I picked up two very different books in my latest trip to the thrift shop: Ayn Rand's We The Living and Christmas At The Mysterious Bookshop, a collection of short stories which are mysteries with a Christmas theme. We The Living was Ayn Rand's first novel and was written in 1934. It tells the story of Kira Argounova, a young woman living in 1920's Russia after the revolution. It clearly details how the communist system led to lowered standards of living and little or no power over one's own life. It particularly concentrates on how Communism destroyed the middle class- Argrounova's father had been a businessman, but has his factory confiscated by the state and nationalized. Ayn Rand said that We The Living was the most autobiographical of all her works (her father was a pharmacist who had his business confiscated after the revolution). The Mysterious Bookshop is a bookstore located in New York, owned by Otto Penzler. Every Christmas for a number of years Mr. Penzler commissioned a mystery author to write a short story which took place at the bookshop at Christmastime. He had these printed in pamphlet form and handed them out to customers. This book is a collection of all those stories. I decided to pick it up because I love mysteries, like short stories, and know and enjoy several of the authors whose works are contained in this compilation. I'll probably wait until closer to Christmas to read it, but am looking forward to it.
Comments
|
About MeI'm a lover of good books, classic movies, and well-written shows (as well as some pretty cheesy ones, to be completely honest). Categories
All
Archives
March 2024
Fun SitesOdds & Ends |