I feel like this is some kind of Tweet Your Weight-esque exercise in public shaming, because the last two weeks make it look like I do nothing except buy books that I will never be able to read. This week, though, there were special circumstances: an order from a month ago showed up on my doorstep, I had a gift certificate, Borders began a liquidation sale, and the county library had its somewhat melancholy sale. I may want to guard against unnecessary acquisition, but not so much that it will override my inner cheapness. So let’s do this.

No Retreat: The Secret War Between Britain’s Anti-Fascists and the Far Right, Dave Hann and Steve Tilzey, Milo Books (2003) – Amazon UK.

Garlands, Conkers and Mother-Die: British and Irish Plant-Lore, Roy Vickery, Continuum Books (2010) – Amazon UK.

Green Men & White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names, Jacqueline Simpson, Random House (2010) – Amazon UK.

Murder at the Savoy: A Martin Beck Police Mystery, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard (2009, first translated 1971) – Local indie book shop.

In the Valley of the Kings: Stories, Terrence Holt, Norton (2009) – Local indie book shop.

Armed Forces (331/3 Series), Franklin Bruno, Continuum Books (2007) – Indie book shop one town over.

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession, David Grann, Vintage Books (2011) – Indie book shop one town over.

The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality, Branko Milanovic, Basic Books (2011) – Indie book shop one town over.

The Scarecrow, Michael Connelly, Hachette Audio (it’s a book on CD, 2010) – Liquidated Borders.

The Classical Compendium: A Miscellany of Scandalous Gossip, Bawdy Jokes, Peculiar Facts and Bad Behavior from the Ancient Greeks and Romans, Philip Matyszak, Thames & Hudson (2009) – Liquidated Borders.

My Year of Flops: One Man’s Journey Deep into the Heart of Cinematic Failure, Nathan Rabin, Scribner (2010) – Liquidated Borders. The Liquidated Borders is a pretty sad sight: the liquidators have shuttered the cafe and sold off all the furniture, and the workers were (understandably) gloomy and irritable. I felt like a vulture, albeit a vulture who will go back again when prices are further slashed.

1973 Nervous Breakdown: Watergate, Warhol, and the Birth of Post-Sixties America, Andreas Killen, Bloomsbury (2006) – Local indie book shop.

Irish-American Nationalism (Critical Periods of History series), Thomas N. Brown, J.B. Lippincott Company (1966) – Library book sale.

Whatever Became Of…?: The Story of What Has Happened to Famous Personalities of Yesteryear, Richard Lamparski, Crown Publishers (1973) – Library book sale. “Famous personalities” featured in the book include such unforgettable names as Pete Smith, Lon McAllister, Tom Drake, and Miss Frances’ Ding Dong School. I can sense I will cherish this book.

So that’s it. No more new books for a while.

(V. Charm)