A Conspiracy of Friends by Alexander McCall Smith - source
The Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn - another in the fabulous Chet and Bernie series. source
There's supposedly 'a storm a'coming' for Sunday into Monday, Tuesday, so of course a haul of books from the library was called for. How many books did I bring home? Oh, about a million. (That's why I didn't picture them all.)
'The Sound and the Furry' - love that title, but I could very happily strangle Alexander McCall Smith. I will never forgive him for that awful Ladies Detective Agency stuff.
ReplyDeleteI love Spencer Quinn's books. As for Alexander McCall Smith, I'm not familiar with his stuff - at least I don't remember reading any. We'll have to wait and see. :)
DeleteI love your selection of books. What better to do when the snow flies.
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of Colm Toibin.
Enjoy and stay safe
Helen
Thanks, Helen. Hopefully it won't be that bad. After all, it is March, or will be, day after tomorrow. I don't think I've ever read any Colm Toibin - except maybe in The New Yorker? But I've heard a lot of good things about this book.
DeleteI think you are going to dig Life After Life. It's been one of my best reads of the year.
ReplyDeleteBelle, that's another book I've heard nothing but good things about. I hope I'll like it as much as everyone else does. You never can tell with me. Ha!
DeleteWow! You are really ready for a weeks-long blizzard. You just need a lot of tea and crumpets, cookies, whatever suits your fancy.
ReplyDeleteI just got a dvd haul, but also a book I want to read and am finishing up Antidote to Murder, Felicity Young's second book about a woman doctor in 1911 London. It's good, but predictable.
Have Visitation Street by Ivy Pochoda, set in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a place where I once got lost and almost ended up in the Gowanus Canal. Isn't New York grand?
I can't wait to see what you see about Life after Life. It has gotten raves, the NY Times one of 10 best books of 2013. It sounds quite complex.
And to defend Precious Ramotswe. I love McCall Smith's series set in Botswana, so do a lot of my friends. I had to purchase the books so everyone could read them (got them used at Abe Books, by the way.). We're all about halfway through the series.
Will be checking in here to read your commentaries on the above-mentioned haul.
There were actually a few more books, Kathy. But I didn't want to go overboard on posting. :) (I'm embarrassed to say that I picked up a couple of Janet Evanovich books. Ha!) Now that you mention it, I did read the first Precious Ramotswe book in the series a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. Had totally forgotten.
ReplyDeleteYes, Life After Life has gotten quite a bit of buzz. As I said, we'll have to wait and see. I really do have high hopes. :)
Hello Yvette:
ReplyDeleteYou are very clearly well set up, thanks to your local library, for whatever the weather throws at you. Take great care and enjoy a good read.
Jó hétvégét!
Thanks so much, Jane and Lance. I'll be hunkered down reading while just outside the wind and snow rage on. Now they're saying 'potential for significant snow accumulation.' Sometimes you just have to shake your head. :)
DeleteI really want to read the Atkinson book which has been getting some great reviews - nicely done Yvette, a great mixture!
ReplyDeleteI thought so too, Sergio. Thanks. :)
DeleteI have Life After Life on my t-b-r list. Two of them and I cannot remember the other author. Enjoy the w/e of reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gram. You have to watch out for books with hoopla attached, sometimes they are a big let down. So we'll wait and see.
DeleteHope you enjoy LIFE AFTER LIFE as much as I did.
ReplyDeleteI hope so too. Thanks, Patti. :)
DeleteI can imagine you leaving the library with a sense of great satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteAlexander McCall Smith always makes me happy, from the "#1 Ladies' Detective Agency" through to "Portuguese Irregular Verbs" series.
That's what I thought, from reading about his many series and such. I need some happy thoughts. This winter has really gotten me down. This morning I saw a couple of robins and thought: will they survive the storm??? I dearly hope so.
DeleteI am not a fan of McCall Smith's books either. I think they're too safe and nice for me. I read one of the Isabel Dalhousie books -- so very different from the Ladies Detective Agency series -- and was bored to tears. But he is a delightful man! I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at The Newberry Librayr several years ago. If he's ever in your city (or reasonably nearby) I suggest you make an effort to see/hear him. He's so full of life and humor.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in the Atkinson book because of the all the raves. But it's a mammoth doorstop tome and I dread even thinking about starting it. I'm already behind in my 72 books for Bev's Challenge and I really want to complete that.
I've heard that McCall Smith is a very charming man - what it is about the British and their charm? Remember what Evelyn Waugh said, something like: 'English charm will kill you." More or less. But I still fall under the spell. I would love to hear him speak. Lucky you. :)
DeleteThe Atkinson book isn't so mammoth, John. Just 529 pages...Hmm, well, maybe it is. I'm actually reading THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING now, for the first time. Yes, I know. What about all these library books? Well, I happened to pick up my own copy of the Tolkien book the other night and before you know it I began reading even though I knew I had a bunch of books waiting for me at the library. I know, I know, I am incorrigible.
How are you going to get all of those read? How long can you keep them?
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see all the positive comments on the Atkinson book because I do love her books and want to read that one someday. But I did not realize it was so long.
Oh, I'll manage, Tracy. :) I can renew them several times as long as no one else is clamoring for the book. Now I know I'll have to probably read LIFE AFTER LIFE pretty quickly since someone is sure to want it soon. But I still have a couple of weeks. Don't forget that not all these books will be wonderful and not all will be finished by yours truly. So this way I have a nice selection - just in case. :)
DeleteI sure do await your commentary on Life after Life, and on the other books you like in your pile of loot.
ReplyDeleteI also found the Isabel Dalhousie books to be boring, but not Ms. Ramotswe's, which are full of life, human understanding and optimism.
Anyway, about being snowed-in, I take these times in a positive way: it's my own time to read, watch TV and enjoy tea and snacks. I covet it. I love it. My house is my sanctuary, and when I'm inside in the warmth with my needs met, I regard it as a book/dvd marathon time to cherish and deliciously enjoy. (And I say this as one with a broken arm who has been homebound for most of the winter. It's my "excuse" to read and watch dvd's, the more the better!)
I take the 'snowing-in' days in the say way, Kathy. Good days to hunker down and do 'warm' things like reading, watching movies, drinking tea and eating goodies. :) I'll be sure and post my reviews at some point. I'm hoping I'm going to like most of these books. (Hope springs eternal.)
DeleteNice haul, Yvette. I haven't ever read Alexander McCall Smith and I do hope to some day. I'm also interested in Kate Atkinson's book.
ReplyDeleteI'll be sure to let you know what I think, Prashant. You know me, I always have an opinion. :)
DeleteAs a over of Faulkner, I had a real laugh about The Sound and the Furry! With this wonderful haul, you won't even notice the snow!
ReplyDeleteI think the snow event will not be much of an event. Now they're saying just an inch. Don't you hate when that happens. You're all set for the ending of the world and then...blech. Ha!
DeleteTalking about "having an opinion," I am going to venture ahead, and say that a friend of mine, a "woman of a certain age," wanted to see, as she said, "what the fuss was about 50 Shades of ...." She said she wanted to read it so she "could have an opinion," She read it, said it was "trash," and "badly written trash at that."
ReplyDeleteSo having an opinion about a book is always good, even when the book is bad. I wish she was writing reviews on the blogosphere!
Sometimes you just want to know what everyone else is talking about. :) Even if it turns out to be 'badly written trash.'
DeleteI had my near-Janet Evanovich moment, but at a higher level. I read Lisa Scottoline's book "Accused," with two women lawyers. One of them has a zany Italian family. The father is hard of hearing, so he yells and all of his quotes are in capital letters.
ReplyDeleteThey are so funny I laughed out loud several times.
It's worth reading this book. I needed humor, and it was so funny that I almost bought a copy just to have around the house for moments when a good laugh is needed.
Oh, that sounds a treat, Kathy. I've never read any books by Lisa Scottoline, but I'll look for this one. One can never have too many laughs. :)
DeleteJust requested it at the library. What am I nuts? Another book to add to the pile!!
DeleteAny and all Kate Atkinson is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI am addicted to AMS' 44 Scotland Street series, but do find the Isabel Dalhousies a bit lame. The 2 you borrowed look like they might be fun though. Looking forward to the reviews.
Well, I'll have to wait and see what I make of the Alexander McCall Smiths. Everyone has their opinion, I've yet to formulate mine. Though I do remember liking the first in the Precious series. Never read any more though - just got side-tracked. I also brought home THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BERTIE by AMS - this one sounds especially fun.
Delete"Bertie" is a great character from the 44 Scotland St books... the main reason I'm hooked on them actually. You should probably start with the first one, as the stories do evolve thru the series.
DeleteYvette,
ReplyDeleteThankfully, most libraries now have an online system where one can renew books.
What I do is look to see what is renewable and what isn't due to a lot of hold requests, and then I read first what is not renewable. But I've been known to renew books and dvds several times if it's possible.
Anyway, I hope you laugh at "Accused." I love the Italian family, and their assorted group of friends, including the "three Tonys."
I renew and renew (as much as possible) all the time. Otherwise I'd never get around to reading what I want to read. I'm like a juggler. :) I hope I like 'Accused' too. It sounds a hoot.
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