Here's one my weirder books: Psychopathia Sexualis (1886) by Krafft-Ebing.
I bought this 2nd hand when I was 15 and had no sexual experience. It was strange to say the least to be reading in a forensic 19th century study of forensic sexuality about Viennese necrophiliacs etc.
Btw most of the aberrations were caused by masturbation according to the author.

As a poor student I was so taken with Nabokovs Lolita that I took my 2nd hand copy of The Annotated Lolita and had it bound by the Utrecht University book binder. Many years later literature has no longer such a central position in my life. But this copy the Annotated Lolita still has a special place.

Actually my eyes are drawn to your copy of Shaka Zulu.

My eyes are up here JanetLand.

That Shaka Zulu book was the first biography of Shaka Zulu as far as I know. It's a fascinating story of a Napoleon like empire builder. It's a good example of the charm of antique book store discoveries: finding an old (1955) book on a topic that you weren't aware of that it was interesting.


Here's another paper book: as a student I loved the modernist novel Under The Volcano by Malcolm Lowry. I loved it so much that I got a hardbound 2nd hand copy to replace my torn apart penguin copy. https://goo.gl/photos/HJrtiikevWKiMVet8
Under The Volcano is a strange novel. The writer polished it many times, embroidering it with themes for every of the many times that it was rejected by different publishers. Usually that would result in an overwrought novel that tries to hard at being art. But I found this novel mesmerising even though the tragedy of uncontrollable alcoholistic self destruction is not something I've every encountered in my personal life.
The movie from the 1980s really does the novel justice in my opinion. John Huston directed, Albert Finney and Jacqueline Bisset are amazing as the consul and Yvonne. Highly recommended.

I liked Under the Volcano too.

I'm glad you mentioned the movie. In a MeMail followup to a discussion on the green, Devil's Rancher said it was a superb adaptation. But that was five years ago. Grad school intervened, it somehow fell out of the queue, and I still haven't seen it. I'll fix that ASAP.

[runs barefoot through jouke's library]