Coming Library Holds.

Shannon: A Novel, by Frank Delaney.

Synopsis from B&N.com: A stirring new novel about an American priest’s journey through the heart of Ireland, from the New York Times bestselling author of Ireland and Tipperary.

In the summer of 1922 Robert Shannon, a young American priest, is shell-shocked by his experiences as a chaplain with the Marines, and then further disheartened when he witnesses corruption in the Boston Archdiocese. Sensing trouble, his mentor dispatches Robert to the land of his ancestors with the hope that the discovery of his family roots will restore the young priest’s equilibrium. Stepping ashore on the bank of the river that bears his family name, Robert is immediately thrust in to Ireland’s deepest issues, as a civil war has just begun.

Random Acts of Heroic Love, by Danny Scheinmann.

Synopsis from B&N.com: With over 200,000 copies sold in the UK, a Richard & Judy pick, rights sold in 19 countries, called “riveting” and “mesmerizing,” this is a cinematic debut from a gifted new writer. Based on real family events, Danny Scheinmann’s novel paints a dramatic portrait of two epic love stories.
1992: Traveling through South America with his girlfriend, Leo wakes up in a hopsital to find his girlfriend is dead. He blames himself for the tragedy and is sucked into a spiral of despair. But a surprising secret leads Leo to discover something that will change his life forever.
1917: Moritz is a POW fugitve, with seven thousand kilometers of the Russian steppes separating him from his first love, whose memory has kept him alive through carnage and captivity. The war may be over, but he now faces a perilous journey and the insecurity of whether his love is still waiting.

We Have Always Lived at the Castle, by Shirley Jackson.

(I found this last night at Regular Rumination's blog, and I had to check it out from the library right away!)

Synopsis from B&N.com: Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.

library books, yay!

Just a short post to say: I picked up my library books today. :) Yayness. I'm going to read them in the following order: The Red Scarf (the cover just sweeps me away, I love it so much!), Chez Moi, How the Dead Dream, and The Labrador Pact.

I have to finish Highland Scandal first though. It's turning into one of those books that I'm scared to keep reading, because it looks like there's going to be some trouble starting within the next few pages. I'm just rooting for Jack so much right now, ugh, it looks ugly, because "the other guy" (Gavin) has just showed up. Either the other guy will walk, or Jack will have to fight for Lizzie. While I love a good romance fight, I hope Gavin walks! :p

That's it for now peeps!

Coming Library Holds.

Here are my coming library holds, which I can barely wait to get! I hope they'll be ready for pick up by Monday:

How the Dead Dream, by Lydia Millet: T. is a young Los Angeles real estate developer consumed by power and political ambitions. His orderly, upwardly mobile life is thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of his nutty mother, who’s been deserted by T.’s now out-of-the-closet father. After his mother’s suicide attempt and two other deaths, T. finds himself increasingly estranged from his latest project: a retirement community in the middle of the California desert. As he juggles family, business, and social responsibilities, T. begins to nurture a curious obsession with vanishing species. Soon he’s living a double life, building sprawling subdivisions by day and breaking into zoos at night to be near the animals. A series of calamities forces T. to a tropical island, where he takes a Conrad-esque journey up a river into the remote jungle. Millet’s devastating wit, psychological acuity, and remarkable empathy for flawed humankind contend with her vision of a world slowly murdering itself.

The Labrador Pact by Matt Haig: The story of a family in crisis and the loyal dog that holds them together, from the witty, imaginative author of The Dead Fathers Club.
The Hunters—Adam, Kate, and their children Hal and Charlotte—are a typical family, with typical concerns: work, money, love, the trials of adolescence. What sets them apart is Prince, their black Labrador.
Prince is an earnest and determined young dog. He strives to live up to the tenets of the Labrador Pact: Duty Over All. Other dogs, led by the springer spaniels, have revolted, but Prince takes his responsibilities seriously. As things in the Hunter family begin to go awry—marital breakdown, rowdy teenage parties, attempted suicide—he uses every canine resource to keep the clan together.
In the end, Prince must choose: the family or the Pact? His decision may cost him everything.
Wry, perceptive, and heartbreaking, The Labrador Pact is a cunning and original take on domestic life, with an improbably poignant narrator.

The Red Scarf by Kate Furnivall: Davinsky Labor Camp, Siberia, 1933: Only two things in this wretched place keep Sofia from giving up hope: the prospect of freedom, and the stories told by her friend and fellow prisoner Anna, of a charmed childhood in Petrograd, and her fervent girlhood love for a passionate revolutionary named Vasily.

After a perilous escape, Sofia endures months of desolation and hardship. But, clinging to a promise she made to Anna, she subsists on the belief that someday she will track down Vasily. In a remote village, she's nursed back to health by a Gypsy family, and there she finds more than refuge-she also finds Mikhail Pashin, who, her heart tells her, is Vasily in disguise. He's everything she has ever wanted-but he belongs to Anna.
After coming this far, Sofia is tantalizingly close to freedom, family-even a future. All that stands in her way is the secret past that could endanger everything she has come to hold dear . . .

Chez Moi by Agnes Desarthe: At forty-three, Myriam has been a wife, mother, and lover-but never a restauranteur. When she opens Chez Moi in a quiet neighborhood in Paris, she has no idea how to run a business, but armed only with her love of cooking, she is determined to try. Barely able to pay the rent, Myriam secretly sleeps in the dining room and bathes in the kitchen sink, while struggling to come to terms with the painful memories of her past. But soon enough her delectable cuisine brings her many neighbors to Chez Moi, and Myriam finds that she may get a second chance at life and love. Redolent with the sights, smells, and tastes of Paris, Chez Moi is a charming story that will appeal to the many readers who fell in love with Joanne Harris's Chocolat and Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate.

All descriptions from B&N.com.

Next Week is going to be Scandalous. *

(I have not abandoned my blog. Really.)

So. Yes. Next week, I am going to dub my scandal week. I've never had a themed reading week, so this should be fun. Also, it will be fun to get back into my beloved reading. & I swear I will not disappear again! Books lined up:

• The Book of Scandal, by Julia London.
• Snowy Night with A Stranger, by Jane Feather, Sabrina Jeffries, & Julia London.
• Highland Scandal, by Julia London.

Notice an author theme as well? :p I just love Julia London, she is definitely one of my favorite historical romance authors. :) So I figured what better author to get back into reading than her? Oh, her newest book, Highland Scandal came out yesterday, so go look at it at least, if you're a romance fan of course. It is book two in her Scandal series. (Book one: The Book of Scandal.) I picked my copy up today. I would have yesterday, but well, it was just too hot to go anywhere. I am so glad it has begun to cool down today.

So that's that. I'm waiting on the second book in my list up there to come in from the library, hopefully by Saturday. (I'm also waiting for Mail Order Bride by Victoria Bylin. I just could not wait for this one anymore.) But first this week I must find out what happens to Little P and his brother Emerson in The Foreigner by Francie Lin. I started it months ago but I had to take it back to the library before I could finish it due to me lazy reading habits. Ugh.

See everyone next week! (I swear.) :D

update on scandal week!

There's Something Strange in Erik-Land...

Okay, so this feels like it's going to be (somewhat) a loaded post..here we go, wee!

Well, I gave up on Anna McPartlin's Pack up the Moon. It's not bad, it has me intrigued enough to keep going, but some other time - because I am no longer excited about it. I need to get re-excited about reading it and having it from the library. I also felt very strange not having read a Phantom of the Opera related book yet this year. The past two years in a row, I've started the reading year with a phantom book. This, I think shall be continued year after year, because well, I'm just obsessed with the character and it just feels right. :p Also I think it will be fun to have a *reading tradition* of my own of sorts.

So, now I am reading book two in Sadie Montgomery's Phoenix of the Opera series - The Phantom's Journey: Out of the Darkness. Call me crazy, but I think there is something a little strange going on with Erik and Meg in this book. They just don't seem like themselves..for me it feels like she strayed a bit too much from Leroux's original character. I realize this may be an attempt at making it all her own, but sometimes it can be a little over done. I'm finding myself not liking this new sensitive-man version of Erik. Oddly enough though, I can't stop reading. I also can't stop thinking, "God. This is getting worse by the sentence." But I still can't put it down! So I guess it's a good sign. I still intend to get the next book sometime this year, and then of course, the fourth and final book to see how this all ends. Oh, I can't stand Lucianna. I think she is a filthy-greedy Erik whore. I can't really blame her, but OMG, she completely molested him over and over, which was disgusting, and her excuse for it was definitely not enough. Yucky. If it were done to the old Erik I think he would have killed her, or at least given her a smack to put her back in line, right? Right! But enough about this disturbance.

I found out I won't have to be so very embarrassed at the library whenever I make it back in there, because I can pay my fines online, woohoo! I will definitely never slack this badly in the future. Ugh, one big mountain of never-had-to-be-this-bad it was. Never again will I be this lazy. Ever.

I don't know what will be next in line for reading after Out of the Darkness (56 pages to go), but I have some books on my own shelves that have been calling to me. Probably The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I really want to read that one this year, and soon. Oh! the movie comes on DVD today, so go buy it! I haven't actually seen the film yet though, but it is a wonderfully tragic story. And I don't think I will be able to buy it for a few more weeks (bleah), I didn't get a chance to see it because it wasn't playing anywhere around here at a theater my mom and I were willing to go to. So we missed it then. I can't wait to finally go and buy it though! :)

Anywhoo, that's all I can think of for now, and at the rate I've been devouring my current read, there might (FINALLY!) be a review tomorrow. Yay me. :p

I Can Never Seem to Help Myself...

Every time I go into the library I can't help but stop and look around at the shelves if I'm not in a hurry. I really shouldn't have this time, I wish I were in a hurry today but I wasn't. While I was there picking up two DVD's, knowing I already had three other books at home I should finish reading first, I found myself in front of the "new books" case. Ugh. I picked up another book. I had the thought "Well, it won't hurt to look." And wow, a title catches my attention, and here I am at home with a new library book to start on. :p lol. I picked up The Foreigner, by Francie Lin. It looks so good. & I love the cover.

I'm almost done with Moonlight Downs, which has me excited about getting closer to finding out who the hell the killer is, so it shouldn't be long before I begin this book. I'm planning on watching as little TV as possible next week so that should help. :)

That's pretty much it, besides to say that I am really excited about my late movie night tonight, because I've been waiting a while to get these from the library, and I hope they didn't get too scratched up with other people. I always wonder how that happens, all a disc should do is be transported between the case and the DVD player. How hard can that be? Going by some of the discs the library has I'd say it's pretty hard for some people. But yes I do realize accidents and little kids happen with their curious hands...ah well though! Oh, the movies are: The Incredible Hulk (one of my favorite Marvel characters!), and The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford. There's a pretty good chance that The Hulk will be watched first. :p

Squeal with Me.

Hehe!

I got the MP3 player I wanted for Christmas yesterday, and I took a closer look at the features right away, and it's compatible for audio books! Yayness. I checked out the library's digital catalog last night and I found five audio books I want to check out. Which are: The Boy in the Striped Pajama's, Dragon Rider, Before Green Gables, The Book Thief, and Twilight. I know I said I wasn't into Twilight before, but since I went to see the movie, it peaked my interest a little more, and I think in audio book form it might be easier to get through. Plus, there's a much shorter wait for audio (30 other people) than regular book (over 500 other people, eep!) form. I can barely wait until Christmas so I can try it out and load it up with some stuff! :)

I did some reading last night like I had planned, though I only read 60 pages or so. I decided to continue on with Moonlight Downs since it'd been a while since I had picked it up. I left off at page 13, I thought it would get better as I kept reading and got further in, and I was definitely right. :) It's getting funnier and a little spooky with what just happened to Lincoln, and I really want to find out the truth behind it and who did it.

I'm planning on reading more tonight after my TV shows come on. I'm annoyed at television tonight though because Absolutely Fabulous isn't coming on tonight. I hope it's just for this once. I just started watching it a few weeks ago and I'd be totally bummed if it was cut off from the schedule, I just love Edina and Patsy, they're freakin' hilarious! I also get a kick out of Bubbles!

That's about all I have to ramble on about for now, there's still a little bit before my shows start, so I'm off to wander the web a bit more! :)

Updates; of Sorts..

I went to the library today, to pick up Coldplay's Viva La Vida in which I am planning on listening to tomorrow. I also took back a book and the MGMT cd, and I took in a book for donation. It was actually my first donation, which felt pretty good. :)

I haven't been reading much, it's not that I don't like the books I've got, it's just that other things get in the way, and I hate that! Oh well though, at least I was able to renew them today.

After the library stop my mother and I went over to Target, where one of the things we picked up was the "Prince Caspian" DVD. I can't wait to watch it, but since my mom paid for it, she told me I can't have it until Christmas, lol. She can be so cruel sometimes. :p (kidding, of course!)

I didn't do the Mad for Movies yesterday because I decorated for Christmas instead, but I love doing that so it was no big movie night loss. :p I decided to do it tomorrow night, since I usually watch three shows regularly on Tuesday nights..I've no clue what I'm going to watch yet though for a movie. Probably something funny.

I've already given up on my challenge, pretty much. I wouldn't mind adding a few more books to the list but there is no way I'm going to make it to 50 since I'm not that fast of a reader, but at least I've done better than last year's count. :) I thought about doing it again next year, but decided not to, because it would just suck to bomb on it two years in a row, lol. Besides, I already have a few other challenges I am going to participate in.

I'm off for now, to hunt for sugar cookie ingredients for tomorrow, and then to watch TV. Yay. :p

Reading Update.

Ugh. I haven't read a thing in at least three days. I caught a cold and I just want to sit and stare at the television like a zombie while I try to breathe through my nose instead of my mouth (which is failing, horribly). Thank goodness it's Monday and I actually do have a good excuse to just watch TV tonight, besides the cold, it's my movie night. :) Yay.

Yesterday while browsing my favorite blogs, I read about a Book Bloggers Christmas Swap. How freaking awesome does that sound? I think I'm going to sign up for it. :) Read more about it here at The Hidden Side of a Leaf, or over at Nymeth's - who organized the whole thing last year!

Back to my bad reading habits; I think I'll actually try to stay up late tonight and put a nice big reading dent in Inkdeath, I've pretty much given up on Frederica. It's not bad, I just don't have enough time to put into it so it gets the reading attention it should. I'm going to take it back to the library this week - more holds coming in, yay. I hope I can at least get those read on time! By the time they get in the worst of the cold should be over, I hope. Anyhoo, I am definitely going back for Frederica once I'm done reading the coming books.

I feel a little sad about my challenge, because clearly I am not going to read 50 books this year, but it's still okay, because I passed the number I read last year (27) already. :)

Enough blabbering for now, I have a hair-dying...experiment to do now.

Creepy Security Gaurd.

Yesterday, I went to pick-up Inkdeath & the movie "Drillbit-Taylor," and I was freakin' excited about it, I couldn't wait to finish one of the other books I am currently reading, so I broke down and I read a couple of chapters of Inkdeath (so far, I loves.) last night because it was calling to me too much for me to enjoy Twilight - which I have to admit, I think is just okay so far. I hope it will pick up, and I 've heard good things about it everywhere, so I'm hanging in there with it.

Anyhoo, I always try to be polite when I go anywhere these days, because well, I have a problem with negativity, such as it freakin' spreads through me quickly, and I don't like that. Especially when random people feel they have to tell me to smile and then I am forced to grind my teeth at their unwanted and sometimes offensive suggestion. But I digress, going to the library always puts me in a good mood, so it's easier to smile and say "hello" and "thanks." They recently have a new (odd-looking) security guard, he seems nice enough though and the first time I saw him I gave a polite smile and walked into the library. But yesterday, it was different. And not a comfortable different for me at least. I'm probably blowing this way out of proportion and horribly mis-reading the "situation" but I just can't help feeling weird about it. He was standing outside the door as usual, but I didn't even look at him as I walked past (must I every single time?). Besides, when I noticed him as I was walking up the walkway he was looking elsewhere. Anyhoo, when I was checked out and walking to the door I noticed he had come inside, and as I was walking past him, he whispered "goodbye" to me. Why do I think this is creepy? He whispered it. What. The. Hell. Why did he have to whisper it? The only non-creepy reason I can think of is that, perhaps he is shy. No one else whispers in that library. It really annoyed me at first, but it actually feels friendlier in there when it's not so quiet. Anyway, am I blowing it up? I couldn't help but walk out as quickly as possible, not that I paused at all when he said it, I don't even remember if I managed a smidgen of a smile and I couldn't get out of the door fast enough for some insane reason...am I making too much of this?

Anyhoo, tonight I plan to hole myself up in my room and watch my movie and read my books. I'd be reading right now, but there's too much laundry for me to ignore and I want to take this time to build my Shelfari, because my brother is such a computer hog (World of Warcraft fan, he is), I must take the Internet time when I can get it. :)

Library Pick-ups.

I picked these up from the library today:

From top to bottom:

1. Poison Pen by Sheila Lowe: The first Forensic Handwriting mystery book in her Claudia Rose Series. I wanted to read this one first, before I went and read Written in Blood, so I'd be more familiar with the character.
2. Baby Shark by Robert Fate: Book one in his Baby Shark (Series? There are three books in all). I got an e-mail about the third book, Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption, and replied back to it requesting a copy because it interested me, I haven't gotten it yet so I don't know if I ever will or not, but I still would like to read this character and her story so I am starting out with the first book, naturally.
3. Me of Little Faith by Lewis Black: I love this man and his work. He is one of my favorite comedians. I rather liked his first book so I hope I'll like this one too; it is made up of his views and experiences on/with religion.
4. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke: I can barely wait to get to this book. I am dying to know what happens with all the characters and somewhat loose endings from Inkheart.

I'm almost finished reading The Charm School, which is pretty good so far. I love the characters and that's always important for me in my reading. Also I'm still (slowly) reading the Jesse James book. It's not a bad book, it's just non-fiction. I am not a non-fiction type of girl. (This is only my second non-fiction read of the year.) I'd rather be running off to lands far away from my front door and world's I wish existed than be reading non-fiction. But well, I love Jesse James so it's worth it to venture out of my reading comfort zone. Anyhoo, hopefully I can finish these two books by Monday so I can get to the books I picked up today. :)

Also I read 3 Beatrix Potter tales last night, and I am so glad I did. Her stories always put me in a good mood. :)

library stuffs.

The library had a "Catch the Summer Reading Bug" thing this year (like a bingo card; except you take it home and complete the little challenge things on the card and make a "bingo line" and take it back and you get a free tote bag. I got one (of course) and here it is:

I also picked up these books:

See "American Psycho" down on the bottom; it's in horrifying condition. I love the library, but I hate the way their books are treated by other people. Ugh. Why is it so hard to treat a book right? I realize accidents happen, but the damage to that copy looks downright careless. See:

water (I hope!) damage, and no idea what the red mark could be.

the extent of the liquid damage. horrifying, no?

Library books.

This weeks library books, which I picked up today:

First, I went over to pick my hold off of the shelf. Ever since I found out Inkheart was also a book, and not just a coming up movie with two of my favorite actors in it - Brendan Fraser and Andy Serkis; I have been dying to read it. It finally came in yesterday and was ready for pick-up today. So yay. I am in love with the cover already and cannot wait to start on it (probably) later tonight.

Jesse James: the Man and the Myth is a biography read that has long been on my TBR list. It is about time I have gotten to it, before the interest-flame for Jesse James dies out in my brain completely. I don't exactly remember how I became so interested in this man, I think it started with Wyatt Earp and then led to Jesse James and Billy the Kid. Anyhoo, this book is supposed to "set the record straight" and reveal the real Jesse James. I am looking forward to this read, and stepping out of fiction-land for a while and discovering what can lie in a real life of a real legend.

I'm not sure when I found this in the library catalog, but it was definitely this year. So, since my other holds are taking their time arriving, I decided to go for it with this one instead of letting it sit on my list like so many other books at the moment. This looks like a promising good read, so I hope I won't be disappointed with it. Part from the back cover:
"Nineteen-year-old Emma Bau has been married only three weeks when Nazi tanks thunder into her native Poland. Within days Emma's husband, Jacob, is forced to disappear underground, leaving her imprisoned within the city's decrepit, moldering Jewish ghetto. But then, in the dead of night, the resistance smuggles her out. Taken to Krakow to live with Jacob's Catholic cousin, Krysia, Emma takes on a new identity as Anna Lipowski, a gentile."

I found this while browsing amazon.com for pirate reads, and my library has it so I've gotten it. I am very fascinated by pirates, especially Blackbeard. This is actually the first book I am reading on him though. My interest started through various television specials on him and other pirates. This is also a biography read.

murder and monsters.

Last night I read my two favorite (so far) Sherlock Holmes stories: The Adventure of The Speckled Band, and The Adventure of The Copper Beeches. Very good choice to have made.

Also, I started Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which I bought a few weeks ago for my birthday. I'm still in the preface though, which is pretty interesting. I've been wanting to read this for the longest time, and now that I've started it I can barely wait to get into the actual story, I'm just so in the mood for a literary thrill. I hope this book will be enough to satisfy that mood. :p

Later today I hope to make it over to the library to pick up The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. I've heard good things about it so I'm happy that my turn finally came up for it. Also, the doggie narrative factor is great because I love dogs. I hope it won't disappoint.

And, speaking of library book turns, I put Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series on hold. I have a very long wait though. Each book has over 100 holds on it already. Ugh. It would be easier just to buy them but I can rarely afford new books. That's why I'm such a library addict. :)

So, I think I'm doing okay with my challenge, considering that around this time last year I wasn't that close at all to having read 22 books. Plus, four short stories. I don't think I read any short stories last year. But this year I've read two Beatrix Potter Tales, and two Sherlock Holmes Adventures. Even if I don't make it to my goal of fifty, I think I'll still feel pretty good about this years reading. But, it is only just the end of July, lots more time to build up the number. :)

a shadow, indeed.

Well, I didn't get to finish reading A Shadow on Summer. (By Christy Brown.) I only got to chapter four and back it had to go to the library. Bleah. On Link+ books they only allow one renewal. I wish I would have checked into that earlier, but ah well. I shall get this book and the three others I didn't even get a chance to start on, again (very) soon.

I think I could have finished them if my dog (Brownie) didn't have to have surgery (two weeks ago) and then be watched afterwards. He was neutered and they found a hernia (no idea how to spell it, ugh) so he needed to be pampered and watched to make sure he didn't jump up any place high or run because he could have torn his stitches. Poor little guy, he had to have a cone on his head too. lol. It all comes off tomorrow though, so he can go back to being his normal grouchy doggie-self. Barking right in my face and hording all of the good chewies in my room so the other dogs can't have them.

Anyhoo, back to the library books! I think all of that slowed me down, so hopefully this weekend I can just sit and read and start concentrating on my challenge again. :) So yay. While at the library I looked for my current book which I will start later tonight: Once A Knight, by Christina Dodd. I was pretty close to being bummed because it wasn't in the section I thought it would be in, then as I was going to leave I remembered their "new arrivals" shelves, so I stopped over there, and there it was. Not checked out after all. :) The description of the book is on the humorous side so I hope I will enjoy this read.

what's next...

Right now I am reading Marcia Willett's The Courtyard. I am only five chapter's in (out of thirty-eight) and I am really liking it. I wasn't too sure about it at first though, but somewhere among those first five chapters I got sucked in and interested. I think it's the character Gillian that has me most interested; for her motives, and I want to see if she gets *busted* by anyone. lol. At the end I hope I can find this as a great, or even just good, story.

This is sort of a break from reading Christy Brown, (I have three of his novels left to read from the library) not that I'm bored with his work, because it is lovely and he had a fantastic way with words, but I just need a mixture of authors. Especially since I've just read five of his works in a row. I was thinking of reading my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories in between his books as well, because I haven't even touched my volume of the work in so long. (Positively dreadful of me. :p) Also, recently on PBS, I saw one of my favorites - The Copper Beeches, turned into live action and I just loved it. So it sort of lit the flame again for Mr. Holmes and his faithful partner Dr. Watson. So I guess I shall be reading those again soon. :)

Also, due to my continuing obsession with Christian Bale, I decided to get the book (from the library, of course) American Psycho, since he was in the movie. I'm not quite looking forward to it though, they have it listed as horror fiction. (Of course I already knew it would be from watching the movie.) I hate horror fiction. But I am a bit in the mood for a literary chill-thrill, so it might just hit the spot, and hopefully it won't be too....horrifying.

There is also a load (38, I believe) of other library books I want to get (slowly but surely), the catalog just seems to be getting better and better by the month for their new books listings. And I am so glad for that. :) It gives me something to do library related, and of course, new things to read. :p

Come Softly To My Wake.

I finished reading Christy Brown's Come Softly To My Wake a few nights ago, so here I am writing my (late) short review of it. Not very many *new* poems in it, lots of repeating ones, which was actually on the annoying side, but ah well. It's still a lovely book of his poetry.

oh, this was one of my first Link+ books from the library. it came from Santa Clara University. :) Interesting to see where they come from.

I think this is the sweetest inscription I've ever read. :)
(inside of "Of Snails and Skylarks." - which I am reading now.)

and a stack of (mostly) all his books I've gotten from the library recently.

The Poems of Christy Brown.

I read this last night, and was swept away by it. Especially his poem "End". It is my favorite of his so far. There were also lots of single lines in here that I positively loved. I am looking forward to his other poetry books I have coming to the library. :)

Now I am currently reading his novel, Down All the Days. I'm only one short chapter in but I like how it's really different already from what I'm used to reading & I cannot wait to get further into it. :)

another drop.

These are too many book drops for me. Ugh. Anyhoo, I'm not going to read The Dangerous Gentleman after all, because the Christy Brown books I put on hold at the library are starting to trickle in. (Yayness!) So I shall save it for another day. I was only one chapter in, anyway. I don't think I was really in the mood for a romance anyhow. I hope to pick up the first book (The Poems of Christy Brown.) that has arrived already, today. I need to return some things anyway, so it will work out okay. I have 8 more of his books coming though, I hope I won't have to go back and forth all week! I love going to the library, but it's so hot out there lately! lol. Oh well. :p

Even though I'm very excited to be finally getting his books to read, I'm not quite sure I'll like them. (His fiction books, anyway. I'm quite sure I'll like the poetry.) Yesterday I went on to amazon.com, and looked up his books to see if they had the "search inside" option for any of them, which I never thought to look at before - why, I don't know; but I looked yesterday, and they have that option for "Wild Grow the Lilies." I looked inside and I'm just not sure whether I liked it or not. I'm hoping it's one of those stories that will suck you in as you get further into it. I just don't want to be disappointed by them, because I am highly fascinated by his life.

library book pictures.

I took some pictures with my library books. because I am a nerd.

here they are:

swan island had the prettiest cover.

spot the peace sign?
nerd-dom shinning through. :p