I’ve mostly been reading review copies, books from my own shelves, and Kindle books this month, though I did manage one library read during our trip to Amsterdam. While I was at the public library on Thursday, however, I was tempted by several titles from the bestsellers display – these are two-week loans with no renewals, so I have to devote some serious time to them this week and into early October. I’ve read and enjoyed one previous book each by Binet, Knausgaard and Higashida (I just realized those are all translated – how about that? Usually I have to urge myself to remember to read literature in translation!), so will be interested to see how their most recent work stacks up.
LIBRARY BOOKS READ
- Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
CURRENTLY READING
- The Seventh Function of Language by Laurent Binet
- Autumn by Karl Ove Knausgaard
- A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold [from university library]
CHECKED OUT, TO BE READ
- Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8, Naoki Higashida
(Hosted by Charleen of It’s a Portable Magic.)
Have you been taking advantage of your local libraries? What appeals from my list?
Bookish Beck = Rebecca Foster. American transplant to England. Freelance proofreader and book reviewer.
Bookish Beck 
I’d rejected the Binet, not attracted by the blurb, but my partner loved it. I’d be interested to see what you think of it.
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I loved HHhH — I thought it was so clever how he played with WWII history. I’m 25 pages into the new one and worrying it might be *too* clever for me this time. I’m not sure I’m getting the linguistics/death of the author jokes. We’ll see if I stick with it.
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I don’t read much literature in translation. Not long ago, I read an old book of Henning Mankell’s, _Italian Shoes_, and enjoyed it. (Had tried his Wallender crime series books–after watching the BBC series–but the language didn’t hold up.) Love my local public library–so many wonderful programs, especially for my kids. I spend a lot of money in overdue fines, but for a good cause!
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I’d like to read Autumn. Love the library!
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My local library is now only open one day a week so I have been travelling further afield and making use of libraries in other nearby authorities. (I live within reach of three.) It’s fascinating to see how their buying policies differ. Some books will be bought by all three but often I have to check each of their catalogues before I find what I’m looking for.
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That’s a shame. I’m lucky that our library is the biggest one in the region, so there’s a decent selection of new books and bestsellers. However, once reservation fees came in last year I stopped being able to get books from other branches or placing holds on books that were on order or on loan.
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I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Fall Down 7 Times, Get up 8 – love my Japanese lit!
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I’m reading it more for my interest in autism. I didn’t think his first book was fantastic, but I’m hoping as he’s grown up his writing skills have come on.
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Ooh, death of the author! I’m interested in Fall Down 7 Times. I haven’t used my library for ages, unfortunately, as I have so many NetGalley and charity shop books as well as still working through last Christmas and birthday. However, I’ve been reading All The Books recently, so maybe I’ll allow myself a library trip soon!
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Alas, I’ve given up on The 7th Function of Language at page 40.
I certainly don’t “need” to be using my public library what with all my Kindle books and books I own, but I do drop by occasionally in case they have new books I can’t wait to read and haven’t managed to get hold of another way.
And, yipes, birthday season is coming up for me soon…
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My library reading has been down lately, because I’ve been reading other things. But it’s about to go back up, mostly with Giller books, but also a few other newish CanLit that I had thought might make the Giller list but didn’t. I would love to get to them all, but we’ll see…
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That’s great that you can get your Giller books from the library! Do you not normally request them from publishers? I got most of my Wellcome shortlist books from the library last year, but had to get one sent as an emergency from a publisher so I could get to it in time.
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I get as many from the longlist as I can from the library and whatever shortlisted books I can’t get, I’ll request when the list comes out. There seems to be a little extra time to fit them in this year – maybe a week more?
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I’m always taking advantage of my local library, because I’m always here! Ha ha! But I even take my son to the library in the county where we live, which is the county next to the one where I work. 🙂 It’s nice because for whatever reason, I can always seem to find new books at my home county library that have waiting lists on them at my work library.
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When my husband and I both worked for universities, I was a member of up to six library systems at a time, academic and public. I’ve toned that way down now and just use the county we live in, plus occasionally I’ll have my husband go to his uni’s library and get me something specific out.
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