Bookshop wanderings

I went to wander in the bookshop in my lunch break, and ended up buying myself a treat - Connie Willis' Doomsday Book, one of my favourite novels of all time.  I read it first last year, but won't link to my review of it, because it was incoherent and didn't do a truly amazing novel justice.

I went through various sections of the shop with pen and paper in hand, as is my habit, noting down anything that looked interesting so that I could see if the library has it.  Bookshops are much more fun to browse in than the library.  I am a bookseller's nightmare.

Kerry Greenwood has a new Phryne Fisher book out, Murder in the Dark, which I will get hold of when the library acquires it.  Seeing a glossy display of Neal Stephenson novels on the shelf reminded me how much I enjoyed reading Cryptonomicon and The Diamond Age, although both novels confused me to some extent.  I've decided, after reading some blurbs, that the next book of his I'd like to read is Quicksilver - as the beginning of his Baroque Cycle, it seems like a good choice.

The cover of Douglas Kennedy's The Pursuit of Happiness has a positive quote from Kate Atkinson on the cover, which immediately makes me pick it up.  It doesn't really seem like the sort of book that would attract me, but I'm curious - Atkinson's quote might just convince me to give it a go.

And speaking of Kate Atkinson, I'm enormously excited about reading her latest, One Good Turn.  It seems that Be-Zen has her hands on it already - I'm waiting in a line at the library. 

I picked up Justina Robson's Keeping it Real because of the oh-so-funky cover - I can't quite decide if it's the sort of sci-fi I'd enjoy, or if it's the way-cool techno sci-fi littered with futuristic slang that drives me insane.  Some of her other books have got good reviews, and the library stocks her, so I might give it a go.

I remember seeing Labyrinth by Kate Mosse on a few bloggers' reading lists a while ago.  It looks like a fun read, but I don't think I'll be particularly seeking it out, unless I go through a dry patch.  It looks a little too adventurey for me.

Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian is also a book I've seen around a few blogs, and it's definitely one I want to read in the future.  Dracula, mysteries,  suspense -  sounds fun.

Margaret Drabble has a new book out, The Sea Lady.  I love Drabble's books - well-written, wonderful characters and relationships - I'll definitely be reading this one.