A while back I was complaining about a new book I was watching for at my library which when I asked about it was told the cataloging department was very behind in processing new books, so it might be a bit of a wait. Okay, if I can't have the really new books I am watching for, I'll just request some older books that only need to be sent over from other branches. Well, the Fates have a way of working against unsuspecting library users and no doubt are enjoying wreaking havoc on my reading as every day this week I checked into my account and saw not just one but sometimes two or even three new books appear as being on hold. Apparently their cataloging department must have caught up quite a bit last week! I brought so many books home with me after work on Friday that not only do I need to split the piles in two, but I had to bring an extra bookbag along with me to carry them all. And they were really heavy--it was a long walk home! I'll never get through all these, so will have to prioritize, and I've already got two previously requested library books underway. So to help me decide, rather than telling you a little what each is about (I'll leave it to you to click through on the links to read about them if you're curious), I'll share the first sentence and see which one(s) grab me!
The Beachcomber, Josephine Cox - "'What the hell does he think he's doing!' As the car lurched forward, Tom fought to keep control."
Lady Eugenia's Holiday, Shirley Marks - "It occurred to lady Eugenia Abbott that had she not taken her aunt Rose's offer, she would have been the one left home, again."
The Rapture, Liz Jensen- That summer, the summer all the rules began to change, June seemed to last for a thousand years."
If the Dead Rise Not, Philip Kerr - "It was the sort of sound you hear in the distance and mistake for something else: a dirty steam barge puffing along the River Spree; the shunting of a slow locomotive underneath the great glass roof of the Anhalter Station; the hot, impatient breath of some enormous dragon, as if one of the stone dinosaurs in Berlin's zoo had come to life and was now lumbering up Wilhelmstrasse."
The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver - As this is a cookbook, I've no quotes to share. I believe Jamie Oliver is very famous in the UK? Well, he's arrived on US shores in case you've not heard. I don't watch much TV, so I've mostly only seen snippets or ads for his show, but I'll be curious to see if he has an impact on American cooking (if he can do anything about the deplorable state of school lunches or change minds over processed, nasty foods that are so ubiquitous in stores--and everywhere else here, I sincerely applaud him). He seems like a very genuine person and somewhat endearing even. I caught the tail end of a preview episode and he was actually crying as his message had gotten twisted in the US press (gee, no surprise there) giving him a bad if not insincere reputation with the people he is working with in his "food revolution". Anyway, I had to check him out. Does anyone use his recipes?
Dancing for Degas, Kathryn Wagner - "Imagine the lines he is drawing are causing me to dance."
Lullaby, Claire Seeber - "It was the kind of say so hot you feared another's clammy touch -- a sticky August afternoon that me me long for cool, cool, sliding rain, and I was quietly cursing Maxine as I tried to rid the bag of all the sand, the eternal grains that tumbled softly from the folds of muslins and stained-forever bibs."
The Game of Opposites, Norman Lebrecht - "The coffeemaker was Paul's dearest possession, his defining object."
False Mermaid, Erin Hart - "Death was close at hand, but the wounded creature leapt and twisted desperate to escape."
Ruby's Spoon, Anna Lawrence Pietroni - "Cradle Cross was locked in tight by land, as far from sea as you could be."
I think I've actually now gotten all the books off my request list that I was expecting to get anytime soon. And I'm pretty sure the rest of the books I am waiting for I'm well down to the back of the line and don't think they'll be showing up in the next few weeks anyway, which is a good thing. There's nothing like the rush of a big stack of new books, until you realize they all have the same due date!