Library Loot: April 21-27, 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?
No vlog this week. My webcam is in a feud with my laptop, so it’s recording image but no sound. Weird, right? Instead, I’ll ramble on in text. Also, I’m doing good at keeping my loot to a minimum: only six books this week! (No sniggering, thank you.)<
I’ve been wanting to read more Michael Chabon since loving The Adventures of Cavalier and Klay, and I’ve had my eye on his essay collection Manhood for Amateurs since reading Chris’ and Kelly’s co-review earlier this month. As much as I adore the Women Unbound Challenge, I’m also curious about gender roles for men in our society. Plus, I started reading essay collections last year and enjoy the form!
I don’t have a picture of the cover for Victorian Villainies, an omnibus edited by Graham Greene. Last week, Fleur posted a review of Curious by Richard Marsh, who was a Victorian novelist. It sounded marvelous, but my library didn’t carry it. Doing a search of Marsh’s name brought up this omnibus, which includes one of his other novels The Beetle. Since I’m rereading Dracula at the moment, which The Beetle outsold at publication, this should be interesting! The other three novels in the edition are: The Great Tontine by Hawley Smart, The Rome Express by Arthur Griffiths, and In the Fog by Richard Harding. I haven’t heard of any of these authors/books before, but obscure Victorian lit can’t be wrong!
When I was a senior in college, I flirted with the idea of law school. I found practice LSATs really fun (I’ve always been into logic), I imagined myself living in an awesome city like Austin or New Orleans, and I love gobs of reading, rote memorisation, and professors who put students on the spot. Then I realised that while I’d probably enjoy being a law student, I actually had no interest in being a lawyer. So I reluctantly took it off my list, but I’ve retained a soft spot for pop law books. Hence, I requested Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury by Michael Lief ages ago; it’s subtitled Greatest Closing Arguments in Modern Law, which I think proves my nerdiness as well as anything. ;) I suspect my library lost their copy, since I’ve been #1 on the queue for months, but happily for me they must have found it!
I can’t find a picture of They Knew Mr. Knight by Dorothy Whipple either, but it’s a Persephone, so just imagine that lovely grey cover and we’ll be set. I read my first Persephone book at the very beginning of this year; it was a different Whipple novel, and I simply adored it. So for Claire’s upcoming Persephone Reading Week, I decided to get to know Whipple better. I had to ILL this, so I made sure to put in my request extra-early; last year, I couldn’t participate in the Persephone week, and I spent a bit of time pouting about that. ;)
The Sagas of Icelanders ed. Jane Smiley is another ILL, and I have it for less than two weeks (it’s over 800 pages!). It’s for the Tournament of Reading Challenge, which I centered around the Vikings. I loved the nonfiction I read about Icelandic Vikings a couple of months ago, so I can’t wait to get to know the culture through their own stories! This edition comes highly recommended by Emily, who I’d like to be like when I grow up. ;) Seriously, she’s so erudite she’d make me nervous if she wasn’t so nice!
I couldn’t find a cover for Murder in the Cassava Patch by Bai Moore either! I swear, I’ve always been able to find covers for the books I get from the library before, and now all at once I’m missing them for half my books. This is for the World Party Challenge, which is focusing on Liberia in June. I really wanted to read something by a Liberian author, and this is a classic text on school curricula over there. There aren’t very many copies in the US, and I had to ILL it…I put in a request this early, because I was honestly expecting it to take ages for a copy to arrive, if one arrived at all. I’m happy to have been proven wrong! It’s a good balance to the Viking chunkster, weighing in at around 60 pages. It’s due back on May 27th, so I’ll have to read it a little early for the challenge, but I bet Jill will forgive me.
And that’s it! I’ve *finally* broken out of my reading slump, and I’ve been devouring Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope for the past few hours. I only stopped to write up this post because it’s my week with the Mr. Linky! ;) So now I’m off to re-bury myself in Barsetshire.
A Striped Armchair 
Interesting haul. I really enjoyed Manhood for Amateurs and am most intrigued by Sagas of Icelanders. Happy reading!
Thanks! I’m almost done with Manhood for Amateurs; I couldn’t resist it. And I’m loving it sooo much. :)
some great books as ever eva ,i ve four read for persephone week to choose from ,they are truely beautiful books
I love the Persephone books! When I have a job, I shall definitely be buying some, since libraries here don’t carry too many.
I’m also intrigued by the Icelandic Sagas. Maybe because of the volcanoes this week? I enjoyed THE TRICKING OF FREYA, which I read recently. It contained a lot of Icelandic lore and also descriptions of the country itself, the volcanoes and such. I’ve felt very knowledgeable about that country in the last few days as more and more info has come regarding the events there.
I thought the volcanoes were quite an appropriate time for the Sagas to arrive! :) I’ve seen a couple good reviews of Tricking of Freya recently; it’s definitely on my radar!
Practice LSATS are fun! I always thought I’d enjoy law school but not actually being a lawyer. However I love books about trials, or transcripts of trials, or anything like that. I’ve got a book on my TBR list about the history of legal trials, which sounds very exciting.
We think the same way! :D Have you read Rosen’s Supreme Court books? They’re fascinating.
I toyed with law school, too – I was thinking patent law would be fun. I did take the grad school test – I wonder if I still have the scores from that somewhere; I can’t say I took the LSAT but I almost did? whatever; years ago and water under some bridge. and now I have a POP-law book to add to my tbr. or should I wait for your review. yea, I’ll wait. I’m rambling. I need to go read more Woman (I keep reading it aloud to hub and so I don’t want to read when he’s not here to hear.) and I hope to write a book review today. maybe.
I took the GRE, since I was going to grad school! :) I should be reading & reviewing this one pretty soon; it’s totally calling my name. lol Isn’t Woman awesome?! That’s fun you’re reading aloud to your husband.
I’m interested in the same 2 as Claire.
Manhood for Amateurs rocks! :D
I just saw that someone mentioned above The Tricking of Freya, which I have out from the library at the moment. I have heard such good things about it.
Glad to hear you have your Persephone book at the ready. I can’t wait to participate in this.
I’ve heard good things about it too! I’ll look for your review. :) I’m looking forward to Persephone Week like no one’s business!
The Saga of the Icelanders looks very cool. Enjoy!
I’m excited to start it! :D
I want to read every one of your books. And I, for one, am quite impressed you kept it to 6!
I picked up a few different Icelandic Sagas this week so I am interested to see what you think of that one in particular.
lol! I’m glad someone is impressed. ;)
I have the Chabon book also. I love his writing so much that I don’t think it would matter to me what topic he chose!
I want to read Maps & Legends asap now!
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury sounds pretty good. I have an interest in law school as well, but no interest in being a lawyer. So I can totally relate to that.
It’s funny how many of us law school enthusiasts are about! :)
The law book sounds intriguing. For me, though it comes not from interest in studying law, but a residual fondness for Law & Order. heh.
Oh Law and Order. How I love the earlier seasons. :D
glad you’re out of your reading slump! i can’t say ive ever heard of any of your loot before ;) but i love your explanation for being #1 on the library queue but not getting the book, i never thought about them maybe having misplaced the book and have alwyas wondered what took so long if the catalogue says it’s there!
I tend to pick more random books! hehe Yeah; I always assume the book’s disappeared somewhere if it doesn’t show up in a reasonable time period.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury sounds interesting to me, too, but practice LSATs don’t.
lol! What can I say? I’m a nerd! ;)
No vlog?! *pouts*
Verity (co-host) and I are very much looking forward to Persephone Reading Week 2010 and I’m delighted that you have yours requested in advance and waiting to be read. It’s not a Whipple novel that I’ve yet read so I’ll be interested in your thoughts, of course.
I’m glad I’m on top of the program, unlike with Angela Carter month. *cough* I do intend to pick up Nights at the Circus this week, I swear! ;)
And yeah-I hope my webcam and laptop make up soon. It’s driving me crazy.
I had to buy Saga of the Icelanders for Scandinavian Lit class in college. While I don’t think I read the entire book, the stories I had to read were good, especially after the detailed reading my professor when through for each of them. Iceland is tops my list as a place I’d like to visit one day.
P.S. If you like practice LSATs, you’d probably be very good at law school. But, as I’ve been known to say, just because you ‘can’ doesn’t mean you ‘should’.
What a fun-sounding class! Iceland is rapidly climbing up my list of future dream vacations. :)
Oh my gosh I feel the same way about Emily! Is she not the most amazing person ever? I would totally like to be her when I grow up.
I know! It took me forever to work up the courage to comment on her blog. ;)
The Saga of Icelanders look good. Enjoy our reading.
Thanks Kinna! :)
I can’t wait to read your review of The Sagas of the Icelanders. I’ve had a copy sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now. Maybe you can inspire me to pick it up. :)
I shall try my best to be inspiring! ;)
I’m supposed to start into Barsetshire this year with The Warden, which I’ve heard isn’t the best place to start but it is, still, the beginning; I’m looking forward to being further in the series as, it seems, you are. They Knew Mr. Knight was my first Persephone read: she also has a volume of non-fiction which includes some of her writer’s notes whilst she was working on it and that made a great companion read.
I started with The Warden & I really enjoyed it! Doctor Thorne is the 3rd, and each one has gotten even more delightful. :D I’ll try to get my hands on the Whipple nonfiction-thanks for letting me know about it!
Aw, you are so sweet, Eva! I hope you enjoy Sagas of Icelanders – I powered right through that collection despite not having a great fondness for medieval lit in general. I feel like you, in particular, might find the gender roles interesting – several of the fiercest characters are women (in a society that definitely prized ferocity, for better or worse).
I hope I power through it! Have you read The Far Traveler? It’s a marvelous nonfiction book, and the gender roles definitely fascinated me.
That’s a small haul for you! ;)
I haven’t even looked ahead to see what’s coming up for the World Party Challenge. Liberia huh? Hmm a challenge!
I look for covers online first too but when I can’t find them or they’re too small or badly imaged, or they don’t match my edition, I scan them. I love my scanner! I like to display the exact cover image of the book I’m reading (I’m pedantic that way!) and I know publishers prefer that we do that too (though I’m not all that interested in doing something just to please them!!)
Yep, Liberia for Juneteenth! I’m the opposite of you; I prefer to find the prettiest cover and display it in my LL, even if my actual cover is kind of ugly. lol Usually I do a vlog too, though, so whoever watches it will see my real copy! :)
Publishers prefer scanning covers?
Publishers prefer you to use the cover of the edition you’re actually reading! I prefer scanning!!
When I worked for a publisher one of my jobs was to update Amazon – covers, blurbs etc. It spoke to my inner librarian! Books with cover images sell better, and publishers don’t want us using out-of-date cover images (like an early version for instance).
Will be interested to hear your take on the Chabon–I listened to it, he did a great job of reading it (I think it was nominated for an Audie award recently). The jury one sounds interesting, too–like you, I’m fascinated with the process, but I know I wouldn’t make a good lawyer!
I’m almost done w/ the Chabon and I’m LOVING it. I didn’t realise it was in audio too; I totally would have gone for that if Chabon was reading. Oh well; it’ll be my reread. ;)
“Then I realised that while I’d probably enjoy being a law student, I actually had no interest in being a lawyer.” Ha! I feel this way about so many things…I enjoy being a student much more than I would enjoy being a practicing “expert” at just about anything.
Yep; being a student is pretty magical. :)
I have read a book by Chabon and he is sure cool
Isn’t he? :)
Sagas of Icelanders – I like the sound of that . Interesting books, as always.
Enjoy!
Thanks Cat!
I had to do some serious staring at the cover of The Saga of Icelanders. I thought that was Nessie staring at me from the cover. Maybe I need new glasses?
LOL I think there’s a distinct Nessie feel. I prefer the other cover, which has a ship w/ gorgeous sails on it, but I couldn’t find a big enough image via Google.
I feel like those Chabon titles are very familiar. I have a feeling I read them in college, but it has been a bit, so I can’t remember exactly.
I like all the Victorian work you have been reading and I am slowly compiling a list for down the road of things I want to delve deeper in.
I also toyed with going to law school. I have a great memory and I am really good at logic, so I always thought I would make a good trial lawyer. Teaching won out while I was in school since it supposedly guaranteed me a job right away. However, I worked for a lawyer for a few months as a paralegal and it was nothing like what I thought it would be…so no thank you.
Manhood for Amateurs was published last year, so I’m not sure when you were in college. ;) Isn’t Victorian lit fun?! Have you joined the Our Mutual Read challenge?
I’d be interested in your review of Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury by Michael Lief ! Sounds like an interesting book!
I’ll definitely be reading it pretty soon! :)
Manhood for Amateurs looks incredible interesting. It has found a way to my wishlist, without you reviewing it.
I’m curious how you like They Knew Mr. Knight by Dorothy Whipple. I have never read a Persephone, but I want to because I want to know what all the fuzz is about :)
I’m almost done with it, and it’s SO awesome!
Interesting titles. Especially the Victorian ones. I am obsessed with Victorian Literature, so I will check out these books for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Victorian lit is a worthy obsession! :)
Only six books?! Don’t worry, I’m not sniggering. My mouth is hung open in shock, though. ;)
Enjoy your loot, Eva!
I know! I’m getting better at resisting hitting the ‘hold’ button! lol
I also took out six books this week, but for you it´s quite a feat ;) All of your books sound really interesting. I´m so jealous of the Persephone, so far my library hasn´t acquired any.
My library doesn’t have any Persephones either (except Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day). I ILLed this one; have you tried that?
Great loot! This week was the first time I’ve participated in this so I was all excited to see what others had!
The Saga of the Icelanders looks extremely intriguing…I might have to pick that up myself!
Thanks for joining in the fun! :)
Count me among those who “thought” about becoming a lawyer; I have a bizarre fascination with The Supreme Court and have read a few books on its inner workings.
I like your eclectic taste.
When I was 12, my life goal was to become a Supreme Court Justice. :D Thanks for the compliment on my taste-that’s so sweet!
Only six! I hope Richard Marsh lives up to expectations. And I’m very curious about the other Victorian novels.
I won’t blame you if Marsh doesn’t do it for me. ;) I enjoy most Victorian lit though!
Victorian Villianies sounds brilliant! I quite fancy getting my mitts on that myself. Most vexed about your laptop and cam feud as your vlogs are one of my highlights each and every week hee hee.
Isn’t Victorian Villanies just great fun to say?! I’ll try my best to get my webcam back into shape so there’s a vlog on Wednesday. :)
Congrats on getting out of your reading slump! It looks like you’ve got lots of great reads to keep you going.
I have posted a library loot entry here.
Thanks Peachy! :)
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury sounds great! I studied law and really enjoyed some subjects, but not others, but I’m not sure I want to be a lawyer, at least not yet.
I’ve had Kavalier and Clay sitting on my bookshelf for ages now, when I finally get around to reading it it will be my first Chabon.
I just finished Manhood for Amateurs this week. I’m interested to hear your thoughts! Glad to have you back in blogging land.