dunno what it was about yesterday...

maybe it was the excellently warm day [high of over 70F!]...

... or that I totally aced a French test [75/80] **

... ... or that I'd blogged about books recently...


whatever it is, yesterday I dropped by the library between L trains... and the other times I'd visited the library and just looked around for anything appealing, nothing jumped out at me.

Yesterday?

SIX
Yup, six books made their way into my hands.

And only one of them I'd consider really "my" style / genre, so I suppose it's exploration time!

So, in case you're interested, here are the six that clamoured "read me!"

• Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri
This was last year's pick for the "One Book, One Chicago" thingy. A collection of 9 stories, I've gone through 2 so far. Nothing too outstanding, but I can see how those not exposed to Asian/Indian culture might find this fascinating. This spring's book choice is out - maybe I might read it and join the discussions, just to see how these things run...

• Murder among the OWLS [a Sherriff Dan Rhoades Mystery] - Bill Cider
Oh please, don't bother with this one! I'm about halfway through, and I'm distracted from the plot by the simplistic writing, short sentences and insipid characters. And this is book #14??! I shiver in disgust as I buckle down and force myself to read it to the end.... maybe the following four will provide better fuel for my brain,,,?


• Dream Angus [the Celtic God of Dreams] - Alexander McCall Smith
"crafting ancient myth into stories fabulously and irresistibly new..." while I'm no fan of short stories, I'm always up for learning about the Gods of old especially if given a new twist [Gaiman's American Gods, for example].


• The Tree-Sitter - Suzanne Matson
The reviews on the back cover indicate that this book, while being a "love story"[ugh!], tackles issues of ".. morality and responsibility, of idealism and identity..." that will have you asking yourself what you would do in a similar situation. A book that makes you think? Kewl!


• Surrogate Evil [a Lee Nez Novel] - David & Aimee Thurlo
This looks to be the 4th book in a mystery thriller with a twist - one of the two protagonists is a vampire Navajo state police officer, heehehee! While awating new books by Jim Butcher, maybe this will provide some distraction?


• Armageddon's Children - Terry Brooks
The only book that's truly in my preferred genre. The inside cover said this is a standalone / new creation by Brooks. Only when linking to amazon.com do I realise this is another Shannara spin-off?! Grrrr! If I wanted a Shannara book I'd start at the beginning. Grrrr...

** oh, were you wondering about the French test? Yeah, I signed up for French classes at the Alliance Francaise early this year, just to get me out of the house and to put my brain to a bit of work. Kinda expensive for what amounts to perhaps 2.3 months of weekly classes, but it's nice to have all that rust flaking off, fer sure! Will probably go for another session that starts at the end of the month, to keep it going. :-)