Medieval Bookworm

I waited to do my loot (hosted by Eva and Marg) until I’d been to both my libraries.  I’m hoping that the libraries help stave off my intense desire to buy books.  It’s only been two weeks; right now we’re quite poor so that’s helping, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to resist once I do have money of my own.  I’m starting to apply for jobs, so we’ll see what happens.  I know it could be months but I’m foolishly optimistic.

Anyway, at the moment I’m using Keith’s cards so I can get my own under my married name without hassle in a week and a half (!) so we go on the weekend when he’s around.  I have two piles to share with you today.  In theory, I have two public library systems.  They both charge for loans from other libraries, though, so I’m limited to what’s inside.  The first is from the bigger city library:

• The White Mare, Jules Watson – This is historical fiction about the Roman conquest of Britain.  I’d never heard of it before but it looked pretty enough on the shelf, so I decided to give it a try.  It’s the start of a series.
• The Warden, Anthony Trollope – I have been craving classics lately.  Since I have Barchester Towers, I thought I’d start at the beginning, even if this one is not as good.
• The Iron Tree, Cecilia Dart-Thornton – I saw the middle one of this series in my old York library but don’t think I actually managed to check any of them out.  I saw it and decided to read it now!
• Cotillion, Georgette Heyer – The library had maybe five Heyers and it was hard choosing!  I remembered some positive reviews for this, though, so I took it first.
• The Painted Man, Peter V. Brett – Another fantasy that I had out of the York library but didn’t get a chance to read.

And my second, smaller library.  This one is literally three minutes walk away, so I got more, figuring I can pretty much always get there when the books are due.

• The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga – Last year’s Booker winner.  Booker winners tend to be hit or miss for me, but I’m still optimistic about reading a lot of them.
• Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood – I have The Year of the Flood over here to review, but I haven’t read it yet because I didn’t want to spoil what happens in this book.  I’m hoping to start this today or tomorrow.
• Wolfskin, Juliet Marillier – I love Marillier’s work!  I think I’ve won her latest book, but I took this out to tide me over.
• Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates – I don’t really have a reason for reading this.  I haven’t seen the film or anything, but it’s supposed to be good, and it’s a quick read so I have to get to it before Saturday.  The quick reads, which are non-renewable and due in a week, are hopefully going to help me read new releases without keeping them for months on end until someone else requests them.
• Very Valentine, Adriana Trigiani – This author has had lots of positive reviews around the blogosphere and this book of hers was cover out, so I thought why not?
• London: The Biography, Peter Ackroyd – I’m really excited about this!  I love London and huge sweeping histories are totally my thing.  It is gigantic, though, so I’m glad I have a few weeks to read it.
• Emma, Jane Austen – This one’s not pictured because I forgot it was elsewhere – sorry!  Anyway, as I mentioned on Sunday, I got this to coincide with the BBC miniseries.  I’ve finished and loved it now, the review will be up in a few weeks.

So that’s my loot!  Read any of these books before?  Let me know what you thought!

(And in case you’re curious, those are indeed my own books alongside and behind the library books.)