Happy Thursday! I had a wacky Wednesday, so I’m hoping Thursday is a good day for all of us. Let us know how you’re doing. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving, even if you had one at home, alone, as I did. And, I had a great day, just what I wanted.
What are you reading this week? I finished Nora Roberts’ The Awakening, the first in her new Dragon Heart Legacy trilogy. But, now I’m ready for the second book, and it will be a year! Darn. It was the perfect book for me, Ireland with all its lushness. It’s sort of fiction mixed with fantasy, not straight fantasy though because the entire first third of the book is set in reality, introducing the heroine, Breen Kelly. That’s really all I’ll say because I’ll be reviewing it early next week.
I’m just about to start Jane K. Cleland’s latest Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery, Hidden Treasure. Tuesday, December 8 is release date. This series just gets better, so I hope the thirteenth, Hidden Treasure, lives up to earlier ones. Antiques appraiser Josie Prescott and her new husband, Ty, found a house they love in Rocky Point, New Hampshire. While they renovate it, Josie befriends the previous owner, a widow named Maude. Maude’s nieces report that Maude left behind an old trunk. Josie finds it, along with a jewel-encrusted box containing the sculpture of a cat. But, when Josie goes to return it, Maude is missing, and there’s a dead body in her empty apartment. I’m looking forward to this one.
So, what are you reading this week? And, how are you doing?
I’m loving Fatal Divisions by Sarah Booth.
Wasn’t that good, Jean? I really like that series!
I just looked up that book on Amazon, and the author is actually Claire Booth. Apparently, Sarah Booth is the protagonist in a series by another author.
I’m glad you looked it up, Margie. You’re right. Sarah Booth is in a series that I don’t read. And, I just went ahead with Jean and raved about the new book. Some librarian I am!
I am reading The Gift of the Magpie, thanks to you. Do you own that copy of Hidden Treasure? (Hint, hint).
I DO own that copy of Hidden Treasure, Christie! And, I should finish it tonight. It will be yours! And, you’re welcome!
Afternoon Lesa 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed your Thanksgiving. Our Christmas will be just me, my husband and Gracie my Siamese, and I have finally persuaded all 3 children that that is what is happening. They all have other options, and I am hope that we will be able to make up for this with a family meet-up once the vaccine is rolled out – it is supposed to be starting next week in Scotland, with frontline NHS staff and care workers first in line.
It’s absolutely freezing here – literally – this morning I had to melt about 3 inches of solid ice off the bird bath with a kettle of hot water, and even then I had to turn the bath upside down and bang it on the grass to dislodge the ice. And yesterday our pavements and roads were lethal. I don’t mind snow but I really do not like ice.
I finished, and really enjoyed, ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ by Judy Blume. It’s the first book I’ve ever read by this author and I can see why she is so acclaimed. I liked the way the girls were shown to have such normal pre-teen girl obsessions and worries, but also that Margaret could be serious too, with her project investgating different religions (and not finding the God she talks to privately in any of them.) I loved her New York Jewish grandmother, who plans covert outings just for the two of them, lets her take her shoes of at Lincoln Center concertsm and travels ‘all the way’ to New Jersey by train to bring carrier bags full of Jewish food, because she cannot believe that any good stuff can be available outside the city (or that anyone would want to move there from New York, which is what Margaret’s parents have done so that they can have a house and a garden.) And I admired the way Judy Blume was able to create parents that were both ‘normal’ and funny – despite being embarrassed by them from time to time, Margaret gets on fine with them really. At the end of the novel, Margaret has learned some important life lessons – not everyone tells the truth, no-one is as confident as they appear, the best-looking boys are rarely the nicest – but this is all shown very subtly, there is never a preachy tone to it.
Now I am half way through David Baldacci’s ‘The Christmas Train’. I had no idea what to expect from this either, but again it is excellent – very easy to read and full of eccentric characters. A cynical former war correspondent is travelling from Washington DC to California ti spend Christmas with his girlfriend, a high maintenace voice-over actress. He has to take the train because, after one too many arguments with airport security staff, he has been placed on the ‘no fly’ list. He has never been on a long distance train before, and was expecting it to resemble Cary Grant’s experience in North By Northwest. Although those days are long gone, the train still sounds pretty nice to me. He’s decided to write an article about his trip, and has already encountered a whole cast of eccentric and (some) mysterious characters. He’s also discovered that the long-lost love of his life is travelling on the same train, with her film director boss and his assistant. Baldacci certainly knows how to tell a story and keep your interest – the narrative flies along (often faster than the train, which is subject to numerous delays). I’m glad someone recommended this book to me, as I thought Baldacci only wrote hard-boiled thrillers, which aren’t really my thing.
On TV I have just watched the third series of ‘Strike’, based on the novels by JK Rowling (which I haven’t read). Tom Burke plays Cormoran Strike, former army major, amputee, and now a private investigator. His secretary turned business partner, Robin, is played by Holliday Grainger. There is great’ will they-won’t they?’ chemistry between them. Robin has just married her awful long-term boyfriend Matthew, who wants her to cut all ties with Strike. He wants his wife to stay at home and fulfil a traditional role, which does seem a little unlikely given that they are both no older than 30. But I suppose there are still people like that out there. My mother says she won’t watch the series as she has read the books and it would spoil it for her. I do agree that sometimes that can happen, but I am enjoying it myself.
Hope everyone is keeping warm!
Rosemary
Good afternoon, Rosemary! I’m actually glad you’re having a small Christmas and watching out for the family. You do have one daughter in the health field, don’t you, who will be able to get the vaccine early?
I’m right with hate. HATE ice! I always say I hate snow, and that it’s a “four-letter word”, but it’s really the ice I hate, and here in southern Indiana, they usually go hand in hand. We sometimes get the ice without the snow. If I didn’t have to drive to work, I wouldn’t care. I’d just tuck in and stay home safely.
It’s been years since I read Are You There, God, It’s Me, Margaret. I was just a little past the right age for it when it came out. I’m impressed with your summary because at that age, I don’t remember all those aspects.
And, it’s the same with David Baldacci’s The Christmas Train. Too many years since I read it to remember it well. I don’t really think of Baldacci’s books as hard-boiled, and Donna reads all of his books. She could probably tell you which series she really likes.
Hugs, Rosemary!
Thanks Lesa – yes, it’s my son, actually, who is an ambulance technician in the Highlands, so he should be offered the vaccine quite soon. His current role is part driving and part providing emergency care, but he is now applying to do the Paramedic course, which will give him much more of a qualifcation on the medical side. Some senior paramedics work more or less on their own, responding to serious emergencies and triaging multiple casualties, telling staff what to do first, etc. It’ll be quite a while before he gets that far, but the paramedic qualification is the next step – and once he has it it will also give him a good pay rise. And the First Minister has announced a ÂŁ500 one-off payment to all front line NHS employees, so that will be a great help. Apparently some surgeons have said they don’t really need the money – I hope instead of declining it (which may not even be possible, as I expect it will just be added to all of their pay transfers) they will perhaps give it to a charity.
I must investigate David Baldacci properly, he is a good writer that’s for sure. Sandy and Jennifer, I do hope you enjoy The Christmas Train as much as I am.
Jeff, I admire your tenacity, I know I would not have the concentration for all these short stories. I read a few recently and enjoyed them, but after a while I want something longer – with so many of them I find myself thinking ‘but what happened after that?’ I think my favourite short story writer is the late Irish writer William Trevor; he was one of those rare people who seemed to have nailed the form, and his stories always seem to flow so effortlessly, though for all I know he laboured away at them for months!
Lesa, I have to admit that I have never read a Nora Roberts book, though she is very famous here. I was never really sure what they were about. Now I think I will have to add her to my TBR too. One day these stacks will fall over and I will be like the Wicked Witch of the East, identifiable only by my shoes – or in my case, my ancient Minnie Mouse slippers…
Has anyone seen the film ‘Brooklyn’? It is on our TV next week and one of my daughters says it is good.
And hugs back to you Lesa (and to anyone else who wants one 🙂 )
Me! I’ve seen “Brooklyn”. It’s excellent, although not a cheerful movie. But, of course I’d want to see one about an Irish girl in Brooklyn. And, I really like Saiorse Ronan.
It depends what you’re looking for with Nora Roberts. I love her trilogies because I can follow characters I like. She has an “Irish Born trilogy”, and the first in that one, Born in Fire, is Kaye Wilkinson Barley’s favorite. It features a glassmaker. The others are Born in Ice and Born in Shame. The descriptions of Ireland, and the local pub are wonderful. I liked The Guardians Trilogy, which is fantasy. I loved her latest book, The Awakening, which will be the first in a trilogy (reviewing it on Monday). I also liked her The Inn Boonsboro trilogy, 3 romances set in Boonsboro, Maryland, based on an inn that Nora Roberts owns. She also writes standalone suspense novels, which I don’t read. And, under J.D. Robb, she writes the Born in series, futuristic, sexy police procedurals. (Kaye has read every one of those books.)
I like the sound of your son’s future plans, Rosemary. Good for him. And, I’m glad he’ll probably get the vaccine early.
Thanks Lesa for all that information!
Just in case you ever go looking for a Nora Roberts book, Rosemary (smile).
Yes, I’ve seen Brooklyn. (I had to, as I’ve lived here most of my life!) And I read the book by Coim Toibin. Both were very good, and I agree with Lesa. Saiorse Ronan is wonderful.
I’ve made the short stories a habit, Rosemary. I started keeping track the summer of 1995 and had read at least one short story a day ever since. I used to miss two or three days a year, either when I was sick or traveling in Britain, buying books to resell,, but always made them up.
Jackie loves J. D. Robb, has read all the books too. And she’s read a ton of Nora Roberts books under her own name. Like you, she likes those trilogies. I think her favorites in earlier years, however, were the McGregor series.
Jeff, I loved The McGregor series. I think those books were my introduction to Nora Roberts.
Thanksgiving was just three of us but that’s our normal Thanksgiving so it was fine. My boyfriend bought us new iPhones on Black Friday so we spent most of the day yesterday transferring everything and troubleshooting a couple of issues. Hopefully he won’t want new ones again for a couple of years.
This week I read:
SILENT BITE by David Rosenfelt. It’s this years Andy Carpenter Christmas story. They are somewhat predictable but I still enjoy them.
THE SILVER ARROW by Lev Grossman. An 11 year old girl gets a life size magical train for her birthday.
RUNAWAY FATE by Elizabeth Hunter. Three women acquire psychic powers when the stop a shooting at their gym. They then have to figure out why students at the local college are suddenly committing violent crimes.
KILLER, COME BACK TO ME by Ray Bradbury. A mixed bag of his short crime fiction.
Sandy, I bought that Ray Bradbury book, read a couple stories, and set it aside. I just wasn’t excited about it.
New phones! Yes, I can see that’s a day’s project. It always takes me a while to get used to a new one. Very nice, though! I’m glad you had a nice, quiet Thanksgiving. That’s my kind of day.
Rosemary, thanks for the recommendation for The Christmas train. I’ve never heard of it but it sounds good. Stay warm.
Jackie has that Nora Roberts book on hold at the library (She prefers to wait for the ebook editions, where available). She loves Nora’s books set in Ireland, and she has often complained about having to wait for the next book in a trilogy. She is currently finishing a science fiction trilogy by Jessie Mihalik – Polaris Rising, Aurora Blazing, and Chaos Reigning – that she really likes, and has a J. R. Ward Christmas book waiting next.
We’re good here so far. Had our usual Thanksgiving for two and enjoyed it. I finally finished the (nearly 150 story) Complete Short Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Not sure what I will do next, though I might go back to the Henry James stories. I left off after the first book from the Library of America,
I found Political Fictions by Joan Didion in the basement laundry room and read it. It was published in 2001 and covered various aspects of politics from Reagan to the 2000 Presidential election. Very sharp writing, as you’d expect, and prescient about many things.
Black and Blue: Sandy Koufax, the Robinson Boys, and the World Series That Stunned America by Tom Adelman covers the 1966 baseball season, with one long chapter on each team and a shorter chapter on each game of the stunning (the word is appropriate) World Series, where the heavy underdog Baltimore Orioles won their first World Series – in an incredible four straight games – over the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. One error he repeats several times – Baltimore is NOT the capital of Maryland.
I think I’ve pretty much read everything that David Sedaris has published, but I am happy to reread the pieces he has chosen for The Best of Me, his new collection of Greatest Hits, as it were. In these days when we can all use a good laugh, this will take you out of the gloomiest mood (at least temporarily).
Jeff, Jackie is right. I’m already complaining that I now have to wait a year for the next one. I told Kaye Barley we should track down Nora Roberts, and ask, “And what happens next?” I have to admit that would drive me nuts if someone continually had the capital of Maryland wrong. I’d read it, and back up, saying to myself, wait. What did that just say? Definitely lousy editing for that as well.
I agree. We all need a good laugh right now, and with winter coming on and COVID stats rising, we’ll definitely need one.
Hugs to you and Jackie!
Thank you as well for the recommendation for The Christmas Train. I will check it out the next time I go to our drive up library. I am reading The Skeleton’s Knee by Archer Mayer. This is the fourth book in the Joe Gunter series set in Vermont. I have enjoyed each book in the series a little more than the previous one and really enjoy the characters and the author’s voice.
Jennifer! Jeff Meyerson is big fan of the Archer Mayer books. I hope you continue to enjoy the series. Is your library doing curbside, that you can pick up your books without going in?
True. Jennifer, I am up to the new Archer Mayor (#30 or so). I particularly like the way he moves each book around Vermont so they are not all the same. And though the characters are mostly the same, there are changes and new people brought in as the series goes on.
I finished ALL ABOUT US by Tom Ellen this week. I basically is a retelling of a CHRISTMAS CAROL. Ben and Daphne have been together for 11 years and married for 4. They aren’t very happy and Ben is considering meeting up with an old flame for a drink. While at the local pub he is sold a watch stuck at one minute to midnight which causes him to jump through the events of his relationship with Daphne when it strikes the hour. It was hard to get into at first but actually was quite thoughtfully written and I thought it was a nice piece of Christmas fiction.
Now I am reading TEA AND TREACHERY by Vicki Delaney. I am a third of the way through and the murder has just occurred. I can’t say I am loving it so far. It takes place on Cape Cod. Lily runs a tearoom and does the breakfast service for her grandmother’s B&B. The local developer who wants to buy the property with the rundown house next door to turn it into a conference hotel is the victim. Lily’s grandmother is the prime suspect. I have not connected with any of the characters yet and Lily’s grandmother is thoroughly unlikeable. Now possible police corruption and mafia connections have been introduced. I will probably finish it to see how it plays out but I doubt I will continue on with the series.
Happy Reading!
Oh, Sharon. That’s a shame about Tea and Treachery. I really like most of Vicki Delaney’s books, some not so much. I have that one on my TBR pile, but I won’t be in a hurry to move it up. Thank you for the review. Happy Reading to you as well!
I’m reading 28 Summers by Elin Hildebrand (set in Nantucket) — won it on Goodreads forever ago and it got misplaced in the stack. Just finished The Orphan Collector which I thought was quite good although a little disconcerting to read in 2020. That one is set in Philly during the flu pandemic of 1918-19.
Patricia, I can see this might not have been the best year for The Orphan Collector. I still need to read 28 Summers, but we still get holds on it at the library, so I continue to put myself back on the waiting list.
We had a nice, small Thanksgiving as well. I enjoyed not having to cook for as large of a crowd, but missed seeing everyone.
I just finished The Christmas Angel by Thomas Kinkade & Katherine Spencer. This is part of the Cape Light series. I have only read the first book in the series and this is the sixth, but I had no problem following the storyline. The mayor of Cape Light discovers an abandoned baby while out on her morning run. She immediately feels a strong connection to the baby and doesn’t want to give her up to the authorities. It’s complicated as she and her husband work through the implications of the situation. It was a lovely Christmas story that put me in the Christmas spirit! I will be reviewing it on my blog next week.
I started Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters. I am loving Amelia Peabody so far, she has had me laughing out loud several times.
I am also reading The Way of Ignorance and other Essays by Wendell Berry. I enjoy his writing.
Our weather has been gorgeous, sunny and in the 40’s. We have no snow which is wonderful. It will come though, so we are enjoying the beautiful weather while we can.
Have a great week!
Yes, I know, Gretchen. Those of us who observed a quiet Thanksgiving found good and bad parts to it. But, I guess there are anyways, to any celebration. I’m sorry you missed friends and family, though.
I never finished the Amelia Peabody series, but I loved her in those early books. Crocodile on the Sandbank was wonderful!
Enjoy that gorgeous weather! You have a great week as well. Happy Reading!
Good morning! Thanksgiving was perfect, with my small family of six spending it at my house. I’m happy to say the turkey breast was just as good in the oven at my new house as it was at my old house. Here’s what I’ve been reading:
I enjoyed Kevin Kwan’s China Rich Asians trilogy, and SEX AND VANITY has the same tone but none of the heart. Every character is introduced with education credentials, from preschool on up in some cases. There are also footnotes on every other page or so to explain some of the references. That’s fun at first but gets old quickly. The description of a ridiculously wealthy young woman’s wedding on the isle of Capri is lavish in all the details, and I enjoyed reading about it, but the endless references to high-end brands, fashionable artists, and more throughout the book became tedious for me. Worst of all, the main character “evolves” from a half-Asian 19-year-old Brown University student to the fiancee of a billionaire to someone who can’t stop lusting over another man she met as a teenager, and she comes off as unlikable (if not quite as pretentious as most of the other characters). Her journey was unconvincing (to me, anyway). Disappointing.
You don’t have to believe in fairies (I don’t) to enjoy the first in Daryl Wood Gerber’s Fairy Garden series, A SPRINKLING OF MURDER. I loved reading about Courtney Kelly’s fairy garden shop–it made me start researching how to make my own indoor fairy garden (I have the perfect pot that looks like a tree stump with a door). It’s also set in Carmel (CA), a quaint, picturesque town that I have visited many times. When Mick, the pet groomer with a shop across the street, is murdered on the patio outside Courtney’s shop, there are suspects everywhere, including Courtney herself. I really enjoyed the whole premise, even the shop’s resident fairy, Fiona, who can be seen only by Courtney and a few others, and I look forward to the next installment in the spring. It was a comfort read for me.
Here’s yet another vote for Jane K. Cleland’s HIDDEN TREASURE. I was fortunate enough to attend one of her presentations in San Francisco last year through Sisters in Crime, and recently I was thrilled to win a signed ARC of this book on the author’s website. The latest in one of my favorite long-running series has protagonist Josie Prescott, an antiques dealer, moving into the “Gingerbread House,” which she and her new husband have purchased. There’s a lot of work to be done on the house, but they are up to the challenge. However, they learn that the last owner, an elderly woman whose nieces claim she is bordering on dementia, may have left an old trunk in the house and is desperate to have it back. Josie finds the trunk and wonders whether the woman’s nieces really have her best interests at heart or would rather have the contents of the trunk to themselves. When the woman suddenly disappears and a body is found dead in her new digs, Josie lends her expertise to the police to help solve the mystery. This series never disappoints. It is told in a straightforward way (no silliness or supernatural elements), and it is very satisfying.
Thank you Margie. I put A SPRINKLING OF MURDER on my reserve list!
Good morning, Margie! I have about a hundred pages to go yet in Hidden Treasure, and then it goes on to my sister, Christie. You’re right. This series never disappoints. I was telling Donna about the series this morning, that we’ve watched Josie grow from an insecure young woman, very dependent on her memories and advice from her father, to a confident businesswoman who has built her own support network and family of choice. I always enjoy the information about the antiques, but I really appreciate Josie. You’re right. It is satisfying.
I haven’t read Daryl Wood Gerber’s new series, but I’ve known her for years, and it’s so nice to see that you liked the new book.
Best of all, I like that you had a perfect Thanksgiving!
I’m reading (very slowly ’cause I don’t want it to end!) Nora Roberts’ The Awakening and love love loving it. I also loved The Ladies of the Secret Circus by Constance Sayers.
Stay warm and safe, everyone!
I am so happy that you’re loving The Awakening. I can’t wait to talk about the end with you. In the meantime, savor it!
I had a pretty nice Thanksgiving, with 6 people. The next day there were stories galore of public officials breaking their own rules again. Then they wonder why so many people are so angry. Governor Newsom should be wearing an ankle bracelet.
I read:
Bagpipes, Brides, and Homicides by Kaitlyn Dunnett; The sleuth is getting married, but a college professor is murdered and her father is the suspect!
The Cabinet of Curiosities by Preston & Child; There’s a serial killer loose in New York City, and Agent Pendergast is on the case, so you know things will take a strange turn.
E-books:
Callteral; Final? book in the Tier One series, as the authors are starting a new series featuring supporting characters in this one. The Russians are invading Ukraine, and only our heroes can set things right!
A Touch of Malice; The wastrel brother of the President is kidnapped in Colombia, and FBI agent Nick Bracco and his mafioso cousin Tommy come to the rescue! This series keeps getting stranger.
Academic Displacement; A self centered college professor is shunted into another dimension, and kills his double. He gets what he deserves.
Wrong Numbers; True Crime about the call girl racket in Vegas, the mob trying to muscle in, and a guy with a gadeget that hijacks the phone calls of his competitors. The FBI doesn’t look too good in this one.
You’re right, Glen. The public officials look terrible & do not set a good example. Our public health doctor & her family had COVID, supposedly caught from her grandson who was in daycare. When she came back, she made the stupidest comment I ever heard. “I never thought it would happen to us.” Well, if she thinks that, what does she think the rest of the state thinks? Idiot.
I’m glad you had a nice Thanksgiving, though.
And, as always, I pick up on the comments that I think you sprinkle in your reviews just for me. Academic Displacement – “He gets what he deserves.” Ha! So should our public officials who think they’re above everything.
It has been awhile since I read a Lee Child book as they had gotten way too predictable for me. But, I am reading the current one written by him and his kiddo, THE SENTINEL in eBook by way of the local library. My kiddo is able to work the system and make it download to the iPad so I guess that means I have to feed him for another week. Am about a third and so far it is pretty good.
Awoke to the news that our local branch is closed for an unknown period. When they do this these days, one figures it has to be the damn Covid.
Andrew Grant is Lee Child’s younger brother, Kevin. Lee’s passing the series off to him, with the stipulation he writes the books as Andrew Child.
Thank heavens Scott gets to eat for another week. He needs to keep those books coming, especially with the library closed again. All of our libraries are only open for curbside – COVID.
We now have some libraries in Aberdeen open for browsing & borrowing now. I don’t think you have to book, though you might have to queue if they are unexpectedly busy. If you just want to return books you can drop them off at the door. If you go in, you do have to give contact details. I haven’t been in, but I did return books and the branch I was at looked pretty empty (though it was a weekday morning). I wish our little branch library here would open – then I might be tempted in – but really, I have enough books here for several years of reading – let’s all hope the current situation is but a distant memory long before that.
And yes I agree about these idiot officials. The behaviour of Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s ‘special adviser’ who was brought in simply to force Brexit through, and who is (actually was, as he has at last been booted out) an unelected person, undermined the UK government’s message disastrously. When the Scottish health minister was found to have visited her own (empty) holiday home during the first lockdown (one of her children posted photos of their trip on social media!!) she was immediately sacked, but Johnson would not sack Cumings, even though he drove hundreds of miles while both he and his wife actually HAD the virus, to dump his children on his elderly, vulnerable, parents in Durham (the far north of England – he of course lives in London) AND then had a further little jolly to Barnard Castle (a tourist place in County Durham) ‘to check if my eyesight was OK to drive back to London’ – can you believe the audacity of the man? He would not resign, Boris would not sack him because Cummings was feeding him all his lines – Johnson is a clueless public schoolboy with the attention span of a flea on speed who relies on other people to tell him what to do. The outrage this caused, and is still causing, in England totally undermined the efforts of the government medical people who were trying to deliver a clear message. Whenever Johnson and Cummings were called out on it, they would come out with the usual rubbish ‘It’s time to move on now’ – which, funnily enough, they never apply to their criticisms of anyone else. They are absolutely loathsome.
Meanwhile, back in the sane world, I am typing with a Siamese attempting to send her own mesage to the world. It would no doubt be unrepeatable, she doesn’t mince her words.
Have a good evening everyone.
Rosemary
I am sure that Siamese agrees with us as to the loathsomeness of some politicians and public officials on both sides of the Atlantic, Rosemary.
Yes, Lesa, our library is doing drive thru pick-up. We can also walk into a small lobby area to pick up our holds on a shelf and go thru the self check-out process. I am so, so thankful we can continue to use the library. And Jeff, I am glad to “meet” someone else who is enjoying the Archer Mayer series. It is good to know that you are still enjoying the books. That gives me a lot of reading to look forward to!
Your library is actually allowing a little more than ours does, Jennifer. We have curbside pick-up, and that’s it.
The branches of the Brooklyn Public Library that are open – I think most of them are now – have just the lobby open. Most let one person in at a time to pick up reserved books or videos, with a bin to drop off your finished items. It doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes – they have two machines to check out – and there are NO due dates!
My local library is still allowing us inside–I go during senior hour and rarely see anyone else besides the librarians. What is sad, however, is that for the first time, the County is giving ZERO funding to the library for the coming year. I saw this on a bookmark in one of the books I picked up and immediately sent a donation, which is being doubled by a local men’s club. This is a cause I can really get behind!
Oh, that is tragic, Margie. The library is functioning even now. I hate it when government bodies don’t understand how much people need libraries.
Thanks all for your great ideas. I added The Christmas Train to my Overdrive holds list – wait time 4 weeks. Also added the Amanda Flower book to my regular library list..others I tried were not on the lists yet.
It was a good day for book suggestions, wasn’t it, Gram?
Sure was…
I love What Are You Reading days. So many wonderful recommendations and I learn a lot. Like Gram I have put a few things on my library Hold list. With you all around I will NEVER run out of books to read.
I’m so glad you enjoy the What Are You Reading days, Diane, especially since it was some of you readers who suggested it. I know Jeff was one. I don’t know if there were others or not. I enjoy it, too. I love to see the community of readers who talk about books. I hope you have a permanent TBR pile, thanks to all of us!