Library Loot: February 17-23, 2010
Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by myself and Marg 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!
Want to share your loot?
I recorded my vlog yesterday, and the first try turned out to be 45 seconds over Youtube’s 10 minute limit, and had some really unflattering angles of chin, lol. But then I was feeling a bit too sick/tired to rerecord, so I ended up just splitting it into two bits and not worrying about my multiple chins. Anyway, sorry about not being able to keep it within 10 minutes! :)
Covers/Linked Titles:
The Green Age of Asher Witherow by M. Allen Cunningham (Spotlight Series), The God who Begat a Jackal by Nega Mezlekia (Reading the World Challenge), Here’s to You, Jesusa! by Elena Poniatowska (Mexico 2010 Challenge)
Dearest Anne by Judith Katzir (GLBT Challenge), Carpentaria by Alexis Wright (Aussie Authors Challenge), The Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Reading the Seasons Challenge)
Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham (reading w/ Claire), The Complete Shorter Fiction by Herman Melville (loved Moby Dick so want to read Billy Budd), The Bostonians by Henry James (for fun)
Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck (for fun), Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (for fun), The Awakening by Kate Chopin (for fun)
The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man by James Weldon Johnson (Classics Circuit), The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon (Japanese Lit Read-a-long), Cranioklepty by Colin Dickey (Spotlight Series)
The Age of Homespun by Laurel Ulrich (Women Unbound Challenge), The Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick (Art History Challenge), Kickboxing Geishas by Veronica Chambers (Women Unbound Challenge)
An Ocean of Air by Gabrielle Walker (Science Book Challenge), The Hidden Forest by Jon Luoma (Biodiversity Challenge), Eye of the Albatross by Carl Safina (Science Book Challenge)
Always in awe of the variety of books in your reading list..:) Hope you are feeling better ..
Thanks Shweta! :)
It IS hard to believe you haven’t read Doctor Zhivago! We watched the film whenever my Russian teacher was out in high school and he was so excited when I read it. I hope you like it, I know I did! If you haven’t seen the film either, I recommend that too. And I loved The Awakening, but I was the only one in my college class that did, so I’ll be interested to read your thoughts.
Well, the only Russian lit classes I took in college were when I was actually studying in Russia, and the focus was much more on Soviet lit. ;)
Hope your feeling better now, my mum also has fibro so I have watched her struggle to read because of her muscle pains.
You got some great books, as usual, your library must have some cool stuff. I have resevered The God Who Begat Jackel as I really need to read a book from Ethiopia.
I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. :/ I have a whole list of Ethiopian books floating around my blog here somewhere, if you need more inspiration!
What great loot! I’ve never read Doctor Zhivago either but now I feel like I should. I can’t wait to see what you think of it. Feel better soon!
I really hope I love it! :) I’m a big fan of older Russian lit.
I’m looking forward to reading Cakes and Ale with you, Eva; I have Of Human Bondage on my TBR also but that is so much longer and I thought it best to start off gently.
I find it hard to believe that you haven’t read Doctor Zhivago too! I read it for a Slavonic literature elective years ago and really enjoyed it. I also loved The Awakening when I read it at uni and have been wanting to reread it.
I am enjoying The Pillow Book so far although it’s still very early days and such a leisurely read.
I love Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the cover art choice is … odd.
I never fail to be amazed at the mass of your library loot and envy how much you manage to read. Enjoy!
I’m looking forward to it as well! I’m glad I’m reading Dr. Zh now; it seems like I should have read it years ago! lol
Yeah-the Marquez cover has a kind of Soviet realist aesthetic to it that just doesn’t fit. It looks like it should be on an Ayn Rand book. *shudder*
I loved An Ocean of Air…and learned so much from it! Also loved Dr. Zhivago; however, although I’ve read it several times, my feelings about The Awakening remain mixed. I love Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” though.
Well, I’m glad you loved two of them anyway! ;)
This post made me add about ten new books to my TBR pile, you always find such great stuff. I’ve been looking for a regular source of titles for adult fiction with characters outside my own race, because all the blogs seem to focus on young adult (love but need other things too) and I think your library loot posts should always be my first stop.
I totally get what you’re talking about; when I first began reading more POC, I was frustrated by the lack of adult-centric blogs too. At this point, I’ve read quite a few adult POC authors, so if you need any specific recs, feel free to e-mail me!
I love the vlog/s. I have to tell you, I’ve never been surprised by how a blogger looks or sounds because their writing is usually so distinct and so THEM, that when I actually meet or see them in a video it’s like I knew them all along. You are exactly how I pictured you.
What a wonderful post. So many good books. I haven’t read Dr. Zhivago either.
Thanks Ti! :)
I love the choice of books you have picked. I recently picked up The Bostonians too. I like the sound of Kickboxing Geishas.
That’s neat we’ll be reading The Bostonians around the same time! Doesn’t Kickboxing Geishas sound interesting?
It never fails to amaze me at the wide variety of books you find! Some of these sound wonderful but sadly I haven’t read any of them. Enjoy!
Thanks Samantha!
So many books I’ve never heard of. Always expanding my horizons, Eva!
:) Thanks Linda!
I can’t wait to hear about Cakes and Ale. I loved The Painted Veil, so I’m excited to hear about more of Maugham’s work!
I lurve the Edward Norton movie version of The Painted Veil; that’s why I decided to start w/ a different book of Maugham’s. ;)
I didn’t get around to reading Doctor Zhivago until I was in my mind-30s. :-) I hope you’re feeling better.
That makes me feel better about Dr. Zh! Thanks for the good health wishes. :)
You are reminding me that I want to read Dr. Zhivago!
lol!
I tried to read Carpentaria a couple of years ago, but couldn’t finish it. I will be interested to hear what you think of it! I tried to get the Ethopian historical fiction book when you said what it was about, but unfortunately my library doesn’t have it.
Uh oh. I hope I have better luck! The Ethiopian novel is a pretty recent release; maybe it hasn’t gotten to Australia yet?
Hope you’re feeling better, Eva. It’s good to see your face! :)
I’ve heard of Kickboxing Geisha’s before and never followed through with hunting it down. I’m going to keep an eye out for your thoughts on it and see if my library has it, too.
Enjoy your loot!
Thanks Christine!
Wow! Nothing I know, but a few will definitely be going on to my wishlist.
I always feel that way about your loot! :)
Hoorah, hoorah, hoorah the Vlogs are back…. and what a wonderful collection of books!
Seriously, I almost didn’t upload the vlog, and then I thought ‘But Simon says he likes them!’ :)
Hi! This is my first visit to your blog and I enjoyed the vlog; never seen anything like it (bookwise) :-) What a diverse selection of books. I am adding quite a few to my list. Thank you.
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment Cristina! I’m so happy that you enjoyed the vlog. :)
It’s so nice to see and hear you. And as usual you have a heap of books to read. I’ve read Carpentaria and enjoyed it, Wright is herself Australian Aboriginal. Maugham is always enjoyable, (it is pronounced like Mom so you had it right), though I haven’t read Cakes and Ale. I thought Billy Bud and Melville other short stories were very good. Johnson’s story is wonderful. The Awakening was okay, I wasn’t thrilled by it but a lot of women are so it must be me. I hope you like it. I love Pearl Buck, Pavilion of Women is good. Sorry you couldn’t get into The Good Earth, it’s actually the first book of a triligy. One day you’ll have to try it again, but not audio, it’s not the same experience. You’ve got a lot of good reading there, I hope you have fun with them.
My body is crashing right now and my mind is mush. I started three of four books this week that I know are good but could not make myself get interested. I hate fibro too. :)
Thanks Sandra! I know that Wright’s Aboriginal; that’s part of why I’m so excited to read her novel! And I’m glad I got Maugham’s name right! I knew The Good Earth was the first in a trilogy, but I honestly loathed the father so much, I can’t imagine going back to it. Maybe in a few more years.
I’m sorry fibro is being evil to you. :/
I love your library loot vlogs! The God Who Begat a Jackal sounds intriguing from the time and setting alone. Reading Melissa Fay Greene’s There is No Me Without You a few years back got me more acquainted with Ethiopia, and I’d like to read more.
Thanks so much Christy! I really want to read There is No Me Without You. :)
Yay, the vlog is back.
Thanks Juanita!
You’re back at it & what a great haul. Dr. Zhivago is one of those books I’ve always meant to read. I haven’t visited my library at all during this winter break, but I’ll be back at it when the semester starts.
Can’t wait for you to rejoin LL! :)
That’s a lot of loot! I’ve had Dr. Zhivago checked out for a while but haven’t got around to reading it yet. I’ll get it read eventually.
It sounds like quite a few of us are in a Dr. Zh mood. :)
Funny story about Dr Zhivago. My husband and I got it from netflix or something and started watching. Totally didn’t make sense. Somehow, we kept watching for two hours, hoping it would make sense. And then it ended. I was very confused. After we finished, we discovered it was a two-sided disc and we’d watched the second half. Really didn’t make sense that way.
The Pillow Book: Mckinnley is more complete than Ivan Morris. She includes more of the random lists that Morris ommitted. It probably is still a little abridged, but Morris is more so. I did like the Morris!
Anyway, great loot. Looking forward to your thoughts on them! (And let me know when you’d like a Harlem Renaissance tour date and I’ll add you to the schedule.)
LOL @ you and your husband! Did you end up watching the first half?
Good to know that the McKinnley is less abridged than the Morris. I know you were a fan of the Morris, but my library didn’t have it. :/
no we were confused and bored and I couldn’t talk him in to watching any more. But it made more sense when we realized we’d miss half the story!
I really enjoyed reading The Awakening. Hope you like it as well.
I hope so too! :)
You’ve certainly got a great variety here! Glad you were able to get back to the library.
You got some great books. Enjoy
Kathy
Eye of the Albatross is a beautiful book. I’ll be eagerly watching to see how you like it!
Your hair grew so long since your last vlog! Great book choices! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
Hey there, some great reads. Carpentaria is a book which presents a fairly accurate picture how theTop End (which is what Australians call tropical north of Australia) was like, and in some places still is like. It’s not quite ethnography, but it’s the next best thing. I live in Central Australia, which is a little bit the same, but without the water!
I’ve put my name on the Mr Linky Library Loot, so I will post tomorrow (Monday evening, Australian time) and… you might have to help me out here… link back here to this post when I post my weekly loot?
Let me know if that’s the correct way to join in :)
Here’s my Library loot link
http://desertbookchick.com/?p=277