Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader 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. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!
So anyway, here's a photo of my current library pile:
The top five books are ones that have been on my library pile for a few weeks. From the top then:
Soup: Hot and Cold Recipes for all Seasons - Pippa Cuthbert. I adore soup and this one has a few recipes, such as split pea and ham, that I want to try.
Red Bones - Ann Cleves. Book three of her Jimmy Perez/Shetland Isles series that I like so much.
A Darker God - Barbara Cleverly. This was a random grab and now that I've checked it turns out it's 'book 3' in her Leaticia Talbot series, set in the late 1920s. I'll have to decide whether to read it out of turn or try to get hold of the first book.
The Comfort of Saturdays - Alexander McCall Smith. Book 5 in the Isabel Dalhousie series. I'm sure this will be as lovely as all the rest.
Adventures of a Gentleman's Gentleman - Guy Hunting. The author was apparently butler to Noel Coward and the Queen back in the day. This was also a random library grab.
The last four books are my actual library loot for this week:
Dead of Winter - Chris Priestley. He wrote the 'Tales of Terror' ghost series of course, and I think this his latest full length ghost novel.
Days From a Different World - John Simpson. Simpson is a news correspondant for the BBC - a well respected journalist I believe, currently in Burma. I have his A Mad World, My Masters on my tbr mountain but was tempted by this account of his childhood when I saw it. I always assume jounralists will be good and interesting writers.
Hugh Fearlessly Eats it All - Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall. I love his cookery programmes from his cottage in Dorset but this is one of his early books (possibly based on a TV series) which I spotted and thought I'd try.
The Virago Book of Food: The Joy of Eating edited by Jill Foulston. Women through the ages writing about food. How perfect could a book get?
I'm currently reading Sourcery by Terry Pratchett for Marg's Pratchett challenge but I'm hoping to finish that later today and will then move on to one of these. Probably the John Simpson as the minute I got home I found someone else had reserved it from the library so I won't be able to renew.
12 comments:
I do like hte sound of the Virago one - I am off to look for their Christmas book at lunchtime :)
things sure have changed at libraries since I was young! (like what hasn't?!) Back "in the day" you were only allowed 3 or 4 books at a time and could only have them for 2 weeks!
What a Lovely pile Cath!
I think I'd like to try this one "Red Bones - Ann Cleves. Book three of her Jimmy Perez/Shetland Isles series that I like so much." or should I try and get the first one first?
The painter was Sydney Laurence btw I've put a link to his work in the comments :0)
Hello Cath,
A geat haul indeed, I quite like the look of the Anne Cleeves and the Chris Priestley.
I am a great campaigner fo keeping libraries open and regularly donate books to my local branch, but I have to admit that I never borrow books from the library these days, althiugh I used to haunt them endlessly as a child.
Trawling round the charity shops, I am never short of good, cheap reading material, that I can read in my own time and not worry about returning within a stipulated period and I certainly wouldn't have the time to read both library and my own material.
Verity: Did you have any luck finding the Virago Christmas book? I fancy it too but can't imagine I would find it locally. I can rec 'Christmas Stories' an Everyman Pocket Classic ed. by Diana Secker Tesdell. It's a really beautiful book which I did get in my local Waterstones, funnily enough.
Pat: Yes, same here. When I was a kid it was 3 books for 2 weeks (and those lovely green cards all lined up). These days you can have 12 for 3 weeks and renew three times.
Val: I would recommend that you get the first Shetland book to start with. It's called Raven Black and is very good. Very wintery.
Thanks for the name of the painter... am going to look that up later. That painting was so beautiful.
Yvonne: I don't know if you've ever tried Ann Cleeves but if not she's an excellent crime author.
I try to split my time between reading my own books and reading library books. Partly because library books are a 'free' regular book fix I can indulge in, but also I'm concerned that if the library isn't used we will lose it. Although ours is a large town library, so I imagine that's unlikely, but still... you never can tell these days.
You got a nice variety of books there! I'd definitely dive into the Soup book first! Here's my Loot!
I'm sure you will enjoy the Ann Cleeves book - I have just requested Blue Lightning from the library and hope that she is planning to write more about Jimmy Perez.
I've read some of John Simpson's books about his reporting career and you can definitely hear his voice through the pages which I always like.
On the subject of libraries - our main town library has just re-opened after a two year refit and is now light, bright and modern with more computers, a coffee bar and ..fewer books!
I thought that I was imagining it but I had a quiet word with a librarian I have known for years, and she confirmed it! All the books are very new too, which is nice in a way but there is no chance of finding that old out-of-print book without requesting it (fortunately they haven't cleared out the County store room - yet!)
Ooh, is the John Simpson book ABOUT Burma? If so I'll have to read it. I've been reading everything I can find about Burma since I read Finding George Orwell in Burma.
That's a nice looking pile of Library Loot! I need to get back to the Alexander McCall Smith books
Enjoy your loot!
Lady Q: the soup book is so good I'm thinking of getting my own copy. I've been making soup this morning in fact - onion, celery and potato. I'll be over to look at your library loot in a mo.
Liz: I didn't realise there was a 4th. Perez book out, so that was good news. I've also just bought the first of her birdwatching crime series that she wrote from 1986 - 1996 - A Bird in the Hand. Her page on Fantastic Fiction has the details: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/ann-cleeves/
Libraries are definitely changing. I'm not sure all the changes are for the best but then I'm an old fuddy-duddy. LOL!
Cass: No, the John Simpson book is not about Burma: it's about his childhood. That George Orwell book sounds interesting... will look that up. My uncle was in Burma in WW2 and has some amazing photos.
Marg: AMcS is an author I return to again and again (like Terry Pratchett). I love the fact that he has so many series and I have lots to read over the coming years.
I like the look of the Virago book of food. Do post a review if you like it.
Nicola: I've just started it as my bedtime read. It'll take a while to read but yes, I will post about it.
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