Library Checkout – January 2019

Thank you to Bookish Beck for creating and hosting this link up! This is a fun one, especially because it reminds me how incredible the public library is. And I’m so lucky that my librarians are so kind and I’m slowly becoming more brave about making special requests. Go visit your local library – they depend on their communities to keep them funded!

January has been a great library month for me. I hope this is just a peek of what 2019 will be like!

Library Books Read

• The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny – loved, loved, loved it! I wrote a bit more about this wonderful book in this blog post. My favorite Inspector Gamache so far!
• His Majesty’s Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal – I wrote more about this one in this blog post as well. I think these are considered cozy mysteries and they are so enjoyable.
• Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield – eek! I adored The Thirteenth Tale and was anxiously awaiting this one. It’s a mysterious fairy tale about a young girl who is found in the river Thames. She was believed to be dead, until she suddenly came to life. Who is she? Multiple families lay claim to her. What a story!
• Hallelujah Anyway by Anne Lamott – I adore this author. She is funny, wise, and always forgiving. This book reminds us that we’re all crappy people just doing the best we can. Let’s show each other a little grace.
• Gilead by Marilynne Robinson – This was my first Robinson and I’m hooked. This was a beautiful book that I’m still thinking about. I hope to write more about it soon.
• Educated by Tara Westover – A memoir of a young girl raised by survivalist parents in Idaho who escaped to college, despite never receiving a formal education. This was amazing. It might be my favorite read of 2019!

Currently Reading

• Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce – I saw on Goodreads that Laila was devouring this. Once I read the description of the book I knew that I needed to read it too!
• Milkman by Anna Burns – won the Man Book Prize last year and is on the Tournament of Books shortlist.

Waiting to be Read

• The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar – the only thing I know about this is that it was nominated for a Bailey prize last year – and I love the name Imogen!
• Heartland by Sarah Smarsh – I heard her interviewed on Fresh Air and began following her on Twitter. It looks like she’s considering a 2020 Senate run, so I want to be ahead of the curve on this one!

Holds

• Melmoth by Sarah Perry – I’ve heard mixed reviews on this one and have to try it for myself. I was captivated by Perry’s last published novel, The Essex Serpent. I’m hoping for the same with this one!
• Becoming by Michelle Obama – I had to return this one unfinished, which I chronicled in this blog post. I hope I can finish it this time!
• Rising Strong by Brene Brown – I haven’t read anything by this author but I hear that she’s fantastic.

Returned Unfinished

• The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay – I love Sarah’s Key and all things Paris, but had a very difficult time getting into this one. Perhaps it’s something you’d enjoy?