The book about Queen Elizabeth II was good and didn't take too long. Nine days for almost 700 pages. I just wish it had covered more about her younger life before becoming Queen. The book covered through 2012 - 60 years of her 70-year reign - and it was interesting to see how the monarchy had changed during the years.

The books from Libby have been coming regularly now and I'm trying to keep up with those. Sometimes one will suddenly be available that showed 4 weeks when I looked last. And I look every day to see what's moving up on the availability list. 

The last two have been through Libby. Daylight by David Baldacci which is the 3rd book in a series of 4 about FBI agent Atlee Pine and her search for her twin sister who has been missing since the age of 6 years old - that one was available Jan. 28 before I finished the Queen Elizabeth II book. I went ahead and borrowed it because I knew I would be able to finish it within the 2-week period.

Then on Feb. 6 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins became available. It's the prequel to the Hunger Games books. Of course, Even though I was still reading Daylight. I knew I only had a couple of days left in that one and went ahead and borrowed the Collins book. However, 2 days later on Feb. 8 another book became available in Libby - The Burger Chef Murders in Indiana by Julie Young. The reason I chose that book is because I remembered those murders in 1978 in Speedway, IN - near Indianapolis - and it sounded interesting. At that point, I was just finishing the Daylight book. Since the Burger Chef Murders book was less than 200 pages, I read that one before the Collins book which is over 500 pages.

Then yesterday - Feb. 13 - another book becomes available in Libby. This one is Indelible by Karin Slaughter and is the 4th book in her Grant County series. That one wasn't supposed to be available for another 4 weeks. I went ahead and borrowed it because I should be finishing the Collins book in another 2-3 days.

So as you can see, Libby is keeping me supplied with books. And it's good to be able to read some books that have been on my "Wanted" list for years. I just need a little break so that I can read a few of the books I already have on my Kindle. LOL

Wow! I finished The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes this morning and went into Libby to return it. I discovered I had another book ready to borrow - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and that wasn't supposed to be ready for 3 more weeks.  That makes 5 books available in less than 3 weeks. I went ahead and borrowed it since I should be able to finish the one I just started and the Towles book within 2 weeks. 

The strange thing is - and I think I've said this before - is the book I'm really wanting to get from Libby (Catcher in the Rye) has been sitting at 2 weeks for a couple of months now. I don't understand what's the holdup because it's a short book - less than 200 pages.

OMG!! Catcher in the Rye just became available in Libby this evening. I went ahead and borrowed it even though I already have two other books borrowed. I'm about a third of the way through the first one - Karin Slaughter's Indelible. I can probably finish that one over the weekend or Monday at the latest. Then I'll skip to Catcher since it's such a short book. Get that one done and sent back and I can move on to A Gentleman in Moscow which I just borrowed yesterday.

You must have no time to go anywhere, play MC or do housework, as you are reading all those books. Good for you!

That's right. But I don't go anywhere because of some health issues. Although I have been going to several different doctors about those lately.  Honestly, I've become very bored with playing games  ... MC, games on Pogo.com, etc. This is very unusual for me but it definitely gives me more time to read. Housework ... what's that?  When I had the back issues I couldn't do much housework and got very lazy. Now I do what I can when I feel like it before it gets totally out of control. 

Oh! I finished Indelible yesterday - only took me 3 days to read about 450 pages. I really like Slaughter's Grant County series. So I started The Catcher in the Rye last night. That meant I still have A Gentleman in Moscow. Then this morning another book is available - Kill Switch by Adam Jentleson. It's a non-fiction with the subtitle The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy.  I heard about it on Meet the Press and thought it would be an interesting read. Anyway, since I just started the one book and already have another one waiting, I decided to modify my hold and let the next person have it. The good thing is that just puts me as the next person in line instead of having to go to the end of the line.

When I logged into my email today I found that I had another book available from Libby. That's 5 books in the last 6 days. Crazy! And this one wasn't supposed to be available for 10 weeks and I was 6th in line.

The book was Gone With the Wind. I read that when I was a teenager but wanted to read it again. However, I let it go to the next person because I know it's a long one and didn't want to hold it up. Maybe others were doing the same thing and that's how it got to me suddenly. 

I've just finished reading Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen, which was a hoot. Loved everything about it, including that the main vampire character shared my name. Don't get too many Louise's in fiction.

Last night I started How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix, who is fast becoming my favourite modern horror writer. Imaging my surprise when the first word in the book was 'Louise'! Yep another book who's main character is named Louise. When did my name become so popular? Anyway, it has started really well, but it's one of those books where every chapter ends in a cliffhanger, so you have to keep reading to find out what happens next. I had to force myself to put it down and get some sleep otherwise I would have been no good at work today.

WeeSam (WeesamNZ) said:

but it's one of those books where every chapter ends in a cliffhanger, so you have to keep reading

I love books like that. I can remember years ago reading all night and calling in sick the next day.  Of course, now that I'm retired, that's not a problem. I just read all night and sleep when I finally feel like it.

Eight more years and I'll be able to do that too. Looking forward to retirement day!

On Feb. 19th I posted that Gone With the Wind was available through Libby but I sent it on to the next person. I thought at the end of the 2-week period it would become available again. However, it didn't appear again until Mar. 12th. I went ahead and took it even though I knew I had about 2 more days before I would finish the book I was on. 

Now here's something strange. The book is only 523 pages and I know for a fact that GWTW  is over 1,000 pages. I went to Amazon and checked out their Kindle versions and each one of those is only 500+ pages. So I went ahead and started reading the version from Libby. I think that maybe when the book was "transferred" to an ebook (not certain if that's the right term) it did something odd with how much is on a page. Normally for me, it takes 2-3 screens on my Kindle to complete a page. Of course, this is going to vary for everyone based on the size of the font, spacing, etc. I've occasionally run into a book where it was 4-5 screens per page. But with this version of GWTW it's taking at least 7 and sometimes 8 screens per page. So based on that I feel like this is the full version of the book.

I thought I would be able to finish GWTW in 2 weeks. However, life interfered and I was only a little over halfway through when it was due back and today was to be the last day. Yesterday I tried to renew it but couldn't since there are others waiting on it and so I went to the end of the wait list. I got an email earlier today from Libby -

Hello! Your loan was returned automatically on its due date. Open the Libby app to borrow it again, or place a hold, or tag it to read later. Gone with the Wind • Margaret Mitchell RETURNED Sunday, March 26, 2023 12:54:31 PM BORROWED Sunday, March 12, 2023 12:54:26 PM

The thing is I was in the middle of a chapter when I had stopped reading late last night. But I thought that's okay because it's supposed to be where I ended it when I get it again. Then a little later I opened up my Kindle to start the book I had already chosen to be my next one. I was really shocked to see that GWTW was still on my Kindle. I check Libby again it says it's been returned and Amazon says the same thing. However, the download is still on my Kindle. Needless to say, I'm very happy with that. So I can go ahead and finish it and not have to wait to borrow it again. That works for me!