January 2016 Library Checkout

January 2016

A great monthly check-in about Library reading hosted by Shannon of River City Reading!

The start of 2016 has been good to me regarding great books! And...the start of the Little House Read-Along I am cohosting with Bex of An Armchair by the Sea. There are currently 15 other readers registered to join us in this event!! YAY!! (Twitter #littlehouseRAL)

I am so excited to have discovered and begun using the listing function on my local library's network site! I now have a list for the books I will check out and read for the Book Challenge by Erin 4.0, a "diversity" listing, a "Really really want to read, once available" list, and a "Nonfiction" list! (My nonfiction reading last year was woefully low and mostly autobiographies. I will correct that!) I can add books whenever and then when I want to place holds, voilà! There they are--easy peasy! :)

Books Read: 

**Reviews/blog posts can be viewed by clicking on the title. 

If I have not yet completed a blog post, it will link to my Goodreads review.

1) First Degree by David Rosenfelt
This is the second in his Andy Carpenter series. Another great mystery along with Rosenfelt's typical subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, humor, and always a compelling mystery!

2) A Circle of Wives by Alice LaPlante
This is for the Literary Wives online book club, read #19!! It was great discussion starter! So complex and yet so very easy to follow. It can appear to be deceptively simple on the surface...

1) Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
One of the best books--EVER!! I love this! It is so much deeper than you might expect! This is the next book review blog post in the works. So difficult, 'cause I want to say so much about this one! Just know that it is a quick read and so very unique, in my opinion!

2) H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald.
I have read so many bloggers' reviews, all raving about this book, and I couldn't resist and placed it on hold and it has arrived! This was a phenomenal read. It does my heart good to see this writing style receive such acclaim! (I think I may have talked my husband into reading it, too!)  A selection for Book Challenge by Erin 4.0!

8) The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin
One of my Goodreads friends stated in her review that this book is "comfort food" and I couldn't have said it better myself! It really is! I loved this story on so many levels. Such hidden relationships as well as those that are visible/known!

9) Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
I can so understand this premise and relate to these older folks making their lives as comfortable as possible in whatever way it works best for them! I did connect with this book to such a degree! And I despise Gene. How could a grown child be so cruel to his own mother? I'm quite certain I would have stayed and relied on Louis, had I been Addie. This is such a quick read (one evening) and so poignant! 

Currently Reading: 

3) Laughing Boy: A Navajo Love Story by Oliver La Farge
One of our Borders Book Club members who winters in warmer climes is reading this for her "other" book club and it sounded fascinating! It won the Pulitzer Prize for Novel in 1930. I am finishing this one today. I love the information it provides regarding Navajo beliefs and communication, etc. And it is not just a narrative of such, but a true depiction as played out in peoples' lives. Even better!  

Checked Out, TBR:

1) Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
This book was mentioned as one that Ivoe, Jam on the Vine's protagonist, was reading. This is a classic! 

2) My Son's Story by Nadine Gordimer
A selection for Book Challenge by Erin 4.0! 

3) Ana of California by Andi Teran
Supposedly a modern-day retelling of Anne of Green Gables. I typically stay away from retellings but for some reason was attracted to read this! Probably due to the Green Gables Read Along I completed last year!

Hopefully two more will be added to this list this evening! (See below in the "On Hold" section!) 

Returned Unread:

None...yet! Although that will most likely change as I have resigned from my local library's Board of Trustees (Let's just cite "insurmountable philosophical differences" with a majority of the Board membership as my reason!) and will no longer have that enviable "no fine" perk! This will be a challenge for me, but may help me not get quite so "hold crazy" in the future...as I obviously was in January! :)

On Hold: 
Oh, my gosh! I went hold-crazy in January! That is what happens when you're literally stuck at home ill!! (At least that's my excuse, and I'm using it!) :)

1) Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The only reason I am not purchasing? Trying not to bring any more books into my house for keeps! :) I am excited that 6 months have elapsed from the release date so I can obtain a copy through the local interlibrary loan network! I just can't imagine that this will not be a great read for me! 

2) My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
The first book selected for Emma Watson's Feminist Book Club on Goodreads! :) This one is actually waiting for me at the library...the new and more convenient library from which I will do most of my library 'business' in the future! :) Actually, I'm picking this one up this evening!

3) Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa
I plan to check this out when I pick up Steinem's book tonight! I am soooooo anxious to read this! 

What have you checked out lately at your library?