Dear friends,

I’ve acquired a TON (probably literally) of books over the past months, including a few dozen at a library sale this weekend.  I thought I’d show them to you a few at a time.  As you know, I read a lot of backlist titles, as well as new releases.  While I occasionally buy a new release in hardback if it’s something I’ve really been looking forward to, I acquire most of my books in other ways:

• Borrow from the library
• Lent from friends
• Purchased at sales
• Purchased at retail, in paperback format
• “Shop my shelves” (and storage boxes)
• Listen on audiobook and/or read on Kindle

Let’s look at my first little haul:

1.  Daisy Jones and the Six.  I flew through this one, and my review’s already up.  I had received an “ARC” (advance reader copy) of this one months ago, but never got around to it till now.  The story of a 1970s band similar to Fleetwood Mac – their rise to fame and fall from popularity.
2. City of Girls.  This one just came out June 4 and I can’t WAIT to read it!  New York showgirls in the 1940s.
3. Sawkill Girls.  Borrowed from the Library, and I need to finish it as it’s due very soon.  A Young Adult “YA” title, I don’t know much about it other than it’s a mystery about girls who go missing on Sawkill Island.
4. Our Lady of the Prairie.  Lent to me by a coworker.  Written by a colleague at my university, who was pleased when I told her I was reading it.
5. The Clockmaker’s Daughter.  I bought this in hardback when it first came out, and it’s just been released in paperback … need to get to it!  I understand it switches back and forth along two (or more?) timelines.

A side note: I don’t believe in doing “TBRs” (“To be read”) lists, because I like to have the freedom to choose what appeals to me in the moment.  I believe that we have a relationship with our books, and that reading should never feel like a chore.  Also, when I finish a book, I pass it on if possible, so it will continue to have a life.  I might give it to a friend, or to charity.  Only a few take up permanent residence on my shelves, and those are the ones that have spoken to me on the deepest level.

I am also re-listening to the Harry Potter books on Audible.  I read the originals so long ago that I’ve forgotten a lot, plus the movies have muddied my memories a bit.  By revisiting them now, I can really see the books-to-movies changes.  Mind you, I’m not touchy about such changes – I understand that it’s a different task to tell a story visually than to tell it in writing.  I just find it interesting.  I’m halfway through Chamber of Secrets now, and I’m wondering about something:

How did Dobby intercept the letters from Ron and Hermione?  Considering how the owls in the first book were able to track Harry down wherever he might be, I can’t see how this would happen, and I don’t see it being addressed in the story.  Plot hole?

Happy reading everyone!

Winnie and the Professor