Finding some flea market and better world bookish delights this spring

I know that I said that my book buying would be taking a break after my big birthday book haul yet I couldn’t pass up a couple of small opportunities for new reads that came across my way.

For one, there’s a church in my area that holds a flea market twice a year; spring and fall. It’s close enough to my home that going there is a regular event to look forward to and while I picked up some nice new linens and a magazine rack, there were a couple of books that I added to my must-get pile.

One of those books was The Library of Legends by Janie Chang. In 1937, a nineteen year old student, Hu Lian, is forced to flee her university along with most of her classmates due to bombing raids upon the city of Nanking.

Hu is carrying a set of ancient texts that contain the legends of the Ming dynasty that she and others are entrusted to deliver to a safer location.

 Along the way, she starts to wonder if one of her traveling companions, Shao and his servant Sparrow, have more than a scholarly connection to the work they’re transporting. Could it be that one of these legends of lore has been right beside Lian all this time?

The premise sounds intriguing and it’s been awhile since I dive into some historical fiction there. This certainly should be a fine read for book lovers indeed:

I also stumbled across a classic Christie novel or should I say collection of short stories featuring the delightful Miss Marple.

The Thirteen Problems aka The Tuesday Murder Club, happens to be the earliest work that Agatha Christie wrote about Jane Marple and introduces us to her nephew Raymond and her home town of St. Mary Mead.

The main thread of a plot connection is a local club that shares tales of mysteries with its members, encouraging them to see if they can figure out the solution before being told by the story teller. Miss Marple is invited to sit in on one of these occasions and her sharp skills of observation and understanding of human nature do come in handy to say the least.

Since Miss Marple is my favorite Christie detective, this was a must have for me. Some of these stories have been adapted for the Miss Marple tv series over the years and it might be fun to check a couple of them out, particularly to see if they altered any of the endings (I hope they didn’t but you never know…).:

While I did skip my Book of the Month Club selection (hard to do but necessary!), it was difficult to resist getting a nice trio of books from Better World Books as they were having a sale and they had a cozy fantasy novel that I’ve heard so much about available!

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna features Mika Moon, who keeps her status as a real witch under wraps, apart from the online videos she makes about “witch core.”

A request is sent to her regarding a trio of orphans who need to learn how to reign in their magical talents and it’s an offer that Mika is unable to refuse.

While feeling somewhat free to be her true self among these fledgling witches, along with Jamie, one their guardians, Mika is wary of getting too close to them but when outsiders threaten to break up this happy home, she must decide whether to stay or go.

This is the first in a series but I just want to see if this book is as charming as I’ve seen almost everyone who’s read says it is. It would be nice to enjoy a new take on magic schooling, that’s for sure:

I rounded this purchase up with a pair of Nora Roberts suspense thrillers. Being almost done with her Irish Born books that started off my Trilogy Time challenge, I thought it would be good to try some of her standalone titles.

My picks were Hideaway and Identity, the latter being the newest one of that genre from her.

The leading lady of Identity is Morgan, whose life is turned upside when a serial killer steals her money and personal information, ending her roommate’s life by mistake in the gruesome bargain.

Morgan goes home to Vermont to rebuild what she’s lost, including family ties and manages to do so yet the killer is determined to claim the victim he missed out on. This time, however, Morgan is ready to defend what’s hers.

This sounds like some awesome summer reading and with the frenzied  news headlines we see everyday, a Nora Robert’s thrill ride is a welcome relief from all of that:

Well, a little light spring shopping is fun and helpful for my budget as my mom’s birthday is near the end of May and of course, Mother’s Day is right around the corner!

Happy Mother’s Day to all those who celebrate and may every one have a bit of flea market fun this season. It’s something good to unite with others about and we certainly need more unity these days as well as good books: