Another day, another $100 in books

Now, I don't want to mislead anyone by this post's title. I didn't actually spend $100 on books today. That would be ridiculous. I mean, I'm out of work, I haven't received a paycheck or income (other than book sales) in more than a month, and my savings is damn near depleted...no, I actually spent about $75. Much more reasonable...

Thing is, I justify this buying by selling the books with my Amazon store. That's why the $1 bookstore guy is so used to me (I spend about $30 at a time there), and the guys at my FAVORITE used book place, The Bookman in Orange (they have graphic novels! they have graphic novels!!), are quickly beginning to recognize me. And don't even get me started on the Friends of the Library bookstores (except for the one nearest me, I'm going to volunteer there and I PROMISED not to pilfer their collection).

So I have a pretty decent selection to sell now. Things were picking up for awhile and it took some analysis to figure out why: The fastest selling items were the ones that I bought because I would want to read them. So that's kind of changed how I've been buying books. For one, it makes it much, much more difficult to list the books that I'm trying to sell, since I'm buying books that I want to read. And it's been sort of what spurred on the sister blog that I started, Bibliomania.

So let's take a look at the books I bought today. Of course, these are only the ones I want to read NOW. There are others that look interesting, but I have to practice some restraint. Of course, peruse the store at www.amazon.com/shops/wurdnurd).

First the graphic novels:
The Good Neighbors (book 1: Kin) by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh (aka one of my favorite YA authors and one of my favorite graphic novelists). Like the first taste of peanut butter and chocolate, I just about squealed with delight upon finding this. Actually, I really did squeal. This one, I'm really, really not sure will make it to Amazon. Excuse me, must wipe drooooool.

The Un-Men: Get Your Freak On! by John Whalen and Mike Hawthorne. I really shouldn't buy books based on titles, since they tend to be zombie-sounding (i.e., Eating People Is Wrong, which is actually a very, very dull British satire). This one may sound like the zany adventures of disco-loving undead and mating mutants, but I seriously doubt it...

Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore. After finally reading through the various comics I pilfered from BEA (and from Brudder Davey's collection), I'm starting to really appreciate the superhero genre. Yes, I entered into it via the back door (graphic novels THEN comics, as opposed to, you know, the normal way), but I'm slowly feeling my way around. I went into Bookmans hoping to find a copy of the second book from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and found this as a happy substitute.

And for the books (where I get into mighty more trouble):
Pirate's Passage by William Gilkerson. This is like Under the Black Flag, but for young adults. Oh, and it's fiction. But it has lots of history. Who DOESN'T love pirates (the past-tense swashbuckling type, not the modern-day hijack oil tankers type, of course)?

Howl by Allen Ginsberg. Do I really have to go over this one? And it has an intro by William Carlos Williams, one of my all-time favorite poets.

Jack Kerouac: King of the Beats, a Portrait by Barry Miles: Yes, I hit the Beats section at Bookmans, and I hit it hard. Would you believe that I don't think I've ever seen a photo of Jack Kerouac? He was kinda hot!

Guerrilla Radio: Rock 'n' Roll Radio and Serbia's Underground Resistance by Matthew Collin: I don't know why, but this sounds like such an awesome topic.

The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill: So there's a minotaur and he now lives in the Southeast, working as a line cook in a diner, and his life falls apart. I shit you not. You can't make this up...well, you and I can't, but Steven Sherrill apparently can.

Letters from Pemberley by Jane Dawkins: I know, I know, I'm SUCH A CHICK!! Screw off, I still want to read it.

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel. Not only does this itty-bitty book have an obscenely long title, but it's written by everyone's favorite science-geek-girl. I wish I could understand science like Dava Sobel, but she writes so cleanly that I don't have to, I can read her books and pretend to be a smarty-two-shoes.

The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir: I'm so sick of wanting to read this book every time I see it in bookstores that I bought it; now I can stare at it longlingly every day until I finally suck it up and read it.

The Vampire of Venice Beach by Jennifer Colt: Um...You know what? I don't have to apologize for my tastes! And the cover rocks, in a Beach Blanket Bingo - cum - Charlie's Angel kind of way.

Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs: Because I can't just keep BUYING his books and NOT reading them. I think I have three (four?); it's ridiculous.

So yeah, them's the new acquisitions. Do you have a preference for what I should read first, last or somewhere in between? Post your suggestions in the comments and I may pay attention. As I finish the books, I'll post the reviews/info on Bibliomania and Shelfari, and the book will likely be available for sale in my Amazon store.