Sunday, December 28, 2008

Monday Mailbox--Christmas Week


One more week for my roadrunner mailbox and then it'll go on vacation until next Christmas! Last week I only sent one book to a new home, which is pretty much as I expected. There was enough going on without adding Paperback Swap mailings to the to-do list.

I received 10 books last week. Denis scouted out my Amazon wish list when shopping for me, and came up with another on his own initiative, bless 'im. The other seven came via Paperback Swap. Here's the list:

--The Idler Book of Crap Towns: The 50 Worst Places to Live in the UK, edited by Sam Jordison and Dan Kieran. (PBS) Since Denis is British through-and-through, when this arrived, I had to stop and read through all the towns so he could see if he agreed or not. Now I have to go back and read the rest of the text because my interest is definitely piqued!

--Plague Year by Jeff Carlson. (PBS) From the back of the book: "The nanotechnology was designed to fight cancer. Instead, it evolved into the machine plague, killing nearly five billion people and changing life on Earth forever. The nanotech has one weakness: It self-destructs at altitudes above ten thousand feet."

--Witch Way to Murder, an Ophelia and Abby Mystery by Shirley Damsgaard. (PBS) The debut of a series about a 30-something psychic librarian and her practicing witch grandmother who solve crimes.

--The Measure of Days by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, #30 in the Morland Dynasty series--one of my favorite historicals. I'd forgotten to put this on my Amazon wish list, so Denis earned HUGE kudos for remembering and tracking it down!

--Bitch Factor by Chris Rogers. (PBS) First in a mystery series about Houston bounty hunter Dixie Flannigan.

--West From Home: Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder, San Francisco 1915 edited by Roger Lea MacBride. (PBS) I've been a LIW fan since I was three or four. I couldn't resist reading letters she'd written while in the Big City.

--I Am the Ice Worm by MaryAnn Easley. (PBS) A YA book about a young girl surviving a plane crash near the Arctic Circle and being taken in by an Inupiat village. I usually enjoy reading books about two very different cultures learning about one another.

--We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever by Benjamin Mee. (PBS) This book is a natural for a critter lover like me.

--Nature Journal: A Guided Journal for Illustrating and Recording Your Observations of the Natural World by Clare Walker Leslie. (Denis) At first I thought, if I received this as a gift, I'd print out some of my photos to use as illustrations. (Normally I can't draw a straight line with a ruler!) Don't tell anyone, but I bought a set of colored pencils before I left work today....

--Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth. (Denis) Denis and I enjoy observing nature so much that I'm pleased he got these for me. Heaven knows, if I start trying to draw what I see, anyone who looks at my illustrations WILL see the world in a whole new way!

I also received gift cards from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and they've been duly spent. Next week's Mailbox Monday post will undoubtedly tell you all about those books!

If you're insatiably curious about the books other people receive (like me), click on the roadrunner mailbox to be taken to this fun meme's home: Marcia's excellent blog, The Printed Page!



11 comments:

  1. I'm instantly intrigued by Ice Worm, Bitch Factor, Witch Way and the Zoo story. I'm new to your blog, so hope you will post reviews of these after reading?

    Great blog, Cathy!

    Susan aka Book Chook

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  2. Now, that's a haul. Happy Reading. Here's my Mailbox Monday post: http://savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com/2008/12/mailbox-monday-10.html

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  3. I am the ice worm sounds interesting. Happy Reading!

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  4. That was some loot! If I may say so!

    *grin*


    My mailbox post for 29/12/08

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  5. Ohhhh Cathy - Some of those books sound amazing! Plague Year sounds interesting (my cousin used to talk about nano technology all the time when we were kids!), and I can't wait to hear how you like We Bought a Zoo! I've got that one on my wish list - it sounds so interesting . . . and real!!

    :) Happy New Year!

    Wendi

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  6. I've been interested in Plague Year for a while - can't wait to see your review.

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  7. Hi--I'm new to Mailbox Monday but this is quite a blast to check out everyone's books. I'm getting so many ideas. The Crap Towns book just made me laugh ... it if wasn't set in England I might have to get it but since I am not familiar with the UK that much, I doubt it would be too interesting to me personally. Now Crap Towns in the US would be a no brainer!

    The Zoo book sounds very intersting. I might have to add that to my PBS wish list (I got a TON of wishes granted this past week -- people must be cleaning out their bookshelves for the new year).

    I wish you luck on your nature journaling. That sounds like fun! I look forward to visiting your blog more!

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  8. Great list. The LIW book is a must for fans. I loved it.

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  9. Susan--I do review the books after I've read them, so stay tuned! In fact, I finished I Am the Ice Worm last night, and if I get time, I'll get the review up in the next couple of days. Thanks for your compliments on my blog. I'm in the process of revamping it.

    Wendi--I may have to share We Bought a Zoo with you after I've read it!

    Elizabeth--The description of Plague Year grabbed me as soon as I read it, and the book is currently sitting on the floor winking at me!

    Hi, Jenners! I've been to the UK twice now, so I'll have an idea of what Crap Towns is talking about. There's a Crap Towns II as well, and I put it on my PBS wish list. Since you belong to PBS like Wendi and I do, you ought to share your nick name with us so we can keep an eye on each other's wish lists!

    Beth--I still remember the mouse who was sneaking in bed every night and taking Pa's hair to build a nest!

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  10. What a great week. I can't wait to see what you spent your gift cards on.

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  11. Thank you for stopping by the 'mailbox' this week. I've read the first 2 books in the 'Ophelia and Abby' mystery series. The others are in my TBR pile.

    Happy New Year!

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