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Thursday 2 February 2017

Cold-induced library haul




Feeling sorry for myself because I was - again - suffering from a grotty cold, I decided to visit my local library. I figured that as I had to venture to the shops anyway to buy yet more tissues (at this point, I had already gone through one box's worth and at least one bog roll), I might as well as do something pleasant while I was out of my sick bed. I ended up only borrowing three books because, to be honest, I couldn't face lugging back a load of books in my plaguey state. Mind you, considering that this was my second cold in as many weeks, grabbing one or two books from my library's display of "optimal health" books - rather than just giving them a cursory glance - would not have gone amiss. Ah well, these are the books I did get,

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler - Goodreads description
I've been wanting to give this retelling of Taming of The Shrew (part of the Hogarth Shakespeare project) a go ever since it came out last year. I was interested to see how Tyler would tackle the really rather sexist plot of the original  - gobby woman gets put in her place by bloke (though I have read Shakespeare was being ironic or something). Plus I really liked Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread, so I wasn't averse to reading more of her work.

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier - Goodreads description
Having failed to re-read Rebecca for my Jane Eyre project because I couldn't face reading about someone else's anxieties (I have enough of my own), I felt I owed it to Du Maurier (not quite sure why to be honest) to try to read another one of her books. As My Cousin Rachel (boy meets girl he suspects of doing in his cousin; falls in love with said girl) has been made into a (soon-to-be-released) film, it seemed the obvious choice. 

Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe - Goodreads description
I absolutely loved Stibbe's memoir Love, Nina - to the extent I once foisted it upon an unsuspecting member of my bookgroup as a secret Santa gift - but I was sceptical that I'd like this work of fiction about two girls trying to find a husband for their mum. Funny, insightful non-fiction writers aren't necessarily gifted fiction writers (and vice versa) as fiction and non-fiction are two very different mediums. Therefore, I decided to pick up this library edition  - the great thing being that I could try it without fear of adding to my "bought but won't read" pile. 




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