I hadn't seen anything about the "No One Buys Books" debate and wow, what a journey to read those posts in the order you shared 😂
And I'm with you on the book buying overwhelm. I get overwhelmed mentally if I have more than ~50 unread books on my shelf (ideally that number would be like...10) and it makes buying books less fun. So this year I'm trying to be more mindful of what I purchase and when as well. I like the questions you outlined!
I also bought The familiar, the edition is too beautiful not to have it! I liked Ripley but I can totally see why people don't enjoy it...although I love Andrew Scott hehe
So interested to hear you’re not geling with Ripley! I absolutely loved it. I have never watched the 1999 version so perhaps that contributes. I have a pre existing adoration for Andrew Scott and have a track record of loving absolutely everything (everything) he is in. I thought his take on Ripley was gorgeous I was so enamoured by him and frankly was rooting for him the entire time. I thought he was really funny! I think the fun of it is thinking as a viewer he is being careless and being convinced he’s going to get caught (some of those murders were messy asf) but ultimately he was one step ahead the entire time and by the end you just think Tom!!!! You genius!!!! I think the cinematography did half off the work, it was just shot so exceptionally well. If it wasn’t black and white I think it would have been a very different series. Maybe if I watch the 1999 version I could compare & contrast. I’m just so youthful I was only 1 when that version came out, I wasn’t the right audience.
Book buying habits make me 😬 because I think we’re all guilty lol. My approach is - buy whatever I want (lol) but I will almost always wait for a paperback over a hardback to come out. They’re so expensive & take up so much space. Preorder hardbacks are reserved for special occasions (like the Rooney coming out this summer). I will always scour World of Books first for a second hand version. And then once I’ve read something if I just feel no affiliation with the book and don’t want to possess forever I send them into World of Books and get a little pocket money that I put back into books. So really it’s a circular economy. I have it alllll figure out 😉 nothing is more confronting in book ownership than having to move. I haven’t moved in years so I’ve forgotten the pain. Maybe I’ll get rid of them all when that time comes.
I appreciate your thoughts on Ripley I think you are right that it’s my comparison that ruins it, because the cinematography really is gorgeous. I just can’t see anyone except baby Matt Damon. You youngins these days hahaha. We have a thrift bookstore down the street so I like to sell back to them too! It’s really the hardbacks that are so pricey and not always necessary. The Bee Sting is out in paperback next week and I still haven’t read the hardback 😂
I am a certified Youngin 😎 Maybe one day I'll watch the other version! Honestly to buy a hardback you have to take out a loan. I think its so easy to get caught up in releases but once you realise the paperback will be out in less than a year the wait doesn't seem so long!! I have seen The Bee Sting in paperback in a bookstore already!!! I will be buying - so we can read it together😂 Martha and Natalie's big summer of big books x
I think you may be my book/book cover soulmate. I bought Rouge and The Familiar immediately just for their covers. The sprayed black edges made me feel things. I find I don't swoon over covers often, so when I do I've got to have them! The fact that the stories themselves sounded interesting made them easy purchases. We have bookshelves in our bedroom and I love looking across the room at beautiful hardbacks.Since my country/city hopping days are over, I'm currently in the process of building my personal library again.
I'll buy books on Kindle if I'm not emotionally attached or if they're too huge to hold in bed. I bought the hardback of the Fernando Pessoa biography and didn't realize how MASSIVE it was. It was impossible to read in bed so I bought it for my Kindle as well. If I REALLY love a story that I've read on my Kindle then I'll buy the physical copy for my library.
The pictures of your kitties literally give me a serotonin boost.
Also the Jude Law/Matt Damon version of The Talented Mr. Ripley FOREVER!
I mean you really just nailed it, all of it! I couldn’t agree more. Reading in bed with a partner is almost impossible without the kindle but they are worth it (the man not the kindle )
I'm having a hard time with Ripley. Wanted to love it but this version is showing me that the Matt Damon version was actually much better than I realized (and I did like the earlier one and saw it at least twice) because now I can't get it out of my mind. In the book version and the Matt Damon version, I felt somewhat sympathetic to Ripley or at least saw how others might be charmed by him; I wanted to see him sneakily succeed in some way. But this Ripley is just a bit of a grump and I can't see how anyone would be charmed by him. When he gets rid of a body and boat (episode 3? not sure) it's all by brute force. No cleverness at all. How can we enjoy a Ripley who isn't both vulnerable and clever? Thanks for letting me get that out of my system!
P.S. Those are gorgeous books. Especially the inside covers!
P.P.S. About bad feelings re: unread books on the shelf. Think of it as a wonderful wine cellar--good stuff stored up for later!
Exactly with Ripley! I love your thoughts it’s exactly what I was hoping for, a real good discussion. The book Ripley isn’t sympathetic so much but Matt Damon brings this innocence at first that shocks you when he’s so cold blooded. And wine cellar = good advice I like that
I hadn't seen anything about the "No One Buys Books" debate and wow, what a journey to read those posts in the order you shared 😂
And I'm with you on the book buying overwhelm. I get overwhelmed mentally if I have more than ~50 unread books on my shelf (ideally that number would be like...10) and it makes buying books less fun. So this year I'm trying to be more mindful of what I purchase and when as well. I like the questions you outlined!
I'm so glad I could take you on that journey 🤣. But its why I love this community, so much full thinking and entertainment.
10 would be ideal. there is a special kind of guilt for getting excited about a book and then promptly shelving it that makes me sad
I also bought The familiar, the edition is too beautiful not to have it! I liked Ripley but I can totally see why people don't enjoy it...although I love Andrew Scott hehe
My best friend texted me like how could you do Andrew Scott like that lol so I get that for sure.
🤣🤣🤣 How dare you!
That Cloud Atlas edition is amazing!! that painted edges!
It’s a work of art 😍
So interested to hear you’re not geling with Ripley! I absolutely loved it. I have never watched the 1999 version so perhaps that contributes. I have a pre existing adoration for Andrew Scott and have a track record of loving absolutely everything (everything) he is in. I thought his take on Ripley was gorgeous I was so enamoured by him and frankly was rooting for him the entire time. I thought he was really funny! I think the fun of it is thinking as a viewer he is being careless and being convinced he’s going to get caught (some of those murders were messy asf) but ultimately he was one step ahead the entire time and by the end you just think Tom!!!! You genius!!!! I think the cinematography did half off the work, it was just shot so exceptionally well. If it wasn’t black and white I think it would have been a very different series. Maybe if I watch the 1999 version I could compare & contrast. I’m just so youthful I was only 1 when that version came out, I wasn’t the right audience.
Book buying habits make me 😬 because I think we’re all guilty lol. My approach is - buy whatever I want (lol) but I will almost always wait for a paperback over a hardback to come out. They’re so expensive & take up so much space. Preorder hardbacks are reserved for special occasions (like the Rooney coming out this summer). I will always scour World of Books first for a second hand version. And then once I’ve read something if I just feel no affiliation with the book and don’t want to possess forever I send them into World of Books and get a little pocket money that I put back into books. So really it’s a circular economy. I have it alllll figure out 😉 nothing is more confronting in book ownership than having to move. I haven’t moved in years so I’ve forgotten the pain. Maybe I’ll get rid of them all when that time comes.
I appreciate your thoughts on Ripley I think you are right that it’s my comparison that ruins it, because the cinematography really is gorgeous. I just can’t see anyone except baby Matt Damon. You youngins these days hahaha. We have a thrift bookstore down the street so I like to sell back to them too! It’s really the hardbacks that are so pricey and not always necessary. The Bee Sting is out in paperback next week and I still haven’t read the hardback 😂
I am a certified Youngin 😎 Maybe one day I'll watch the other version! Honestly to buy a hardback you have to take out a loan. I think its so easy to get caught up in releases but once you realise the paperback will be out in less than a year the wait doesn't seem so long!! I have seen The Bee Sting in paperback in a bookstore already!!! I will be buying - so we can read it together😂 Martha and Natalie's big summer of big books x
Well I LOVE that summer idea!! That reminds me I need to message everyone re: East of Eden!
I think you may be my book/book cover soulmate. I bought Rouge and The Familiar immediately just for their covers. The sprayed black edges made me feel things. I find I don't swoon over covers often, so when I do I've got to have them! The fact that the stories themselves sounded interesting made them easy purchases. We have bookshelves in our bedroom and I love looking across the room at beautiful hardbacks.Since my country/city hopping days are over, I'm currently in the process of building my personal library again.
I'll buy books on Kindle if I'm not emotionally attached or if they're too huge to hold in bed. I bought the hardback of the Fernando Pessoa biography and didn't realize how MASSIVE it was. It was impossible to read in bed so I bought it for my Kindle as well. If I REALLY love a story that I've read on my Kindle then I'll buy the physical copy for my library.
The pictures of your kitties literally give me a serotonin boost.
Also the Jude Law/Matt Damon version of The Talented Mr. Ripley FOREVER!
I mean you really just nailed it, all of it! I couldn’t agree more. Reading in bed with a partner is almost impossible without the kindle but they are worth it (the man not the kindle )
😂💥❤️🔥
I'm having a hard time with Ripley. Wanted to love it but this version is showing me that the Matt Damon version was actually much better than I realized (and I did like the earlier one and saw it at least twice) because now I can't get it out of my mind. In the book version and the Matt Damon version, I felt somewhat sympathetic to Ripley or at least saw how others might be charmed by him; I wanted to see him sneakily succeed in some way. But this Ripley is just a bit of a grump and I can't see how anyone would be charmed by him. When he gets rid of a body and boat (episode 3? not sure) it's all by brute force. No cleverness at all. How can we enjoy a Ripley who isn't both vulnerable and clever? Thanks for letting me get that out of my system!
P.S. Those are gorgeous books. Especially the inside covers!
P.P.S. About bad feelings re: unread books on the shelf. Think of it as a wonderful wine cellar--good stuff stored up for later!
Exactly with Ripley! I love your thoughts it’s exactly what I was hoping for, a real good discussion. The book Ripley isn’t sympathetic so much but Matt Damon brings this innocence at first that shocks you when he’s so cold blooded. And wine cellar = good advice I like that
I literally just bought The Familiar - for those black sprayed edges alone. It will *also* show up in my newsletter later today. Vibes forever!!
Us just vibing out with our pretty books 😎
The only way to be.