Saturday, April 20, 2019

Stacking the Shelves #43


Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature co-hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected throughout the week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, etc. Never has my addiction been more obvious than when I am now keeping track of every single book I acquire.

Library Treasures
13539495 11161726 7760816 15833693 13573505
448487 188512

What did you add to your stash this week?

Happy Reading!
Sarah

18 comments:

  1. Now *that* is a very focused book haul!

    All non-fiction for me this week - spending some of my bonus from work [grin]

    How Democracy Ends by David Runciman
    Arnhem - The Battle for the Bridges, 1944 by Anthony Beevor
    The Doomsday Machine - Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner by Daniel Ellsberg
    On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis
    In the Shadow of the American Century - The Rise and Decline of US Global Power by Alfred W McCoy
    Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman
    The Re-Origin of Species - A Second Chance for Extinct Animals by Torill Kornfeldt
    The Easter Rising by Michael T Foy & Brian Barton

    Funnily I picked up two books today from my favourite off-line book store that had risks attached: I thought I might just already own them. So I checked in various book piles to make sure when I got home - no sightings. Just to make sure I checked your Stacking the Shelves posts for the last 12 months - zero hits. Phew!

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    1. These posts are good for so much! I have the same problem, so I always have to have my phone when I go to Half Price Books, so I can see which books I have already read - I can never remember!

      The Easter Rising is a book I am definitely interested in. When my mom and I were in Ireland a few years ago we went on a walking tour of the Easter Rising. The tour was given by Lorcan Collins, and I bought the book he had co-authored as well. There is also a series that was published in 2016 about the leaders, that I have on my TBR.

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    2. Being of Irish Catholic descent I've been interested in the Easter Rising for quite a time and have, inevitably, collected quite a few books on the event and on Ireland in general. There's also a book out soon on how the legal status of Catholics in England changed in fairly recent times to allow them (us) to actually VOTE and things. Go figure!

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    3. I would definitely recommend the tour if you ever hop over to Dublin. It was really well-done, and you could reallly imagine being there back then, seeing the buildings pockmarked by bullet holes.

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    4. I'm both amazed and horrified to be honest that the British brought in ARTILLERY to clear out pockets of resistance. If I'd lived there that fact alone would make me an enemy of the British Empire for the rest of my life. I'd heard about the bullet holes still there. Did they say why they left them?

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    5. It was pretty appalling to read the accounts of the artillery and such, and see the photos. Separately we had toured Dublin Castle and seen where James Connolly literally had to be held up to sit in his chair while on trial, on account of his injuries. We also toured Kilmainham Gaol and learned that for his execution, Connolly had to be TIED TO HIS CHAIR and was shot. The doctor who had examined him after the fighting said he had no more than a day or two to live, and was executed anyway. That angered many, even those who had not initially supported the rebellion. I do not recall if Lorcan specifically stated why the bullet holes were left, especially in the GPO. You might have just sent me on a little excursion to find the answer!

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    6. I understand that the locals spat on the rebels as they were being led away to trial. But their treatment by the British, especially of Connolly's execution turned the loyal/indifferent Irish against the British which led directly to the Civil War and later independence. I guess being treated like a non-white colony would do that to you.

      I've accumulated several (lots) of books on the era/events so if I find out about the bullet holes before you do I'll let you know!

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    7. Oh yes, they were not pleased with the rebels, and that is one of the reasons the battle was lost almost from the start; they simply did not have enough manpower - and when you mention the artillery the British brought in...Connolly's treatment was especially abhorrent, but they made an example of him. Backfired though, and Ireland (mostly) gained its independence anyway.

      That would be most helpful! I bought Lorcan Collins' book about the uprising and will have to read back through it again as well to see if I can find the answer (Lorcan was one of the tour guides/founders of the tour company - seriously, go to Dublin and take the walking tour, it was one of my fave things we did in Ireland overall. Plus Kilmainham, that's also a must. I guess I'll just have to dig up some of my pictures and post some from the trip, if you need any more convincing!!)

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  2. Gun Guys and American Rifle: A Biography for me. I don't know who this Amanda Knox person is, but apparently she's significant enough to merit quite a few books!

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    1. She was a student in Italy whose British roommate was brutally murdered. She and her boyfriend were convicted of the murder with another person, and it was a huge uproar because the Italian police were depicted as being terrible at their jobs (which they kind of were, evidence chains were not solid, contamination, etc), but there is also some evidence that can't be explained away. It's a very sad case, because the victim, Meredith Kercher, is ALWAYS lost in the noise. The actual victim is brushed aside for these two who were supposedly wrongly-convicted. They were acquitted four years later, but I don't necessarily believe they are innocent.

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  3. Ah Amanda Knox... that case.

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    1. Right?! All these books about her, Meredith Kercher became an afterthought - as though Knox was the actual victim.

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  4. Hmmm...I never heard of any of these books, but they all look interesting!

    Here’s my Stacking the Shelves!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog

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  5. I remember the case, it was international news, I hope you find the books informative, I know there were several supporters and detractors.

    Have a great reading week

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    1. Thanks for visiting! It seems like the media was very skewed in Knox's favor here, and the opposite there - to be expected of course, but I really find some of the evidence compelling. The language barrier didn't help at the time it was all happening. Happy reading!

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  6. 8 books in last week. Whoa. 6 from the library, 2 I bought. I have read one of these, am in the middle of another and will read all of them soon.

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    1. I have been library-binging for weeks! And I just requested a bunch more. We are really on a roll, eh?

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