Monday 25 October 2010

Library loot





On my return from the library at lunchtime, my colleague asked me what I'd picked up - and as it is such an interesting and eclectic mix, and I don't have anything else hugely pressing to write about, I thought it was time for a library loot post. I go to the library so regularly, that I could blog just about my library loot, so I don't, but it is fun to write about it from time to time.

I started by looking for some books for K - I have custody of both our library cards (!!) (this enables me to borrow up to 40 books at once) and am often looking for things for him. Today I came back with:



The giant turnip - this is a children's book - but it is in Russian! K has been learning Russian for sometime, and last Christmas I bought him Paddington Bear in Russian. Sadly, this was beyond him, so we're borrowing picture books from the library at the moment - they have a good selection of dual language books, and he reads them out to me in the Russian and the English. This is apparently an adaption of a traditional Russian tale.
Surfing Handbook - K had a surfing lesson for his birthday 6 weeks ago, and has been unable to talk about much else since - perhaps if he is reading this he will be talking less about it?!
Edward Gregson's Trombone Concerto - our library also stocks sheet music! K and I met playing in a brass band, although we don't play at present. We're trying to "get our lips back in", or rather get back into practice, so I've borrowed this for him to have a go at. Again, if he's playing his trombone, he might not be talking about surfing.

For me:


A lovely book about Dolls Houses published by the V and A. This will be perfect for when I am next confined to the sofa with poorliness - lots of lovely pictures.
The girls guide to being a boss - saw this on the returns trolley, and it amused me. It is pink. I am not sure whether the pinkness will go down with the 60% male majority among the staff members that I manage. As I've yet to read it, I'm not sure if it will involve "bribery with cream cakes" as aforementioned colleague suggested.
Jubilee by Eliza Graham - I've been looking forward to reading this since I read about it in the last Waterstones Quarterly, especially so since my Mum told me that she was reading it when I saw her 10 days ago. So was very excited to spot this on a shelf.
And finally, two books by Jacqueline Wilson - something nice and gentle for the evenings. Well, her books can deal with very gritty issues, but they are eminently readable. Longest whale song is her most recent book so I was happy to see that, and Midnight is another one that I haven't read (she's v prolific isn't she - so many books published since I first encountered them in my school library aged 14).

What have YOU been picking up at the library recently? And do you choose books for your nearest and dearest??

(K took the pictures BTW - he's much better at it than me)

6 comments:

  1. Perhaps the heading for this post should have been "Ways to stop the other half going on about surfing"!

    My latest library loans were War and Peace, a new book of essays by Simon Schama, Kate Mosse's The Winter Ghosts and the new novel from bookshop founder Tim Waterstone, a caper set in the publishing industry called In for a Penny, In for a Pound.

    It's nearly fifteen years since I first read Tolstoy's epic so I thought it was time to revisit.

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  2. I have just put on order a few novellas to keep me going through NaNoWriMo.

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  3. He he, love the pink one!
    I always get those sort outta the library too, my last one was orchids on your budget.

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  4. Librarian Maths (or 'How I talk myself into getting up and going to work every day'):
    Cost of working all day surrounded by toddlers - Your hearing.
    Reading the back covers of Mills and Boons to Grannies - Your sanity.
    Access to the catalogue and being able to take out more books that you can possibly read in a lifetime - Priceless.

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  5. David - thanks for reminding me that I wanted to look out for that book by Tim Waterstone.

    Vivienne - will you have time for reading as well as writing?!

    LE - nice to hear that someone else gets out random items.

    Ovedue - exactly.

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  6. I have a veritable heap. "The Mango Orchard; travelling back to the secret heart of Mexico" by Robin Bayley, Margaret George's "Autobiography of Henry 8th", "Gathering Night"by Margaret Elphinstone, "The Moon in the Cloud by Rosemary Harris", Tatiana de Rosnay's "Sarah's Key" & "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot. Blimey, wherever will I find time to eat, sleep & work :)

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