Library Loot: 12.16.09

Library Loot is a wonderful meme hosted by Eva and Marg which allows us to share all our lovely library finds with one another. This week's haul of books is no less daunting as the last few weeks, but as you know, I do not have intentions of reading all books in the three weeks alloted time. I will read some - skim some - and return some unread, deciding that it is just not a book for me at this point and time. The vast majority of these books have been acquired because of your hearty recommendations!

The Mousetrap and Other Plays by Agatha Christie. I am still trying to find a suitable 20th Century book to teach my Brit Lit class. I have considered Agatha Christie for a long time (I love introducing the mystery genre and having students try to write their own short mystery at the end of novel unit), and since the students had such fun with the dramatic study of Macbeth, I thought perhaps this Christie play might be a fun way to end the academic year.

Death of an Expert Witness by P. D. James I have not read an Adam Dalgliesh novel before, but after doing some research I came to the conclusion that my normal mode of serial reading (that is, start with the first book in the series), would not be the best choice. Many reviewers said they thought this was one of the author's best endeavors, so I decided to break protocol, live dangerously, and start with the 6th novel in the series.

Ringing in Murder by Katherine Kingsbury. I was in Barnes and Noble on Sunday (a dangerous place for me to be allowed to roam free) and I saw this author's newest work, Decked with Folly on display. I need one more book to complete the Christmas Reading Challenge, and I thought a holiday mystery set in the Pennyfoot Hotel (what a cozy name!) might be the perfect answer. Unfortunately my local library did not have that title available, so I decided to try this one instead.

Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock. Belle of Ms. Bookish mentioned this in her blog the other day and I thought this would be a great book to read in anticipation of my end-of-the-year study with 7th graders when we read several of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle short stories. This book follows the young, 13 year old Sherlock Holmes as he tries to solve his first case.

Something Mis ing by Matthew Dicks. Ok - on said Barnes and Noble I found this book in the new paperback release section. The initial summary on the back immediately attracted my attention and fortunately my library had a copy available:

A career criminal with OCD tendencies and a savant-like genius for bringing order to his crime scenes, Martin considers himself one of the best in the biz. After all, he’s been able to steal from the same people for years on end—virtually undetected. Of course, this could also be attributed to his unique business model—he takes only items that will go unnoticed by the homeowner. After all, who in their right mind would miss a roll of toilet paper here, a half-used bottle of maple syrup there, or even a rarely used piece of china buried deep within a dusty cabinet?

Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick. Same BN trip.....this book is inspired by Vincent van Gogh's famous painting and tells a fictional story of the artist and a refugee prostitute. I am in awe of those who can look at one art form and be inspired to create something completely different. This book may not be my kind of book at all, but my curiosity was peaked.

Cather: Later Novels Well, for the life of me I do not remember who recently posted about a short story of Willa Cather, but I was so taken with the review that I immediately ordered this from the library. There are several short stories in this collection and I am hoping to at least skim several of them to gain an appreciation for this fine American author.

The Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Ann Collins. To date I have not read a single modern day companion story to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, although I do own Pam Aidan's trilogy. I have heard some lovely reviews about Ms Collins multi-book series and thought it might be nice to read the first one over Christmas break since I will start January teaching Pride and Prejudice in my British Literature course.

Now, all I have to do is get through the last day of finals on Friday.....grade all tests and update final grades on Saturday......wrap all the presents......bake and cook for the Christmas Eve and Christmas day feasts.......and then I will have about 2 weeks of freedom to read to my heart's content.