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.

There was a superb episode of the podcast “You’re Booked” over the holidays with Ella Risbridger, in which they talked about the Out of the Hitler Time trilogy by Judith Kerr, consisting of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Bombs on Aunt Dainty, and A Small Person Far Away.  I read When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit as a child but had no idea that Anna’s story continued in other books so have set out to read the series in sequence.

A strong showing for the interlibrary loan system this week with three intriguing titles:

Illyrian Spring by Ann Bridge – I’ve been looking forward to reading this for years thanks to Rachel’s enthusiasm for it.  After such a long time without travel (and so much longer still ahead), books about people on vacation are the next best thing – especially as the setting here is the Dalmatian Coast, one of my favourite places.

Dashbury Park by Susan Tweedsmuir – Scott recently wrote about Susan Tweedsmuir’s Victorian novels and while I was familiar with Cousin Harriet (an excellent book), somehow the other two had passed me by.

The Youngest Lady-in-Waiting by Mara Kay – the sequel to Masha, which I read earlier this month.  I only became aware of these children’s books recently after reading Elaine’s very fond review at Shiny New Books.

Hafiz of Shiraz translated by Peter Avery and John Heath-Stubbs – Simon was talking about his desire and determination to be a person who likes poetry last week.  I’ve never had huge success with poetry but, like Simon, I keep trying to read it and find what I like.  I’ve read and watched a few things set in Iran this month so Hafiz was top of my mind when it came to poets and I picked up this slim volume of only 30 poems.

Love Thy Neighbor by Ayaz Virji – This caught my eye back in 2019 thanks to this NPR interview and my library has now acquired a copy.

The Family Tree by Sairish Hussain – Hugely praised and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award last year, I’m about a third of the way through this novel about a British Muslim family and have mixed feelings.  The writing is good and the characters well-drawn but it feels unnecessarily long.  I’m going to persevere a while longer but this may be one I abandon.

In February (which is next week!), Karen and Lizzy are hosting Reading Independent Publishers Month.  I have plenty of things off my own shelves that I’m looking forward to reading but couldn’t resist picking up two titles I’ve long had on my TBR list from Eland Books: Two Middle-Aged Ladies in Andalusia by Penelope Chetwode and Journey into the Mind’s Eye by Lesley Blanch

A Deadly Divide by Ausma Zehanat Khan – The final book in the Khattak/Getty mystery series which began with The Unquiet Dead.  It’s rare that I read mysteries and rarer still that I race through them as quickly as I have with this excellent series.

What did you pick up this week?