The Captive Reader

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.

Oh friends, the world feels like it’s changing day by day right now, doesn’t it?  But don’t worry: I am prepared.  Last night I dropped by the library to return a couple of things.  But then I started thinking about what would happen if the libraries were to be closed.  Without any notice.  When I had just returned things.  What kind of a fool am I?  This of course drove me into a panic so I did the only sensible thing: I dashed around in the 10 minutes before the library closed and grabbed 7 books just to be safe.  I haven’t included them below but I believe there are a couple of Dorothy Sayers, a history of the Ukraine, and at least one travel book.  I’m supposed to be leaving for the Czech Republic in early May but travel books may have to substitute for real travel this spring the way things are going.

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley – I was number one in the queue for this much hyped novel and, no surprise, read it immediately after picking it up over the weekend.  I love stories about people sharing their insecurities and building a community together, so this was perfect for me.  I plan to write more about it soon. (Book Depository)

The Importance of Being Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen – Oh the unfairness of life!  The first Aisling book came out back in 2017 and it was a breeze for me to buy on my e-reader while I was travelling in Europe.  It kept me laughing through a long and very bumpy travel day from Bologna to Krakow via Amsterdam that summer.  But I’ve been living in a wasteland since then as the sequels have been impossible to find in North America.  The interlibrary loan system has, as usual, come to the rescue and sourced me a copy from a small town deep in the Rocky Mountains.  (Book Depository)

A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier – Speaking of mountains, I read about this YA novel on NPR a while back and couldn’t resist the idea of a mystery set in an alpine hotel with an international array of guests and staff.  (Book Depository)

Letters from Russia by Astolphe de Custine – In 1839, the Marquis de Custine travelled through Russia and wrote these letters that were so insightful and damning that both Czarist and Communist regimes banned them in future years.  (Book Depository)

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed – Another YA!  Who am I?  Someone who gets their book recommendations on Twitter, in this case (I think?) from YA author S.K. Ali (whose Love from A to Z I read at the end of last year and thoroughly enjoyed).  (Book Depository)

Hop, Skip, Go by John Rossant and Stephen Baker – An urban expert and a business journalist team up to look at the ways that the mobility revolution will change our lives (and has already). (Book Depository)

Born in the GDR by Hester Vaizey – A look at the lives of eight Germans who grew up in the GDR. (Book Depository)

Where Stands a Winged Sentry by Margaret Kennedy – I saw in the most recent newsletter from Handheld Press that they will be releasing this memoir from Kennedy of her experiences at the beginning of the Second World War in March 2021.  Rather than wait a full year, I turned instead to the library.  I’ve borrowed this a couple of time before but not ever got around to it – yet.

What did you pick up this week? Remember: books are the only acceptable thing to stockpile.  Leave the hand sanitizer and toilet paper at the store; head to your library instead when the hoarding mood strikes.