on choosing what to read in the face of large collections

I got to go op shopping today before my dental appointment. I have come home and found myself stacking up this pile of books. 

 

Great haul, hey? But what I'm really thinking about right now is something that I often find fascinating - how it came to be that out of the thousands of book spines and covers I scanned in three different shops I came out with this particular pile, out of all the possibilities. It's always hard for a reader to choose just a few books when faced with a large collection. So how did I end up with this pile? 

First, of course, there is the delightfully random nature of books in op shops. Nobody has specifically chosen these books for these shops. They have ended up here like flotsam that floated in on tides of post-consumer and pre-loved collections among the community. Staff and volunteers attempt to wrangle the tides into some kind of categories and relegate shelving. And then the fun for me is to find the treasure. 

What makes these books treasure for me? Why did I consider and then decide on each of these among thousands of titles? 

Well - there was a Frankie magazine. Frankie magazine is cool. Every one of them, I can count on it. This one even has its extras still intact inside. 

Two titles from Kaz Cooke. I have adored Kaz Cooke ever since I followed the adventures of Hermoine The Modern Girl in Dolly magazine as a pre-teen. These are quite different projects, one fiction and one non-fiction, but anything Kaz Cooke writes is just absolutely fucking hilarious. She's a gem. Cover quote - "A writing style somewhere between Jane Austen and a hand grenade." William Fraser, Sydney Morning Herald, for The Crocodile Club.

Exploring Australian English - apparently 'an expert humorous look at uniquely Australian idiom' by GA Wilkes. Because this is my niche field/special interest and I just have to check out anything I happen to find along the way.

Wordwatching - Field Notes from an Amateur Philologist by Julian Burnside. Pretty much ditto. 

The Shaking Woman or A History of My Nerves by Siri Hustvedt. There is just one reason I picked up and took home this book, knowing absolutely nothing about it or the author. The cover quote is by Oliver Sacks. That man is my hero and I will read anything he recommends. He said, "Provocative but often funny, encyclopedic but down to earth, an extraordinary double story." 

Where Song Began by Tim Low. I have read Low's The New Nature and loved it. Also, a friend of mine has personally recommended this book to me. So it was great to find a copy. 

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley and The List of My Desires by Gregoire Delacour. A couple of novels that seems to have some appealing elements but I know nothing about them. They may or may not turn out to be something I can get into. Occasionally, I find something extraordinary. Maybe even life-changing, as the best books often are.

Women of Sand and Myrrh by Hanan Al-Shayk. Well, if ever I am going to judge a book by its cover - wow. Just - wow. This sounds incredible from the blurb and cover reviews. Apparently Al-Shayk has been likened to Margaret Atwood, one of my favourite authors, and Margaret Drabble, one of my grandmother's favourite authors, my grandmother also being an excellent source of literary recommendations. Cover quote - "She tells about religion, sex, marriage, housekeeping and hundreds of other human activities as they really are in the great golden cage of the desert." - International Herald Tribune.

So, that was the shopping and the choosing. Next is to sit with them, maybe start with reading the chapter titles, maybe read a little, maybe dive in when I find a delight.