So, does your library do this as well? Apparently my library branch was the last hold out to have library holds/requests sitting out in the main library area for patrons to grab and check out via self check out machines if they wish. Before I had to go to the Circulation Desk and ask for my holds but now I can grab them (and as I often will only take a few at a time it is much easier for me to choose as I can take my time with the books before checking out). Ah, welcome to the world of automation!
So picking up books is the easy part (except perhaps deciding how many holds I can or want to carry home with me as I walk). The challenge now is deciding which I want to read (rather which I have time to read before due dates loom). As these are all new books likely there are others waiting behind me for them!
Women of the Dunes by Sarah Maine -- "A beautifully told and intriguing mystery about two generations of Scottish women united by blood, an obsession with the past, and a long-hidden body, from the author of The House Between Tides."
Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O'Brien -- It must have been several years ago now, but I recall watching a documentary about these women which was really interesting. I definitely need to read about them, too. "The untold story of five women who fought to compete against men in the high-stakes national air races of the 1920s and 1930s — and won."
A Double Life by Flynn Berry -- I really enjoyed her first book. "Loosely inspired by one of the most notorious unsolved crimes of the 20th century – the Lord Lucan case – A Double Life is at once a riveting page-turner and a moving reflection on women and violence, trauma and memory, and class and privilege."
A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay -- I can't remember where I heard about this, I think it was a podcast, but the reviewer was so wholly enthusiastic about it and how chilling it is that I almost just broke down and ordered a copy. "The New York Times bestselling author of No Time for Goodbye returns with a haunting psychological thriller that blends the twists and turns of Gillian Flynn with the driving suspense of Harlan Coben, in which a man is troubled by odd sounds for which there is no rational explanation."
The Annotated Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler -- I've never read this before but what better way than read an annotated version! "The enduring 1939 tale of blackmail and corruption introduced readers to private detective Philip Marlowe and remains one of the most influential novels in American literature, inspiring countless books and films."
My initial inclination is to reach for either the Berry or Linwood . . . and as it is getting closer to fall a good suspenseful novel seems like the best kind of book at the moment. (Oh, to have endless reading time, right?).