Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.
War Diaries, 1939 -1945 by Astrid Lindgren – have you ever known me to turn down a volume of wartime diaries? No, no you have not. The added appeal of these is, of course, that they are by the creator of Pippi Longstocking. I haven’t read widely about what life was like in Sweden during the war so I’m very interested to get a new perspective.
Squirrel Pie by Elisabeth Luard – I first came across this a few months ago at my local bookstore and was intrigued but not enough to purchase it. Library to the rescue! Sounds like a wonderful cross of my two favourite topics: travel and food writing.
The Lost Art of Dress by Linda Przybyszewski – I saw this mentioned somewhere recently and then found it while browsing in the library last week. Kismet! It’s a fascinating-looking social history of 20th Century women’s fashion in American.
My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl – freshly finished with Reichl’s excellent memoir Tender at the Bone, I’ve turned to this recent cookbook. I checked it out a while back, shortly after it first came out, but never had a chance to try any of the recipes. Hoping to remedy that this time.
Where the Peacocks Sing by Alison Singh Gee – my weakness for memoirs about cross-cultural romances continues.
Italian Neighbours by Tim Parks – I’m tired of winter and snow and work so a little literary escape to Italy sounds quite perfect right about now.
What did you pick up this week?
The Captive Reader 
I’m in the middle of Astrid Lindgren’s War Diaries. Because Sweden was neutral, much of the time they were just watching what was going on elsewhere and hoping not to be crushed between Germany and Russia. No mention of Pippi yet, though she was created in 1941. But it’s interesting to see the frame of mind that Lindgren was in at the time — her anguish at what human beings were doing to one another gave birth to this joyously anti-establishment character.
I picked up a few books for a reading challenge my library is involved in with libraries in the south-west of England. I’ll join in with this tomorrow 🙂
Just posted my library loot https://thesecretlibrarysite.wordpress.com/2017/01/12/library-loot-january-11-to-17/
More great suggestions! I am amazed at how many books you read… I am really struggling to find the time to read more than a few pages a day at the moment . But I do note the books you mention that seem interesting to me and, eventually, I follow up on them. Your 2016 top ten was particularly inspiring. Thanks.
Squirrel Pie sounds interesting!!
Last week I picked up from my library – Middlemarch by George Eliot (half way through,) Pond by Claire Louise Bennett. I have read one essay from it so far, which was fantastic, and Nora Ephron’s book of Essays entitled ‘I don’t like my neck’ which was v.entertaining and funny. Back to the library next week. Love the above books.
Enjoy your loot!
I’m glad to see that Library Loot is still going. I haven’t actually been to the library for a couple of years. Maybe this year.
I want to read War Diaries! The Lost Art of Dress was sooooo goooood.
I want all and love it