A couple of years ago I worked within walking distance of home, and my route took me past the library in opening hours. that meant that I could pop in any day of the week, to return books, to pick up reservations, to check for new arrivals …

Now though I drive to work and with earlier closing times I can only get to the library on Saturdays.

Which is not to say that between reservations and books found on the shelves that my ticket isn’t stretched.

This week four books came home:

I spotted an NYRB Classics edition of Stoner by John Williams a few years ago, I read some very positive reports, and I added it to my wishlist. A few weeks ago I noticed that there was a UK edition too – published by Vintage. I checked the library catalogue and I found that there was one copy, further up the county. I placed an order, and it’s going to fill one of the vavant slots in my century of books.

I’ve been meaning to read more about suffragettes ever since I read No Surrender by Constance Maud, and I think that March Women March by Lucinda Hawksley might be exactly the book I wanted. A broad history of the women’s movement in the UK from 1792 to 1928, full of extracts from letters and diaries.

I’ve been looking out for Lesley Thomson‘s first book, but her second book turned up first.  The Detective’s Daughter is a mystery, and with comparisons drawn with both Kate Atkinson and Ian Rankin it looks very, very promising.

And then there’s Flappers by Judith Mackrell. I’ve been stalking this one – a collective biography of six fascinating women: Diana Cooper, Nancy Cunard, Tallulah Bankhead, Zelda Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker and Tamara de Lempicka – and I was ready to place an order the very moment it was added to stock.

An excellent return on just one visit …

What did you find in the library this week?