Thanks to Elle for her monthly contribution, Laura for her great reviews of two high-profile novels, Birnam Wood and Pod, borrowed from her local library, and Naomi for the write-up of her recent audiobook loans, a fascinating selection of nonfiction and middle grade fiction. I forgot to link to Jana’s post last month, so here’s her April reading, another very interesting set.
My biggest news this month is that we now have a Little Free Library in my neighbourhood. This project was several years in the making as we waited for permissions and funding. The box (and a wooden bench next to it) were hand-crafted by my very talented neighbours, and the mayor of Newbury came to officially open it on the 7th. There are also a few planters of perennials and a small cherry tree. It really cheers up what used to be a patch of bare grass next to a parking area.
I’m the volunteer curator/librarian/steward so will ensure that the shelves are tidy and the stock keeps turning over. I try to stop by daily since it’s only around the corner from my house. We’ve ordered a charter sign to link us up with the organization and put us on the official map. Anyone visiting Newbury might decide to come find it. (I, for one, look out for LFLs wherever I go, from Pennsylvania to North Uist!)
My library reading and borrowing since last month. I’m back in the States for a visit just now, so don’t currently have any library books on the go. It felt prudent to clear the decks, but I’ll have a big stack waiting for me when I come back!
READ
- I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé by Michael Arceneaux
- Shadow Girls by Carol Birch
- The Cats We Meet Along the Way by Nadia Mikail
- Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery
- My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor
- The Boy Who Lost His Spark by Maggie O’Farrell
- Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
- Glowing Still: A Woman’s Life on the Road by Sara Wheeler
- In Memoriam by Alice Winn
SKIMMED
- Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
- You Are Not Alone by Cariad Lloyd
CHECKED OUT, TO BE READ
RETURNED UNFINISHED
- All the Men I Never Married by Kim Moore – I hadn’t heard of the poet and had never read anything from the publisher, but took a chance. I got to page 16. It’s fine: poems about former love interests, whether they be boyfriends or aggressors. There looks to be good variety of structure. I just didn’t sense adequate weight.
- The Furrows by Namwali Serpell – My apologies to Laura! (This started off as a buddy read.) I pushed myself through the first 78 pages, but once it didn’t advance in the Carol Shields Prize race there was no impetus to continue and it just wasn’t compelling enough to finish.
What have you been reading or reviewing from the library recently?
Share a link to your own post in the comments. Feel free to use the above image. The hashtag is #LoveYourLibrary.
Bookish Beck = Rebecca Foster. American transplant to England. Freelance proofreader and book reviewer.
Bookish Beck 
Congratulations on your free library which looks brilliant! It’s been such a gorgeous weekend that I’ve had my book box out for my neighbours to help themselves which always goes down well.
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Thank you! Your lucky neighbours…
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Fabulous effort, that Free Library of yours. May it prosper!
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Thank you! I think it will.
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Fun news about the little free library. I bet it’s going to have the most interesting contents!
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It’s already had such an eclectic selection.
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The little free library looks amazing! It’s a shame the Serpell doesn’t have more narrative drive in its first half, as it does get more compelling thereafter.
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My neighbours did such a great job on it.
I’ll have to try Serpell another time, maybe The Old Drift.
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I got stuck with The Old Drift and dnf, but I might have to give it another go – I know Elle loved it.
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Love our neighborhood’s Little Free Libraries and yours looks lovely and inviting! Your neighborhood is lucky to have you as volunteer curator.
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Thanks!
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I love your Little Free Library! It looks so cheerful, and I bet it’s going to be one of the best curated LFLs around! 🙂
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Thanks! We had a community vote on the colour. I voted for a green, but I liked this blue too.
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The free library looks wonderful – congratulations on your role in running it!
Looks like you were a bit meh about Fire Rush – I liked the language and the immersion in music even though that’s not a music genre I know well (in fact I’ve heard most of my dub from Attila the Stockbroker, who has ventured into the genre with the approval of e.g. Benjamin Zephaniah). But what did you think of the ending?
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I liked the language and the energy. The first few chapters, especially, were engaging, but I didn’t have any interest in the musical scene. My skim was so cursory that I probably didn’t even take in the ending!
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Oh that’s a shame. The club stuff dissipated towards the end and she spent more time learning and growing as the novel moved onwards. I loved the ending and a male reviewer hated it and I’m desperate to get more opinions. Oh well, every book isn’t for everyone. BTW I am loving a MEDICAL MEMOIR would you believe – Golem Girl by Riva Lehrer, which I believe I saw on here first.
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Fantastic! Yes, I reviewed Golem Girl when it was shortlisted for (and then won) the inaugural Barbellion Prize. And it’s more about her development as a queer, disabled artist than about the medical stuff, right?
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I’ll make sure I find your review to link to when I post mine. I’m onto the artistic development bit now but it was pretty medical (for me) in the first half. So so good and I’m just about managing the minute print in the paperback!
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