# What was the last book, new or used, that you bought? Have you read it yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051 "2010-02-22T23:44:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/1 "2010-02-22T23:44:22Z")
The last new book I bought was Pat Conroy’s latest novel, South of Broad, early this month. Haven’t read it yet; I’m waiting for a long weekend. The last book I bought, period, was last week; the book was The Mind’s Eye by Douglas Hofstadter. It’s compilation of essays about metaphysics published in, I think, 1985. I’ve been rereading random essays over the past few days, as I read it back when it was new. I just wanted my own copy. Anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![Lethal\_Babydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Lethal\_Babydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lethal_Babydoll)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/2 "2010-02-22T23:56:49Z")
\*\*Time Travelers Never Die \*\*by Jack McDevitt. It’s a novelized version of his Hugo runner-up novella which poses the interesting question: If you’re moving back and forth through time, at what point do you ever “die.” Not as strong as the great novella to me, but that might be because … you know, I read that one first. A fun, thoughtful time travel adventure, though. Especially if you haven’t read the novella. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/3 "2010-02-22T23:59:52Z")
The last new book was Tim Dorsey’s **Gator a Go Go** , which arrived from Amazon last week. I’ve just started it. The last book I bought, period, was 5 minutes ago, when I downloaded an order from Baen books for my Kindle. I got **Time Scout** , **Kildar** , **Midnight at the Well of Souls** , and the **Grantville Gazette, Volumes 14-16**. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/4 "2010-02-23T00:02:37Z")
I think it’s title was _Excel 2003 Bible_. Within the past month or so, FWIW. I don’t think I’ve even moved it from where I sat it down when I got home. Got it for as-needed help moreso than as a page-turner. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/5 "2010-02-23T00:06:33Z")
_Expressway_ by Sina Queyras. I bought it last Thursday in with a stack of about 6 others. (Books are rather like chips in that regard - I’m not sure I’ve ever bought just one!) And no, I haven’t got around to reading it yet. In fact, it’s about 15 books back in the queue at the moment. I’ll probably have read it by the end of March, and I hope, much sooner. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/6 "2010-02-23T00:09:02Z")
_Inkheart_ by Cornelia Funke. It’s not very good. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/7 "2010-02-23T00:16:14Z")
> [@Lethal\_Babydoll](#): > > \*\*Time Travelers Never Die \*\*by Jack McDevitt. It’s a novelized version of his Hugo runner-up novella which poses the interesting question: If you’re moving back and forth through time, at what point do you ever “die.” He’s going on my list of authors to check out. I really liked his post-apocalypse story in the Wastelands anthology. The last book I bought (used/Amazon) was one of the Aubrey-Maturin books. It arrived today but I can’t start reading it yet because it’s #8 and I’m still waiting on #7. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/8 "2010-02-23T00:32:56Z")
Can I count graphic novels? If so, then it’s **Wolverine - Weapon X, Vol. 1: Adamantium Men**. I haven’t read it yet, but I may tonight. As for non-graphic books, I picked up **Masterpieces: The BEst Science Fiction of the Century** a few weeks ago, and have only read a few of the stories so far. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/9 "2010-02-23T00:34:53Z")
Either Neil Gaiman’s _Neverwhere_ (which I read last week) or the third volume of Henry-Louis de la Grange’s massive biography of Gustav Mahler (which will probably sit in my to-read pile for a very long time before I get around to tackling it). ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/10 "2010-02-23T00:35:55Z")
> [@Lethal\_Babydoll](#): > > \*\*Time Travelers Never Die \*\*by Jack McDevitt. It’s a novelized version of his Hugo runner-up novella which poses the interesting question: If you’re moving back and forth through time, at what point do you ever “die.” > > Not as strong as the great novella to me, but that might be because … you know, I read that one first. > > A fun, thoughtful time travel adventure, though. Especially if you haven’t read the novella. That sounds good. Can the novella be found in any anthology, or online perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/11 "2010-02-23T00:38:47Z")
I picked up Roland Barthe’s **Image-Music-Text** at Borders on Saturday night. I haven’t had a chance to crack it open yet. I need to finish Gadamer’s **Truth and Method** first. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/12 "2010-02-23T00:46:11Z")
_Venus in Furs_ by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. I bought it used from a local book shop about a month ago to have something to read during a short camping trip we went on a few weekends ago. I loved it and can’t believe I’d never read it before now. Now I’m reading _Red, White, and Brew: An American Beer Odyssey_ by Brian Yaeger, on loan from Troy McClure SF. I really like it so far. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/13 "2010-02-23T00:47:26Z")
> [@Justin\_Credible](#): > > Can I count graphic novels? Sure. It’s not like I wasn’t going to say something cruel about you anyway. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/14 "2010-02-23T00:48:34Z")
I bought “With the Old Breed” by E.B. Sledge in preparation for HBO’s “The Pacific” this March. Read it within a couple of weeks, it was really good. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/15 "2010-02-23T00:51:11Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I think it’s title was _Excel 2003 Bible_. Within the past month or so, FWIW. I don’t think I’ve even moved it from where I sat it down when I got home. Got it for as-needed help moreso than as a page-turner. Sorry, I completely forgot to address the new or used question. Mine was used, as it came from our library book sale. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/16 "2010-02-23T00:51:18Z")
This past weekend I was at my local library and I grabbed three B. Kliban cartoon books from the free bin. And none of them the Cats one! _Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head_ et cetera. I lost my own copies probably 20 years ago. Yes, I read all 3 right away. The last book I bought was a kid’s novel, _Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go_, and I am halfway through reading it aloud. **GuanoLad,** I think _Inkheart_ is the only book that my daughter ever gave up on, and were were about two-thirds of the way through. I’m not sure why she didn’t want to keep reading, but I found it humorless and needlessly grim. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/17 "2010-02-23T00:51:41Z")
Just bought [_The Ghost Map_](http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Map-Steven-Johnson/dp/1594489254) this weekend. > [@](#): > > From Publishers Weekly > Starred Review. On August 28, 1854, working-class Londoner Sarah Lewis tossed a bucket of soiled water into the cesspool of her squalid apartment building and triggered the deadliest outbreak of cholera in the city’s history. In this tightly written page-turner, Johnson (Everything Bad Is Good for You) uses his considerable skill to craft a story of suffering, perseverance and redemption that echoes to the present day. Describing a city and culture experiencing explosive growth, with its attendant promise and difficulty, Johnson builds the story around physician John Snow. In the face of a horrifying epidemic, Snow (pioneering developer of surgical anesthesia) posited the then radical theory that cholera was spread through contaminated water rather than through miasma, or smells in the air. Against considerable resistance from the medical and bureaucratic establishment, Snow persisted and, with hard work and groundbreaking research, helped to bring about a fundamental change in our understanding of disease and its spread. Johnson weaves in overlapping ideas about the growth of civilization, the organization of cities, and evolution to thrilling effect. From Snow’s discovery of patient zero to Johnson’s compelling argument for and celebration of cities, this makes for an illuminating and satisfying read. B&w illus. (Oct.) Reading right now. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/18 "2010-02-23T00:59:27Z")
I just bought the “Full Facts Book of Cold Reading” a couple of days ago. It hasn’t yet arrived, but I will probably read it as soon as it does. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/19 "2010-02-23T01:04:02Z")
I just ordered the first 5 books in the _Wild Cards_ Series Edited by George R R Martin. I hope they’re good! ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051/20 "2010-02-23T01:16:43Z")
I stopped by the used book store a couple of days ago and picked up “Cats have No Lord” by Will Shetterly and “Tooth and Claw” by Jo Walton. I read “Cats” already–it was a very quick read, but much more a typical fantasy quest story than I expected. I thought it was going to be rollicking. “Tooth and Claw” is evidently a comedy of manners about dragons. I will probably read it this week. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-book-new-or-used-that-you-bought-have-you-read-it-yet/530051.md?page=2)