Well, it is Christmas time and what makes us happier than new books 😊 This year after resisting temptation for most of the year and buying books only occasionally, I couldn’t resist it anymore and the dam broke, and I went crazy 😁 I blame it on the holiday season – something in the air makes us let our guard down. This is the second part of the new book arrivals.
(1) The Lonely City by Olivia Laing – I got this as a present from one of my favourite friends. It looks very beautiful. I don’t know whether Laing focuses on the pain of loneliness or on the bliss of solitude. I hope it is the second one. I can’t wait to read it. I got a beautiful cat bookmark too 😊
(2) Two Brian Dillon books – I included Brian Dillon’s ‘Suppose a Sentence‘ in my previous post. Couldn’t resist featuring it here too. I also got his memoir ‘In the Dark Room‘ and his famous ‘Essayism‘ (not featured here, but in my Kindle)
(3) The Years by Annie Ernaux – I have wanted to get Ernaux’ memoir for a while. It is all the rage these days, and I can’t wait to read it. I’m happy that at the grand age of eighty, she has become a literary superstar.
(4) Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis – This was an impulse buy. It looked funny and I couldn’t resist it. It will be my first Kingsley Amis book when I read it.
(5) Lotte in Weimar by Thomas Mann – More Thomas Mann 😊 This one is a fictionalized imagining of the grown-up Lotte going to meet Goethe. I can’t wait to read it.
(6) Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves – After reading Edmund Blunden’s First World War memoir, I decided to get Graves’ more famous one. Just started it. It is wonderful.
(7) Night of the Restless Spirits by Sarbpreet Singh – This is a collection of stories set during the 1984 riots in Delhi. This is one of the most shameful, violent and tragic episodes in recent Indian history, and this book promises to be heartbreaking.
(8) Spirit of Cricket by Mike Brearley – Brearley’s newest book. He was one of the great cricket captains during his time, and is one of the finest cricket writers now. He is one of my favourite writers and I can’t wait to read this.
(9) A Sound Mind by Paul Morley – This was highly recommended by Kaggsy (You can find her short review here and longer review here). I love books on classical music and this promises to be interesting. I am looking forward to long pleasurable hours of reading the book and listening to the classical music compositions that it recommends. I also went and got Morley’s memoir ‘The North‘ (on the Kindle, so not featured here).
Have you read any of these books? What do you think about them? What books did you buy or did you get as presents for Christmas?
Vishy's Blog 
Lovely haul, Vishy! You have Mann and Graves. You are so set, my friend ☺️
Thank you, Seemita 😊 Glad you like it. I just started Graves. It is beautiful and I’m loving it so far.
What wonderful books, Vishy! And I am happy to have helped you in the direction of Paul Morley’s writing – I hope you enjoy his books. And Brian Dillon is marvellous too. I haven’t read Lotte in Weimar but must admit to being tempted….
Glad you like them, Kaggsy 😊 Thanks so much for recommending Paul Morley’s book. I dipped into it and it looks so beautiful! I checked out his backlist and went and got his memoir ‘The North’ too 😁 I can’t wait to read these two. Hope you get to read Lotte in Weimar and like it. I’m looking forward to reading it soon.
If you enjoy those Morley books, I highly recommend his book Nothing – possibly my favourite of his!
Thank you, Kaggsy 😊 Will add it to my list.
A very nice haul. Some of them are on my piles as well. The Lonely City is the only one I read and liked very much, but I’d say it’s less about solitude more about loneliness.
Thank you, Caroline 😊 Glad to know that you have some of them. Glad you liked The Lonely City. I am looking forward to reading it soon. I was hoping it will be more about enjoying solitude, but I’m happy to read about loneliness too.
Ah, I love book-buying sprees! Good for you, Vishy! I sometimes do the same thing with ebooks, but it’s just not the same as seeing a beautiful pile of real paper books. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!!
Thank you, Andrew! Happy New Year to you too!