Some Book (Buying) Notes

I am trying, generally successfully, to not buy nearly as many books as I used to (and use the libraries more).  I did see a short while back that Jhumpa Lahiri has a new, short novel out called Whereabouts.  I found a fairly cheap copy on-line (with free shipping!) and ordered it.  I'm still waiting on that.  Of course, then a week later I dropped into BMV and found a copy that would have been a buck or two cheaper.  Not quite cheap enough to buy and put in my Little Free Library, however.  I guess if my copy is lost in the mail, I can go back soon and see if it is still there.

I did pick up a copy of Ralph Gustafson's Winter Prophecies, one of his last books.  I also found a signed edition of a different poetry collection, Configurations at Midnight, but with the shipping it was just better to have it sent to the States.

I tried to order a signed copy of one of Joy Williams's short story collections, but the bookseller asked for an extra $20 for shipping to Canada, which I thought was absurd.  Anyway, I may weaken at some point and order it but have it shipped to the States.  (I think what is holding me back is I am still smarting from the idea that I could have picked it up in person if I had made that trip to SF to see the Kronos Quartet...)

There was a bit of a mix-up with my recent order of P.K. Page's The Hidden Room where I had asked for signed copies.  This seemed pretty clear to me from the order, but apparently I should have been clearer with the bookseller.  Now he is going to send the correct order.  At the moment, he isn't asking for the original books back.  I feel badly though and will see if there is some way to return them* (that doesn't cost me too much).

Finally, the last book in this reading list is Koestler's Darkness at Noon.  I'm not entirely sure I have even owned a copy, though probably I did at some point.  Anyway, as I was investigating this, I saw that, quite amazingly, the original German version of Darkness at Noon had been discovered.  There were even a very few edits to the manuscript that hadn't made their way into the translation that Koestler's partner had made at that time, so the entire thing is now available in a updated translation.  Perhaps less incredible but still amusing, the cheapest version I could find was from an English-language bookstore in Tokyo, and this is now winging its way to me across the Pacific.  I'm blanking on it a bit, but there are a few other cases where the late translators can benefit from recent discoveries and generally late adopters (or rather readers) are better off.  I think the argument could be made for the recent Grossman translation of Don Quixote, the new Womack translation of Cela's The Hive (NYRB) and perhaps the Donougher translation of Hugo's Les Miserables.  On the other hand, I wasn't blown away with the more recent Kafka translations and will stick with the ones I grew up with.

* If the weather cooperates, we've agreed to meet up at Word on the Street at the end of the month, and I'll hand over the unsigned copies.

Edit (05/10): I haven't decided if I will update this page or maybe even pin it, but it is starting to feel a little long in the tooth.  I saw 5 upcoming books from NYRB that caught my eye, though I will try pretty hard just to borrow them and not buy them:
Stronghold by Dino Buzzati - a new translation of The Tartar Steppe apparently already out
Ariane, A Russian Girl by Claude Anet
The Limit by Rosalind Belben
Chevengur by Andrey Platonov
The Skin of Dreams by Raymond Queneau

I already read the Buzzati though in the earlier translation.  Still, I would probably consider reading it again.  I'm probably the most interested in the Platonov and the Queneau, though they won't be coming out until Jan. 2024.

Edit (05/18): I have been keeping Saba Sams's Send Nudes in my Amazon wishlist, but then not actually pulling the trigger.  I saw that I could get a fairly reasonably-priced copy from Blackwells.  I then went and did some digging into the reviews.  It is getting decent reviews but not that many raves.  Many of the stories are about young women craving sex, mostly from older men.  This storyline completely icks me out.  Recently, I barely forced myself to finish Mavis Gallant's "In the Tunnel," which was on these same lines.  I think I would still probably read it if it ever turns up in a library over here, but there is no point in buying it, as I would just be too frustrated over the foolish choices of these young women and girls.