Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia. Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

March's host is Caitlin @ Chaotic Compendium

Yippee! I received an e-galley of the new Karin Slaughter (pub date 7/2/13)

Lilah and I received several e-galleys of children's books to review:

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia. Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

February's host is Audra at Unabridged Chick.

I received a couple more e-galleys this past week, THE MISSING CUCKOO CLOCK: A MYSTERY ABOUT GRAVITY by Lynda Beauregard, THERE COMES A PROPHET by David Litwack, and WEDNESDAYS IN THE TOWER by Jessica Day George:

I also picked up the second book in the TALES FROM LOVECRAFT MIDDLE SCHOOL SERIES (after PROFESSOR GARGOYLE), called SLITHER SISTERS.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia. Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

February's host is Audra at Unabridged Chick.

This past week, I received an e-galley of LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson, which I'm currently devouring. Atkinson is one of my favorite authors, and this is her first standalone in a few years since she began the Jackson Brodie series.

Other e-galleys I received this week: ESCAPE THEORY by Margaux Froley (YA), THE GIRL WHO CRIED WOLF by Robert Ferrigno, WHAT THE SNAKES WROTE by Hazel Hutchins and Tina Holdcroft (picture book), GOOFBALLS #4: THE MYSTERIOUS TALENT SHOW MYSTERY by Tony Abbott (chapter book for reading to Lilah), THE SEVEN MARKETS by David Hoffman, 14 by Peter Clines, THE LITTLE DEATH by Michael Nava, THE EMPEROR OF ALL THINGS by Paul Witcover, and THE FIRST BOOK OF CALAMITY LEEK by Paula Lichtarowicz.

Clearly, my resolution to stop requesting galleys until I'm caught up on the books I already have has been a raging success!

As an unequivocal introvert, I thought I should get around to reading QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT WON'T STOP TALKING by Susan Cain.

Mailbox Monday

I haven't posted a Mailbox Monday post in awhile. So I thought I would get this up here. :-)

I won Testimony by Anita Shreve in book blog contests hosted by Teddy Rose and Wrighty Reads. I'm passing my second copy along to a friend.

From Shelf Awareness:
Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper (ARC). A pet memoir about a blind kitty. Sounds like a good book for those who enjoyed Marley and Me. :-)

Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi by Geoff Dyer (ARC). This sounds like a bit of a complicated literary novel. Part romance, part mystery, somewhat philosophical sounding. Sounds interesting for when I'm in the mood something more complex and in-depth.

Fragment by Warren Fahy (ARC). Scientific thriller compared to Jurassic Park. Sign me up! I'm looking forward to getting to this one sooner rather than later. Sounds like a fun read for summer.

Books I've purchased recently:
I didn't receive these in the mail, but I'm excited about them nonetheless so I thought I'd post them here.

Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon
I've seen this one around the blogosphere lately and really think it sounds fun. Entered a few contests for it but no such luck so I decided to just add it to my library.

39 Clues #4: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson
Looking forward to the fourth installment of the series. I've found that I have not heard of some of the authors in this series so far. I like to look them up and see what else they have written. Jude Watson has also written many Star Wars novels (probably why I haven't heard the name before). ;-)

The Lost Hours by Karen White
Another one I've heard about from various book blogs. I nominated it for my book club recently and it was chosen! I'm looking forward to reading one of White's books, they all sound interesting.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Yet another one I thought might be interesting from reading reviews of it on book blogs.

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page. Hop on over to check out what others have received in the mail!

Mailbox Monday--My 'Major Prize' and More

A major prize! A major prize! I won! I won! I won! Tonight, tonight tonight, hot damn, tonight! It's coming tonight!

What is it?
I don't know.
What's in it?
I don't know.
Bring it right on in. right here. straight on in. little more...little more...that's it
Watch the lady.
Get the crowbar and the hammer Ralphie.

Okay, I know, I know. I'm a dork. But A Christmas Story is my favorite holiday movie and one of my all-time favorite movies anytime. So I had to do that.

So why am I sharing this tidbit of information with you? Well, because I just so happened to win a 'major prize'! Marta over at Marta's Meanderings hosted a GIANT giveaway back in March to celebrate her 100th post. Hachette gave her FIVE bundles of about 15 books to give away to lucky winners. And would you believe it?! I was one of the five winners! My jaw nearly hit the floor when she emailed me. I've entered countless contests and only won maybe three the whole time I've been blogging. So to win a WHOLE BOX of books really thrilled me. I received them in the mail two weeks ago.

Here's is what was in the box:
My Little Red book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
See Jane Lead by Lois Frankel
Galway Bay by Mary Kelly
Mistress Bradstreet by Charlotte Gordon
Dream in Color by Linda Chachez, Lorretta Sanchez, Richard Buskin, Nancy Pelosi
Kiss Off by Mary Esselman
Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Gilman
Put Your Dreams Firsy by Thembisa S., Vanessa Williams
Throw Out Fifty Things by Gail Blanke (I didn't receive this at first, but it slowed up a few days later)
No Matter What! by Lisa Nichols
Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home by Thelma Meyer
The Power to Change Today by Gregory Dickow
Work In Progress by Kristin Armstrong

I'm happy to send along Galway Bay to Allison as she expressed interest in that one. And I'm most looking forward to Mistress Bradstreet, Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, My Little Red Book, Mrs. Meyers Clean Home and Throw Out Fifty Things. Some of the others I have a feeling I may skim through to glean their point, but I'm not sure I'll read ALL of these. But I fully appreciate the chance to take a look at them.

A HUGE thank you to Marta for hosting the awesome giveaway and to Hachette who always seems to have fun, large prizes to win! :-)

Also in my mailbox the last two weeks:

From Shelf Awareness:
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (an ARC). We read The Shadow in the Wind for my book club a couple years ago and I really enjoyed the story and Zafon's writing. So I was particularly excited to receive this one in the mail. I'm actually not entirely sure this came from Shelf Awareness. I don't remember requesting it there. But unless a random person at Random House just decided to send it to me (in which case thank you, THANK YOU!), it must have been a Shelf Awareness book.
The Blue Notebook by James Levine (an ARC). The description of this one sounded interesting to me. I look forward to getting to it in the near future.

From LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Program:
The Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey (an ARC). I received this as a bonus book for April. I'm looking forward to it as I've really enjoyed other books I've read centered in Africa. I find the culture very rich and interesting. I did try to jump right into this one. But was more in the mood for a really fast read. I will be getting to this one in the next day or so though.

The Next Thing on my List by Jill Smolinski. This last book actually didn't arrive in the mail. It walked down the block. :-) I borrowed it from my friend to read for our next book club meeting at the end of May.

Mailbox Monday is a weekly feature hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page. Be sure to head over there and check out what other fun books people are receiving in their mailbox this week!

Mailbox...Wednesday?

(edited to add: Note To Self: It's way more fun and faster to just photograph book covers myself). ;-)

I've gotten a little behind on everything in my life lately. Mostly because I had to stop everything and deal with our home finance stuff (yeah, love taxes.) and I've had a few photo shoots lately that are taking up spare time to edit. I've gotten to photograph some really cute little kiddos though! Fun! So unfortunately, my reading average went way down for the month of April so far. And I'm also really REALLY behind in my book reviews. I think I have about 6-7 books I need to get written up.

But the books keep coming in! Which excites me, because that means I have lots of choices to pick from when I do have time to read. Maybe too many choices! Wait, you can never have too many books, right? ;-)

Here's what came in the past week or so:
From Penguin Young Readers:

Emma Jean Lazarus Fell in Love Lauren Tarshis (An ARC)
Camp Confidential:Books 1-4 by Melissa Morgan
Camp Confidential: Reunion by Melissa Morgan (An ARC)
The Summer Confidenital Series: Books 1-3 by Melissa Morgan
I'm most excited about Emma Jean Lazarus and have already requested the first one Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree from the library. The Melissa Morgan books were just sent to our blog for review. They look like the might be fun summer reads. :-)

I've been using my Bookmooch points to create a library for my girls for when they get older. I really want to have a bookshelf they can go to and just browse and pick out something to read. Which is why you'll see a lot of middle grade and YA books coming to me from there. And some like Spud are just for me because I think they sound like fun.
From Bookmooch:

Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale
Spud by John van de Ruit

In a fun box sent from Allison, along with some of her yummy homemade sauces (Thanks Allison!):

Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron (An ARC)
Darling Jim by Christian Moark (An ARC)
The Sam Aquillo series by Chris Knopf (3 ARCs, one published)

My TBR pile has grown exponentially in the last month or so. I have no idea how I'll get everything read. But it sure is fun to look at my bookshelf and nightstand and pick out the next thing to read!

Mailbox Monday is a weekly feature hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page. Head over there to see what other people received last week!

Mailbox Monday--Part Deux

We went away for a few days last week to visit my mom and I had the mail held. The mailman had to actually bring a box of mail to the front door there was so much! And look what was there! FOUR packages of books. (And this is not even what I was talking about in the previous Mailbox post about the REALLY exciting stuff I have coming in the mail.--Well, some of this is part of that. I still have a really cool shipment coming though.)From the Book Report:
Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult (SOOO excited about this one!)
While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky
The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson
Those books were a Word of Mouth prize package for the beginning of March. I had Allison write in some reviews and also added a few from me so we would have more chances to win. And although, technically Allison won, she gave them my address to mail the books too! :-) Thanks for helping me win that one Allison!

From St. Martin's Press:
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
I'm a little puzzled by this one. I already received this as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer. So I'm not sure if there was a mix-up and they sent it again. I sent the publisher a link to my review, maybe they didn't read my email and thought I was asking for the book? Hmm....puzzling. But this is good news for all you blog readers out there! Because that means I'll be having a contest for this book in the near future! Stay tuned!

From Bethany House:
Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser
I received this as a March LibraryThing Early Reviewer book. I didn't know when I requested it that it is Christian Fiction. I do not usually read Christian Fiction, but I'm going to go into this one with an open mind. :-)

From Bookmooch:
Magyk by Angie Sage
Suddenly Supernatural: School Spirit by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers

And I finally caved and purchased New Moon last week because it was on sale at Target. My friend has #3 and #4 so I figured I can always mooch #2 when I'm finished with it. I'm not in a huge hurry to continue the Twilight Saga, but this friend has gone on about the series enough to make me want to maybe read the rest of the series.

Mailbox Monday

This is actually from two and a half weeks ago (I'm a wee bit behind on things). But I took the picture so I thought I should post it.

From Samantha at Penguin (THANKS!!!):
Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by David Soman (already reviewed here)
Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle
Waiting for You by Susan Colasanti

From Bookmooch:
Monday Mourning, Break No Bones, and Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs. I decided to fill out the Temperance Brennan series on my bookshelf. Although, I still don't have the first couple because I borrowed them from the library. But really, I just wanted to have the others around to read when I get a chance. :-)
Also, The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn.

Although, not pictured, I also received The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe from the Barnes and Noble First Look Book Club. I'm really looking forward to reading that one.

AND, I should have some REALLY exciting Mailbox Mondays posts in the near future. I have had a dry spell with winning anything in blog contests for a bit, but I hit the jackpot this past week! I'll share more once I receive the books in the mail! I've also received several fun books from Bookmooch that I haven't blogged about yet. So maybe I'll get my act together and take a new photo today and get my Mailbox Monday posts relatively up to date. :-)

Hope you all had a fun week and received something exciting in your mailbox!
Mailbox Monday is a weekly feature hosted by Marcia from The Printed Page. :-)

Mailbox Monday

Marcia from The Printed Page hosts Mailbox Mondays. I thought I would participate this week because I got a boatload of books in the mail in the last week or so.

Mooched from Bookmooch:
*Poppy Done to Death (#8 in the Aurora Teagarden Mystery Series) by Charlaine Harris
*How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
*Flush by Carl Hiaasen
*Much Ado About Anne (sequel to The Mother/Daughter Book Club) by Heather Vogel Frederick--I haven't read the first one, but would really like to.
*The Doll People by Ann M. Martin

Won in a contest:
*Lethal Legacy (Advanced Reader Edition) by Linda Fairstein from Melissa's Winner's Choice Giveaway

Advanced Reader Editions received (Thanks to Katie at Ballantine Books!):
*The Late Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
*Beach Trip by Cathy Holton
*The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne

I'm particularly excited about the Advanced Readers from Ballantine and Lethal Legacy. I hope to get to those very soon. The others are just books I've been wanting to add to my library and they popped up on Bookmooch so I grabbed them. :-)

Hope you all have a great week!