I'm back to my normal library routine--stopping by once a week or so. Usually I have a book or two on hold, but often I will also browse the new book shelves. I think I sort of had my fill of borrowing from these shelves during the library's winter reading program, as I haven't really found anything there to tempt me too much. This is probably a good thing. A book has to look really good for me to take it home, as lately I've been weighing what I see on those shelves with what I have on my own at home, and seeing which I would really prefer to read.
I have found a few books, however, that look like they have possibilities:
Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson. The subtitle is "a Medieval Noir". I'm not sure if I've ever come across a "noir" mystery set so far back in time--at least in the sense of how I think of the word, but it caught my attention. This is set in 14th-century England. The hero is a knight convicted of treason and therefore living on the fringes of society. I came across this title via Iliana.
Sashenka by Simon Montefiore. I used to work in an indepdendent bookstore, which closed about six years ago. It was a family run business, the owners being very cool (and well read) people. When I started going to the university's gym I discovered they also use it, so now when I see them we always trade reading suggestions. They've both read this and recommended it, so I think I'll give it a whirl. I believe it starts in 1916, jumps to the 1930s and then the present day and tells the story of Sashenka Zeitlin.
Sister Beneath the Sheet by Gillian Linscott. This is a mystery series that has (again) come recommeded. It's set in Edwardian England featuring suffragette Nell Bray. I've heard that Gillian Linscott is now writing under the name Caro Peacock, who I recently read and enjoyed, so it will be interesting to compare the two series. There are a handful of Nell Bray mysteries and my library has most of them. They were written in the early 90s, but I have to say the dust jacket gave me a chuckle--there's a woman lying 'beneath the sheet" of her bed (no doubt dead!) with only her hand protruding. It's painfully obvious that she has fake nails on. What do you think the chances were that proper Edwardian ladies (or even the improper ones) wore dime-store press on nails? But never judge a book by it's cover, right!
A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx by Elaine Showalter. I think I may have to buy this one (I have a 15% off coupon conveniently). Aside from the fact it is well over 500 pages and I'm not likely to get it read in the next three weeks, it looks like it is full of interesting information not only about those famous women authors who are part of the literary canon but also about many "once successful and acclaimed yet now little known" authors. I'm curious to see who made the list--she talks about more than 250 female American writers covering the years from 1650 to 2000.
The Roses of No Man's Land by Lyn Macdonald. This is from my library (where I have three more books sitting on my desk that I'm contemplating checking out and trying to read). This is my starting place for my nonfiction reading about WWI. I've been writing down other suggestions and will be requesting a couple more from interlibrary loan. I should have a very good list and it'll be hard to decide what to pick next.
At the moment, however, I'm reading Swedish author, Mari Jungstedt's The Inner Circle. I'm not very far into it, but I've already discovered I'm jumping into the series somewhere a few books in. I don't think it matters, though there seem to be several ongoing relationships between characters that I don't know the back story to. I'm sure things will sort themselve out, though. The story is set on the Baltic island of Gotland and the murder is on the macabre side--a ritual killing. I picked this author up by chance (rather she was on the new books list that I scan each week online and then make my requests as the books are released), but figure most Scandinavian crime fiction is all the rave lately and generally highly regarded as being solid, quality reads. I've not read a lot of Scandinavian crime authors, so I can't really compare, but we'll see how it goes.