*Review* Born Standing Up by Steve Martin

Genre: Memoir

Published: November 20, 2007

Pages: 207

Goodreads

Synopsis

In the midseventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. This book is, in his own words, the story of "why I did stand-up and why I walked away." 

Emmy and Grammy Award winner, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, Martin has always been a writer. His memoir of his years in stand-up is candid, spectacularly amusing, and beautifully written. 

At age ten Martin started his career at Disneyland, selling guidebooks in the newly opened theme park. In the decade that followed, he worked in the Disney magic shop and the Bird Cage Theatre at Knott's Berry Farm, performing his first magic/comedy act a dozen times a week. The story of these years, during which he practiced and honed his craft, is moving and revelatory. The dedication to excellence and innovation is formed at an astonishingly early age and never wavers or wanes. 

Martin illuminates the sacrifice, discipline, and originality that made him an icon and informs his work to this day. To be this good, to perform so frequently, was isolating and lonely. It took Martin decades to reconnect with his parents and sister, and he tells that story with great tenderness. Martin also paints a portrait of his times-the era of free love and protests against the war in Vietnam, the heady irreverence of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the late sixties, and the transformative new voice of Saturday Night Live in the seventies.

Throughout the text, Martin has placed photographs, many never seen before. Born Standing Up is a superb testament to the sheer tenacity, focus, and daring of one of the greatest and most iconoclastic comedians of all time.

Joood's Review

I've seen a number of Steve Martin movies, so this appealed to me. Seeing as I have been on a memoir kick lately, I figured I should give into my own whims. I'm welcome.

I already knew he was funny, but I was also glad to see this applied to his audiobook. I have noticed some comedians just don't do audio well. I was a bit weary because he's definitely the visual type. He got his start doing magician type things at Disney, his comedy routines also included props up the wazoo, and even his movies have a good deal of physical comedy.

Good news though! I found myself laughing quite a number of times. But thats not all. Not only is he hilarious, but I also found this book to be motivational. Especially in regards to his work ethic. It's always impressive to hear about someone actually earning what they deserve.

I also got a kick out only knowing more about him and really related pretty strongly to his issues with anxiety. I myself been having a bad time with that drama lately, so I feel those feels. Sometimes I just can't people as much as people would like me to. As someone who struggles with anxiety issues, it was nice to hear how he handles it. And how he validated it.

May he never again achieve super stardom but always continue to be just enough of a celebrity so he doesn't get crazy stalked but he can continue to make enough money to live on.

4 platypires - Joood - Hooligan

Buy the Book

Amazon

*Review* Something Wonderful by M. Clarke

Genre: Erotic Romance

Published: February 8, 2014

Pages: 316

Goodreads

Synopsis

Sometimes falling in love means letting go of the past…

Jeanella’s confidence and trust in Max continues to grow, and life seems to be on track. Then Crystal decides to pursue a sexual harassment lawsuit, and Jeanella’s world turns upside down. Once again, she wonders if she will ever be enough for Max. Jeanella is forced to make a decision; stay and fight for her man or leave him for good. 

Becky's unexpected friendship with Matthew continues to blossom, as they try to define the boundaries of their relationship; but a one-night stand threatens to ruin it all. As Matthew’s feelings for Becky grow, he’s torn between guilt and heartache over his deceased fiancée. Can Becky break through his wall and help him heal?

Review

I was hired to proofread this book. The only aspects of the story that I influenced were the spelling and grammar. If you feel that my connection to the book makes my review untrustworthy, so be it, but this is my honest review. 

If this review seems even more disjointed than normal, I apologize. You see, I read this book back in November, and I have since proofed later books in this series and the spin-off series, which can make some detail specifics a bit more fuzzy in my mind (even though I can still remember the major plot points no problem.) 

This book made me mad. First of all the shit that Crystal is pulling is some straight up bullshit just in general. Women who falsely accuse men of sexual harassment make it harder for women with legitimate cases to be believed, and that pisses me off. My inner feminist just loathed that whole situation, which left me feeling mostly angry for most of the book. I appreciated the way the characters handled it, it was a much more mature response than some of Clarke's characters from other books would have displayed I'm sure, so that was a nice change of pace. But my overall feeling at the end of this book was still anger. 

One bright spot in the story was the developing relationship between Matthew and Becky though. There was a lot of will they or won't they going on, but it was just building pleasant anticipation until it seemed like maybe they'd screwed everything up. That made me more sad for them than mad at them though, and I didn't feel quite as strongly about their relationship in the first place. 

Overall I give Something Wonderful 4 out of 5 stars because it inspired such strong emotions in me. - Katie 

Buy the Book

Amazon

About the Author

International Bestselling, Award Winning, Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children's chapter book-No Bullies Allowed.

Ways to keep in touch with the author:

Newsletter Updates: http://eepurl.com/YMyCn

Website: www.authormaryting.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryTing?
Twitter: @maryting
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11283685-crossroads
Blog: http://www.marytingbooks.blogspot.com/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/authormaryting

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*Stacking the Shelves* 15 April 2017

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm going to try to start posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too (even if none of the Platypires will be joining me), which will cover the books I receive through Netgalley. But I also go to my thrift store at least once a week, and often leave with a bag full of books. It's such a common occurrence that I'm known as The Book Lady to the frequent volunteers (and I suspect that they've started scheduling their $1 bag of books sales for Thursdays simply because that is the day I usually visit.) So my Stacking the Shelves posts are going to focus on my thrift store hauls, because this is my blog and I do what I want. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week.

A Creed Country Christmas by Linda Lael Miller - I'm kind of a sucker for cheese Christmas stories at Christmas time, it's all my mother's fault. But I can get the Christmas books cheaper at my thrift store if I find them before the immediate follow up to Christmas. 
My Antonia by Willa Cather - I feel like this book is on at least a few of those lists of the books everyone should read before a certain point in their life. My goal is to read it before I die. 
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser - This is a classic (that I'd never heard of before) but I like to pretend to be a book snob sometimes and read the classics. It's also in immaculate condition minus some underlining in the book. I bet it belonged to an English major. 
The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf - Another classic, but an author that I know women at least are supposed to read at some point (although I don't recall this book making an appearance on any particular list).
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins - This is a book that I know I read in college, or at least I was supposed to read it in college. It's one of very few books that I cannot remember what it was about, which means I probably didn't end up finding the time to do the reading most of the time. It must have been for one of Coyne's classes with that in mind. 
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie - I know that there is controversy surrounding some of Rushdie's writing, so he's an author I want to read...And this just happens to be a book that I can read next month for Asian-Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - So I think I already owned a copy of this book, but while I was at the thrift store, I couldn't remember for sure, so I bought it anyway just in case. If I have a duplicate, one of them will just go back to the thrift store. 
Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World by Frank McLynn - So I bought this book based entirely on the cover, it's pretty cool looking. I also think the title of the book may be slightly different in the US (my copy is from the UK it looks like) based on the cost of the book with this title on Amazon. 
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo - Can you believe that I have never read this book or seen ALL of the Disney animated film by the same name? Both of them are true. I'm not sure why I never watched the Disney film though. 
Spare Brides by Adele Parks - I'm not sure if this book is no longer available for purchase new or if it just has a different title in America, and Goodreads was not much help figuring it out. It's set in the 1920s, and since I like historical fiction, I figured I'd give it a go. 
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood - The only book of Atwood's that I've read so far is The Handmaid's Tale, and I enjoyed it, so I'm steadily building my Atwood collection now to hopefully read soonish. 
Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood - Again, this is part of building a collection. 
Beware, the Snowman by R.L. Stine - My son likes to read "scary" stories like the Goosebumps tales, and I loved Goosebumps as a kid, so I always buy any Goosebumps book I see at the thrift store. 
Monster Blood III by R.L. Stine - See above. 
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - It's a classic, so I had to add it to my shelves. 
Fart Powder: The Magical Fruit by Jo Nesbo - I bought two of these books last week I think, so I was happy to find this book this week. Now I'm just missing the 2nd book in the series. 
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt - The cover of this book is blue, I think that's really all I need to tell you to explain why I bought it. It's just so pretty. 
Even More Short and Shivery by Robert D. San Souci - My son asked to get this book of 45 spine tingling tales, again because he likes to read "scary" books to help make himself more brave. 
Mommywood by Tori Spelling - I like celebrity memoirs and I'm pretty sure this is essentially one of those. 
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer - This book has been on my wish list for ages, so I was kind of excited to find a copy at the thrift store. 
The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens - This is an ARC copy of the book, a book that was released in 2010. It has the form letter in it though, and was apparently donated by a bookseller (so it either came from the buyer for the local PX, or it belonged to someone who used to work in a bookstore before moving to Germany.) I like that I'm not the only person who leaves my form letters in my books. 

And that is all of the books that I got this week. This haul cost me $5.50 because I did not manage to catch a bag of books sale this week, but that's still a bargain for what I got. 

What new books did you add to your shelves this week? - Katie 

P.S. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews wants me to shame myself to y'all for not claiming an ebook that I'd won from her a couple years ago (I legit thought I had, and deleted the email) by adding it to this list...but I still haven't gotten the resent email, so apparently Amazon doesn't like me. 
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*Review* Bond to Break by Ginna Moran

Genre: YA Paranormal

Published: April 11, 2017

Pages: 360

Goodreads

Synopsis

Planning the ultimate act of revenge is easy for seventeen-year-old Mira Everson when she has nothing left to lose. After sacrificing her freedom to save her ex-boyfriend, Nate Burnham, Mira must test her limits to discover what she’s capable of. Endowed with dark powers due to a magical bond with Nate, Mira must risk losing everything good within her in a war she never wanted to be a part of—if she is to survive.

Unable to accept that Mira wants to fight their battle alone, Nate turns to the creature world for help in rescuing her from the hands of their enemies. Immersing himself deeper in the creature world turns out to be more than Nate bargained for. A shocking discovery makes him question what he’s doing with his life—because as it turns out, his enemies might’ve been right all along.

With enemies on both sides of the war between science and magic blurring the lines between friends and foes, Nate and Mira must figure out where their loyalty lies—and if it’s with each other. Can they survive with their lives and hearts intact, or will their unbreakable bond be their undoing?

Review

I was hired to proofread this book. The only aspects of the story that I influenced were the spelling and grammar. If you feel that my connection to the story makes my review untrustworthy, so be it, but this is my honest review.

So this is the third book in the Finding Nate series, but the first one that I've personally read. Now I'm slightly familiar with the universe here from having read Destined to Dream like two years ago, but I was in no way up to date with this particular storyline. While the details about why people are they way they are, and how they got to where they are now are sort of covered in this book so I didn't feel completely lost, I was very clearly missing a lot of pertinent backstory and that caused a bit of an issue for me. I would not recommend reading this series out of order.

What I liked in spite of my issues were the descriptions. Ms. Moran paints a very vivid picture of what's going on with her words, so I felt like I was right there with Mira and Nate. I may have missed out on some of the inside jokes and delightful anecdotes from their past, but I was thrown right into the mix in their present when I arrived. And we hit the ground running. It was certainly an exciting ride.

Overall I give Bond to Break 3.5 out of 5 stars. It was a good book, but because I had not read the previous books in the series, my experience reading it was less than ideal, and not quite as enjoyable. So just start at the beginning of the series to avoid making the same mistake I did. - Katie 

Buy the Book

Amazon

About the Author

Ginna Moran is a writer living in Austin, Texas but originally from Southern California. She started writing poetry as a teenager in a spiral notebook that she still has tucked away on her desk today. Her love of writing grew after she graduated high school and she completed her first unpublished manuscript at age eighteen. 

When she realized her love of writing was her life's passion, she studied literature at Mira Costa College in Northern San Diego. Besides writing novels, she was senior editor, content manager, and image coordinator for Crescent House Publishing Inc. for four years. 

Aside from Ginna's professional life, she enjoys binge watching television shows, playing pretend with her daughter, and cuddling with her dogs. Some of her favorite things include chocolate, anything that glitters, cheesy jokes, and organizing her bookshelf. 

Ginna Moran loves to hear from readers so visit her online at www.GinnaMoran.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest.

Ginna Moran is currently hard at work on her next novel.

*Top Ten Tuesday* The Most Unique Books I've Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Joood - Hooligan of Platypire reviews bossed me into doing this, so I guess this is a thing I do now. 

This weeks theme is the most unique books I've read. I have a feeling this is going to be a hard list to compile, and it might actually be somewhat short because I want to make sure I'm including books that felt really unique to me.

The first book to come to mind for me is definitely The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. It would best be described as absurd science fiction. I mean, it's a trilogy in five parts for crying out loud. That alone is a bit weird.

I was first introduced to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy my freshman year of high school. One of my uncles mailed me a copy while I was stuck in bed on a burn unit after rolling a minivan for almost two weeks. It was actually the perfect reading material for a person on pain medication because it didn't require a lot of deep thinking, which can be kind of hard to do when one is on pain medication.

Another book that was a bit of a stand-out for me was Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison. I mean, as far as memoirs go, it was pretty standard fare (humorous stories with a few life lessons learned along the way). What I found unique about it is just how much dirt was included about life in the Playboy Mansion. Most tell-alls that aren't just about the authors life end up feeling rather watered down in my opinion, but this didn't. And yes, I realize that this is just her take on things and might not be entirely accurate, but it's certainly better than trusting the stories in Us Weekly or other gossip rags, right? And like I said in my review, with as much backlash as it received from Kendra Wilkinson, it must have something juicy worth reading. 

Next up is Nerve by Jeanne Ryan. This book really stood out to me because while it's sort of science fiction, it's from the very near future mostly using existing technology from today. So while most science fiction is interesting to imagine, it doesn't fully feel real, but this did. This is almost like Big Brother on steroids in a way, and I can absolutely understand why it was made into a movie. It also has some very relevant lessons for teenagers who use social media (which is basically all of them right?) today. I would honestly recommend this book to any YA fans out there, even if you don't usually like science fiction, because it really does feel more like a contemporary novel than science fiction. And for that, it's unique.

My next book, Blackwell by Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor is on my list for reasons that I can't even actually talk about because it would just spoil the whole book. Suffice it to say that the ending really surprised me knowing what I know about this book. I also feel like I don't find a lot of gothic historical fiction, but maybe I'm just not looking hard enough for that. That really could be on me.

Next up is Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral. This book is definitely unique. The story is told almost exclusively through pictures, and it's not 100% clear what the story was actually about. It's not uncommon for books to leave me with questions at the end, but I still usually feel like I knew what it was about to begin with. With this one I might be way off base, and unless I can talk to the author personally, I'll probably never know (and even if I did talk to the author directly, they probably wouldn't tell me anyway because authors are fickle like that. Props to Sofia the Great from Platypire Reviews for recommending this book to me though. Without her, I wouldn't have it for my list.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly was another outstandingly unique read for me. This historical fiction is told from the points of view of three different women during and immediately after World War II, and I found that approach in itself to be rather unique. The basic story was a bit more "normal", although there were a few bright spots in there as well, and I would have likely been upset if the plot itself hadn't followed the standard WWII formula (and since I've read a lot of fiction set during WWII, I'm quite familiar with said formula.) If you're only going to read one book set during WWII though, I would recommend it be this one.

Much like Lilac Girls, The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig follows three different points of view, but the three characters we follow live during different time periods, and have a single room in common. In addition to following three different women, the story is told in rotating chapters, with a mystery building through all three timelines simultaneously. And there are clues from the earlier timelines that affect the later timelines, but some clues from the later timelines to help you try to figure out the mystery from the earlier timelines. It was just masterfully put together, and I would never have thought it had three different authors if I didn't know about that going in.

Fairytale and classic story retellings are not anything new, but they're not typically as gory and frightening as Alice by Christina Henry in my experience at least. Henry's take on the Alice in Wonderland story left me in awe, and a little bit worried for her sanity. A person has to be at least a little bit mentally twisted to think of the things that Henry did, and those things were twisted. Seriously though, if you like your fairytale retellings to be dark and twisted, get this book. You won't regret it.

There is no way The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was not making this list. I have never read anything quite like The Night Circus, and it had me so enthralled that I wish the circus itself were real. I so desperately want to visit it in real life. If someone could create even a facsimile of it that came at least a little close to capturing the magic and wonder, I would absolutely visit it as often as I could possibly afford (if the location were closer to where I live, that would help me to visit it more often, and it really would have a be a stationary circus I think.) I bet I'm not alone in that desire either. And normally I'm content to just visit the places described in books within the pages of the books, but not in this case. In this case, I really want it to be real.

The Man I Love by Suanne Laqueur may not actually be a unique story, but I'm not sure I've ever read a book that spanned decades like this one did and held my hostage quite as well. The blurb for this book had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning, trying to guess who the shooter was going to be, and I thought I had it figured out really early on. And then I changed my mind a half dozen times. But this book is part romance, part literary fiction, and one hundred percent awesome. But you should be warned that Ms. Laqueur throws a whole lot of shit at her characters because she insists on only brewing her coffee with readers tears (and that's the easiest way to collect them.) I read this book over two years ago, and I'm still torn up over the events that transpired (so much so that I haven't even been able to finish Give Me Your Answer True, Daisy's side of the story, yet because I'm not ready to relive that heartache again.)

So, I'm going to end my list here as that is ten books and at some point I should prove to y'all that I actually can count to ten for real. I'm sure if I looked further into my list of books I've read on Goodreads I would find many more that I felt were really, truly unique, but again, I need to prove to you guys that I can count to ten. My honor is at stake here!

What are some of the most unique books you've ever read, and what made them so unique? - Katie 

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*Deja Revu* 10 April 2017

Déjà Revu is a weekly review round-up that is open to all book review blogs.

Original

• Today's Rant is Brought to You by the Letters WTF - Katie @Just Another Girl and Her Books

Meme

• Top Ten Fandoms I'm In - Curly Carla @Celebrity Readers
• Stacking the Shelves: 8 April 2017 - Katie @Just Another Girl and Her Books
• Stacking the Shelves -- April 8th, 2017 - Lenoreo & Curly Carla @Celebrity Readers

• Duck and Hippo in the Rainstorm by Jonathan London - Katie @Just Another Girl and Her Books

Fantasy

• The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan - J. Hooligan @Platypire Reviews

Graphic Novel

• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel by Rick Riordan - Joood - Hooligan @Just Another Girl and Her Books

Paranormal

• Awaken (Brightest Kind of Darkness #5) by P.T. Michelle - Curly Carla @Celebrity Readers

Romance

• Bound by Brenda Rothert - Lenoreo @Celebrity Readers

Classic

• The Art of War by Sun Tzu - Czar Fancypants @Whose Review is it Anyway

Contemporary

• Dancing in the Rain by Kelly Jamieson - Lenoreo @Celebrity Readers

Fantasy

• Rumpel's Prize (Kingdom #8) by Marie Hall - Curly Carla @Celebrity Readers
• Huntsman's Prey (Kingdom #7) by Marie Hall - Curly Carla @Celebrity Readers
• Moon's Flower (Kingdom #6) by Marie Hall - Curly Carla @Celebrity Readers

Non-Fiction

• I Heart My Little A-Holes by Karen Alpert (Satire) - Czar Fancypants @Whose Review is it Anyway

Romance

• Dare The Devil by Elaine Raco Chase - Curly Carla @Celebrity Readers
• Rock Bottom by Cate Masters - Curly Carla @Celebrity Readers
• Pillowtalk by Cassie Mae - Lenoreo @Celebrity Readers
• The Baby Bombshell by Victoria James - Lenoreo @Celebrity Readers

Science Fiction

• A Princess of Mars (Barsoom #1) by Edgar Rice Burroughs - Curly Carla @Celebrity Readers

*Stacking the Shelves* 8 April 2017

(Titles link to Amazon via Amazon Affiliate links)

Stacking The Shelves is a feature/weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews in which you share the books you are adding to your shelves, both physical and virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical stores or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

Now, I already have a monthly post I do featuring the books I get in the mail (and it's a lot because I have a serious Goodreads First Reads giveaway addiction), and I'm going to try to start posting my monthly Read-A-Thon posts again too (even if none of the Platypires will be joining me), which will cover the books I receive through Netgalley. But I also go to my thrift store at least once a week, and often leave with a bag full of books. It's such a common occurrence that I'm known as The Book Lady to the frequent volunteers (and I suspect that they've started scheduling their $1 bag of books sales for Thursdays simply because that is the day I usually visit.) So my Stacking the Shelves posts are going to focus on my thrift store hauls, because this is my blog and I do what I want. 

On that note, here are the books I picked up this week.

Baby Proof by Emily Giffin - I feel like this is one of those authors who one of my friends really likes. At least that's what I thought while I was at the thrift store. 
Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom - So I'm not really a huge Mitch Albom fan, although I do like some of his books. And since I caught a $1 bag of books sale at my thrift store this week, it was worth it to go ahead and toss this book in the bag to give it a try. 
Timmy Failure Now Look What You've Done by Stephan Pastis - This book looks to be similar to The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Hopefully my son will find it appealing. 
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller - I've heard such good things about this book, so clearly I need to read it. 
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay - This book starts in France during WWII. Picking it up was a no-brainer for me. 
Chocolat by Joanne Harris - So I've seen this movie already, now I want to read the book. 
Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt - I've wanted this book since it released about a year ago. I got super excited when I saw it at the thrift store. 
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant - I'm a fan of historical fiction, this is historical fiction. 
The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau - This is the second Book of Ember. I'm not really sure what these books are about, but the covers make me think of the Divergent series for some weird reason. I'm a bit upset that I didn't find the first book in the series at my thrift store though. 
The Prophet of Yonwood by Jeanne DuPrau - This is the third Book of Ember. 
The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau - This is the fourth Book of Ember. I think that's the last one in the series. 
Jeff Foxworthy's Redneck Dictionary II by Jeff Foxworthy - I'm a fan of Jeff Foxworthy's humor, so this should be a fun fast read for me. 
Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607 by Elisa Carbone - Historical fiction targeted towards children. I hope this will be a good book to get my kids interested in the genre. 
The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw - This is a very well loved, signed copy of the book. It also came with a free map of London inside (not part of the book, just something left behind by the previous owner.) 
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - This book is in pristine condition. Also, I'm a fan of Zafon's writing style, so I needed it. 
Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams - Now I have a complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book, but I'm not sure this book is included in it, and I don't think I've read it. If it is, this book will just be going back to the thrift store. 
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - I was honestly just really drawn to this book because of the cover. 
Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith - I figured if I bought the previous book, I should buy this one too. 
The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith - This seems to be a rather extensive series, and I have book numbers 1, 3, and 5...Wouldn't be the first time that happened to me. 

So that's all the books I got this week at the thrift store. This haul cost me a whole $1, because I caught a bag of books sale. I love it when that happens. 

What books did you add to your shelves this week? - Katie