Technically these are not the very first books I have checked out from the library for 2019, but they are probably the first 2019 books (or new books lately published anyway). I was almost going to let the holds go as the weather has been tetchy and it is hard to find the energy at the end of the work day to trudge home from the library in the cold and dark and snow. But when Lyndsay Faye's The Paragon Hotel turned up in my list I had to go.
I had been reading about the book and read an interview with the author. It just sounds so good that I brought it home last night and started to read this morning and she hooked me. "Nobody" Alice James has such a compelling voice. She is funny and irreverent and sassy and I like her already. She has been traveling by train from Harlem in NYC to Portland--with a gunshot wound--or an almost septic graze on her torso from a bullet. If that sets the tone....
This weekend will be a long weekend with Monday as a day off from work for me in celebration o MLK Jr Day, and the weather is promising to be even colder and more snowy, so I may be stuck indoors whether I like it or not. Alice likely will be my main companion!
I have only barely glanced at the other books, but they all look like they will be fun to peruse. The book on the bottom is a juvenile book about President Washington's slaves which he "inherited" as a mere boy. Apparently Mount Vernon has been excavating the graves there and so this should be quite illuminating. A very different side of the President's life, which will be good to learn about.
I suspect I shall be sharing a teaser from the Faye novel. Good books to keep my mind off the dreariness of January!
Very envious that you have the Faye book - it is still not showing up in my library catalogue as even being on order which is annoying!
I am however halfway through Katharine McMahon's latest book called (in the UK at least) The Hour of Separation, set just before and during WW2 in Britain and Belgium and it is every bit as good as her others have been. I am thoroughly enjoying it - she creates such involving characters!
Posted by: LizF | January 17, 2019 at 05:36 PM
Sounds like a good companion to have on a snowy weekend!
Posted by: Kathy | January 20, 2019 at 11:43 AM
Hope you enjoy your long weekend with your library books! I am really curious to hear what you think of the Faye book!
Posted by: iliana | January 20, 2019 at 06:07 PM
The Faye book is really good. She has got the lingo of the period down really well. She turns a good sentence as they say. I think you will like it when it does show up--you'll have to add it to your list. I knew there was a new Katharine McMahon coming out--lucky you--I must go see if I can afford it--I am sure it is just in cloth and her books are not being published here sadly! I love her books!
Posted by: Danielle | January 23, 2019 at 10:36 PM
I have too many books to choose from. Not that that is a bad thing....
Posted by: Danielle | January 23, 2019 at 10:37 PM
I had an especially long weekend thanks to bad weather. I am really liking the Faye book. I didn't read Jane Steele--not sure if it is for me, but her new one is really engaging. I like the voices of the characters!
Posted by: Danielle | January 23, 2019 at 10:39 PM