From the library:

1. An Officer and a Spy – Robert Harris.  Robert Harris is one of my favourite authors, and has been since I first picked up a copy of Enigma when it first came out.  I’m about two chapters into this and really enjoying it so far.
2. The Italian Sausage Bible – Mary Contini.  Om nom nom!
3. Steve Niles Omnibus – Steve Niles.  I’ve not read anything of Steve Niles’ outside of 30 Days of Night, so I’m quite looking forward to this although it looks like it’s of incredibly variable quality.  The joy of comics, eh!
4. The Emperor of Paris – C.S. Richardson.  Picked this up after reading about it over at caffeinatedlife.net
5. Miss Buncle’s Book – D.E. Stevenson.  Pretty sure I requested this after reading an online review too.  Not a fan of this cover but I absolutely love this one.
6. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown – Holly Black.  The cover on this really appeals to me.  It’s simple but arresting.

Acquisitions:

1. Firespell – Chloe Neill.  A cast-off YA supernatural that looks fairly promising.
2. Christmas Books – Charles Dickens.  A cast-off.
3. A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings – Charles Dickens.  A cast-off that somehow contains some different stories from Christmas Books.
4. For Whom the Bell Tolls – Ernest Hemingway.  A cast-off.
5. The Story Girl – L.M. Montgomery.  Bought this one and somehow overlooked the fact that they also had a copy of Pat of Silverbush.  It’s pay day tomorrow so I’ll be heading back first thing.  Luckily, the bookshop is right next to one of the places where I work so it all works out quite nicely.
6. Mr Knightley’s Diary – Amanda Grange.  A cast-off.  This has terrible reviews but, despite the fact that I hated Emma, I really do love Mr Knightley.
7. Steppenwolf – Herman Hesse. A cast-off.
8. Ashenden – W. Somerset Maugham.  A cast-off.  And one with a fabulously stylish cover.
9. Star Trek: Terek Nor, Day of the Vipers – James Swallow.  Via Bookmooch.  I have the second and third parts of this trilogy for a while now.  Maybe now that I’ve finally completed it, I might read the damned things.
10. Reckoning – Cate Tiernan.  Also via Bookmooch and also the completion of a series I’ve been picking up over time.  I bought the first book in the Wicca series not long after it was initially published in the UK (in 2002, I think) and to date it is the only one I have ever read.  I’ve been buying them in charity and second hand bookshops for years and now I finally have them all.  I’m quite daunted to read them after all this time.  I mean, what if they don’t live up to the effort I’ve put in?
11. Orbus – Neal Asher.  A cast-off.
12. The Ladies of Grace Adieu – Susanna Clarke.  A cast-off.  One of these days I’ll get around to reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and then I’ll have this one to follow it up with!
13. Red Mars – Kim Stanley Robinson.  Via Bookmooch and yet another completed collection.  These completed collections are making me happy, but I’m also coming to the realisation that I’m going to have to read all these books and that is a little less happy making, if only for time reasons.
14. My Love Lies Bleeding  – Alyxandra Harvey.  A cast-off.
15. The Perfect Hostess – Rose Henniker-Heaton.  A cast-off.  Because who doesn’t need a hosting manual from the 1930s?  It’ll go wonderfully with my copy of Everybody’s Complete Letter Writer for Ladies and Gentlemen!
16. The Spellman Files – Lisa Lutz.  A cast-off.
17. 500 Chili Recipes.  A cast-off.  I love chilli so I just want to hug this book to my chest with glee.
18. Hadrian’s Wall – Derry Brabbs.  A cast-off, and a beautiful one at that.
19. The Scottish Parliament – Charles Jencks.  A cast-off.

Over the past few weeks, thanks to local library sales, I’ve managed to complete my collections of two book series.

I’ve been buying the ‘Keys to the Kingdom’ books by Garth Nix since 2003 when Mister Monday was released.  Even though I love everything of Nix’s that I’ve read, I never have gotten around to Mister Monday.  I’ve been picking the rest of the series up in dribs and drabs over the years, until Superior Saturday was the only title I was missing.  And now it’s finally made it’s way into my lazy, lazy hands!  The only problem now is that although Grim Tuesday through to Lord Sunday are on my bookcases in Glasgow, Mister Monday is marooned back in Ireland…

I started reading the ‘Discworld’ series in the mid-90s, borrowing titles from my best friend’s brother.  Once I’d exhausted his collection, I started buying the titles myself, starting with Carpe Jugulum in 1999.  I’ve kept up to date with Terry Pratchett’s publications since then, and have been picking up earlier books in charity shops and sales.  For years now, I’ve had a list of the ‘Discworld’ novels that I needed written on a post-it note in my wallet.  With my find of Soul Music at a local library sale (seriously, why are they getting rid of Pratchett titles?), that post-it note is no more