The Continuing Return of Library Loot

My new glasses has not only inspired me to erect a tower of books to read, but they’ve also got me running to the public library to grab more books. Despite having a ton of stuff on my plate I’m trying to read, or would like to read in the new future I couldn’t restrain myself earlier today from grabbing more books. Like I said last week, it’s been a tradition of us book bloggers to write about the different books we picked up at the library that week. In turn, we post a link to our post on a blogger’s page so readers can see what we hope to be reading over the coming weeks. Currently, our Library Loot co-hosts are Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief

Of the six books I’m featuring in this post, all but one is nonfiction. This week’s Library Loot has a definite global focus. Both Jasmin Darznik (Iran) and Bassem Youssef (Egypt) were born in the Middle East but now live in the United States.  Anjan Sundaram is an Indian national currently residing in Rwanda. Both Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzberger are Israelis. Jim Crace hails from the United Kingdom as did the late Tony Judt. If I can somehow find a way to get through these books in the coming weeks I’m sure I’ll find them enlightening and entertaining.

• The Good Daughter: A Memoir of My Mother’s Hidden Life by Jasmin Darznik
• Revolution for Dummies: Laughing through the Arab Spring by Bassem Youssef
• Stringer: A Reporter’s Journey in the Congo by Anjan Sundaram
• Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century by Tony Judt
• Jews and Words by Amos Oz and Fania Oz-Salzberger
• The Pesthouse by Jim Crace

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The Return of Library Loot

Been a long time since I’ve done a Library Loot post. Therefore, it is high time I did one. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this meme, it’s been a tradition of many of us book bloggers to write about the different books we’ve picked up at the library that week. In turn, we post a link to our post on a blogger’s page so readers can see what we hope to be reading over the next week or so. Currently, our Library Loot co-hosts are Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief

Of the six books I’m featuring in this post, three are fiction and three are nonfiction. At a quick glance, I can tell you the bulk of these were published within the last year or so. Two however are older books, with one published in 2007 and the other in 2001. I grabbed one because of friend’s recommendation, and two have been on my To Be Read list (TBR) for a long time. The rest I checked out just because they looked promising.

• The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova – I’ve never read any of Kostova’s fiction so this will be a first for me. Set in Bulgaria, I’ll be reading this one for Rose City Reader’s European Reading Challenge.
• The Man Who Never Stopped Sleeping by Aharon Appelfeld – I’ve heard Appelfeld is an excellent writer. The story of a traumatized Holocaust survivor journeying from Europe to British Palestine sounds like too good a story to pass up.
• Liberation Movements by Olen Steinhauer – The same friend who sang the praises of Before the Fall and Special Topics in Calamity Physics also sang the praises of spy novelist Olen Steinhauer. Can’t wait to find out if his recommendation rings true.
• The Modern Mind: An Intellectual History of the 20th Century by Peter Watson – One of two books mentioned in this post from my TBR. I’m looking forward to getting an in-depth look at the last century’s intellectual developments.
• Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend by Barbara Oakley – The other book from my TBR. Goodness, with a subtitle like this how could I resist?
• The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA’s Final Showdown with the KGB by Milton Bearden – Can’t wait to read about the final years of the Cold War. 

Library Loot: February 10 to 16

I haven’t done a Library Loot posting since last summer. That of course means it is high time I did another. Even though over the last year I’ve been trying to cut-down on the number of books I grab from the library, today I kind of fell off the wagon and walked away with a sizable collection of books. Fortunately for me, even though I’m trying to work my way through several good books, the stuff I snagged looks quite promising. As always, I don’t know how many of these books I’ll be able to get through before I have to return them. But then again, they look like excellent so who cares?

The Madmen of Benghazi by Gérard de Villiers – I’ve been looking for something by this French spy novelist for the last few years, ever since I read a fascinating article about him in The New York Times Magazine. Only recently has his stuff been translated into English. Before he recently passed away he had been praised by those in the international intelligence community for his insider knowledge of the shadowy world of global espionage.

Limonov: The Outrageous Adventures of the Radical Soviet Poet Who Became a Bum in New York, a Sensation in France, and a Political Antihero in Russia by Emmanuel Carrère – Wow, with a subtitle like that, how could I resist? Just like The Madmen of Benghazi, this one’s been translated from French into English.

And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East by Richard Engel – According to the front cover, Engel was the Chief Foreign Correspondent for NBC News. I’m looking forward to what he has to say about his time in the Middle East.

Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Laura Drain with Lisa Pulitzer – I love memoirs by people who’ve left insular religious communities. I can’t wait to read her account of what life is like in that utter freak show known as the Westboro Baptist Church.

Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi-Occupied Paris by David King – Reading the novels of Alan Furst has made me curious about life in Paris during the German occupation. Throw a serial killer into the mix and now I really wanna read King’s book!

Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created Our World by Thomas Cahill- Cahill has been a favorite author of mine for years, starting with his 1995 smash hit How the Irish Saved Civilization. I hope I enjoy his most recent offering Heretics and Heroes.

Library Loot: July 1 to 7

For a long time, Library Loot was a regular feature on my blog. Almost every week I would report to the world which books I grabbed from the public library, and in turn link that post on another book blogger’s page. This arrangement not only helped my readers get a glimpse into what I hoped to read over the coming weeks, it also gave me the opportunity to see what other book bloggers planned on reading. I discovered many a great book thanks to this little meme, including Keith Lowe’s Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II, since it was a Library Loot posting on Claire’s blog The Captive Reader that first brought Lowe’s book to my attention. But sadly, I fell out of the habit of doing Library Loot posts, with my last one appearing two years ago.

Today, on this warm and lazy July 4th holiday I’ve decided to resurrect that little blogging tradition of mine. Behold, a parade of recently acquired books, courtesy of my public library. Of course, it’s no sure thing I’ll end up reading all of them, but perhaps that’s not the point. Maybe the purpose is to share your reading ambitions with others. So, with all that in mind, here’s what I’ve brought home recently from the public library.

• The World at Night by Alan Furst – Last summer I discovered the novels of Alan Furst and never looked back. I’m hoping this one is as enjoyable as the seven others I’ve read.
• The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World by John O’ Sullivan – I was drawn to this one because I’m planning on reading Christian Caryl’s Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century. Since O’ Sullivan was Editor at Large for the conservative magazine National Review when he wrote this book I’m intrigued by what he has to say about Reagan, Thatcher and Pope John Paul II and how it might differ from my own, slightly less conservative view of the world.
• The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay: An American Family in Iran by Hooman Majd – Majd’s The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran is one of the best books on Iran I’ve read. I’m hoping this one is great as well.
• Year Zero: A  History of 1945 by Ian Buruma – The more I read about this one, the better it sounds. I bet it will make great follow-up reading to Savage Continent.
• Gutenberg’s Apprentice by Alix Christie – Grabbed this with the European Reading Challenge in mind. Might feature it as part of my Books About Books series.
• The Family: A Journey into the Heart of the Twentieth Century by David Laskin – Laskin’s The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War was pretty good. Hoping I enjoy this one too.
• Dancing Fish and Ammonites: A Memoir by Penelope Lively – Another one I might read for the European Reading Challenge. Or not. We’ll just have to wait and see.
• The Genetic Strand: Exploring a Family History Through DNA by Edward Ball – Looks like many have criticized this book for its scientific inaccuracies. Guess I’ll have to read it to find out what folks are complaining about.
• The Figaro Murders by Laura Lebow – Another one for the European Reading Challenge. Since it’s a first time novel, I’m curious to see how good it is.

Well, there it is. Quite a lot of reading ahead of me. If I make it though only a portion of these of books I’ll consider it a major accomplishment. So with that in mind, maybe I need to wrap up this long overdue Library Loot post and get back to reading.

Library Loot: August 14 to 20

Seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve done a Library Loot posting. It also seems like I hardly do them anymore. Crazy thing is even though I’m constantly pillaging the library and grabbing more books, I haven’t been keeping up with my Library Loot postings. Well, there’s one way to remedy that problem. Time for me to get off my duff and post a little Library Loot!

Of the six books featured, all were chosen with various reading challenges in mind. One of those challenges, Joy’s Back to School Reading Challenge, is unique among challenges in that it’s just for two months. Besides inspiring participants to read and review as many books as possible during the months of August and September, according to Joy the chief purpose of the challenge is explore different topics in hopes of learning something new. Sounds like my kind of challenge. With that thought in mind, here’s what I picked up at the library.