Library Books Read-a-Thon: Day 7

Library Books Read-a-Thon

June 22 - June 28

hosted at Rachael Turns Pages


 

It's day Seven and I've started on my seventh book.  Steady progress...just might finish that last one before the night's out.  If I do, I'll do a final wrap-up post later.

Here's the list of books read so far:

Devoured by M. E. Meredith (6/22/13)

The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulbakov (6/23/13)

Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye (6/25/13)

Jack on the Gallows Tree by Leo Bruce (6/26/13)

The Listening by Kyle Dargan (6/28/13) 
Mystery Train by David Wojahn (6/28/13)

Death & the Gentle Bull by Frances & Richard Lockridge (reading as fast as I can)

Library Books Read-a-Thon: Day 6

Library Books Read-a-Thon

June 22 - June 28

hosted at Rachael Turns Pages


 

It's day Six and I've started on my fifth book.  Not bad.  Here's the list of books read so far:

Devoured by M. E. Meredith (6/22/13)

The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulbakov (6/23/13)

Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye (6/25/13)

Jack on the Gallows Tree by Leo Bruce (6/26/13)

The Listening by Kyle Dargan (started) 

I also stopped by the library on my lunch hour and picked up three books waiting for me on hold.  We'll see how many I can get done before tomorrow is over....

 

Library Books Read-a-Thon: Day 4

Library Books Read-a-Thon

June 22 - June 28

hosted at Rachael Turns Pages

Sign- up here

 

 

 

It's day four and I'm about half-way done with my fourth book.  Not bad.  Here's the list of books read so far:

 

Devoured by M. E. Meredith (6/22/13)

The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulbakov (6/23/13)

Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye (6/25/13)

Jack on the Gallows Tree by Leo Bruce -- half-done 

 

Today Rachael has asked us to post about how many books we check out when we go to the library. And what do we do if a book is due, we can't renew it, and haven't read it?  

 

Well....it depends.  I've checked out anywhere from one to ten books at a time.  This year I have actually been making an effort to read more books from my own TBR stacks, so I've been averaging about two books checked out per trip.  As far as books due that can't be renewed--if I have made a good start on the book and am enjoying it, then I'll probably go ahead and keep it and face a fine.  If I haven't had a chance to start it, then I'll take it back and arrange to put it on hold again.

 

Library Books Read-a-Thon: Day 3

Library Books Read-a-Thon

June 22 - June 28

hosted at Rachael Turns Pages

Sign- up here

 

Today Rachael has asked us to post some pictures of our local library.   Here are a few:

image credit

 

image credit

I took this picture.

From late-April to mid-October 2012, 22 large fiberglass brains took over the city of Bloomington and Indiana University's campus. The installations were part of the Brains Extravaganza, a project that brought city institutions together to promote "brain awareness, education, injury prevention, recovery, and the importance of movement on mental and physical health." This brain was stationed outside the public library.

 

I took this picture.

 
Our local library is really cool. Every summer they run a themed children's program--and in the last five years or so they've added an adult reading program (with prizes!). Everything from hunting for buried treasure in the books they find at the library to camping out to this year's "Read & Get Moving" (combining a reading program with activities to get kids active too). One of the first years that my son and I participated (he was only two--but there was a level for pre-readers). The theme was "Science & Fiction." I thought it was SO cool that they had this giant model of the Enterprise displayed above old main entrance.   They have since renovated and that ledge is gone.

 

Library Books Read-a-Thon: Start-Up and Updates

Library Books Read-a-Thon

June 22 - June 28

hosted at Rachael Turns Pages

Sign- up here

Goal of this Read-a-Thon: To read as many library books as possible.

Rachael says she's not going to be picky, and if we want to read our own books to go ahead. I've got a huge TBR pile in my library, so I'm going to mix my library with the public library.....

On Deck from the Public Library:

Devoured by M. E. Meredith (6/22/13)

The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulbakov (6/23/13)

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (if hold request comes through in time)

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (if hold request comes through in time)

My Library:

Jack on the Gallows Tree by Leo Bruce (6/26/13)

Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen

Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye (6/25/13)

The Hollow Chest by Alice Tilton

And possibly others..... 


June 22: On day one I discovered the read-a-thon and read Devoured by M. E. Meredith--a historical mystery set in the Victorian era.

June 23: Managed to read The Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulbakov in the afternoon.  Fortunately, this was a short one....'cause this Russian political satire didn't do a whole lot for me. 

June 25: Knocked out Death in Zanzibar (late last night)--a romantic, vintage mystery.
 

Saturday Snapshot: Brainnnzzzz!

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books. All you have to do is "post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mr. Linky on [her] blog. Photos can be old or new, and be of anything as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give is up to you." All she asks is that you don't just post random photos that you find online. (Click pictures for close-up).

Brain stationed outside the public library.

Brain outside Trinity Episcopal Church .

From late-April to mid-October 2012, 22 large fiberglass brains have taken over the city of Bloomington and Indiana University's campus. The installations are part of the Brains Extravaganza, a project that brings city institutions together to promote "brain awareness, education, injury prevention, recovery, and the importance of movement on mental and physical health." This brain is stationed outside the public library.

My question when I first found out about this was: "But if there really is a zombie apocalypse...doesn't this kind of ensure that they'll hit Bloomington first?" Lol. 

[Top picture also posted for the Orange You Glad It's Friday meme sponsored by Hood Photo Blog.] 

Saturday Snapshot: September 24

Saturday Snapshot is a meme hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books. All you have to do is "post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mr. Linky on [her] blog. Photos can be old or new, and be of anything as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give is up to you." All she asks is that you don't just post random photos that you find online. (Click picture for close-up.)



Our local library is really cool. Every summer they run a themed children's program. Everything from hunting for buried treasure in the books they find at the library to camping out to this year's "Read & Get Moving" (combining a reading program with activities to get kids active too). One of the first years that my son and I participated (he was only two--but there was a level for pre-readers). The theme was "Science & Fiction." I thought it was SO cool that they had this giant model of the Enterprise displayed above old main entrance.

2011 Support Your Local Library Challenge

Yes, I know. Another challenge. BUT this is the last challenge. Really. I said in the last challenge post I did that I would only do another challenge if the Support Your Local Library Challenge got posted again. And here it is.

Last year (when I participated for the first time), it was hosted by J. Kayes book blog. This year The Book Junkie has taken it on. Here's the short version (for full details go through the link above).

*Books may be any form that you can check out from the library.

*There are four challenge levels--aim high. As long as you read 30 by the end of 2011, you are a winner.

*No need to list books in advance.

I'm going for the big-time--my challenge level is:

Mega Size: Check out and read 51+ library books.

List:

1. Publish & Be Murdered by Ruth Dudley Edwards (1/19/11)
2. The X in Sex: How the X Chromosome Controls Our Lives by David Bainbridge (1/21/11)
3. Live or Die by Anne Sexton (1/21/11)
4. The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys (1/28/11)
5. Use Trouble: Poems by Michael S Harper (1/29/11)
6. Flying Finish by Dick Francis (1/29/11)
7. The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope (2/1/11)
8, Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald: An American Woman's Life by Linda Wagner-Martin (2/14/11)
9. The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippmann (2/15/11)
10. Something New by P. G. Wodehouse (2/17/11)
11. Zubin Mehta: The Score of My Life by Zubin Mehta (2/21/11)
12. The Thornthwaite Inheritance by Gareth P Jones (2/22/11)
13. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (2/26/11)
14. Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro (3/5/11)
15. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee (3/7/11)
16. The Trail of the Red Diamonds by L. Ron Hubbard (3/11/11)
17. The Girl in Blue by P.G. Wodehous (3/12/11)
18. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (3/15/11)
19. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie (3/20/11)
20. Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker (3/23/11)
21. The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (3/29/11)
22. Ten Little Herrings by L. C. Tyler (4/6/11)
23. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu (4/10/11)
24. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (4/11/11)
25. Burial Deferred by Jonathan Ross (4/11/11)
26. The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl (4/16/11)
27. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard (4/17/11)
28. Third Girl by Agatha Christie (4/18/11)
29. Victorian Tales of Mystery & Detection by Michael Cox (ed) (4/26/11)
30. Death of a Doxy by Rex Stout (4/26/11)
31. Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer (4/28/11)
32. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope (4/29/11)
33. Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov (4/30/11)
34. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman (5/2/11)
35. The Wyndham Case by Jill Paton Walsh (5/3/11)
36. Heavy Weather by P. G. Wodehouse (5/4/11)
37. Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner (5/9/11)
38. A Piece of Justice by Jill Paton Walsh (5/12/11)
39. Killer Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh (5/14/11)
40. What Alice Knew by Paula Marantz Cohen (5/15/11)
41. Past Tense by Catherine Aird (5/16/11)
42. The Bloody Wood by Michael Innes (5/27/11)
43. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (5/28/11)
44. Howards End Is on the Landing by Susan Hill (5/30/11)
45. The Religious Body by Catherine Aird (5/30/11)
46. The After House by Mary Roberts Rinehart (5/31/11)
47. The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time by David L Ulin (6/7/11)
48. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell (6/8/11)
49. Oscar Wilde & the Vampire Murders by Gyles Brandreth (6/13/11)
50. The House of Paper by Carlos María Domínguez (6/15/11)
51. The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay (6/18/11)
52. The Savage Garden by Mark Mills (6/25/11)

Challenge Complete!! 6/25/11

53. The Last Matryoshka by Joyce Yarrow (7/2/11)
54. The Herring in the Library by L. C. Tyler (7/4/11)
55. Hot & Bothered by Jane Isenberg (7/9/11)
56. Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (7/11/11)
57. The Case of the Deceiving Don by Carl Brookins (7/13/11)
58. The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt (7/16/11)
59. Bone Harvest by Mary Logue (7/17/11)
60. Heartless by Gail Carriger (7/21/11)
61. The Prop by Pete Hautman (7/23/11)
62. No Body by Nancy Pickard (7/24/11)
63. Random Walk by Lawrence Block (7/26/11)
64. Shatterday by Harlan Ellison (8/23/11)
65. DeKok & Murder on Blood Mountain by A C Baantjer (8/28/11)
66. Starring Sherlock Holmes by David Stuart Davies (9/9/11)
67. Deadly Reunion by Geraldine Evans (9/9/11)
69. The Quality of Mercy by David Roberts (9/12/11)
70. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K LeGuin (9/18/11)
71. The Final Solution by Michael Chabon (9/18/11)
72. March Violets by Philip Kerr (9/23/11)
73. Death of an Englishman by Magdalen Nabb (9/25/11)
74.
75.

Library Loot.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

This week, I don't have much. I just took a boat-load back to the library, but all I have currently is The Art of the Sonnet by Stephen Burt & David Mikics. This book collects one hundred exemplary sonnets of the English language (and a few in translation), representing highlights in the history of the form, accompanied by short commentaries of the poems. I love sonnets, so I'm kind of excited by this one. The other item I have checked out from the library is Alfred Hitchcock's filmed version of Rebecca. I plan on giving that a viewing later this afternoon.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!



Here's what I have checked out at the moment:

The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier (A haunting time travel story with history, romance, horror & suspense...set in the 14th Century)

The Thanksgiving Day Murder by Lee Harris (More than a year ago Natalie Gordon vanished at the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The police and a private investigator still have no leads. When Natalie's despairing husband pleads with ex-nun Christine Bennett to help, she can't say no.)

Lady Fortescue Steps Out by Marion Chesney (The unconventional life of poor relations in Regency England. Normally poor relations are shuffled around among the more prosperous of the family...often destined to be companions to demanding, elderly women. Lady Fortescue comes up with a daring plan to start a hotel run by poor relations like herself.)

The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson ("The clock is ticking...Ollie can't be bothered to care about anything but girls, until he gets his Deathday Letter and learns he's going to die in twenty-four hours. Bummer.")

I'd also like to mention my Library Bookstore haul (our library has an in-house bookstore where donated used books, library discards, CDs, DVDs, and magazines can be had at bargain prices and all proceeds go to the library):

Abra-Cadaver by Christopher Monig (A delightful little pocket size 1st edition from 1965. I collect these editions and always snatch them up whenever I see them.)

Plus three CDs:
Gems from the Early Years (Frank Sinatra & Harry James)
Saxophone Masterpieces (Eugene Rousseau)
The Harp Duet (Joe & Shuhsin)

Library Challenge

Okay, somebody let me know if I'm going a bit crazy here (I know, that happened a long time ago--how will anybody know the difference)...but I'm signing up for another Book Challenge on Home Girl's Book Blog. This one is a challenge meant to support your local library. There are different levels and I've decided to aim for "Stepping It Up" (checking out and reading 75 library books by the end of 2010). I may make "Super-Size Me" (100 books) but since I also have piles of "To Be Read" books of my own, I'm not sure if I'll make it. Here's the library list so far:

1. No Honeymoon for Death by Mary Kruger (1/2/10)
2. Murder on a Midsummer Night Kerry Greenwood (1/4/10)
3. Written Out by David Armstrong (1/12/10)
4. Death & the Lit Chick by G. M. Malliet (1/14/10)
5. Death at the Alma Mater by G. M. Malliet (1/24/10)
6. Three Silent Things by Margaret Mayhew (1/25/10)
7. Old Soldiers Never Die by Margaret Mayhew (2/6/10)
8. A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch (2/15/10)
9. Do Butlers Burgle Banks? by P. G. Wodehouse (216/10)
10. The Scandal of the Season by Connie Willis (2/25/10)
11. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (2/25/10)
12. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (3/12/10)
13. Musical Mysteries: From Mozart to John Lennon by Albert Borowitz (3/13/10)
14. Oxford & Cambridge by Christopher Brooke (3/24/10)
15. Diary of an Amateur Photographer by Graham Rawles (4/1/10)
16. Belief or Non-Belief? A Dialogue by Umberto Eco & Cardinal Martini (4/5/10)
17. Murder Duet by Batya Gur (5/18/10)
18. The Inheritance by Simon Tolkien (5/22/10)
19. Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie (5/27/10)
20. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (6/11/10)
21. My Sherlock Holmes: Untold Stories of the Great Detective edited by Michael Kurland (7/3/10)
22. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (7/9/10)
23. Classical Women Poets translated by Josephine Balmer (7/10/10)
24. In Praise of Older Women by Stephen Vizinczey (7/11/10)
25. Hive of Suspects by Sheila Pim (7/18/10)
26. Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene (7/18/10)
27. I Sing the Body Electric by Ray Bradbury (7/19/10)
28. Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie (7/20/10)
29. The Green Man by Kingsley Amis (8/5/10)
30. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Knowles (8/8/10)
31. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton (8/10/10)
32. Cop Out by Ellery Queen (8/10/10)
33. Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock (8/11/10)
34. Monkey Puzzle by Paula Gosling (8/11/10)
35. Death of a Dude by Rex Stout (8/13/10)
36. The Big Bounce by Elmore Leonard (8/15/10)
37. Dress Her in Indigo by John D MacDonald (8/17/10)
38. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (8/19/10)
39. Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny (8/25/10)
40. Death Is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury (8/26/10)
41. Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth (8/28/10)
42. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (8/30/10)
43. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (9/5/10)
44. The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton (9/6/10)
45. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld (9/6/10)
46. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (9/7/10)
47. The Bohemian Girl by Kenneth Cameron (9/11/10)
48. The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier (9/12/10)
49. The Thanksgiving Day Murder by Lee Harris (9/13/10)
50. The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson (9/13/10)
51. Lady Fortescue Steps Out by Marion Chesney (9/14/10)
52. Soulless by Gail Carriger (9/22/10)
53. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (9/28/10)
54. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (10/1/10)
55. The Essential Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: The Definitive Annotated Edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's Classic Novel by Leonard Wolf (ed) (10/3/10)
56. Changeless by Gail Carriger (10/4/10)
57. Miss Tonks Turns to Crime by Marion Chesney (10/4/10)
58. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (10/8/10)
59. Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman (10/9/10)
60. The Art of the Sonnet by Stephen Burt & David Mikics (10/16/10)
61. Blameless by Gail Carriger (10/17/10)
62. Lay On, Mac Duff! by Charlotte Armstrong (10/18/10)
63. The Conference of the Birds by Jean-Claude Carriere & Peter Brook [based on the poem by Farid Uddi Attar] (10/19/10)
64. Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn (10/24/10)
65. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin (10/29/10)
66. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (11/2/10)

67. The Agency: The Body at the Tower by Y. S. Lee (11/6/10)
68. One Step Behind by Henning Mankell (11/9/10)

69. Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood (11/12/10)
70. The Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell (11/13/10)
71. Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin (11/14/10)

72. The Strange Return of Sherlock Holmes by Barry Grant (11/15/10)

73. Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer (11/22/10)

74. A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer (11/25/10)

75. A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens (11/28/10) Challenge Complete!
76. A Christmas Grace by Anne Perry (11/29/10)
77. A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock (12/2/10)

78. Behold, a Mystery! by Joan Smith (12/3/10)

79. Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood (12/4/10)

80. Death in Hellfire by Deryn Lake (12/12/10)

81. Mrs. Hudson & the Malabar Rose by Martin Davies (12/21/10)

82. Angel With Two Faces by Nicola Upson (12/28/10)

83. The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee (12/30/10)

84. They Call Me Naughty Lola by David Rose (ed) (12/30/10)

Library Book Store Rocks

I love our local library. I love it's three-times weekly book store where I can pick up gently used books and discards for very little. I love it even more when I can pick up a first-edition Golden Age mystery. Like I did today--came out of there with a nice edition of The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin. I already own the book in paperback, but I couldn't resist picking up a hard copy--especially a first edition. I think it's absolutely wonderful that I can find books that I like (just gotta have) and then pay just enough to make me feel virtuous about supporting my library. Good books and good karma...can't beat that combination.