Ah, another week has passed us by which means it’s time for another Currently Checked Out post! This week’s post features all the books I’ve checked out and services I’ve used between Nov. 8th & 14th.
If you’re new to this series and haven’t read the introduction post essentially the purpose behind the series is to raise awareness about the different resources that public libraries provide and to share how much money I save by utilizing the resources available to me through the library systems that I utilize.
The Books
Aria by Nazanine Hozar
Synopsis via Goodreads
Green Apple Books $28.95 | Books Inc. $28.95 | Amazon $19.51 ✔︎
I’ve been trying to broaden my fiction reading (eventually I’ll get to the non-fiction) and one of the areas that I’ve realized that I haven’t read much fiction about is the Middle East. This story takes place in 1953 and at the start of the Iranian Revolution in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Aria is centered on the title-character Aria, a blue-eyed orphaned baby girl found in an alleyway and adopted by a driver named Behrouz. Her life is shaped by three women who treat her with varying degrees of niceness and cruelty along with her romance with an Armenian boy who’s on the “wrong side of the revolution”. I’ve noticed that this book has gotten some mixed reviews about the historical accuracy of the story so I’m hoping that will be something to motivate me to look into the details of what occurred during the the time in which this book takes place and inspires me to read some nonfiction books about the region and it’s history.
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Jack by Connie Willis
Synopsis via Goodreads
Green Apple Books $40.00 (N/A) | Books Inc. $40 (N/A) | Amazon $37.22 ✔︎
I have no clue why this book is so darn expensive!!!
This book is another result of last week’s novella search. Basically, I was in the mood for short stories but not a collection of short stories, and remembered that novellas are essentially one-and-done short stories. “Jack” takes place in London during the height of the Blitz (German bombing of the UK that took place between 1940-1941) and features a man named Jack who has an uncanny ability to locate people who are still alive that have been buried under the rubble of the airstrikes. According to the library catalog, it’s a mix of horror and paranormal and I’m pretty excited about that.
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The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
Synopsis via Goodreads
Green Apple Books $28.00 ✔︎ | Books Inc. $28.00 | Amazon $25.20
This request, along with the next one, was thanks to Goodreads’ article about Fall’s Big Fantasy Authors. It’s an epic fantasy in an Asian inspired setting; which I absolutely love for fantasy. I also love fantasy novels that follow several different characters and this one is apparently following not only the rightful heir to the throne of the empire, but a good-hearted smuggler, a lesbian couple, and a girl on a remote island who doesn’t have a clue as to what she’s doing there. The only thing that gives me pause about this novel is that the magic system is inspired by computer programing and I’m just not a big computer programing person. I prefer my fantasy to be free of technology, but we’ll see what happens.
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A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Synopsis via Goodreads
Green Apple Books $28.00 ✔︎| Books Inc. $28.00 | Amazon $24.38
I’ve been eyeballing Novik’s books for a while and I was planning on starting with her Temeraire series. However, when I saw “A Deadly Education” in that Fall’s Big Fantasy Authors article I decided to I might as well start here since it’s her most recent work. The story sounds promising. It features a magic school that won’t students leave until they’ve either graduated or died. The school is filled with monsters who are killing the students, and there’s a girl named El who’s so OP (overpowered) she could potentially kill all the monsters but she would also kill all the students. Both Goodreads and Bibliocommons have this tagged as a YA novel which makes me a little bit nervous. I’m a wee bit tired of the young adult perspective. I know last week I was juiced about reading some YA, but I’m going to keep it real with you guys, I ended up setting aside “Legendborn” after 96 pages. The teenage mindset is just not a mindset that I want to see a story through at this junction in my life. However! I’m still going to this one a shot.
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Mademoiselle Boleyn by Robin Maxwell
Synopsis via Goodreads
Green Apple Books – not sold | Books Inc. – not sold | Amazon $15.00 ✔︎
Anne Boleyn is one of my favorite historical figures. In fact, she’s one of the main reasons why I decided to pursue an undergraduate degree in Medieval History. It’s always an exciting moment for me when I come across a novel about Boleyn that I haven’t read before, such as this one. “Mademoiselle Boleyn” is about Boleyn’s childhood in the French Court which is a time period in her life I haven’t read much about, except for in Allison Weir’s novel, Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession which I did not enjoy. I am hoping to enjoy this one however.
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The Digital Resources
The New York Times
Basic Subscription – Billed at $4/month
Through SFPL (San Francisco Public Library) I’m able to get 72 hour access to the NY Times after redeeming a code given to me through the library. At the end of my 72 hour access period all I have to do is redeem another code and I’m good to go for another three days. Sweet and simple.
I’ve never been a huge news person, but I’m trying to change! I’m trying to get into reading local and national news stories just so I can stay abreast of what’s going on around me and in the country. Also, I never realized how many different topics are covered in the NY Times. I’m currently stalking the real estate, books, and arts sections. This week I happened to come across ‘Queen’s Gambit’ Costumes Make Us Want to Toss Our Leggings which led me to start watching the Netflix series (I’m on the 5th episode & in love with it) along with request the book from the library.
How Much $$$ Did I Save?
With San Francisco sales tax (8.5%) factored in the total amount of money I saved is $142.59.
Amazon = $77.83 (55%)
Green Apple Books = $60.76 (43%)
Other = $4 (.028%)
Books Inc. = $0
I’m Curious…
What do you currently have checked out from you local library? And if you don’t have anything checked out, what are you currently reading? And if neither of those questions appeal to you, what is your opinion on mainstream news? Let me know in the comments!
Cheers,
Rae Of Books 