Mailbox Monday: 10/31/2011

I got two books this week that I am really excited about!

The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides is a contest win from Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea. I won a contest on her blog where I was able to choose any book from Amazon that was under $20.  I was in luck because The Marriage Plot was on sale for $14! I definitely plan on reading this one soon. I have been so excited for this one and I hope to get to it within the next few weeks.

Out of Oz, by Gregory Maguire was sent to me unsolicited by William Morrow publishers.  I admit that I have never read any of Maguire’s books.  I heard great things about Wicked, so I did pick it up a few years ago, but after reading a few pages I was bored, so I didn’t finish it.  I am curious as to whether I can read this one as a stand alone or whether I better give Wicked another shot.  What do you think?

So that is what came into my house this week.  What about you?

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is the brainchild of Marcia and more information can be found here. This month it is being hosted by Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit.

I have had great luck recently when it comes to new books.  (Hopefully I don’t jinx myself with that statement!) This week was no exception.  I got a total of five books, although only four are shown, as my husband already absconded with one of the books!

A Train in Winter, by Caroline Moorehead, is for an upcoming TLC tour. This one is about a large group of women involved in the French Resistance who were imprisoned at Auschwitz during WWII.

The Marriage Artist, by Andrew Winer is this month’s choice for BOOK CLUB.  More information can be found here. The discussion will take place on October 25 at Linus’s Blanket. I know very little about this book but I am looking forward to it!

A Watershed Year, by Susan Schoenberger is another TLC tour book.  The premise reminds me of Ceceilia Ahern’s book PS, I Love You, only in this case a woman is receiving emails from her friend after he passes away, so I am anxious to see whether it is at all similar!

The Rules of the Tunnel, by Neil Zeman is a mystery to me.  I can’t remember if I won it or agreed to review it or what.  So I am sorry–I feel like a jerk! It’s a memoir by a person that suffered severe depression and anxiety.  As someone who has battled an anxiety disorder my entire life, I am always open to books on that subject.

The last book I received, which is not pictured, is The Night Eternal, by Guillarmo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, which is book #3 of The Strain series.  My husband enjoyed the first two books so when I got this one in the mail, his eyes lit up.  He bragged to his coworkers the next day that he was going to get to read the book before it even came out!

Time for you to spill and let me know what came into your house this week!

 

Mailbox Monday: 10/10/2011

Yay, another Monday! I always relish looking through other people’s mailboxes. My mailbox was quite generous this week, and I ended up with five new books.

 

 

The Days of Abandonment, by Elena Ferrante: This one was sent to me by Care of Book Club Care.  She saw a post of mine where I talked about the Europa challenge and she immediately offered to send me her copy of this Europa.  She said it is the second favorite Europa that she has read before, so I am excited to read this one and discuss it with her.

Inner Circle, by TC Boyle: I have longed to read more from Boyle and when I saw this one for $1 at Half Price Books, I couldn’t resist.  Plus, apparently it involves themes of matrimony and infidelity, which always grabs my attention.

Slaughter on a Snowy Morn, by Colin Evans: I was itching for some historical true crime the other day at my aforementioned trip to Half Price Books, so I grabbed this one.  If I can fit it in for RIP, it would be the perfect fit.

The Post Birthday World, by Lionel Shriver: I have been meaning to try more from this author ever since I read We Need to Talk About Kevin, which was phenomenal.  This one is yet another book on infidelity.  I like my novels salacious!

Practical Jean, by Trevor Cole: This one is for an upcoming tour, so watch for my review on November 7!  It sounds like more of a dark comedy, which is right up my alley.

Have you read any of these?  If so, spill!!

Mailbox . . . Tuesday?

Yay!! I got some books.

Mrs Craddock, by W Somerset Maugham: You may remember that I got a copy of this book for my birthday BUT it was in German.  A language that I cannot speak, let alone read.  So my mom graciously offered to order another copy for me.  I got it this week!

Cloyne Court, by Dodie Katague is for a blog tour in November.  It is supposedly similar to Animal House, and the salaciousness of a good college story is more than I can pass up!

Everything We Ever Wanted, by Sara Shepard is also for a blog tour.  It deals with hazing and the cover is deliciously fall like, with the beautiful orange-y colors of leaves.

If I Tell and I’m Not Her, both by Janet Gurtler: These are both YA fiction sent to me by the publisher. I feel like I haven’t read much YA fiction in the past few months, so I was glad to receive these.

The Devil’s Star, by Jo Nesbo: I have finally done it! I bought a book of Nesbo’s.  Now I just have to read it.  I gave up trying to determine the order of Nesbo’s books, so when I saw this one at the table at Barnes & Noble, I grabbed it.

The Lantern, by Deborah Lawrinson: What can I say . . . this has been on every blog lately, it seems.  I was not sure whether or not to pick it up at first, but then I got curious.  Plus, Carl is hosting a readalong for RIP, so that was just the push I needed!

So tell me, which of these books have you read? Which would you like to read?

Mailbox Monday PLUS some Birthday Loot!

Admittedly, the books I am about to show you are mostly birthday gifts and NOT books I received in my mailbox, but I figured I would include it all in this post.

First up, my actual mailbox loot.  I only received two books in my mailbox this week but I am super excited about both of them.

 

 

 

Waiting for Robert Capa, by Susana Fortes was sent to me by the publisher for a TLC book tour.  Watch for my review towards the end of the month!

The True Memoirs of Little K, by Adrienne Sharp is September’s choice for Jen and Nicole‘s BOOK CLUB.  The discussion starts September 27!

Now, as far as my birthday goes, I hit the motherlode! My mom came up with a great gift for Christmas 2010.  She took my Borders wishlist and found a bunch of the books for just a few dollars used and then filled up a huge box o’ books for my gift.  Given how much I loved it (it was my favorite gift for sure!), she stole her own idea and redid it for my birthday.

Mrs Craddock, by W Somerset Maugham: I know it looks like it’s upside down BUT the spine is just upside down . . . the book is face up! That’s not even the beginning of the problem.  I noticed a huge issue with this book when I started reading the back of it.  It’s in GERMAN.  My poor mom never noticed! So I won’t be reading this particular edition.

The Other House, by Henry James: This one was another strange edition.  It is in large print! My mom strikes out again . . .

The Raising, by Laura Kasischke: I saw a few reviews of this one and it seemed really good.

The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank: Another one I really wanted to read!

Assassination Vacation, by Sarah Vowell: I JUST finished The Wordy Shipmates . . . and I didn’t really like it.  But I have high hopes that I’ll enjoy this one!

A Curtain Falls, by Stefanie Pintoff: This is the second book in the Simon Ziele series.  I enjoyed the first book, so I went ahead and added this to my wishlist.

The Silver Swan, by Benjamin Black: I didn’t really like Christine Falls BUT I felt like this series had promise, so I want to give it another shot.

Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx, by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc: I saw this in a recent issue of Bookmarks magazine and wanted to read it.

And then I got all these NYRB books! I didn’t have a single one, but obviously my wishlist was chock full of them!

Summer Will Show, by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Hons and Rebels, by Jessica Mitford

The Dud Avocado, by Elaine Dundy

The Slaves of Solitude, by Patrick Hamilton

Fatale, by Jean-Patrick Manchette

The Fountain Overflows, by Rebecca West

Short Letter, Long Farewell, by Peter Handke

Classic Crimes, by William Roughead

A Meaningful Life, by LJ Davis

Madame de Pompaudour, by Nancy Mitford

LASTLY, I got a cover for my Kindle! I recently saw that Vera Bradley had an e-reader cover so I mentioned it to my mom and she surprised me with one!

Have you read any of these books?  If so, please spill!

Mailbox Monday and Library Loot

Generally I include my Library Loot and Mailbox Monday in my Sunday Salon post but this week I forgot, so I am doing a joint post for this week.

In terms of the library, I got two books.

The latter is for The Debutante Ball challenge hosted by Swapna at S Krishna’s Books and Jen at Devourer of Books.

The other two books I received in the mail.

This one was a win from Jill aka softdrink from Fizzy Thoughts.  Thanks Jill!

This one is a review copy that won’t be published for another month or two.  Not my usual fare but it looked interesting. 

What did you get this week?