I'm a slow and capricious reader, so I'm trying to be realistic here and only check out the books I'm pretty certain I'll read. Of course, there's no guarantee I will actually read them, but one can only live with hope.
So, in the library that's closer to my apartment they've been reshelving their "Books in English" collection (now, for instance, you won't find books in german in it. Good job, Library!) and I had a great time browsing through it, although I still cannot find the Complete Works of Shakespeare. I'm starting to believe it's of a mythical nature. ANYway, this is what I ended up checking out:
- The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, mostly because I might have been harboring unkind and completely unjustified feelings towards him based solely in half-read pieces about how much press and praise he receives compared to other authors. And, whether those pieces are right or wrong (and I believe they're right), that's not a reason to hate him. Right?
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. When I say I've been lurking the book-blog world for ever, I'm not kidding. I remember having read a lot of reviews of this book when it first came out, most of them praising it, but then forgot about it when it came the time to actually buy it or borrow it (other book I've been meaning to read since I first read about it on the internet, years ago? Susan Hill's Howards End is on the Landing.)
I have no idea what Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey is about nor if it's any good. But it has that cozy mystery vibe. It helps that I found it close to Dorothy Sayers' books...
And, finally, The Warden by Anthony Trollope is the only one I'm certain I'm going to love. I already do, at page 37. It has all the charm of Cranford and, I'm guessing, the same affectionate tone to describe the follies or defects of its characters:
All in all, I have high hopes for this loot. Now I just have to read it!
- The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, mostly because I might have been harboring unkind and completely unjustified feelings towards him based solely in half-read pieces about how much press and praise he receives compared to other authors. And, whether those pieces are right or wrong (and I believe they're right), that's not a reason to hate him. Right?
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. When I say I've been lurking the book-blog world for ever, I'm not kidding. I remember having read a lot of reviews of this book when it first came out, most of them praising it, but then forgot about it when it came the time to actually buy it or borrow it (other book I've been meaning to read since I first read about it on the internet, years ago? Susan Hill's Howards End is on the Landing.)
And, finally, The Warden by Anthony Trollope is the only one I'm certain I'm going to love. I already do, at page 37. It has all the charm of Cranford and, I'm guessing, the same affectionate tone to describe the follies or defects of its characters:
Nevertheless, John Bold is a clever man, and would, with practice, be a clever surgeon; but he has got quite into another line of life. Having enough to live on, he has not been forced to work for bread; he has declined to subject himself to what he calls the drudgery of the profession, by which, I believe, he means the general work of a practising surgeon; and has found other employment.
All in all, I have high hopes for this loot. Now I just have to read it!
