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.

I’m off on holiday, which means time to overload my e-reader with far, far, far more books that I will ever get to.  I will spare you the full list of 20+ titles I’ve loaded for a two week holiday and share these highlights only, as they have probably the best chance of actually being read.

Horizon by Helen MacInnes – I have had a strange introduction of MacInnes.  She’s known for her spy thrillers (like this one, set in the South Tyrol – exactly where I’m headed) but I’ve only read one very tedious romance and a delightful story of worldly women who end up on a ranch in Wyoming.  Time to see what’s she’s really about!

Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters – I adore Amelia Peabody and have enjoyed some of Peters’ stand-alone books but have never tried any of the Vicky Bliss books.

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler – I continue my discovery of Tyler.

And three brand new releases from some of my favourite authors:

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson – Atkinson never disappoints and reviews for this novel set in 1920s London have been excellent.  I’ll be surprised if this isn’t started (and possibly finished) on the plane.

Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie – Zahra and Maryam have been best friends since childhood in Karachi, even though—or maybe because—they are unlike in nearly every way. Yet they never speak of the differences in their backgrounds or their values, not even after the fateful night when a moment of adolescent impulse upends their plans for the future.
 
Three decades later, Zahra and Maryam have grown into powerful women who have each cut a distinctive path through London. But when two troubling figures from their past resurface, they must finally confront their bedrock differences—and find out whether their friendship can survive.
 
Thought-provoking, compassionate, and full of unexpected turns, Best of Friends offers a riveting take on an age-old question: Does principle or loyalty make for the better friend?

The Winners by Fredrik Backman – the third book in Backman’s excellent Beartown series.

What did you pick up this week?