library haul

It was my birthday on the 8th, and as well as doing lots of other lovely things, one thing I was also keen to do was visit the big library in town. Usually I just go to my local, which is round the corner from house, but the selection has been poor recently, and because of the occasion I thought I should do it probably.

Some people might be a bit dismissive about looking forward to a birthday visit to the library, but for me its the little things that make the day enjoyable.

Anyway, here's what I picked up:-

1. The Spider King's Daughter, Chibundu Onuzo. A story of star-crossed lovers in Lagos. Abike Johnson lives a privileged life, but an encounter with a street hawker changes her life when they strike up a tentative romance.

2. Silver, Scott Cairns. When a young woman has to identify her dead father's body, she uncovers a shocking secret that makes her question her own identity. The blurb on the back makes me thing think this novel will cover trans issues- but I could be wrong. I'm not sure how I'll get on with reading this one- in this edition the pages are incredibly white- which can cause me difficulties because of my dyslexia, it would be a shame to miss out on a potentially good story for this reason though.

3. Written on the Body, Jeanette Winterson. I want to give Winterson more of a chance after really enjoying Weight. This is a love story, and a meditation on the body.

4. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, Therese Anne Fowler. A fictional account of the worlds first flapper and her author husband  

5. Grimm Tales, Philip Pullman. Love fairy-tales, love Philip Pullman.

Wimpole

I've blogged about Wimpole estate and it's library before, but it's such a beautiful place one more post isn't going to do any harm.

library haul

I usually go to my local library, and although it is fanatically convenient it is also rather small, so I've found the shelves rather inspiring recently. So whilst I was in the town centre I was in town I popped into the main library and got a little bit carried away.......

1. Stephen Gallagher, The Kingdom of Bones 
2. Chris Abani, Song for the Night 
3. Irvine Welsh, The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins 
4. Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive 
5. Lucinda Riley, The Seven Sisters 
6. Charlaine Harris, Dead Ever After  
7. Khaled Khalifa, In Praise of Hatred 

Bank Holiday plans sorted! I'm going to eat those Easter egg and read, read, read.

library haul

Quite a small haul compared to my usual standards, but I only really popped in quickly to pick up some books that I'd reserved:-

1. Save Me the Waltz, Zelda Fitzgerald - I've been waiting for this book for so long! I think I ordered it in the summer of last year, or maybe even before that. F.Scott gets all the glory in the Fitzgerald family, but apparently he not only used Zelda as a muse but also stole ideas from her. After reading Flappers by Judith Mackrell I became really intrigued about Zelda, she was the 'it girl' of her generation, and I want to see if she had any substance. Save Me the Waltz is about a glamorous aspiring ballerina. 
2. Stiff, Mary Roach - I read Gulp at the end of last year and found it to be equal parts disgusting and fascinating, this time Roach is taking a humorous and curious look at cadavers. From those who donate their bodies to medical science, to cannibalism to dead bodies used as crash test dummies, this promises to be just a grossly fascinating. 
3. Sinners, Jackie Collins - I might be a little bit too ashamed to read this one on the tube. It is described on the back as a 'jungle of lust and perversity, greed and ambition'. I'm hoping its going to be just as fabulously trashy as Valley of the Dolls. 

library haul

Although I've currently got heaps of unread books on my shelves, I really didn't fancy reading any of them. Instead, I picked up an old faithful Song of Achilles, which is one of my favourite books of all time. 

To get me out of a reading slump I took a trip to my local library and gathered the following:-

currently reading

My plan to read the Man Booker shortlist is failing. Two reasons really:-
1. my new job has left me with less recreation time
2. I am super protective of my books, I like the spines, covers and pages to remain immaculate. This means I'm wary about shoving my new books in my handbag, which is littered with all kinds of debris. This is preventing me taking and reading my books on my commute.

So I can get some reading done on the train, I've turned back to my old friend the library, and  have just collected a couple of books:-



1. Paul Collier, Exodus: Immigration and Multiculturalism in the 21st Century 
Does what it says on the tin - this is a factual look at an explosive and controversial debate from a respected economist.

2. Chris Westwood, Ministry of Pandemonium 
I ordered this so many months ago, I can't remember why. It is YA fiction about a secretive ministry department, that aims to recruit Ben, a young man with an unusual gift. This will hopefully be a great thing to read first thing in the morning on the tube, as I'm not expecting it to need much brain power.

3. Lyndsay Faye, Dust and Shadow 
Victorian detectives- one of my most favourite things. I really rate Faye as an author, in this she is taking on two legends- Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper.  

Terror and Wonder at The British Library

I've never actually been to The British Library before, which seems like a huge oversight for a bibliophile that lives close to London. So to rectify this, me and mum took a trip over to see an exhibition, 'Terror and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination'. The event is Halloween appropriate, but will running until the 20th January, so you have plenty of time to catch it.

 

currently reading

I've got a ton of books that I've bought or I've borrowed (stolen) from my sister, so I've made a mini pledge to myself not to go to the library as often so I can crack on with these. 

However, I went on a ordering rampage last month, and books I requested have finally started coming into my local library, and I can't just ignore them. I think I've explained this before, but at my library you can request books from all the other libraries in the county and then pick them up locally. 

 I picked these two up the other day:-

Elizabeth is Missing, Emma Healey 

This got a lot of buzz when it was first published, which is why I had to wait ages to get it. 

I'm expecting big things from this, a detective story with a twist. Maud is investigating the disappearance of  her friend, but she is hampered in her search as she has dementia. 

The Maze Runner, James Dashner 

A film adaptation has just been released, and it is being touted as the next Hunger Games. Although I'm going to reserve my judgement until I've finished reading it, I'm dubious about these claims at the moment. It's interesting to see how literary trends work, after the success of Twilight bookshops where full of vampire boyfriends, now it's all about killing kids as part of weird survival games.  

currently reading

Just a quick post to let you know what's on my reading list at the moment:- 

1) The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton - kindly lent to me by my sister at the weekend, she was rather impressed with this and I trust her judgement. Set in 1686, Amsterdam, eighteen-year old Nella Oortman has come to join the wealthy household of her new husband.

2) The Blade Itself, Joe Abercrombie - even after reading 3 or 4 fantasy novels last month, I still haven't had my fill. I briefly mentioned this book in my review of kindle fantasy samples last month. From the blurb it looks like it's going to be full of knights, barbarians and tortures, which is just my thing at the moment.

3) Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer - I posted about this book way back in July, I've been waiting that long for it to get in my library. Though in lots of ways my local library is brilliant, it really is slow when it comes to ordering other books in. They offer a service in which you can request books from other libraries in the county to be sent to your local for collection, but sometimes it can take months. Anyway this novel is the first in a science fiction series.

library haul

I've just been to library and picked up a huge heap of book:-

1. The Night Rainbow, Claire King: This written from the perspective of a 5 year old child, so it could be hit or miss. It's all about the girl's mother coping with grief after the death of her father. 
2. A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, Eimear McBride: This was shortlisted for tons of awards, so I'm hoping it will live up to the hype. It is a stream of conciousness about a young woman's relationship of with her brother and the consequences of his childhood brain tumour. 
3. The Sisters Brothers, Patrick DeWitt:  The cover design is what drew me to this book. The Sisters Brothers are two mercerises hired to track down and kill a man in the American Wild West.  
4. Whit, Ian Banks: I've read a couple of Bank's novels and enjoyed them, particularity The Wasp Factory, so though I'd give this a go. It's about a teenage cult leader who ventures out amongst to Unsaved to bring her cousin back. 
5. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman: Recently I've been trying to find some fantasy to read, Gaiman is a bestseller of the genre so I thought this was worth ago. The blurb is intriguing- an alternative London set beneath the city full of magic and peril.   
6. Sky Burial, Xinran: I have an interest in China and Tibet (I spent my gap year there) and an interest in funeral rites so I'm really looking forward to reading this one.    

alphabetised list of all my book reviews

Wimpole library 

I've just created a new tab with an alphabetised list of all my book reviews.

Click under the blog banner 'alphabetised list of book reviews' or see here

Hopefully this will make books easier to find and make my achieve more accessible. There are currently 56 reviews listed, colour coded by genre. Please take the time to explore, and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Wrest Park library 

Whilst your at it, why not check out some of my other tags? Trips  includes all my visits to historical properties throughout the UK and as more pictures of the places in these pictures. Or maybe have a quick look through Home Baking, all my recipes are vegetarian, and most are gluten-free.  

Hughenden Manor (interior)

Following on from my earlier post about the outside of Hughenden Manor, have a look at my photos for a sneak peak of the interior:-

currently reading

With the nights drawing closer, and only a few days left to Halloween, I've been scaring myself silly with crime and horror novels- reviews coming soon!

James W. P. Campbell & Will Pryce - The Library: A World History

I'm starting my Christmas wishlist already with James W. P. Campbell and Will Pryce's The Library: A World History. (ISBN:  978-0500342886). The images in this book in look absolutely stunning, and are guaranteed to give you wanderlust.  

The Tripitaka Koreana at the Haeinsa Temple in South Korea. image taken from here. I used to live in South Korea- such a missed opportunity that I didn't visit!

 George Peabody Library, Baltimore

The book is a little bit pricey (£38.99 currently on Amzon) but would make a fabulous gift for a bibliophile. 

edit: just like to point out that the fabulous photographer Will Pryce took all of these stunning pictures. 

Wrest Park Library

Though most of the rooms at Wrest Park are currently out of bounds, luckily the library is accessible and  full of lots of lovely, musty books.

After visiting Wimpole I  really appreciate how much time and effort it takes to care for and maintain a library of this size. 

Library haul 2

 I wasn't getting on well with either Mr Chartwell or A Woman on the Edge of Time, they just weren't grabbing me,  so I took a quick jaunt up to my local library to replenish my stock.

Here's what I picked up :-

• Aravid Adiga- Between the Assassinations: I was a fan of The White Tiger so thought I'd give another of Adiga's books a try. According to the blurb its about the 'myriad and distinctive voices' of the inhabitants of a town on India's south coast. 
• Patrick Gale- Notes from an Exhibition: Again, I've read this author before. Apparently it is sensitive and funny, all about the legacy of a deceased artist. 
• Tea Obreht- The Tiger's Wife: I'll probably read this one first (after I've finished The Night Circus -review coming soon!). The reviews on the back cover interested me, as they mentioned fables and fairy-tales, which I'm a massive fan of.         

What do you think of my choices? Do you have any recommendations?

Terrorists with a strong work ethic

'"We are not keeping vigil through our country's darkest hour with a ridiculously pseudonymed hooker."`

-Carol Anshaw, Carry the One

library haul

A new library has opened up round the corner from where I live, so I went to check it out this morning. If you've read this post you'll know I'm pretty passionate/opinionated about libraries, so I'm really pleased that my local council has opened a new one within walking distance.

 The library is fairly small, but as you can see from the pictures I managed to pick up quite a stack. The books are all new as well, which is awesome, there's nothing worse than turning a page of a borrowed book and getting an unpleasant waft or discovering a bogey smeared into the pages.

I may have been a little bit greedy, as the books are only on loan for 2 weeks, but I'm currently kindle-less as I lent it to my mum (such a good daughter).

 Have a look after the jump for a further look at my choices, and for photos of pretty covers on the world's wrinkliest bedsheets:-

Wimpole- Library

The library and book room at Wimpole is pretty impressive. At lots of the National Trust properties the libraries are quite dark and musty- not that I mind that- but at Wimpole it is unexpectedly light and airy. I could imagine reading there without suffering from eye strain.

They are currently cleaning the Library and with over 10,000 books it's a massive task, it's going to take over two years! Each book is individually caressed with a brush made from pony hair to remove dust, it is done by volunteers with some guidance from experts. I was surprised to learn they handle the books with bare hands, but apparently cotton gloves are too rough and can scratch away miniature leather particles.

this house steward was kind enough to give a talk about the book cleaning process. 

Some of the books will take even longer to restore, as nearly 259 of them were damaged by a leaking roof. They will be methodically washed, dried and repaired by experts to remove the mould and tide marks. It's going to take over 2 years and £300,000, luckily the cost is covered by an insurance claim.

Very Beauty and the Beast

Lisbon

Ok, not strictly relevant to the premise of the blog, but I went to Lisbon a couple of weeks ago and thought some people might be interested in seeing some pictures of my travels (or may be not?). So here are some highlights:-

sun setting over Lsibon, taken from Castelo de Sao Jorge

 We timed it just right we we vistited Castelo de Sao Jorge, the sun was setting and there was hardly anyone else there. The lights of the town were starting to turn on and it was peaceful and atmospheric. You can scramble all over the walls and battlement, with no regard to the health & safety restrictions that would be imposed in England. Lisbon is really hilly, and it can be a trek to get up to the castle, we got lost several times, but the view is worth it.

tiles on a residential building in Lisbon

bookshop in Alfama

The above bookshop is typical of the buildings in the region, many of them were covered in geometric tiles. Portugal has been hit hard by the recession, a lot of the buildings were dilapidated, but it gives the place a shabby charm.

There is also tons of graffiti in Lsibon, I liked the artistic or political art, I wan't keen at all on the tagging. People's homes and national monuments were tagged, and it made the buildings look careworn and abandoned.

street art in Lisbon