Since I am trying hard to finish a few last books before the end of the year I should really put my library requests on hold until January, but a few new ones have slipped through. I've been waiting for ages for a couple of them and I hate the idea of getting back in line, but three weeks is just not enough time to get them all read (along with the other books I have on the go!), since they can't be renewed. The only compensation is I can flip through them and decide which I might read in January and February for my library's annual winter reading program for adults. This year, though, I am not waiting until the end of February to hand in my list of books read like I did last year. I finished my five books only to discover the book bags were all gone (they are giving away book bags again this winter, too). Not that reading the books alone is not reward enough, but...
I am reading one library book at the moment, Louisa May Alcott, which I'm afraid is going to be returned late (my library gives a three or four day grace period, so I'll be able to keep it over the weekend at least before the fine starts). By the way, it's a great biography in case you have any interest in Louisa May Alcott or even just this period in American history, but I'll write about it later.
As for what I brought home this week and will at least be perusing:
Detective Stories (Everyman's Library Pocket Classics), edited by Peter Washington -- This looks like a great little collection of stories by mystery authors like Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendell, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett and even Susan Glaspell ("A Jury of Her Peers", which is the title of Elaine Showalter's recent book on American women writers). I might actually get a few of these read before returning it, so all's not lost on this one.
Grace Hammer: A Novel of the Victorian Underworld, by Sara Stockbridge -- I read a good review of this on a British blog, and it piqued my curiosity. I'm about ready for something nice and atmospheric and set in the Victorian period.
Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Life and Love with a Blind Wonder Cat, by Gwen Cooper -- Have you heard of this one? It's about an abandoned eyeless kitten that the author adopted. Stories like this just tug at the heart strings. Apparently he gets by just fine despite being blind.
Sworn to Silence, by Linda Castillo -- Another book that received raves by bloggers. It's set in Ohio in the Amish community. I think I started out as #47 on the list and waited so long for this, but oh well. Hopefully the line is not so long anymore. Maybe I'll just give the first chapter a try.
Today is the first day of the my library's quarterly book sale, and I'm not going. Can you believe it? I'm not really motivated at the moment and am not in the mood to take the bus and lug around a bag of books in the cold (our lovely weather has disappeared overnight unfortunately). I also don't feel like fighting crowds. I hope I don't miss out on any really wonderful finds, but I am feeling the tiniest bit satiated when it comes to book buying (that will change, don't worry). Besides I have this terrific pile of books next to my bed to think about, and these books to read and these (you get the idea)...