The floodgates have partially opened, and I brought home my first stack of book requests from the library this past weekend. I expect a similarly sized pile next weekend. It seems sort of fitting to have so many library books at the moment as this week is National Library Week. I have an especially tempting stack to work my way through. At least I hope to work my way through them, as it will depend on whether there are other people in line after me or not (three weeks is not enough time to check out a book!). The nice thing about getting in line early for a book is that when you get it, it's nice and clean and pristine. No one else has yet had an opportunity to spill the soup they were eating at lunch onto the book, or had their chocolate filled fingers turning the pages. The downside, however, is that really 
popular books will have a line of people waiting for me to get on with it and read the book, so they can have their turn! A nice week long vacation would be good about now. If only... I may have to flip a coin, as I want to read them all and don't quite know where to start.
Peter Carey, His Illegal Self. I feel like Peter Carey is one of those authors I should have read--an important contemporary novelist. Hasn't he won more than one Booker Prize? If not won, than I bet he's been nominated more than once. (Yes, here on the book it says two-time Booker winner!). I heard an interview with him discussing this book and had to request it right away. "Never sentimental, His Illegal Self is an achingly beautiful story of the love between a young woman and little boy. It may make you cry more than once before it lists your spirit in the most lovely, artful, unexpected way". 'Achingly' is a pretty persuasive word.
Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge. Set in Crosby, Maine this is a collection of thirteen narratives about "one larger-than-life, unforgettable character: Olive Kitteridge". Why am I having visions of Hagar Shipley? Since Olive is a retired schoolteacher I have a feeling this might be a case where she is looking 
back over her life. I've actually heard very good things about this book, but I'm not sure I'm ready yet for another character who might be written in the same vein as Hagar.
Stephanie Barron, A Flaw in the Blood. Victorian. Mystery. Need I ask for more? I've been eying anything Victorian lately, so if the first few pages of this are good, we might have a winner. Barron actually writes a series of mysteries featuring Jane Austen. I've not read these (are they good, if anyone has read them?), as I tend to steer clear of mysteries featuring once real people. And I really steer clear of any of the Austen books out there that continue the stories of her novels, though I have 
heard good things about some of them. Anyway this is set in Queen Victoria's 'troubled' court.
Clair Ni Aonghusa, Civil & Strange. This book was another new discovery for me via my library's new book list. I've been finding so many new and interesting authors that way. The story is about a woman escaping her failed marriage. She returns to the small village where she spent her summers while growing up. "Anchored by the cadences of its Irish setting and the love story at its heart, Civil & Strange offers a
moving exploration of the possibilities open to us, at any age, if only we are brave enough to embrace them".
Catherine Delors, Mistress of the Revolution. Eva recently wrote about this book, and while I had already requested it at the library, her post made me want to read it all the more. It's set at the time of the French Revolution and it sounds as though it is a fictional memoir. I hear it is heavy on historical detail, which I like, and there's even a love story thrown in. The author was born and raised in France, but now lives in California. You can check out her blog here.