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Smiling Shelves

Library Loot

8/27/2015

4 Comments

 
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Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
Tuesday was my last Library Day of the summer. That's probably a good thing, since I have six books left over from my previous Library Day that I haven't read yet. I obviously can't keep up anymore. So I tried to not go crazy and check out tons of books this time. And I more or less succeeded. . .
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The Martian by Andy Weir (The movie's coming out soon, right? Better read the book first!)
Emma by Alexander McCall Smith (Since I'm reading the original Emma right now.)
The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World's Favorite Board Game by Mary Pilon (I'm actually not a huge fan of the board game, but the book sounds fascinating.)
Dragon on Trial by Tui & Kari Sutherland (This is the second book of a series, and I've been waiting to get ahold of it forever!)
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (I've heard such good things about this book.)
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (And I finished it off with three Newbery winners!)
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Holes by Louis Sachar
4 Comments

Library Loot

8/6/2015

14 Comments

 
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Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
Just one more month of summer left, which means I will need to be spending a fair amount of time in my classroom getting ready for school. Which should translate into getting fewer books at the library, because I will have less time to read them. Yeah, it didn't really work out like that. . .
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This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson (I figured this was an appropriate book to get at the library.)
Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman (I LOVED Seraphina, and I'm so excited to read the sequel!)
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (A Newbery winner)
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Another Newbery winner)
Faith of My Fathers by Lynn Austin (If you are looking for amazing Biblical fiction, check out the Chronicles of the Kings series!)
The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera (Libraries in France. Couldn't pass this one up.)
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown (Written by the astronomer who discovered the "planet" beyond Pluto which caused its demotion. Seemed like a good time to read this, since we have brand new pictures of Pluto now.)
Goodnight June by Sarah Jio (Who doesn't remember reading Goodnight Moon as a kid? This is a novel about how that book may have come to be.)
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Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (Wanting to read this book led me to visiting my third library of the day. Therefore, it is this book's fault that I ended up with more library books than I planned on, right?)
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (I love her YA novels, but I haven't read either of her adult novels yet. I'm excited to give this one a try.)
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (The Shakespeare overtones of this book intrigue me.)
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Hope this one lives up to the hype!)
The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages (I have no idea why the Manhattan Project is so fascinating to me, but that's more or less what this book is about.)
Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong (This really isn't my typical sort of read at all, but it helps me out with three reading challenges.)
Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids by Ken Jennings (This was a random find that sounds amusing and informative. And I'm a Ken Jennings fan.)
14 Comments

Library Loot

7/23/2015

8 Comments

 
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Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
It was time for another Library Day last week! I didn't learn anything from restraining myself last time around. . . I brought home way too many books this time. Ah, well. What else is summer for, if not to sit on the front porch and read?
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Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris (I am a stickler for grammar, so this book is right up my alley.)
The Maintenance of Headway by Magnus Mills (How can I resist a book with London double-decker buses on the cover?)
The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley (I read the first Flavia book earlier this summer, and I am ready and eager for more!)
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Another Newbery winner)
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman (Ditto)
The Priest: Aaron by Francine Rivers (I love the way Biblical fiction makes the Bible come to life. I thought I would try the first book in this series.)
The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry (The title and cover were irresistible.)
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The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan (I've been wanting to read this book since the first time I heard about it.)
The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett (Books and intrigue)
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (I don't think I've ever read a book set in Sweden, but this seems like a funny one to start with!)
The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (The premise of this book was intriguing.)
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba (This sounded like an encouraging and inspiring book.)
My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff (I honestly haven't read much by J.D. Salinger, but books about authors are always interesting.)
If you're keeping track, that's 13 books that I checked out. Yikes! It's a good thing several of them are very short. We'll see how many I can get read before the due date!
8 Comments

Library Loot

6/27/2015

4 Comments

 
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Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
This past Thursday was my second Library Day of the summer. I actually managed to finish 12 of my 13 library books from my first Library Day in just two weeks. Lots of reading, but that's not a problem! I restrained myself a little bit more this time. :)
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The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl (Book pirates. Need I say more?)
The Black Reckoning by John Stephens (The third book in a series that I have been waiting forever to finish.)
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (Continuing to read some Newbery winners and honor books)
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (2015 Newbery Award winner)
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan (Dragons!)
The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty (The first book in this series was awesome. I'm hoping this sequel is, too!)
4 Comments

Library Loot!

6/11/2015

8 Comments

 
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Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Linda from Silly Little Mischief that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
Yesterday was my first Library Day of the summer!! I've been so good so far this year, reading books almost entirely from my own collection. But now that summer is here, I have time to drive 45 minutes to the big libraries and partake of all their bookish goodness!
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A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (For my Newbery Reading Challenge, which I am so behind on!)
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (Ditto)
A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman (Third book in a series I absolutely love.)
The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg (I've been wanting to read this book since I first heard about it. Hooray for libraries making that happen!)
The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna van Praag (Mm, magical realism.)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (I'm not usually a mystery reader, but I have heard so much raving about this series. I finally decided to try it out.)
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The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley (I'll read anything she's written!)
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (Loved Harry Potter, hated A Casual Vacancy. I convinced myself to give Rowling on more chance. . .)
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart (This book just looked fun.)
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo (I've been waiting forever to finish this series!)
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (I love London, and it's got to be even better when there's four of them, right?)
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach (My token nonfiction book. :)
8 Comments

Library Loot

7/5/2014

2 Comments

 
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This chance to share all the amazing library books you find is co-hosted by Linda at Silly Little Mischief and Claire at The Captive Reader.
I reined myself in a bit this week, and only left the library with six books. I think that's a record for me during the summer. :)
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She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell (Christian historical fiction, set in 1890s New York high society)
The Service of Clouds by Delia Falconer (I needed a book set in Australia for one of my reading challenges, and this one caught my eye.)
Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier (I can't wait to read the last book in this series!)
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I'm way behind in my Newbery Reading Challenge (My own challenge, too! Whoops!), so I checked out the Newbery Award winners from 2010, 2011, and 2012:

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
2 Comments

Library Loot

6/12/2014

6 Comments

 
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This chance to share all the amazing library books you find is co-hosted by Linda at Silly Little Mischief and Claire at The Captive Reader.
Yesterday was Library Day!! The big libraries in my area are all 45 minutes or so away, so I just don't have time to visit them during the school year. But now it's summer, so I made the rounds yesterday. Here are my finds:

Italy-related Books

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Tilt: A Skewed History of the Tower of Pisa by Nicholas Shrady (Isn't the cover fun?)
The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior by Paul Strathern
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

Just for Fun Books (way more than I should have picked up. . .)

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The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence (I've been waiting to get my hands on this one since it came out!)
The Last Enchantments by Charles Finch (I've seen this book around the blogosphere quite a bit, and I never could decide if I wanted to add it to my TBR list. When I saw it in the library today, I decided to go for it.)
Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier (I read Ruby Red last summer. Yes, I actually waited a whole summer to read the sequel! But now I can pick up Emerald Green at the library on my next trip.)
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Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (I enjoyed Fangirl, so I thought I would try another by this author.)
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (Just caught my attention. Sometimes those are the best finds!)
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (So glad they had this one on the shelf!)
6 Comments

Library Loot

8/15/2013

2 Comments

 
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Library Loot is hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
I am so glad I finally found a weekly event that showcases the books we got from the library. I love libraries! That's the main source of my books (well, the books I read. I have a lot of books upstairs that tend to get neglected). So without further ado, here's my haul from this week!

Library #1 (Yes, I went to two different libraries. In the same day. Actually, I went to three, but I didn't check anything out at the last one. Don't know how that happened.)

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The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski (The premise of this book just sounds so intriguing)
Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl (I love Queen Victoria)
Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen (An author recommended by my sister-in-law)
The Menagerie by Tui Sutherland (Unicorns and dragons!)
One for the Books by Joe Queenan (A book about books - one of the best kinds)

Library #2

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Xingu by Edith Wharton (I needed a title that started with X for my alphabet challenge)
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (From the cover blurb, it sounds like magical realism - one of my new favorite genres)
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (I watched the movie for the first time on the plane ride home from London. How could I not know that it was first a book?)
Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray (Because my name is in the title!)
The J.M. Barrie Ladies Swimming Society by Barbara J. Zitwer (Really, who could resist a title like that?)
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo (This is the second book in her Grisha series. I should have checked it out in my last library trip, when I checked out the first book, Shadow and Bone. Instead, I had to wait three whole weeks to get my hands on the sequel!)
2 Comments
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    My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.

    You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com.

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