Magic Box Looting

Last weekend was  Foolscap, my favorite literary convention. It's a time to talk about books (mostly science fiction and fantasy books, but anything is possible), buy books, trade books, and also have fun. It will be a good time to restore my soul, because that Triple Dog Dare is really hurting.

Foolscap also hosts the fabulous Magic Book Box, where people bring books they enjoyed the year before and take books they think they will enjoy. I only bring one box, because I want to leave books I honestly recommend, and I tend to bring stuff back both for me and SF classics that I think the boys will enjoy.

I also like to buy from the vendors at our conference, so I get a lot of my books for the year there. And there may have been a few purchases at auction... So I came home with:


Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Lois McMaster Bujold. This is one of the signed editions -- wow! I've actually snuck in a pre-read on my e-arc, so I let the 17 year old cart it off.
Unbound, Jim Hines. Third in the series, and the one I need to read.
Revisionary, Jim Hines. Fourth in the series, fresh off the presses, and already in the hands of son 2 (it actually started in his hands, but son 1 is very aggressive when it comes to new books).
Silver Mirrors, Ann Aguirre. I like this author; I have a tradition of getting her stuff at Foolscap.
Finn Fancy Necromancy, Randy Henderson. He ran the last writers workshop session, so I bought his book.
Alphas, Catherine Asaro. From the book box. I like Asaro.
Seventh Bride, T. Kingfisher. A violent auction exchange netted me this Ursula Vernon book, along with its CD audio version.
The Frozen Menace, Ursula Vernon. The last of the Danny the Dragonslayer books. I will read it and send it along to Rob.
The Secret History of Wonder Woman, Jill Lepore. Another auction win, from the silent tables.

Of course, I can't actually read any of these until April, because of my Triple Dog Dare to read books from my shelves...

Then I went to the library where I had a three Cybils books waiting. When I left the house, I had one waiting and was 8th and 7th in line for two more. But because my library is magic, by the time I got to the library (and it's only 7 minutes away by car), three books adorned my hold shelf:



Courage and Defiance, Deborah Hopkinson
Dumplin', Julie Murphy
Everything, Everything, Nicola Yoon

I should mention that the 17 year old is digging his heels in on reading any more Cybils YA fiction. He says life as a teenager is miserable enough on its own without reading books dripping in more misery. He is holding out for the SF picks. I kind of get his point. I'll see if any of the nonfiction looks more optimistic.

I've currently got 38 things out from the library, including ebooks, books for me, and books for the kids. I've dropped out of the 40's, which is a huge step forward for me.

I'll go look at the  Library Loot which is at The Captive Reader this week to see what everyone else is getting.  Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. 

I'm continuing my Library Quest, although I haven't made any progress this week. Too many library books due, so I have to read those first. Hopefully as I stare down this Triple Dog Dare I'll have more space to read.