Using my local library

So 7 minutes from my front door to my local library on my whizzy new bike this morning. That's good. Not quite far enough to be really good exercise but not likely to ever put me off going on damp days.

Very impressed that my library ticket still worked even though its years since I used it. Less impressed that I couldn't reserve Jonanthan Franzen's Purity despite it being publication date,  "as the service hasn't ordered it it yet". This doesn't bode well for some of the small-press titles I am likely to want to reserve and which the service may never order without a little push.. Still- early days. I shall persevere.

 I did find 2 books to borrow which will come on holiday with me- We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo  which I have heard of and  looks fun  and The Secrets We Keep by Jonathan Harvey. Never read anything by Jonathan Harvey even though he's a name I know well. This edition has a picture of a left luggage ticket from Manchester Piccadilly station on the front and  I'm a sucker for novels that feature Manchester.

I've just checked the ManBooker 2015 shortlist which has been announced. Bit surprised to see A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler there which I have read and was under-whelmed by. I do like Anne Tyler and have read many of her books. This one just seemed a bit dull to me and not nearly as good as Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg, which struck me as having many similarities to Anne Tyler's work in its family focus,but with a bleaker atmosphere. Having enthused about it to lots of people I really wanted to see it make it on to the shortlist.

I haven't read any of the others yet and hope my library service is getting them ordered today.