The main library in Kirkcaldy has been refurbished recently and they seem to have left out half of the books, it was bad enough before book-wise, the ones I want always seem to be elsewhere according to the catalogue.
Anyway today I had a look around the Dunfermline library, that one which was the very first Carnegie library as Andrew Carnegie was born just down the road. The choice was much better as I thought it would be. So I came home with:
1. Cargo of Eagles by Margery Allingham. I’ve just realised that this book was first published in 1966 and was unfinished when Allingham died, but her husband finished it. I wonder if it will be obvious when he takes over the writing.
2. The Outsider by Albert Camus. I haven’t read anything by him and I think it’s about time I did.
3. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin. The blurb on the front cover says – A classic detective story and a ludicrous literary farce. Guardian That could be just what I need at the moment.
4. The Green Man by Jane Gardam and Mary Fedden. I’ve always been interested in the Green Man and apparently in this book he becomes the missing god of our poor contemporary mythology, bridging the gap between the world beyond and this.
5. Dead Cold by Louise Penny. This is another Three Pines murder mystery by the Canadian author.
6. East Fortune by James Runcie. I think this would count as a Scottish novel as the author now lives in Edinburgh and is of Scottish heritage despite the fact that his father was the archbishop of Canterbury.
Well, that should keep me busy for a wee while. I was supposed to be avoiding the library and concentrating on my own many unread books, but what can you do when you find yourself through no fault of your own in Dunfermline with a freezing wind going through your bones – and then it starts to rain! I looked at Primark and opted for the library instead.
I saw Dead Cold by Louise Penny and thought “How did I miss that book?” I read them in order. Well, it’s Fatal Grace here in the U.S.They also do that with Donna Leon (Inspector Brunetti) and it drives me crazy.Will check out the James Runcie book. Thanks.
Lorraine,
I hate that too. Apparently a title which is good for one country can have a completely different meaning in another country. I think they just hope that people will buy the book twice!
Have read 2 of Runcie’s books at your recommendation. Didn’t realize dad was an archbishop.Have you read any of Esther de Waal books? Many of her books are Celtic and Benedictine spirituality themed based on Celtic poems of the Hebredes and borderlands of Scotland, England and Wales.She also has a nice website. Her son Edmund de Waal wrote The Hare with Amber Eyes which is popular in the U.S. I receive a daily photo of Scotland through Our Scotland. Like your photos better. Thanks.
Lorraine,
I haven’t heard of Esther de Waal but The Hare with Amber Eyes was very popular here too, I almost borrowed it from Dunfermline in fact. We haven’t been doing much travelling around to anywhere worth photographing recently – I must do better! You can read Robert Runcie’s obituary here he wasn’t the sort of man who usually got to the top in the Church of England. You’re beating me as I think I’ve only read one book by his son James!
Katrina,
This may seem a silly question, but how far is Dunfermline Library from your home? I’m glad it had some titles worth picking up.
I guess The Outsider may be L’Etranger or The Stranger, perhaps? The Stranger is how U.S. publishers translate L’Entranger, and I’ll bet The Outsider is closer to the real meaning, do you think?
In any case, I loved that novel–and it’s another of the seemingly hundreds I read during my senior year of high school. What a great teacher Mrs. Alexander was!
Please let us know how you like it!!!
Judith
Judith,
Dunfermline is about 15 miles from where I live in Kirkcaldy. There are a lot of small libraries much nearer me but Dunfermline has the biggest library. It’s a more historic place too as it was once capital of Scotland and has the ruins of a palace and Robert Bruce’s body in the abbey.
There was a copy of The Stranger too but it is the same book. Aren’t inspiring teachers great! I’ll be reading The Outsider soon.
Hi, Katrina,
I’m motivated to borrow from larger libraries as well. Yet, some of the smaller libraries in the Adirondacks have remarkable collections. The Indian Lake Library, in a very small town where I saw my doctor last Friday, has such an excellent collection of contemporary fiction titles. I’m always afraid the librarian will kick me out, but she didn’t, and I borrowed several 2013 titles I couldn’t have found anywhere else. So! What fun! By the way, Indian Lake is deeper into the wilderness. A fun drive!
Judith,
I like the name Indian Lake, at least it isn’t Eleventh Lake. I wonder what the First Nation people called it!
Whenever I look at the Fife online catalogue all the books I want are sitting on shelves in wee libraries and never appear in the main ones. It’s the best feeling walking out of a library with am armful of pristine books, it makes me feel so rich, much better than bagsful of clothes or something from a department store, which would have cost an arm and a leg.
My library did the same thing when we remodeled two years ago – we lost 25% of our collection – patrons still mourn the loss, but I think the staff has moved on đŸ™‚
I’m glad to hear that the library won out over Primark – you got some very interesting titles!
Anbolyn,
There are far fewer books I think that the bookcases are all low so that wheelchair users can reach the books on their own, I can’t see any other reason for it, and also the free standing bookcases are angled and sometimes curved which makes it very difficult to see the books if there is someone else standing nearby as they block the view. Whoever planned the layout was just plain daft!
I’d rather go to a library than the shops, I always feel rich when I walk out with a pile of lovely books – and it’s free!