Sunday Salon: July Library Loot

 I couldn't resist these library books, listed with the publishers' book descriptions.  

Colorful (see my review)

by 

Eto Mori,

 

Jocelyne Allen (Translator)

July 20th 2021 by Counterpoint Press

About: A beloved and bestselling classic in Japan, this groundbreaking tale of a dead soul who gets a second chance is now available in English.

"Congratulations, you've won the lottery!" shouts the angel Prapura to a formless soul.

Mimi Lee Cracks the Code

(A Sassy Cat Mystery #3)

by 

Jennifer J. Chow,

 November 30th 2021 by Berkley

About: Murder follows pet groomer Mimi Lee and her boyfriend Josh to a romantic Catalina Island getaway, where she puts on her best sleuthing hat with her sassy cat Marshmallow in tow.

Fiona and Jane

by 

Jean Chen Ho,

 January 4th 2022 by Viking

About: Two young Taiwanese American women navigate friendship, sexuality, identity, and heartbreak over two decades.

Fiona Lin and Jane Shen explore the lonely freeways and seedy bars of Los Angeles together through their teenage years, surviving unfulfilling romantic encounters, and carrying with them the scars of their families' tumultuous pasts.

The Swimmers

by 

Julie Otsuka

Published February 22nd 2022, Knopf Publishing Group

About: What happens to a group of obsessed recreational swimmers when a crack appears at the bottom of their local pool.

The swimmers are unknown to each other except through their private routines (slow lane, fast lane), and the solace each takes in their morning or afternoon laps. But when a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, they are cast out into an unforgiving world without comfort or relief.

Lost and Found in Paris

by 

Lian Dolan, 

April 5th 2022 by William Morrow & Company

About: The ultimate escapist adventure in Paris, its world of art, intrigue, and redemption, told with wit, style, and intrigue. 

Joan escapes to Paris right after learning her husband is the father of five year-old twins by another woman. 

Just finished:

A Familiar Stranger

by 

A.R. Torre,  e

xpected publication,  September 27th 2022

Source: NetGalley

About: Lillian Smith is a quiet and ordinary wife and mother. Who will even notice what she’s done?

Here is my goodreads review.

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Sunday Salon: The Lost Dragon Murder by Michael Allan Mallory

 New mystery series:

This is the first in a series of mystery books featuring Detective Henry Lau. Looking forward to reading and reviewing it soon.

The Lost Dragon Murder by Michael Allan Mallory, December 31, 2021, BookLocker

Genre: traditional detective novel

Description: The murder of an art expert and the disappearance of a priceless artifact propels Detective Henry Lau into the nebulous world of ancient antiquities. Complicating matters is a parade of dodgy suspects who wouldn’t know a truthful statement if it bit them on the leg. Solving a cryptic clue left by the dead man may be the only way to unlock the mystery.

But can he do it? Back on active duty after near-fatal injuries kept him sidelined, Henry is determined to prove he can still do the job. His detective skills and Wing Chun kung fu knowledge are put to the test when the case spirals to a dangerous showdown. (publisher)

My library books:

My library books, mosty mysteries and a fantasy, except for Lemon. Which book would you start with? 

Have you read any of these authors? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, Mailbox Monday, and Sunday Salon  

Library Loot: The Translator by Nina Schuyler

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. 

Because I read translated books, such as Scandinavian and other international mysteries and also Japanese literary novels, I was attracted to the cover and title of this book at the library. Here is the book's description:

When renowned translator Hanne Schubert falls down a flight of stairs, she suffers from an unusual but real condition—the loss of her native language. Speaking only Japanese, a language learned later in life, she leaves for Japan. There, to Hanne’s shock, the Japanese novelist whose work she recently translated confronts her publicly for sabotaging his work. 

Reeling, Hanne seeks out the inspiration for the author’s novel—a tortured, chimerical actor, once a master in the art of Noh theater. Through their passionate, volatile relationship, Hanne is forced to reexamine how she has lived her life, including her estranged relationship with her daughter. In elegant and understated prose, Nina Schuyler offers a deeply moving and mesmerizing story about language, love, and the transcendence of family. (publisher)

I've just started the novel, The Translator: A Novel but have learned something about the translator's art, how this translator says she has to be a writer as well as a someone who turns words into those of another language. She has to interpret meaning and convey them adequately, into English in this case.

Looking forward to reading more and getting into the main plot.

What books have you gotten from the library recently, and which are you really enjoying?

Bought at the Book Store/Borrowed from the Library

I was only going to look to see what new books were at the bookstore yesterday. I came back with this.

I have been seeing The Firebird on lots of blogs and was getting very curious. I liked what I read on the cover and started reading, then had to buy it. I am loving it! The heroine with psychic abilities appealed to me, especially while she is trying to establish the provenance of an old Russian wood carving, the Firebird.

At the library, returning some overdue books, I also went browsing and came back with these:

The Hour of the Rat is a thriller set in Beijing, with an Iraqi war vet representing the work of a Chinese artist and dissident, who has recently disappeared. The disappearance is the result of a conspiracy that leads the main character further into the mystery and into a wild chase through scenic parts of the country.

Bad Blood A Kate Shugak Novel by Dana Stabenow was another book I found at the library. I have enjoyed the series and read most of the early ones. Bad blood between two native tribes in Alaska intensifies when a young man from one of the groups is found dead. Kate is called in to resolve the problem and find the murderer. I always enjoy the Alaska setting.

A Tale for the Time Being is one I almost bought but found at the library, conveniently. A diary by Nao, a sixteen year old girl in Japan documents the life of her great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun, who has lived over a century. After the Japanese tsunami of 2011, the diary is found washed up on the shores of a remote island in the Pacific Northwest by a woman named Ruth. By reading the diary, Ruth is "pulled into Nao's drama and unknown fate and forward into her own future." I couldn't resist a description such as that.

Great books! I wish the last three had been in my mailbox and that I didn't have to return them eventually to the library :)

What have you bought or borrowed recently?

Library Loot, Audiobooks Galore

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg @ ReadingAdventures and Eva at A Striped Armchair.

Here's what I got today at the library, to last for the next couple of weeks: lots of audio CDs.

1. Only one hardcover book, Whisper To the Blood, a Kate Shugak Novel by Dana Stabenow, the 16th in the mystery series. A mystery novel set in Alaska, featuring Kate Shugak of the Niniltna Native Association.

2. Two fiction audiobooks:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, about the world of the circus and the performers there, unabridged, 10 discs. Eleven and a half hours of listening!
Digging to America by Anne Tyler, unabridged, 7 discs.

3. Three crime fiction audiobooks:

R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton, mystery writer, unabridged, 10 discs.
Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer by Dorothy Gilman, a light mystery set in Africa, no. 12 in the Mrs. Pollifax series, unabridged, 6 discs
A Fine Place for Death: a Meredith and Markby Mystery by British writer Ann Granger, a light mystery set in the Cotswolds, unabridged, 8 discs

What am I doing with all these audio CDs? Getting ready for an eye procedure next week, during which time I'll be listening rather than reading while I rest and recuperate. Why so many CDs? If I get bored with one novel, I'll just switch to another. Or listen to several at different times, depending on my mood :)

Oh, I also won an audio version of The Swan Thieves. Hope it'll arrive just in time.

I think I'll start right now, though, with Mrs. Pollifax, that indomitable lady and secret agent. Why wait?

Library Loot, June 22

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg @ ReadingAdventures and Eva at A Striped Armchair.

Back to the library today and borrowed six books, not three! Yes, I looted the library, but I don't feel too badly. There are so many books there. Four of these I have to return in three weeks!


International Writers:

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Agawa,is described as a story about "family, memory, and math." A young housekeeper is hired to take care of a math professor, who is brilliant but has only eight minutes of short-term memory. Can't wait to read this one!

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a Spanish author who also wrote The Shadow of the Wind, a novel I gave five stars to! This novel also deals with "obsession, in literature and in love." Can't wait to read this one either.

The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley, a New York writer, is about a woman who discovers a family secret after returning to her mother's native land. The book exposes the reader to the "strange and magical history, language, and landscape of Iceland."

Thriller/Mysteries:

Loser's Town by Daniel Depp is set in Hollywood, where anything goes. Can't wait to find out more about L.A.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, translated from the Swedish, is described as a "murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue." Journalist Mikael Blomkvist tracks down the secret behind a wealthy young woman's disappearance forty years before.

Death of a Witch: A Hamish McBeth Mystery by M.C. Beaton, a popular cozy writer who lives in the Cotswolds, England. The book is set in a fictitious, picturesque highland village watched over by the quirky but clever Constable Macbeth.

This list of books is also submitted as part of the 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge, hosted by J. Kay's Book Blog.