A Stack of Library 'Must Reads'!

This is the first time in a long time that I have such a completely tempting pile of library books.  I absolutely want to read each and every one of them.  I tend to request books even if I am only slightly curious, and often I bring home books, have a little taste and decide to let them go to the next person in line well before the due date.

I have amassed a stack of books that I am determined to make an attempt at reading all of them.  Two or three might well be easy to renew, but a few have, I suspect, quite a long waiting list of readers in line behind me.  

I have picked up Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg to start my library book odyssey.  It grabbed me right away, and maybe is a nice segue from a little dystopian world to one not quite as we know it, yet not dark and unknowable either.  It is a "fresh take on Agatha Christie", which I am all for at the moment.  It has a Jasper Fforde/steampunk (from what I have read about it) flair to it--it "plunges readers into the heart of London, to the secret tunnels that exist far beneath the city streets. There, a mysterious group of detectives recruited for Miss Brickett's Investigations & Inquiries use their cunning and gadgets to solve crimes that have stumped Scotland Yard."

To be honest Gabriel Byrne's memoir, Walking with Ghosts, didn't appeal very much to me, but I heard rave reviews over it (Colum McCann calls it a "masterpiece") that I decided to request a copy (maybe others felt the same way? as I was one of the first in line).  I have dipped in a bit and the prose is lush and lyrical, so I am sold.  "Moving between sensual recollection of childhood in a now almost vanished Ireland and reflections on stardom in Hollywood and Broadway, Byrne also courageously recounts his battle with addiction and the ambivalence of fame."

I have three or four books by Sarah Moss on my shelves, one of which I read and I believe to be the first of a trio (?).  I was thinking I should finally get around to reading the sequel, but then was drawn to her newest, just published novel, Summerwater, which (again) had heard many good things.  "They rarely speak to each other, but they take notice--watching from the safety of their cabins, peering into the half-lit drizzle of a Scottish summer day, making judgments from what little they know of their temporary neighbors. On the longest day of the year, the hours pass nearly imperceptibly as twelve people go from being strangers to bystanders to allies, their attention forced into action as tragedy sneaks into their lives."

I think Ashley Audrain's The Push has by far the most holds on it, so if I don't get cracking on it soon, I might lose my turn.  I has gotten so much press I lucked out and had gotten in line early on and so have one of the first copies.  Not being a mother, will it resonate with me?  "A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family--and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for--and everything she feared."

I can't remember where I came across American Widow by Alissa Torres and illustrator Sungyoon Choi, but I love graphic memoirs and this one intrigued me.  Of course, how will it be reading about a disaster in the middle of a pandemic.  We'll see.

And that leaves us with Blue Ticket, Sophie Mackintosh's newest novel, which is more dystopia, folks.  I am not sure I would normally have picked up another dystopian story so close on the heels of her other novel, but I was literally in line for this since before the covid lockdown last March!!  I have waited months for my turn and now that it is here, I think I will give it a go.  I did like her first book, which I hope to get around to writing about.  Another novel about motherhood--"An urgent inquiry into free will, social expectation, and the fraught space of motherhood, Blue Ticket is electrifying in its raw evocation of desire and riveting in its undeniable familiarity."

Did I mention I am making an attempt at my public library's reading challenge again this year?  I have high hopes and already have filled three of the twelve slots, about which I will tell you more soon!

Comments

[Kathy A Johnson]

I am almost through with a pile of library books I got at the beginning of the year. Between the library being closed for a bit, and my attempt to winnow down my own stash, I hadn't checked out much from the library for a while. I'm on my last one, Oona Out of Order, which has a couple of people waiting for it. I'm afraid they may have to wait, because I just started it last night!
You have quite an interesting selection there. Good luck! If only we had more time to read...

[Joyousreads]

Oh man. I miss the days when I can easily go to the library to browse. I haven't borrowed physical copies since last year.

Good luck with these, and happy reading!

[Mystica]

Thanks for the list. All new to me!

[iliana]

I love seeing your stack of library books. The last time I got any books from the library was back in March. I guess for now I'll continue to read from my stacks or ebooks from the library. Really curious about The Push too - it sort of reminds me of Baby Teeth which I read a couple of years ago. That was quite good so I'm curious how this one will compare. Enjoy your books and challenge!

[Smithereens]

What a tempting stack of books! I'm curious about the Blue Ticket book.

[Jade @ Reading with Jade]

Borrowing books you are only mildly curious about is one of the many perks of using the library - if it isn't for you, it can easily be returned and maybe be hopeful for another reader. I am intrigued by a couple of titles here, with only Sarah Moss being an author I do definitely want to get to at some point. I hope a good few of these were well worth the borrow!

[bookertalk]

I'm so happy to learn I am not the only one who borrows far more books than I have the capacity to read but I love using the library to sample authors I've not experienced before or titles I'm not sure of. It saves a lot of money that way!

[BuriedInprint]

All of those sound so interesting (a couple are on my TBR too). The Push is getting SO much press here in Canada, it's crazy. I can see why you're worried that you won't be able to renew!