This is actually only a selection of library books that I have at the moment. It looks like quite a few, doesn't it? It must seem like a lot because the bottom two are so chunky. This is a combination of books from the library where I work (bottom two and the book fourth from the top are from there--usually we chuck the dust jackets, but as I got the books fresh out of the box I was able to grab the jackets to use temporarily), the public library and even an interlibrary loan (courtesy of the nice folks in Oregon). I picked the chose the books I really want to try and read, but you know how that goes. The nice thing about library books is I can always check them out again if I need to return them unread.
Unfortunately Liza Marklund's Studio 69 is a read it now or never book (or buy it used), as I didn't realize until yesterday that I can't renew it. It took ages to find a copy that a library would loan out (apparently there are not many copies of it floating around in US libraries) and then I let it sit in the stack for a few weeks. I checked the due date over the weekend, and oops, I have one week to read it. It's my new gym book. It reads fast, though, and I have the upcoming weekend to finish. This book comes before the previous Annika Bengtzon novel I read not too long ago. I think I prefer this one to that, but I've only just started.
One of the librarians I work with highly recommended Eric Weiner's The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World. I'm afraid the US ranks closer to the bottom of the list than the top, and I think she said Denmark ranks the highest. I'll let you know what I find out. I think I need this book right now!
I really liked Elizabeth Berridge's Across the Common and vowed I would read more of her work. I might start with Tell It to a Stranger, which is a collection of short stories, since I am on a short story kick.
Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West by Dorothy Wickendon sounds like a fun read. In 1916 two Smith College graduated traveled West to Colorado to teach. Now that must have been quite an experience!
I probably shouldn't start in the middle of an already established mystery series, but Barbara Nadel's recent Inspector Ikmen mystery, A Noble Killing, just came out. Has anyone read her? Her mysteries are set in contemporary Turkey. I found an interesting interview with her here.
Juan Gómez-Jurado's The Traiter's Emblem sounds like a real treat. (I get so excited about new books, don't mind me). Apparently this is based on a true story--it's set in Depression era Munich as as well as the 1940s when a Spanish sea captain picks up four German castaways during a storm. One of them gives him a diamond and gold emblem, which of course is wrapped up in mystery. Sounds like a great page turner.
Jane Harris is another tried and true author for me (loved her Observations), so I was pleased when my library ordered a copy of Gillespie and I, which is set in 1888 "featuring a memorable cast of characters, infused with atmosphere and period detail, and shot through with wicked humor". It is due out in the US in January 2012.
Alan Hollinghurst's The Stranger's Child is on the Booker longlist, but I had planned to read it in any case. It was mentioned in this article, so I knew it would be up my alley. I have it on my reading pile, but I have to finish a few other books first before starting it in earnest.
Not too shabby a pile, don't you think? I don't know where to start (okay, so I have already started, but... I can't wait to pick up another. The scary thing is I have a few more books waiting for me on the hold shelf at my public library! As always, am spoiled for choice.