Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Sharlene from Real Life Reading 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.
It’s a tale of two halves today. Half of my books are ones I’ve looked forward to for months and months (and sometimes years). I know about them, I’ve been anticipating reading them, and I am delighted to finally have my hands on them.
The other half, I know nothing about. I saw them sitting on a shelf and thought ‘why not?’
Piglettes by Clementine Beavais – Novelist Sarra Manning enthused about this when it came out (in English in 2017) and I’ve been wanting to track it down since then. I read it the moment I picked it up from the library and adored it so much I may need to read it again before I return it. (Book Depository)
Joining the Dots by Juliet Gardiner – Back at the end of 2017, I made a list of the new releases from that year that I wanted to read. This is the very last book off that list for me to try and I can’t wait. I love Gardiner’s histories (The Thirties and The Blitz especially) and am intrigued to see how she approaches her own history. (Book Depository)
From Scratch by Tembi Locke – I returned to my default position of placing library holds on any book that vaguely sounds like an expat memoir. And then, in the months of waiting that followed, I heard excellent things about this memoir by an actress who, once rejected by her husband’s Sicilian family, was brought close to them through shared grieving following his early death. (Book Depository)
Farm from Home by Amanda Brooks – I briefly flicked through this and thought it seemed like great escapism. Now that I’m starting to read the text, I’m not so sure I can take the extraordinary number of “rich people discover the country” cliches it contains. We shall see. Not having heard of her before, I quickly googled Brooks when I realised the text was clearly written by someone living in la-la-land and discovered she is former NYC socialite and current Instagram maven, which makes everything make SO much more sense. (Book Depository)
Greatest Hits by Laura Barnett – I will always read the jacket of any Europa book I see and this one immediately grabbed me. The format is intriguing – a singer-songwriter picks sixteen tracks that define her and we learn the stories around them, thereby learning about her life – and I’ve been feeling in the mood for something music-related after being thoroughly disappointed by Daisy and the Six this summer. (Book Depository)
Love in Row 27 by Eithne Shortall – Shortall has a new book out so I recognized her name when I saw this on the shelf. It looks light and a bit silly but perfect for filling the gaps between heavier reading. (Book Depository)
What did you pick up this week?
The Captive Reader 
Piglettes and From Scratch were the two books that interested me most. Sadly both long archived!
If you can find another way to track down Piglettes, it is well worth it! I really loved it.
As you might recall, I had borrowed From Scratch and did start on it but I guess I wasn’t in the right reading mood for it.