Mailbox Monday, Dec 24

I know I announced last week that there wouldn't be anymore Mailbox Mondays from me for 2012, but I lied! So many books arrived this week I couldn't wait until back from my trip to share. Happy Christmas to me, for serious!

Here is this week's Mailbox Monday (hosted in December at Suko's Notebook) -- what did you get?

For Review




















Gifted/Swapped/Purchased



Gifted to me from my boss!

Comments

  1. I have some of the same books this week - The Arab & The Brit and A Murder at Rosamund's Gate. The Painted Girls looks good :)

    Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete

  2. Wow, so many of them look good I don't even know where to begin. Enjoy your new books and have a Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete

  3. I'm especially curious about The Painted Girls. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete

  4. Wow, you have so many new books! Some of those covers are gorgeous and hopefully portend a great read! Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete

  5. Lots of great looking books. A couple of the covers grabbed my attention.

    ReplyDelete

  6. You got a lot of great looking books. I am really looking forward to reading the painted girls.

    ReplyDelete

  7. I don't know which book to look at first of all because they all look so good. They are all new to me as well other than the Hemingway.

    Have a very merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete

  8. Her Majesty's Will: *snork*
    The Master of Verona: What is happening?
    The Forgotten Queen: Maybe they would have remembered her if they hadn't cut her head off.
    The Painted Girls: I love how un-dainty those ballerinas look doing their stretches.
    A Murder at Rosamund's Gate: Rude. Can't they kill someone outside their own gate? Poor Rosamund!
    The Hangman in the Mirror: Sure doesn't look like he's in the mirror.
    The Demon Lover: I love this cover, but I DNFed the book. Oh well.
    Performance Anomalies: THIS MAKES ME DIZZY.
    The Death of Bees: I'm on this tour too. The book is GORGEOUS!
    Between Two Thorns: Very curious about that one.

    ReplyDelete

  9. I am very much looking forward to many of these. I think 2013 is going to be a very good reading year!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where They Bury You by Steven W. Kohlhagen

Image
Title:Where They Bury You
Author: Steven W. Kohlhagen

Genre: Fiction (Historical / 1860s / New Mexico / Civil War / Native Americans / Kit Carson / Historical Figures Fictionalized / Con Artists / Theft)
Publisher/Publication Date: Sunstone Press (9/2/2013)
Source:JKS Communications

Rating: Liked.
Did I finish?: I did -- raced through it!
One-sentence summary: A handful of gamblers try to make a big score in 1860s New Mexico and Arizona, at a time when the region is torn up with conflict and war.
Reading Challenges:E-book, Historical Fiction

Do I like the cover?: You know what? I do. I thought I didn't, but when I viewed the image full size, the textured background, the 'Western' font, and the silhouettes actually appeal to me.

First line: I'll be damned.

Buy, Borrow, or Avoid?: Borrow or buy if you like Westerns, the Southwest as a setting, or want a look at a wild and tempestuous time in US history.

Why did I get this book?: I've always been a bit curious about Kit Carson …
Read more

Book Review: Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova

Image
This book reignited my love for tarot.

I bought my first tarot deck at 16 or so, and have been passionate about tarot since then. But after twenty years of reading (and heavily collecting), I found I wasn't turning to my cards as much. Partially it was being pregnant, and then having a kid -- many, many things in my life slowed down -- but a good deal of it was feeling in a rut and at a dead end. I 'knew' the cards, as much as I could, but I wasn't using my decks regularly or reading for anyone -- including myself.

On a whim, I requested this book via NetGalley, and to my surprise, actually read the e-book galley cover to cover -- yes, including every page for every card. Cynova -- popularly known online as Little Fox Tarot -- has a wonderfully down-to-earth and accessible attitude that immediately drew me in, and her every thought on tarot and reading (or card slinging) is approachable, welcoming, and realistic.

From the first page, Cynova's personality comes thr…
Read more

Book Review: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Image
First line: Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond.

I had to grit my teeth to get through this book. (All 209 pages.)

I'm ashamed to admit this since a surprising number of folks online and in person have cited this novella as one of their favorite books, but I found everything about this brief read to be agonizing -- the plot, the narrative style, the characters -- it and I just did not connect.

I went in expecting to love this book given its reputation and subject matter. Achebe depicts the story of a Nigeria broken by white colonialism; our hero is deeply flawed and stubbornly committed, living in a world with problems triply complicated by the unnecessary influence of white colonizers. Achebe's narrative style is straight-forward and clear, even as he articulates a world deeply foreign to modern audiences.

I suspect I didn't understand this book; I'm also not a huge fan of tragedies (I loathe Hamlet) so Okonkwo as a character didn'…
Read more

Reading Challenge: RIP 13

Image
Belatedly, here's my commitment post for Readers Imbibing Peril XIII, or RIP 13, the reading challenge of creepy, scary, and chilling reads.

I'm a total puss and yet I love me some creepy books. Reading ghost stories in October is just a tradition for me (honestly, Halloween might be my favorite holiday) so gathering up spooky books is catnip.

My queue, unsurprisingly, is massive. Good luck to me. My list includes two beloved rereads (Rebecca and Jane Steele) (if you haven't read either of these books read them immediately!) as well as some new items. I'm particularly excited for the issue of Nightmare magazine, as it's focused on authors of color and includes some thoughts on Lovecraft. Mmmm.

Agatha Christine, Ordeal by Innocence
Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca
Lyndsay Faye, Jane Steele
H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
(Daniel) Mallory Ortberg, The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror
Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Nightmare Magazine 49: October …
Read more