Sunday, March 14, 2010

Mailbox Monday-- Not Enough Hours in the Day


Mailbox Monday, my favorite meme, is hosted by Marcia on her blog The Printed Page. If you carry a stack of books, I'm the sort of person who always has to take a look at those books. Mailbox Monday is a way for me to satisfy my curiosity in this virtual world. If you'd like to see more, click on the redhead over on the left. She'll take you right to the heart of the action!

This past week I sent 4 books to new Paperback Swap (PBS) foster homes, and I received 7. (I wasn't as lucky as I was the week before when one person requested 4 of my books!) I'm about to go through a stack of books from my TBR shelves and list those on PBS. I've been enjoying the Midsomer Murders series on DVD. They're based on the mystery series written by Caroline Graham. Something tells me that I'm just not going to ever get around to reading the books the television series is based on. Oh... I've read the first and enjoyed it, but each time I pick up one of the next in the series and think about reading it, I always put it back on the shelf. I might as well list them on PBS so someone else can read and enjoy them.

Here's the scoop on the books I found in my mailbox last week:
  1. Sing It to Her Bones by Marcia Talley (PBS). "Hannah Ives, recovering from a mastectomy and recently the victim of downsizing, accepts her sister-in-law's offer to spend some quiet time in Pearson's Corner, Maryland, away from the stress of D.C. Characters in mystery novels should know better. Soon Hannah has discovered a body, become involved in the murder investigation, and must deal with the fact that her husband has been accused of sexual harassment. Talley's debut is a gentle mystery with a likable narrator. Despite the straight-from-headlines nature of the plot, the novel relies not on sensationalism but on quiet character development for its charm."
  2. No Moon by Irene N. Watts (LibraryThing Early Reviewer program). "Louisa Gardener is the fourteen-year-old nursemaid to the young daughters of a wealthy, titled family living in London, England, in 1912. Despite the bullying Nanny Mackintosh, for whom she is an extra pair of hands, she loves her work and her young charges. Then everything changes. The family decides to sail to New York aboard the Titanic. An accident to the children's nanny, only days prior to the sailing, means that Louisa must go in her stead. She cannot refuse, although she dreads even the mention of the ocean. If Louisa refuses to go on the voyage, she will be dismissed, and she will never get beyond the working-class life she has escaped from."
  3. National Trust Handbook 2010 (Royal Oak Foundation). Detailed information about the National Trust properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. To me, this is like getting the new Sears Roebuck catalog in the mail.
  4. The Stones Cry Out by Sibella Giorello (PBS). "One forensic geologist. Two dead men. 500 witnesses. And yet no one seems to know what really happened. As the FBI digs into the case, one thing is made clear: if no one else will talk, the stones will cry out."


  5. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova (PBS). "The troubled and troubling figure around which the novel expands is Robert Oliver, a charismatic and hugely talented contemporary American painter in his early 40s with a style reminiscent of the impressionists. Tall and powerfully built, with the near-mythic "great wingspan" of an archangel or a Greek god, Robert suffers from the all-too-human miseries of artistic obsession. He has recently been arrested for trying to attack a painting called "Leda" in the 19th-century collection at the National Gallery of Art, and lands in a psychiatric facility called Goldengrove in Rockville. There he's assigned to a doctor named Andrew Marlow, himself a painter who, until now, has regarded his demanding psychiatric practice as merely his day job. After a brief interview with Marlow, Robert refuses to speak for the 11 months he remains at Goldengrove, expressing himself only by compulsively sketching and painting the same mysterious figure: a beautiful young woman in period Victorian clothing. Baffled and fascinated, Marlow embarks on a not-entirely professional quest to understand the origins of Robert's fixation, traveling to North Carolina, New York and as far as France and Mexico to interview the people who might shed light on the painter's silent mania."
  6. Blood Thirsty by Marshall Karp (PBS). "When mega-producer Barry Gerber turns up drained of blood in a trash can, LAPD detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs, who had been hoping to enter a deal with the victim for a movie adaptation of one of their high-profile cases, are assigned to investigate. Their workload doubles when the A-list star of Gerber's last blockbuster, actor Damian Hedge, is abducted, apparently by the same person responsible for the producer's murder."
  7. The Ruffler's Child by John Pilkington (PBS). "In the turbulent year of 1586, a murder on the Berkshire Downs draws Thomas Finbow, falconer to the wealthy Sir Robert Vicary, away from the peaceful shire he loves. He finds himself on a trail of danger and intrigue, desperately trying to fathom the mystery surrounding his beloved mistress, Lady Margaret. His investigations lead him to the murky, seething underworld of Elizabethan London, where nothing is as it seems. Soon Thomas' own life is in jeopardy as he digs deeper, breaching the rigid barriers of class and risking everything he has. Finally he must pit himself against one of the most dangerous men in England. Death seems bound to result."
There you have it...er... them. These are the books I found when I opened my mailbox last week. Have you read any of them? Do any of them sound good enough to make it to your own wish list? Do tell!

Now it's time for me to check out all those other Mailbox Mondays!

15 comments:

  1. The Swan Thieves is on my look for list. I hope you enjoy it and the others on your post!

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  2. Wow you have a full mailbox! I've heard great things about the Swan Thieves. Happy reading!

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  3. I can see you now with The National Trust Handbook! I really enjoyed The Swan Thieves. Happy reading!

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  4. Looks like you got some great books...happy reading

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  5. Wow, you had a great week. The Midsomer Murders was so good. We really enjoyed them. I got Swan Thieves audio. I hope you enjoy your new books. Have a great week and happy reading.

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  6. You had a wonderful week! Happy reading. My mailbox is at The Crowded Leaf.

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  7. Lots of nice books this week. Enjoy

    Here is my mailbox: http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2010/03/mailbox-monday_15.html

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  8. I have not read any of these books but No Moon sounds interesting. Enjoy all your new books!

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  9. I have not read any of the books, but we love watching Midsomer Murders Saturday night. I have also read two of the books in Danish, and I wondered whether it was the translation that made them seem boring, but perhaps the TV series is just better.

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  10. I am also the kind of person who has to look at a person's pile of books!

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  11. I am deep into the audios of the Swan Thief.... 13 of 17 and still trying to figure out "what's up with Robert?"

    Enjoying it though! :)

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  12. It looks like you got a lot of fun books. I just love PBS! :)

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  13. Mary-- Thanks!

    DC-- If I enjoy Swan Thieves as much as I did The Historian, it will be a wonderful read!

    Kathy-- The latest National Trust Handbook is just like diving into a pool of my favorite candy.

    Serena-- Same to you!

    Kaye-- There's a website that shows where each Midsomer Murder episode was filmed. I could almost plan a UK trip around that one website! LOL

    Alayne-- I'll go check it out!

    Diane-- I will. Thanks!

    Beth-- I have to admit that I'm rather strange. The Titanic is one of my favorite reading subjects.

    Dorte-- I read the first and really enjoyed it. That first book went into Barnaby's home life in more depth and was a source of humor. I haven't read any further in the series, but I do have a friend who shares a great deal of reading DNA with me, and she says the next few books are a bit boring. The TV series has the bonus of being filmed in all those wonderful villages.

    Callista-- I'm glad I'm not alone!

    Sheila-- Great! :)

    Alyce-- It's the perfect type of service for me.

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  14. I have The Swan Thieves laying around waiting to be red, one of these days I'm going to get to it. Have fun with all your new books.

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  15. Ryan-- That's one thing about having so many books to read... trying to figure out which one's next!

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