
Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
Library Loot, yahoo! I haven’t linked up to this meme in a long time. For a while I was on a self-imposed library ban. I had review books coming out of my ears and I had to get them under control. Mission (sort of) accomplished.
Now I’m back to my regular library visits and I couldn’t be happier about it!
Here is what I scored this week:
The Confidant by Helene Gremillon
Paris, 1975. Camille sifts through letters of condolence after her mother’s death when a strange, handwritten missive stops her short. At first she believes she received it by mistake. But then, a new letter arrives each week from a mysterious stranger, Louis, who seems intent on recounting the story of his first love, Annie.
They were separated in the years before World War II when Annie befriended a wealthy, barren couple and fell victim to a merciless plot just as German troops arrive in Paris. But also awaiting Camille’s discovery is the other side of the story, which will call into question Annie’s innocence and reveal the devastating consequences of jealousy and revenge. As Camille reads on, she begins to realize that her own life may be the next chapter in this tragic story.
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
A ferocious firefight with Iraqi insurgents at “the battle of Al-Ansakar Canal”—three minutes and forty-three seconds of intense warfare caught on tape by an embedded Fox News crew—has transformed the eight surviving men of Bravo Squad into America’s most sought-after heroes. For the past two weeks, the Bush administration has sent them on a media-intensive nationwide Victory Tour to reinvigorate public support for the war. Now, on this chilly and rainy Thanksgiving, the Bravos are guests of America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys, slated to be part of the halftime show alongside the superstar pop group Destiny’s Child.
Among the Bravos is the Silver Star–winning hero of Al-Ansakar Canal, Specialist William Lynn, a nineteen-year-old Texas native. Amid clamoring patriots sporting flag pins on their lapels and Support Our Troops bumper stickers on their cars, the Bravos are thrust into the company of the Cowboys’ hard-nosed businessman/owner and his coterie of wealthy colleagues; a luscious born-again Cowboys cheerleader; a veteran Hollywood producer; and supersized pro players eager for a vicarious taste of war. Among these faces Billy sees those of his family—his worried sisters and broken father—and Shroom, the philosophical sergeant who opened Billy’s mind and died in his arms at Al-Ansakar.
Cambridge student Serena Frome’s beauty and intelligence make her the ideal recruit for MI5. The year is 1972. The Cold War is far from over. England’s legendary intelligence agency is determined to manipulate the cultural conversation by funding writers whose politics align with those of the government. The operation is code named “Sweet Tooth.”
Serena, a compulsive reader of novels, is the perfect candidate to infiltrate the literary circle of a promising young writer named Tom Haley. At first, she loves his stories. Then she begins to love the man. How long can she conceal her undercover life? To answer that question, Serena must abandon the first rule of espionage: trust no one.
Yay right? I don’t know which one to read first!
Happy reading library looters!
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I loved \”Me Before You,\” really liked \”Billy Lynn,\” and read rave reviews of \”Sweet Tooth.\” Enjoy!
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I read The Confidant last year and enjoyed it – hope you will too. I also want to read Sweet Tooth. Enjoy your loot!
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I love the library, you've got some great books. Sweet Tooth looks very good. Happy reading!
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Awesome! Love hearing that Kristin!
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I requested The Confidant after reading about it on another blog. (Can I remember which one? NO! Ugh) I hope I like it as well as you did 🙂
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Thanks Naida 🙂 The library is the best place on earth 🙂
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I went to the library today and came home with three Toni Morrison audiobooks and four (or five?) treebooks. Holla!
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Happy reading 🙂
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Thanks Melinda 🙂
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Oh my word, I was sitting here wondering \”what in the hell are treebooks???\” DUH! It took me a minute, I admit it 😉
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I've not heard of The Confidant before but the rest of your books are on my TBR list! I'm currently enjoying Jojo Moyes' The Last Letter from Your Lover
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You're reading The Confidant?!? Yay! I loved it soooo much. Not the deepest of reads but still so good! One of my favorites of the year. I also really enjoyed Me Before You and think you will too! WHY haven't I heard of this Billy Lynn book? I just saw that Brenna at Literary Musings was reading it but had never even heard of it before. I'm shocked! Haha. I'll wait for your review. Great score!
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I was really disappointed in Sweet Tooth. I am a McEwan fan and didn't think thiis was up to his usuaL…
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That's an awesome haul! I was on a library book ban too. Totally went out the window this week. Went there to pick up 1 book for the Around The World challenge…came out with 4…le sigh.
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Me Before You is supposed to be very good, and I love Ian McEwan. Happy reading!
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Ah ha! Was it YOU that reviewed/recommended The Confidant? I bet it was! Ugh, my memory. I really should write things like that down. I really hope I like the Billy Lynn, I have high hopes.
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Unfortunately you aren't the first person I've heard this from.
I'm a bit nervous!
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That's what happens! I think the books there have some sort of human magnets in them 😉
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Thanks Sam! I'm about 100 pages in to Me Before You. So far, so good!
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It probably was me! I reviewed it a couple of weeks ago. I had seen it forever but couldn't get it at the library. I finally just bought it for my kindle. So great. Can't wait to see what you think!
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I've heard good words of Sweet Tooth and Me Before You. I read The Confidant a few months ago and it's really very good. A little predictable at times, but in a way that doesn't distract from the story, and the darkness is shocking but powerful. Hope you enjoy it 🙂
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Yay indeed! I am on a very, very long library wait list for Me Before You and can't wait for my turn to come. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk sounds really interesting. Enjoy your loot!
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I'm DEVOURING it today! I had to finally put it aside for a bit because my back was getting sore from laying around, lol.
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I have to admit to being a bit nervous about Sweet Tooth because I keep hearing not great things but I'll give it a whirl anyway 🙂 I'm nearly done with The Confidant. I'm eating it up!
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Thanks Claire 🙂 I was on a very long list for that one too! That reminds me, I should really return it to the library tomorrow. I'm sure others are waiting for it!
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I'm hearing a lot of good things about Me Before You. The Confident looks good. Enjoy!
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I think I'm going to have to check out The Last Letter as well. Me Before You made me weep like a little baby!
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It was good…sob sob sob! 🙂 Thanks Linda!
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Your last two books are on my list!! I must read them!
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I hope you find the time to get to them 🙂
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I've started using the library a lot more lately…I have a request in for Me Before You.
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I hope you get it soon Laurel 🙂 It took somewhere around forever for my copy to come in, lol.
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I just got Me Before You from NetGalley but I haven't started it yet.
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I hope you like it! I have a feeling that you will 🙂
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