There is some great loot from the library to share this week! I usually just run in to pick up a hold, but this week I had some extra time and came out with four books.
Tell Me A Riddle by Tillie Olsen
This was the hold I went to pick up. I read Olsen's I Stand Here Ironing for a recent Short Story Monday post and wanted to read more. The title novella won the First Prize O.Henry Award in 1961 and the stories have become staples in literature classes, but I was totally unfamiliar with her.
Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West
by Shannon McKenna Schmidt & Joni Rendon
I first heard about this book from BookPsmith. Now that I've had a chance to read through it, I can tell it's a book I want to own.
A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de BlasiMolly at My Cozy Book Nook is hosting a Summer Vacation Reading Challenge. I'm considering Venice as a possible 'travel destination'!
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
by Ishmael Beah
I may be one of the only people around that hasn't read this book. It had been talked about as a book club selection, but didn't make the final cut.
I haven't read any non-fiction this year and I may start here.
Library Loot is hosted by Eva and Alessandra.
You're not the last to read A Long Way Gone. Once you're done, it will be me. :-) I'm hoping to read it someday!
ReplyDeleteLezlie
Oooohhhh Venice. I may have to take that same literary vacation :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment of Novel Destinations --- it is a book worth owning.
I adore Tillie Olsen, everything she writes is moving and powerful. I had to own her books after I read them from the library. Literary Landmarks sounds like something I'd really enjoy. I look forward to your thoughts on it. Enjoy your books.
ReplyDeleteLezlie - I hope to read it later this month, but we'll see...
ReplyDeleteMolly - I think a quick visit to Venice might be fun this summer ;-)
The next time a get a coupon from B&N or Borders, I'd like to buy Novel Destinations.
Sandra,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! I don't know how I missed hearing about Tillie Olsen before now. After reading I Stand Here Ironing, I know I want to read more. Do you have any favorites to recommend?
Yonnondio (fiction set in the 1930s) and Silences (non fiction) are the other two of her works that I own and can recommend. Mothers to Daughter, Daughter to Mother: Mothers on Mothering: A Daybook and Reader, The Feminist Press, 1989, and The Riddle of Life And Death with Leo Tolstoy, The Feminist Press, 2007 are the only other works of hers published. I have not read them. I wept the first time I read I Stand Here Ironing. Enjoy your book.
ReplyDeleteI really liked A Thousand Days in Venice. Of course, I'm partial to all things Italian. ;) I noticed that you're reading The Home-Maker, and that book is unforgettable to me. I'd love to talk about it when you're done.
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of Tillie Olsen, so I'll be looking forward to your review! :) I haven't read A Long Way Gone...it just seems too depressing...
ReplyDeleteNovel Destinations looks like so much fun!
And as far as Venice goes, Donna Leon sets an awesome mystery series there (it starts with Death at La Fenice). I think it'd be a great 'vacation' place, just because such a huge variety of books are set there!
Sandra,
ReplyDeleteThank you! I will be looking for those titles on my next trip to the library.
Bellezza,
ReplyDeleteI've barely started The Home-Maker, but I'll let you know when I finish. A Thousand Days in Venice will be a Summer Vacation Reading Challenge book. I just wanted a quick preview now, to be sure! She also has a new book set in Sicily coming out soon, so most of my 'vacation' may be in Italy this summer ;-)
Eva,
ReplyDeleteNovel Destinations IS a lot of fun. Last night I browsed literary hotels all over the world!
The Donna Leon series looks great...I may be spending my entire 'vacation' in Italy. Thanks for visiting!
Novel Destinations looks great!
ReplyDeleteI have Novel Destinations! I bought it on a whim and am so glad. It's great fun to browse through.
ReplyDelete