November Books & The Library Challenge

[callmemadam]

I’m going to follow the excellent example of geraniumcat and take up the Support Your Local Library Library Challenge next year. I’m not setting myself any targets I don’t think I can meet, so I’m not aiming for fifty. As I said before, I’m already using the library more often and have the jolly little pile above to read.

Dark Puss/Peter the Flautist, whose comments I am often reading on other blogs, is always exhorting people to use libraries instead of buying books. Very laudable but there is a problem: libraries now only keep books for a very short time. I had to buy this Hazel Holt book



from the library (30p); I couldn’t borrow it because they were throwing it out. So if you borrow a book and think you’ll want to read it again, you really have to buy it or it’s gone forever.


Hello, Leslie Phillips. Here’s an intelligent man who takes the craft of acting very seriously. He’s had an interesting life but unfortunately the book is so full of Viz-style ‘Phwoarr’ and ‘Snigger’ that I found it hard to read. Nevertheless, he comes over as a nice chap.

Poison in the Pen, Patricia Wentworth. Predictable.
A Perfect Life, Raffaella Barker. Couldn’t stand the characters; gave up.
The Story of The Treasure Seekers, E Nesbit. What a wonderful book! I was inspired to read it again after watching the episode about Nesbit in the BBC’s An Awfully Big Adventure series. (I seem to have seen parts of this before; a repeat or a rehash?) It’s the narration that makes this book. I remember reading it as a child and feeling clever when I guessed who was telling the story; exactly what the author must have intended, of course. More childhood memories with Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce. I wanted to check something in the book and ended up skim reading it. I don’t like fantasy but love time-slip books and this is possibly my favourite. I almost had a time-slip of my own, as I suddenly felt I was reading it in my childhood bedroom and Hatty’s skates were hidden in the cupboard there, just as I’d imagined when I was young.

What Was Lost, Catherine O’Flynn. Brilliant.
Girl, 15, Flirting for England, Sue Limb. Not as good as the next one.
West End Girls, Jenny Colgan. I couldn’t finish this.

Currently about a third of the way through and loving The Discovery of France, by Graham Robb, which I plan to write about later. Also enjoying Star Gazing by Linda Gillard.

Comments

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Lucky child!

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

Even 12 library books would be a challenge for me among all the books that seem to come my way. Sounds like I need to take up this challenge!

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Twelve is my aim, especially if I'm going to write about them. As you say, so many sources!

[geraniumcat.livejournal.com]

Delighted you are joining! I'm being over-ambitious, of course, but anything that encourages me not to buy books is a good thing. I don't count the library's sale - if any Hazel Holt books turn up in ours I shall snap them up. Thought they will probably have already gone by the time I get there.

I read E. Nesbit's The House of Arden a while ago - another great time-slip story.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Hazel Holt's books are surprisingly expensive second hand: see eBay or Amazon. So, definitely justified.

I can't remember a thing about The House of Arden, must rescue it before the men come to pack the books, gulp.

[cornflowerbooks.livejournal.com]

I've read three of the five on your pile there and enjoyed them very much.
Our local library was recently refurbished - I must go and see if its book collection has been similarly reinvigorated!

[ramblingfancy.livejournal.com]

Pure coincidence but I'm reading Hazel Holt too!

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I'm so grateful to you for introducing me to her. Sheila Malory is just my type.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

That's promising!

Our library is so small it has to share the latest books with other local branches. I think it's improving, apart from the failure to hang on to books.

Dark Puss

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, I didn't think I'd make it onto someone else's weblog. Dark Puss tries to keep his "proselytizing" to reasonable bounds, and he does own novels, but has not bought any for himself for a few years now. Good luck to all with the Library Challenge, and keep on using them!

Miaow

Re: Dark Puss

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Your profile is obviously higher than you thought!

Hello, and thanks for the encouragement.

Libraries

[susievereker.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

That's interesting. I didn't realise libraries had such a quick turnover these days. Maybe reading 12 library books should be my resolution too, but I always end up paying huge fines!

Re: Libraries

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Depends on the library I think, and ours is small. It has an email warning system to let you know your books are due back in two days' time. I'm always surprised!

November books ...

[(Anonymous)]

Lovely to see you are reading books by two of my friends, Hazel Holt and Linda Gillard; both such different novelists but both lovely people. I loved Linda's book, Star Gazing. Her previous books Emotional Geology and A Lifetime Burning are excellent reading value, too!
Margaret Powling

Re: November books ...

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Linda Gillard's previous books; I'll put them on my library list!