Library Loot ~ August 14-20

Part-Time Princess ~ by Deborah Underwood, 2013, children's

At night, a normal little girl imagines she is a princess, but not just a princess who wears pretty gowns and goes to balls.  She also gets to fight dragons and tame trolls.  But one morning she wakes up and begins to think maybe her royal adventures aren't so imaginary after all.

The Age of American Unreason ~ by Susan Jacoby, 2008, history (United States)

A cultural history of the last forty years, this book focuses on the convergence of social forces — usually treated as separate entities — that has created a perfect storm of anti-rationalism.  These include the upsurge of religious fundamentalism, with more political power today than ever before; the failure of public education to create an informed citizenry; and the triumph of video over print culture.  Sparing neither the right nor the left, Jacoby asserts that Americans today have embraced a universe of “junk thought” that makes almost no effort to separate fact from opinion.

The Expats ~ by Chris Pavone, 2012, fiction (Luxembourg)

In the cobblestoned streets of Luxembourg, Kate Moore's days are filled with playdates and coffee mornings, her weekends spent in Paris and skiing in the Alps.  But Kate is also guarding a tremendous, life-defining secret — one that's become so unbearable that it begins to unravel her newly established expat life.  She suspects that another American couple are not who they claim to be; her husband is acting suspiciously; and as she travels around Europe, she finds herself looking over her shoulder, increasingly terrified that her own past is catching up with her.   As Kate begins to dig, to uncover the secrets of the people around her, she finds herself buried in layers of deceit so thick they threaten her family, her marriage, and her life.

Cats Are Like That ~ by Martha Weston, 1999, early reader

Dot tries to get her new pet fish to do something interesting while she defends them from the hungry attention of her cat Fuzzy.

The Eternal Ones: What If Love Refused to Die? ~ by Kirsten Miller, 2010, fiction (New York), 7/10

Haven Moore has always lived in the town of Snope City, Tennessee. But for as long as she can remember, Haven has experienced visions of a past life as a girl named Constance, whose love for a boy called Ethan ended in fiery tragedy.  One day, the sight of notorious playboy Iain Morrow on television brings Haven to her knees. Haven flees to New York City to find Iain and there, she is swept up in an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Is Iain her beloved Ethan? Or is he her murderer from a past life? Haven asks the members of the powerful and mysterious Ouroboros Society to help her unlock the mysteries of reincarnation and discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves, before all is lost and the cycle begins again. But what is the Ouroboros Society? And how can Haven know whom to trust?

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages us to share titles of books we’ve checked out of the library.  Add your link any time during the week, and see what others got this week.