Library Loot

I stopped at the library today to return some books and pick up a couple that were on hold for me. Here's my stack, a relatively short one this time:

I reserved In the Garden of Beasts quite awhile ago, as soon as I noticed it on a list of books that were going to be published this spring. I listened to the audio version of The Devil in the White City several years ago and loved it, though I haven't read any more of Erik Larson's books since. I do have Thunderstruck on my bookshelf but just haven't picked it up yet. In the Garden of Beasts is about a subject that fascinates me; the subtitle is Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin. Can't wait to dig into this one!

I doubt that Berlin Noir would have caught my interest if I hadn't heard Nancy Pearl mention it on the most recent Nancy Pearl Book Reviews Podcast. I've had very good luck with Nancy Pearl recommendations (including, most recently, The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett) and this one sounded like it would appeal to me. It's another one about Nazi Germany. It's sort of a coincidence that I checked out two books about Nazi Germany on the same day, but sort of not really because I tend to be drawn to books about the World War II era.

Finally, A Fire Upon the Deep by Verner Vinge is slightly outside my usual reading habits, but I was in the mood for some science fiction after finishing Jo Walton's Among Others yesterday, which was a Books on the Nightstand recommendation. I really loved this book about a young girl who is socially awkward but finds solace in books (not that I would know anything about that. Ahem.) Most of her reading material is from the science fiction and fantasy genres. I saw the Vinge on the shelf at the library and remembered that the professor of the science fiction class I took in college mentioned this as a particularly good novel. I made the mistake of looking at reviews online after I got home and seeing that feelings about this book are very mixed, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway. The Goodreads average was just over four stars, so it can't be too bad.

My biggest victory on today's library trip was managing to return twice as many books as I came home with. Anyone who could see my shelves of unread books at home would probably wonder why I even bother going to the library, but I just can't resist picking up a few new-to-me books once in awhile. And hey, it's free!