Friday, December 5, 2014

Friday Finds


This is a weekly meme from MizB at Should be Reading. Anyone can play along! FRIDAY FINDS showcases the books you ‘found’ and added to your To Be Read (TBR) list… whether you found them online, or in a bookstore, or in the library — wherever! (they aren’t necessarily books you purchased).

 So before I talk about my finds, I want to talk about a bookstore! As many of you know, I spent Thanksgiving weekend in Paris. One of the things I wanted to do while there is go to the Shakespeare and Company bookstore! This is such an old bookstore that dates back to the early 1900's. Only true book nerds (such as myself) can appreciate the history and the writers who have gathered there: Henry Miller, James Baldwin, and Ernest Hemingway, just to name a few. Here is an interesting history tidbit: James Joyce was having a lot of trouble getting his book Ulysses published. I guess some people thought it was obscene. But Sylvia Beach, who was the owner of the bookstore ended up publishing the book.


Now of course I have told you guys before that I prefer Kindle to paper books, but I still can't resist a bookstore. Or books period, regardless of the format. It was such a pretty bookstore and I could have spent hours there. If it weren't for my husband, I probably would have. Here's the funny thing: my husband accidentally left his credit card there. We went back later that same night to pick it up and of course I had to buy more! Ha. I have a problem. I am not ashamed. But because I spent so much money there, I got free tote bags. And I got some free bookmarks. Totally worth it.

So here is my haul:

  1. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - one of my favorite movies, but I have never read the book!
  2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and The Great Gatsby - Love these Penguin classic book covers. 
  3. If I Knew You Were Going to be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go - I pretty much bought this based on the title and the cover alone. 
  4. Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzgerald - For some reason The Great Gatsby is the only book I have read by him. I loved that book so I have high hoped for this one. I read the first paragraph and thought it was beautiful so I figured the rest of the book would be just as good.
  5. More weird things customers say in bookstores - I didn't even know there was a first version of this book. But I read some of it and it is hilarious. 
  6. Shakespeare for Grown-Ups: A Bluffer's Guide to the Bard - I really do love Shakespeare and I like how in detail the book gets about his plays. Let's face it: Shakespeare isn't the easiest writer to understand. 
  7. Shakespeare and Company - This was a small book about the bookstore itself. It has beautiful photos and gives a history of the store.
I am so excited about all of these books!

Finally, I want to leave you with a quote that was on the cover of the Shakespeare and Company book.

"All the characters in this bookstore are fictitious so please leave your everyday self outside the door when you enter the place Henry Miller calls a wonderland of books"

Love that!

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Anyone have any book finds this week?



16 comments :

  1. Bucket list! This is definitely one on my list. It's absolutely beautiful. <3

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    1. Thanks Joyous Reads, yes it should be on everyone's bucket list for sure. :)

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  2. Love this!! I can't resist a bookstore either - this one sounds amazing!!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  3. I love how even though you were in the most romantic city on the planet this bookstore still called to your inner nerd. Hehe! I'll make it a point to drag DH there if ever we get to travel across the pond. I have to limit myself to how many Alice in Wonderland versions I own otherwise my obsession would quickly spiral out of control. Penguin's is an excellent choice!

    Carmel @ Rabid Reads

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    1. Oh yes Carmel, I made sure it was on the itinerary: Eiffel Tower, crepes and bookstore! Haha

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  4. The bookstore's so beautiful! Hoping I can go there someday! By the way, a lot if wonderful books you got there!

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    1. Thanks Jocelyn! I hope you can go someday too. :) I am looking forward to reading the books I purchased. :)

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  5. That bookshop looks lovely, I need to visit it (and Paris). Thanks for visiting my FFs https://cleopatralovesbooks.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/friday-finds-december-5/

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  6. Oh, I've heard about Shakespeare & Co Bookstore before and I actually want to visit it sometime in the future!! I love visiting indie bookstores and often write reviews of the indie bookstores I visit... I'm also drooling that you were able to spend Thanksgiving weekend in Paris!!

    Nice list of books you've chosen for your Friday Finds this week. :-)

    Thanks for visiting my book blog this week and leaving me a post!!

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    1. Thanks Captivated Reader! It was indeed quite the opportunity to be able to spend Thanksgiving in Paris.

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  7. Oh I adore this! I need to go here someday for sure. I haven't been to Paris, and would like to, so hopefully I will get the chance! So glad you were able to make two visits, and hope you enjoy the lovely books :)

    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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  8. Oh that looks like the coolest bookstore ever! I would love to go to Paris and I think that if I did I would end up spending more time in that bookstore than anywhere else!

    Lovely book haul, hope you enjoy them! =)

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  9. What a great haul! I love the movie version of Gone with the Wind, but have never read the book either. It's on my Classics Club list, so I'll hopefully get to it soon.

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  10. Oh I want to go there and shop now..such history and so many good finds. I am jealous. Paris and books...squee!

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