Library Loot - & One Purchase...

I collected two books from the library this week to add to my ever growing pile:

Playing with the Grown-Ups - Sophie Dahl; this is a book I have wanted to read for the longest time and after a glowing review from Claire I quickly requested it at my library. Such a gorgeous looking book though - I might be tempted to buy this one...

The Hours - Michael Cunningham - this is a book I had never really thought of reading before but thanks to the Woolf In Winter Read Along I am now into all things Woolf. A great review over at Another Cookie Crumbles has also tweaked my interest in this one.

I also made a book purchase over the weekend - The Legacy, the first novel from Australian author Kirsten Tranter caught my eye - both for it's gorgeous cover and the interesting description:

What has happened to Ingrid?
Beautiful Ingrid inherits a fortune and leaves Australia, and her friends, and Ralph who loves her, to marry Gil Grey and set up home amid the New York art world. There she becomes the stepmother to Gil′s teenage artist daughter Fleur, a former child prodigy, and studies ancient curse scrolls at Columbia University.
But at 9am on September 11, 2001, she has an appointment downtown. And is never seen again.
Or is she?
Searching for clues about Ingrid′s life a year later, her friend Julia uncovers only further layers of mystery and deception.
Both an unputdownable mystery and a compelling meditation on the nature of art, truth, friendship and love, THE LEGACY announces the arrival of a major new talent.

Library Loot

In line with my new "Don't Buy So Many Books" policy I have picked up a few books at my local library in the past week:

The Winter Ghosts - Kate Mosse - I have had a bit of like/dislike relationship with this authors work but my friend Tamara had some good things to say about this - and it does look gorgeous.

The Infinities - John Banville - This was a book I discovered in a "Best Of 2009" list last week and it sounds as if there are a few people out there who have enjoyed this one.

The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood - After loving Oryx and Crake I definitely want to read this one but I think I need to leave a bit of a gap between the two.

Has anyone read any of these? Good or not so good?

Library Loot

More books picked up this week:

The Art of The Engine Driver and The Gift of Speed by Steven Carroll - after reading and loving The Lost Life last week Antipodean Owl suggested I might like Carroll's earlier work. These books are the first two in a trilogy set in the Australian suburbs from the 1950's - a very different time and space to The Lost Life but I fell so in love with Carroll's writing style I am definitely going to give them a go.

Man Walks Into a Room by Nicole Krauss - I have been meaning to pick this one up since I read The History of Love earlier in the year (still my favourite read of the year so far I think). I have a feeling this author won't let me down.

Graceling by Kristen Cashore - you are probably thinking this book is a little outside my normal reading areas - and you would be right! I actually picked this one up for my partner. He had seen it in a bookshop but as it was an export it was quite expensive so luckily our library has a copy. When I read the description of this one I actually thought it sounded quite interesting even though it definitely isn't the type of book I would normally read. Has anyone read/heard of this one?

Library Loot

I had 4 books I had placed reserves on waiting for me to collect this week:

1. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister - a book I saw when I was browsing the bookshop shelves a couple of weeks ago - the story sounds so sweet and the book itself looks gorgeous.

2. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee - again, a gorgeous cover that drew me in but I did actually read a wonderful review of this one over at Matt's blog so that's really what made me pick this one up.

3. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry - there are so many great things being said about this one around the blogging world - has anyone read this and hasn't liked it??

4. The Lost Life by Australian author Steven Carroll. I started this one last night and am already half way through - fabulous!

Library Loot This Week

As I am sure many people can consistently relate to I keep picking up more and more books from my library even though I still haven't finished (or in some cases even started) the books I picked up at my last visit - it's like a compulsion to collect and stock pile as though some book related nuclear event is about to fall down upon us! Oh well!

The two books I have collected (so far!) this week are:

Beijing Blur by James West - the story of an Australian journalist in China. I picked this one up when I saw it because not only does it look like an interesting book but I still haven't read any books for The World Citizen Challenge so I need to get a move on!

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale - I have heard so many terrific things about this book and I have been meaning to read it for ages. I am also going to hear the author speak at the Sydney Writers Festival at the end of May so I want to have finished it by then.

Library Loot This Week

I haven't participated in Library Loot for quite a while now - even though I have regularly been making collections from my library.

Today is my last day off before returning to the working world tomorrow so I made a trip to the library this morning and picked up the following:

Brick Lane by Monica Ali: This is a book I have been meaning to read for a very long time now and I have tickets to see Ali when she is speaking at the Sydney Writer's Festival next month so I thought it was about time I actually read this one!

The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris: Chocolat was a huge favourite of mine when I first read it a long time ago so I thought I would give the sequel a go. I might need to re-read Chocolat before diving into this one though.

The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin: I have heard lots of great things about this book - and the title and the cover are so gorgeous how could I resist?

More Library Loot

I am really getting back into the swing of borrowing from my library - now I just have to read all of these books I have picked up!

Books borrowed this week:

The Good Parents By Joan London and The Lost Dog By Michelle de Kretser - both of these are books on my Best Australian Reads of 2008 that I want to work my way through this year.

A History of the Middle East By Peter Mansfield and Nicolas Mansfield - this is a book I saw on the shelf as I walked into the library. This is an area I want to read about for The World Citizen Challenge and having a quick flick through I thought this might be a good place to start. Has anyone else read this one?

My Sister My Love By Joyce Carol Oates - I love Oates' writing and this story, a fictionalised account of the JonBenet Ramsay murder, really interests me for some reason.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay By Michael Chabon - this is one of the books I have chosen to read to complete The New Classics Challenge and having picked it up this afternoon from the library I have already flown through 150 pages - an amazing story!

Library Loot This Week

Eva at A Striped Armchair has come up with a great idea - Library Loot - a way to keep a track of what we are picking up from the library each week.

Since the new year I have been busily placing holds on books in my local library - the savings plan is in place again so I am trying to hold back on buying as many books as I can - therefore the library is becoming my new best friend! I have to admit there are still some books that I just want to have for my own, or that my library doesn't hold - but for all the others it will be borrowing, borrowing and more borrowing.

This afternoon I picked up the following:

Addition - Toni Jordan - an Australian book that came out last year and that I have been meaning to read for a while. I've heard lots of good things about this one.

Tales From Outer Surburbia - Shaun Tan - another Australian release that I am keen to read. Shaun Tan produces amazing books.

Three Junes - Julia Glass - I am currently reading another book by this author (The Whole World Over) and I am loving her style and prose so I thought I would pick this one up as it is supposed to be even better.