I wasn't expecting to bring home a single library book last week, so I was surprised when I received notification that there were books waiting for me. I didn't get a chance to post my bookish goodies, so I'll double up this week as I've already brought a few more home. I'm sort of feeling inundated with books to be honest, but in a good way. So many look really interesting, but I can already hear that clock ticking as the due dates inch closer day by day. If ever I feel pressure with reading, I hate to say this is one of the major culprits. I tend to choose too many books that are so new they have lines of readers waiting for them, and that means no renewals. A story many of you know all too well! My latest finds:
Tinkers, Paul Harding - Yes, this year's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. I think there was only one copy checked out at the time of the award announcement, but the rest were quickly snapped up. This is my chance to be on the cutting edge of reading. It's a tiny book but don't let that fool you. It's covered in many praiseworthy blurbs. Everything from 'truly remarkable' to 'brilliant'. It sounds dark, though. This is an "elegiac meditation on love, loss, and the fierce beauty of nature." I should really read it right now, shouldn't I?
The Tale of Halcyon Crane, Wendy Webb - One reviewer called this a perfect cozy read. It does look light and entertaining. Set in the Great Lakes area, it's supposed to be an eerie ghost story.
A House to Die For, Vicki Doudera - A tale of suspense set on a Maine island (and you know how I love stories set on islands and stories of suspense).
The Hand that First Held Mine, Maggie O'Farrell - Some years back I read one of her earlier novels and was very impressed by it. I was really excited to get this one, and have started reading, but I am not sure what to think. She writes in the present tense, which I am finding a little jarring. Actually I am not sure I would have known (though I suspect so), but my online reading group was talking about present tense stories, so I think it was just in my mind. Do I continue on and see if I stop noticing it? Has anyone read this one?
And now this week's books:
The Language of Sand, Ellen Block - This looks like another comfort type read, which I am quite drawn to as it is set in Chapel Isle and the protagonist takes a job as a caretaker of a lighthouse. Sometimes I feel like this is as close as I am ever going to get to the ocean, so I snap up any book that appeals at all with this type setting.
The Birth of Love, Joanna Kavenna - She won the Orange Award for New Writers a few years ago. This one really intrigues me, though I wonder if something will be lost as I am not a mother. "From three perspectives spanning centuries, acclaimed novelist Kavenna explores childbirth, the most basic experience of women and men, parents and children, from the slaughterhouse of primitive medicine to a futuristic vision of technological oppression."
Bad Blood, Lorna Sage - The Slaves of Golconda's next read. It's been called a "ruthlessly funny, excruciating, inspiring memoir." I can't wait to read this one.
Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto, Maile Chapmen - I seem to be choosing lots of dystopian-ish sorts of novels lately, and this one seems to fit that description in its own dark way. Junot Diaz calls it "a superb hallucinatory piercing, an ominous dispatch from that Gothic frontier of the female body."
Blackout, Connie Willis - I was reading this WWII time travel novel a while ago and had planned on returning it late so I could finish it, but decided I didn't want to cram a long novel into a few days so got back in line. Now to figure out where I was in the story.
For once I've already dabbled a bit in a few of these, am halfway through one and have started another. If only it weren't for those dreaded (and all too soon) due dates, I could really enjoy taking my time with these.