Library Loot (Dec 1-7)

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire (The Captive Reader) and Marg (The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader) that encourages bloggers to share the books they've checked out of the library. If you'd like to participate, just write up your post (feel free to steal the button) and link it using the Mr. Linky on Claire's site any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

This week I don't have quite as much going on. I didn't come home from the library with anything new today. I restrained myself from bring home Nicola Upson's Angel with Two Faces which was calling to me from the "New Arrivals" shelf. I've got some catch up work to do on holiday challenges and review books before I can reward myself with anything else not on the TBR list.

Leftover Loot from last visit:

Death in Hellfire by Deryn Lake. This one finds John Rawlings in disguise and infiltrating the infamous Hellfire Club. Debauchery seems to be a strong motivation for the club's meetings, but is there a more sinister element to these weekly weekends? Evil lurks in hidden corners and it seems the nobility have more than the usual share of skeletons to hide.

And my current read:
Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood. The most recent Phryne Fisher mystery. I've been waiting (impatiently) for this to be available from the library. This time Phryne has promised everyone in her household a nice holiday by the sea with absolutely no murders, but when they reach their rented accomodations that doesn't seem likely at all. An empty house, a gang of teenage louts, a fisherboy saved, and the mysery of a missing butler and his wife seem to lead inexorably toward a hunt for buried treasure. Phryne knows to what depths people will sink for greed, but with a glass of champagne in one hand and her pearl-handled Beretta in the other, no one is getting past her.

Bonus Loot (not from library):

One of the instructors at the English Department where I work was sent extra instructor copies. I happened to be there when they came and was the lucky recipient of

In the Land of Time & Other Fantasy Tales by Lord Dunsany. A pioneer in the realm of imaginative literature, Lord Dunsany has gained a cult following for his influence on modern fantasy literture, including such authors as J. R. R. Tolkien and H. P. Lovecraft. This unique collection of short stories ranges over five decades of work. Liberal selections of early tales are followed by memorable later tales, including several about the garrulous traveler Joseph Jorkens and the outrageous murder tale "The Two Bottles of Relish." Throughout, the stories are united by Dunsany's cosmic vision, his impeccable and mellifluous prose, and his distinctively Irish sense of whimsy.

AND

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft....a selection of the master's fiction from the early tales of nightmares and madness to the overpowering cosmic terror of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" and "The Call of Cthulhu." This edition reveals the development of Lovecraft's mesmerizing narrative style and establishes him as a canonical--and visionary--American writer. [One of the few in the horror genre that I like....]

I also received one ARC...of a novel due out in January 2011. It sounds really good!

India Black: A Madam of Espionage Mystery by Carol Carr. Set in Victorian England....the blurb says: "Fanny Hill meets Nancy Drew in this new series." I can't wait to see if it's as good as it sounds. Review will be coming soon.