German-language fiction. On the other hand, the Native American section was outrageous; I'm beginning to wonder if we have anything left on them in the stacks.

I've been needing something new since I finish the Doyle last week. I really have to give him credit for writing a novel about childhood without a lick of sentimentality. Even the protagonist's attempts at kindness are more often than not characterised by appalling brutality. He affects a young boy's voice so thoroughly that it's choppy to read--perhaps the main reason my "quick read" took so long to get through--and the ending feels a bit rushed, but overall quite satisfying. I was planning to do a comparison to Embrujo de Shanghai, as they are both coming-of-age novels, but I think I may content myself with comparing the code-switching.