I don’t know what happened this month, but I went absolutely nuts with buying books. At least, that’s how it feels; maybe it’s not all that much compared to some other months, but it’s certainly a lot more than normal. For the most part, these were thrift store purchases, so at least I didn’t go over the top with buying books at full price. I just happened to find myself at thrift stores with my friends a lot this month, and for some reason each time there was one or several books worth picking up. It was a little uncanny.

Enough prattling, on to the books!

New Books

While waiting for my partner while she was at an appointment, I wound up buying Jurassic Park and The Lost World by Michael Crichton at a nearby bookstore. Lately I’ve been seeing fan-made content on social media talking about how much darker the novels were compared to the films, as well as some analog horror content inspired by the films, which has made me want to reread the first book and read the second. So, with two mass market paperbacks available to me while left unattended in a bookstore, I decided to buy them.

Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton was weirdly serendipitous that day, as later on my friends and I went to a thrift store, which is where I found this book. I’m only a little interested in read this book, which is not actually related to Jurassic Park as far as I know, but it was cheap and matched up with what I’d already bought so well that I figured I might as well pick it up.

Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn was yet another thrift store find. Though I love Mass Effect, I haven’t really felt inclined to check out any of the novels. However, I replayed the entire trilogy last year, resulting in a newfound appreciation for the first game, which inspired me to pick this up once I came across it. I don’t expect this to spur me on to read any of the others, but I really do think I should give this a look finally.

Berserk Vol. 41 by Kentaro Miura was the final volume that I needed to become completely caught up on the series thus far. It is also the final manuscript that Miura worked on directly before his untimely passing, so it was a rather bittersweet read. It feels good to finally be caught up.

I have to admit, I feel my expectations are a little tempered with Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. While it continues to hold my curiosity, it has been spoken of so often on BookTok and the like that I feel like it has been built up far too much. So, it was good to find a second-hand copy, since I’m really not sure how I’ll feel about it, but there has been so much buzz and it sounds interesting enough that I still want to check it out.

Although I know there are more Nick Cutter books, in my mind The Deep exists in a trio with The Troop and Little Heaven, so I was quite happy to find such a nice-looking copy of it at a thrift store, as it is the last of the three that I need to read. I actually know very little about the plot of this book, though I recall hearing somebody describe it as quite a downer, so I’m looking forward to discovering what it’s all about.

I’m pretty sure Piranesi by Susanna Clarke was featured in Novel Discoveries in one of these posts, though I couldn’t say how long ago. I don’t recall much of what it’s supposed to be about, except that it’s a fantasy novel and the impression I’ve gotten that it involves a house that contains impossible spaces, which I’m really into. It’s kinda fun to forget why something grabbed your attention, since you can reasonably trust that you want to read it but can still be surprised.

Of all these books, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury feels the most like a random, obligatory purchase. I’m not especially interested in it, but it’s considered a classic and I’ve never read it before, so finding a nice second-hand copy for $5 is enough to get it onto my shelf.

Novel Discoveries

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh is the author’s latest book, which caught my attention right away as a fan of hers. I still have one of her other more recent books to read first, but I definitely want to pick this up sooner rather than later. This book also seems to be a bit of a departure from what she usually writes, as it is set in a medieval village and has fantastical elements.

Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again by Shigeru Kayama collects two novellas of the first two Godzilla films, the author being the writer who drafted the original film. This book is publishing the pair for the first time ever in English since their publication in Japan in 1955, which is what grabbed my attention most about this. I’ve loved Godzilla all my life, but fiction written in the character’s infancy, when there were only two films, sounds really appealing to me, as the text will be separated from the hype and notoriety the monster has enjoyed for the past 70 years.

Closing Thoughts

I have to wonder if all this buying has something to do with some of the dental problems I’ve been dealing with over the last month. Though it could be a lot worse, dental discomfort is a special kind of awful and I’ve been having a bit of a sulk about it all of March. I’m hoping it will be cleared up soon, as I really don’t want to continue being compelled to shop like this (if I truly can blame the condition).

Until next time, thank you for reading.