Library Loot & Book Blogger Hop 08/16/12

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader
Hosted by Crazy For Books
A place to connect book bloggers and readers every week!
This weeks question: What is the one genre you will NEVER read?
My answer: When I first read this question I had a few things pop into my head. “I’ll never read erotica!” and “I’ll never read romance!” But that isn’t entirely true. 
I’ll give anything a try at least once. Every book deserves a fair shake. I’m not a fan of erotica and I wouldn’t seek it out (and no I haven’t read 50 Shades) but if I were in the mood and a work of naughtiness was available…I might give it a whirl. I’m no prude 😉 
I’m a girl who loves a great romantic tale. A great one. A believable and breath taking romance is a wonderful thing. Those stories seem to be in books that aren’t trying so damn hard to be romantic though. And here is where my judgey judginess comes in. If the cover is all heaving bosoms and loin clothed muscle bound man flesh? Nope, not gonna happen.
Hosted by The Captive Reader
Library Loot encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out of the library!
I went to my library this evening because one of my requested books was ready for pick up:
Gold by Chris Cleave
What would you sacrifice for the people you love?

KATE AND ZOE met at nineteen when they both made the cut for the national training program in track cycling—a sport that demands intense focus, blinding exertion, and unwavering commitment. They are built to exploit the barest physical and psychological edge over equally skilled rivals, all of whom are fighting for the last one tenth of a second that separates triumph from despair.

Now at thirty-two, the women are facing their last and biggest race: the 2012 Olympics. Each wants desperately to win gold, and each has more than a medal to lose. 

I’m excited to start this book, I’ve heard great things about it. I loved Cleave’s Little Bee as well.
While at the library I was lucky enough to find a couple of books sitting on the shelf just waiting for someone to come along and take them home:
The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam
Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English academy in 1960s Saigon, and he is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of his school. Fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, he is quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country, though he also harbors a weakness for gambling haunts and the women who frequent them. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, but when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his connections and wealth and is forced to send him away. 

In the loneliness that follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage whom he is able to confide in. But Percival’s new-found happiness is precarious, and as the complexities of war encroach further into his world, he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see.

Graced with intriguingly flawed but wonderfully human characters moving through a richly drawn historical landscape, The Headmaster’s Wager is an unforgettable story of love, betrayal and sacrifice.

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

The New York Times bestseller and the USA Today #1 Hot Fiction Pick for the summer, The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both. 

Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. 

Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever. For Cora, the city holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the core of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on a mission of her own. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of Cora’s relationship with Louise, her eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive. 

Drawing on the rich history of the 1920s,’30s, and beyond—from the orphan trains to Prohibition, flappers,  and the onset of the Great Depression to the burgeoning movement for equal rights and new opportunities for women—Laura Moriarty’s The Chaperoneillustrates how rapidly everything, from fashion and hemlines to values and attitudes, was changing at this time and what a vast difference it all made for Louise Brooks, Cora Carlisle, and others like them.

All descriptions provided by IndieBound
So there are my latest library finds, I can’t wait to read about yours! I do hope you’ll explore my blog a little and perhaps even follow me if the spirit moves you!

Published by Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader

40 thoughts on “Library Loot & Book Blogger Hop 08/16/12”

  1. A genre I'd never read? Hmm, tough question to answer. I would say erotica — I just don't have any interest for it, but I already put myself on hold for the audio of 50 Shades. (Audio, because I won't have to trudge through the text! The excerpts I've read do not look good.) Everyone's talking about that trilogy, and I want to have a valid opinion, so here I am requesting erotica… Aha.I've spotted Gold all over — even passed by it as I was checking out at the grocery store the other day. Up until now I haven't read the synopsis, but I have read positive comments about the book. The Headmaster's Wager sounds quite interesting — I added it to my TBR list, where it will undoubtedly sit for ages with bunches of other books! Enjoy the books (:

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  2. Love your loot! I'm not a regular library user but you have me half-thinking that I may just go take a loot tonight after work. I can't claim I've never read vampires/paranormal but I gave it up after Twilight and one book of Sookie and I can proudly tell you I will never read a vampire book again as long as I live.

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  8. Hi Raya, thanks for stopping by 🙂 I understand the crazy tbr pile. I have actual books on a pile, I have a mental pile, I have scraps of paper with books written down that I want to request from the library..it's a bit out of control. So many books, so little time! Good luck with 50 Shades 😉 I keep hearing that the writing is awful but maybe it won't be so bad in audio form, lol.

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  9. I am a library lover, there's no way I could afford my reading habit otherwise 😉 I can add paranormal to my list as well. I did read the Twilight series but that was enough for me! I'm just not interested..and those sorts of books are EVERYWHERE. I hope you do take a look at the loot at your library, (that's a bit of a tongue twister)they need all the support we readers can give them 🙂

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  15. I'm pretty much in the same boat…I don't think I can honestly say I won't ever ready any genre. As I commented on someone else's post, erotica did first pop into my head–but then I remember accidentally reading a book in that genre (I had no clue that is what it was when I started–I received it as a gift and therefore felt obligated to read it). So, never is a hard word for me!

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  18. Good for you for being so open-minded. I'm a total prude, so I stay far, far away from erotica. I'm not wild about regular romance novels either. I prefer my romance on the side in an otherwise exciting mystery, suspense, dystopian, etc.Happy Hopping!

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  20. Thanks 😉 Erotica isn't something I'd buy or check out of the library on purpose but I hate to say that there's something I would never ever ever read. With that said, I can't exactly imagine actually reading Erotica either, lol.

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  22. I read at least anything once and actually found I liked other genres by doing that. I do like some nonfiction, but depends on the topic say for example Historical(Civil War, President Kennedy's assassination, stuff like that.)Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

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  24. I'm adding \”Gold\” to my list. It's such a coincidence that I'm just hearing about it now. My family were all very excited to watch the track cycling in the Olympics this year because a distant cousin of ours was competing (and won Bronze!). I'd love to know more about the sport so this is perfect timing for this book. Thanks for recommending it! Dianne

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  25. I just started reading it and it's pretty good already. I don't know a darn thing about track cycling but I'm learning now! How cool that you had a relative in the Olympics! Congrats to them on the medal, that is amazing :)Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, I appreciate it!

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  27. I love romance as well, and I admit, I don't mind if the premise of the story is outlandish- as long as I can believe in the romance. One of my favourite romances involves a man recovering in a burn ward, where he's approached by a woman who claims they met in medieval Germany. 🙂

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  32. Your answer is what I wish I had written. I agree with you 100% but I wasn't nearly as thoughtful in what I said. I like a good love story too, but I tend to think less is more when it comes to sex scenes, and I like to have something left to the reader's imagination. But I like to be open to things…still, I'm not rushing out to buy 50 Shades.New followerwww.laurelosterkamp.blogspot.com

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  33. Gold is on my TBR list….sounds very interesting. There are a few genre that I don't go out of my way to read….sci-fi, anything vampire, erotica and romance. I feel the same way about the covers with the heaving bosoms and loin clothes!! LOL! Too many other books I would rather be reading. I never made it through the first Twilight book….just didn't capture me. I noticed lately alot of the requests I get from publishers and authors for reviews are about vampires…..yeah, no thanks! Have a great week!Jen CReadinginwbl.com

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  37. A genre I have never read? Erotica, paranormal, and horror. None of those are my cup of tea, so I just generally avoid them. I'm a reader, but I also feel like its okay to screen what goes in my brain, so if I rather unintentionally pick up one of those, I usually just stop reading. It sounds lame, but it works for me. The Chaperone looks interesting. Looking forward to your review!

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  40. I'm like you – I don't think there is any genre I wouldn't at least try once – although I have to say, I haven't read any christian fiction yet, but I do plan on doing so soon.Tanya PatriceGirlxoxo.com

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