Library Round-Up

So yesterday I did make it to the library, and it was one of those days when the books not only fell into my waiting arms, they tracked me down the aisles and flung themselves upon me. I left staggering under a load that would make you think we didn’t have a single book back in the house where I lived, which, let me assure you, is not the case.

When I looked at the stack of library books I was pretty amused. They’re about as eclectic as it’s possible to be, which is actually pretty much the way I read. So here goes:

Snobs, by Julian Fellowes. He’s the creator of Downton Abbey, and I read his other novel, Past Imperfect, while I was in Florida. Past Imperfect was gorgeously written with a plot so preposterous and unwieldy that I downgraded Fellowes to borrow-don’t-buy for book #2.

The Shadow of the Wind, by Carols Ruiz Zafon. I had a friend specifically and emphatically recommend this to me, so I’m going to try it. Appears to be about a bookstore, originally written in Spanish, could be very interesting.

Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design, by Charles Montgomery. Sounded cool.

Love Wins for Teens, by Rob Bell. I wanted to read something by Rob Bell, probably best known for What We Talk About When We Talk About God, and this was on the new books shelf. I’ve not read any of his work before.

A Surrey State of Mind, by Ceri Radford. Hopefully a smut book.

The Butler, by Wil Haygood. I didn’t see the movie—I never do see the movie—but it sounded interesting.

Extreme Couponing, by Joni Meyer-Crothers. The chances of me becoming an extreme couponer are zero, but I just love books like this. If it’s a TLC tie-in, I’m usually in. (Exception: Duck Dynasty.)

Dog Songs, by Mary Oliver. My favorite living poet now that Maxine Kumin is dead. Oliver makes poetry look easy, which it isn’t—trust me, I’ve tried.

Openly Straight, by Bill Konigsburg. This got rave reviews so I’ve been keeping an eye out for it, and I found it first at a library, not a bookstore. It’s a YA book about a teen boy who’s openly gay in his hometown, but, because he’s tired of being the representative gay boy, remakes himself as “straight” when he goes off to boarding school.

Someone, by Alice Dermott. I don’t know a thing about it except that it’s by Alice Dermott, which should be enough for anyone.

Zealot, the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, by Reza Aslan Another book I’ve been wanting to read for a long time.

And, finally,

Rude Bitches Make Me Tired, by Celia Riverbank. I started this one first, and already I want to read everything the author ever wrote AND phone my next-door neighbor and read it to her out loud. I think I may have become a Southerner, since some of this humor would wash right over Yankees’ heads. Bless their hearts.