Yesterday I attended the Remate de Libros (Book Sale) at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, which is a huge event organized every year, this one being the 11th time. It was my very first time attending, as I always forget the date, I'm not around or something else more important happens. But this time around I planned it in advance so there wouldn't be a problem.
There were stands on both floors, with books of all editorials, languages and tastes, and it was nice to notice that, mostly, there were no new books or best-sellers, so you could find all the books that you don't tend to find at big libraries, as they don't sell that well because there's no hype around them.
This year, as every year since I have memory, I decided not to buy any more books as I have too many waiting to be read, but we all know how that pans out: every year I manage to convince myself that I need a certain book or that it is a unique opportunity and I will not find that particular edition again, breaking my promise without fail.
So here you have it, the list of books I bought at the book sale:
- Before Watchmen - Minutemen & Silk Spectre by Darwin Cooke and Amanda Conner
- William and the Lost Spirit by Gwen de Bonneval and Matthieu Bonhomme
- Return to Perdition by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty
Besides being very cheap, they were 50% off and in the original language -which is always a plus for me (edit: William and the Lost Spirit is originally french). Watchmen is one of my favorite stories of all time, and the illustrations of William and the Lost Spirit sold it for me; but the real issue here is with Return to Perdition, as I just found out it's the 5th book in a series, even though I thought it was a stand-alone. I didn't care to ask, as I saw no number on the cover or a clue on the back. However, some people on-line say it's ok to read it on its own. We'll see.
- El viejo alquimista by Ruy Pérez Tamayo
The literal translation of this one is The Old Alchemist, but I don't think you'll be able to find it in any other language. As to the reason I bought it, it was mainly because of the gold details in the front cover, the black soft paperback and the illustrations inside. However, as I got home and did some research about the author I got even happier: he's a doctor, a researcher, science popularizer and a writer, all the things I love to do.
- On the Suffering of the World by Schopenhauer
- The End of Oil by Paul Roberts
- Utopia by Thomas More
- God and the State by Mijail Bakunin
- The Dream of Equality by Martin Luther King Jr.
These books are part of a collection that carries essays about politics, life, peace, war, philosophy, etc. I've been obsessed with finding them all, as they are extremely cheap and of amazing quality. So far I have eleven, but the editorial doesn't have a way to buy them on-line and I only find them on book fairs or sales. (Number 2, The End of Oil, is a present for my boyfriend).
- Letter to His Father by Franz Kafka
- Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
- Wage-Labour and Capital; Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy; Value, Price and Profit por Karl Marx
I also got Relatos, una compilación by Juan Rulfo, which is a compilation of short stories by Mexican authors selected by one of the biggest names in Mexican Literature, and Ladera Este by Octavio Paz, a series of poems this Nobel Prize winner wrote while on Asia, but the two of them are gifts for my boyfriend, hence they are not pictured.
Have you read any of these books? I'd like to know what you think of them! You'll read me soon with a guest review and a review I wrote on a not so popular Jane Austen book ♡
