Another week has passed so it is time for another Currently Checked Out post! These are all the books and eResources that I’ve checked out and used between Nov. 22nd and 28th. Apologies for this post being a few days late but ya girl usually works 6 days a week and thanks to the holiday I had a very glorious 3-days off. I spent a decent chunk celebrating my husband’s 30th birthday, reading “The Good House” by Tananarive Due, and sleeping. But, that’s not what you’re here to hear about. Let’s get into what I have Currently Checked Out this week!
The Books
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
Synopsis via Bookshop
Checked out from: SFPL
ISBN: 9781250269256
Green Apple Books $19.99 ✔︎|Books Inc. $19.99 | Amazon $15.89
I think I came across this while while looking for novellas similar to The Empress of Salt and Fortune, or else I just came across while doing another novella keyword search situation. I’m seriously loving novellas y’all. Either way, the cover is beautiful and that’s probably the main thing that drew me to this novella. The second thing that caught my interest was the synopsis which promises an eclectic group of thieves and a votary who gets caught up with them in order to protect a sacred object. I do love an eclectic group of thieves storyline.
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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Synopsis via Bookshop
Checked out from: MARINet
ISBN: 9780143039983
Green Apple Books $16.00 ✔︎ | Books Inc. $16.00 | Amazon 11.79
I came across this one thanks to a comment on my Thoughts on Ring Shout video were I asked folks to drop their favorite horror authors. A subscriber named Rabbit brought up Shirley Jackson which led me on a merry search to find out who she was and what she wrote. I came across an incredibly interesting article in The New Yorker under the title “Haunted Houses” by Zoe Hill which examines Ruth Franklin’s biography on Jackson and highlights details from Jackson’s personal life which can be found in several of her works. After reading the article I decided that The Haunting of Hill House was where I wanted to start with her Jackson’s works. All I really know about this book is that it has to do with a occult scholar who’s studying hauntings and a trio of folks who accompany him to Hill House for his study. I didn’t realize that the Netflix show The Haunting of Hill House was based off this book which means that after I read this I’m going to have to watch the show to see how it compares to the book.
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Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse
Synopsis via Bookshop
Checked out from: SFPL
ISBN: 9781534413535
Green Apple Books $16.99 N/A | Books Inc. $16.99 N/A | Amazon $10.79 ✔︎
I remember that I read the first book in this series back in 2019 and enjoyed it but I don’t exactly remember how it ended so I am a bit nervous about reading this second installment. All I remember from the first one is falling in love with the main character Maggie who’s a bad-ass monster hunter and how in love I was with all the Native American lore that was prevalent throughout the novel. This novel takes place four weeks after the events of the first novel and deals with a cult led by the White Locust, body harvesters, and newborn casino gods. Sounds dope and I’m loving homegirl on the cover with the afro.
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Afropessimism by Frank B Wilderson III
Synopsis via Bookshop
Checked out from: MARINet
ISBN: 9781631496141
Green Apple Books $29.95 | Books Inc. $29.95 | Amazon $20.22 ✔︎
Sometimes I read non-fiction. I’m pretty sure I came across this one in a New York Times list, or because I was looking through the National Book Awards Longlist. I remember being slightly intrigued by Wilderson’s thesis that the Black experience is defined solely by the perpetual cycle of slavery, but more intrigued with the autobiographical portions of the book. Wilderson seems like an interesting dude and I wouldn’t mind reading more about his life and how his thesis fits in with his Black experience.
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The Travelers by Regina Porter
Synopsis via Bookshop
Checked out from: MARINet
ISBN: 9780525576204
Green Apple Books $17.00 ✔︎ | Books Inc. $17.00 | Amazon $15.00
This was a good ‘ol serendipitous book find. I was pulling holds for patrons and the colors on the spine absolutely popped out at me so I grabbed it for myself after briefly glimpsing at the synopsis (and the holds list to make sure I wasn’t nabbing someone else’s book). I have no clue how to explain this except that it highlights the lives of two families and the people in which they encounter. There’s an interracial romance, half-brothers who meet as grown men in a crayon factory, and a Black lesbian finding her grove in 1970’s Berlin. It sounds like it’s going to be both interesting and funny and I’m really looking forward to it.
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Memorial by Bryan Washington
Synopsis via Bookshop
Checked out from: MARINet
ISBN: 9780593087275
Green Apple Books $27.00 | Books Inc. $27.00 | Amazon $18.48 ✔︎
I remember reading about this one in the NY Times back in October when I had a free moment at the reference desk and thinking that it sounded absolutely fascinating, potentially funny, and hopefully sweet. It’s centered on a gay, interracial couple (Japanese American/Black) living in Houston who are unsure if they are even still a couple anymore. One day one of the dudes receives news that his estranged father is dying in Japan and he flies off right as mother is coming to visit leaving his partner to entertain and spend time with his mother. It sounds like there’s supposed to be a pretty decent chunk of self-discovery going on in this novel and I’ll sorts of here for it.
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The eResources
NoveList Plus
Price is based off a library’s service population
NoveList Plus has saved my behind so many times when it comes to creating reader’s advisories or recommending books that are far outside of any of my usual genres. It is specifically targeted towards library workers, but honestly, anyone who does any kind of book recommendations, displays, or works with books would find it to be a pretty good resource. Essentially it’s just a giant database of book recommendations based off appeal, genre, and theme and it just makes library life so much easier sometimes.
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RB Digital
Magazine accessed: The New Yorker
Digital Access Only: $6 for 12 weeks then auto-renews for $99.99 for 1 year
RB Digital is a digital magazine service that has hundreds of magazines available for digital checkout. You can use your computer, phone, tablet, and Kindle Fire to read their offerings. I somehow maxed out of my free articles for The New Yorker and I really wanted to read the one I mentioned earlier about Shirley Jackson. I remembered that RB Digital through SFPL has access to The New Yorker and wham-bam I got to read the article. What I don’t like about RB Digital though is that if you’re looking for a back issue there isn’t any way to search specifically for that issue. Instead, you have to click around through all the back issues to find the one that you’re looking for. It’s an annoying process, but! It is a service that I’m using for free so I can’t complain too much.
How Much $$$ Did I Save?
With San Francisco sales tax (8.5%) factored in the total amount of money I saved is $117.19
Amazon = $58.20 (50%)
Green Apple Books = $52.99 (45%)
Other = $6 (5%)
Books Inc. = $0.00 (%)
& if I break it down by library
SFPL = $39.40 (34%)
MARINet = $77.79 (66%)
I’m Curious
What do you currently have checked out? & if you don’t have anything checked out, what are you currently reading?
Bonus Question: On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your book recommending capabilities?
Let me know in the comments!
Cheers,
Rae Of Books 