Monday, January 19, 2009

Mailbox Monday--An Anglophile's Dream Week


It was a slow week for sending books to new homes via Paperback Swap: only three. I just added five books to my bookshelf, and I'll wander out to the library to find more soon. That should perk those Swappers up! In the meantime, I received a total of eight books last week, one from PBS and the rest from one of my favorite online resources, Book Depository. Book Depository is based in Gloucester, England, and ships books worldwide for free. Not only is their shipping free, it's fast and books arrive in pristine condition. I used to order books from Amazon UK, but I started having a problem with shipments being lost, taking forever to arrive, and the books being improperly packaged and damaged upon arrival. So many of my favorite authors are from the UK that I was thrilled to find a place like Book Depository! Here's the rundown of the eight books that arrived in my mailbox last week:

  1. Death in Disguise by Caroline Graham (BD), an Inspector Barnaby mystery set in the UK that I was having problems getting my hands on. (There's always one difficult one in a series!)
  2. Flesh House by Stuart MacBride (BD), #4 in the Detective Sergeant Logan McRae series set in Aberdeen, Scotland. MacBride is one of my very favorite mystery writers. The last time I read one of his books was in April 2007 when my husband and I were staying in a cottage on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It's been too long!
  3. The Hollow Core by Lesley Horton (BD), #4 in the Detective Inspector John Handford mystery series set in Bradford, England-- another favored series that's hard to come by on this side of the pond.
  4. Twisted Tracks by Lesley Horton (BD), #5 in the DI John Handford mystery series.
  5. Deception by Denise Mina (PBS), a standalone from another favorite mystery writer. I made the mistake of reading two of Mina's books back-to-back last year, which left me with only one on the TBR shelves. I've been hoarding it like gold until I had another in hand. (Anyone else do this besides me?)
  6. The Harper's Quine by Pat McIntosh (BD), #1 in the Gil Cunningham mystery series set in medieval Glasgow, Scotland.
  7. The Blood Pit by Kate Ellis (BD), #12 in the Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson mystery series set on the coast of southern England. This is the latest in another favorite series. Each book has two plots: one set in the here and now with Peterson, and another one from centuries past. Ellis, like me, loves archaeology.
  8. Seeking the Dead by Kate Ellis (BD), #1 in the Detective Inspector Joe Plantagenet mystery series set in north Yorkshire, England. I enjoy Ellis's other series so much, I thought I'd give her new one a try.
There you have it--the books I received in the mail last week. If you'd like to see what others have gotten in their mailboxes, click on the graphic at the top of this post to be taken to Marcia's The Printed Page.




15 comments:

  1. Great bunch of book. Is that first one a Midsommer Murder book? I loved that series (seems to be off US television at the moment).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, Beth, that first one is a Midsommer Murder. I've been getting the DVDs from Netflix as well as reading the books.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You did have a great week! Your books look so pretty next to that little bird.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kathy--it was Anglophile Week, so I had to pose the English robin next to the English books! LOL

    Julie--I'm sure I will. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    ReplyDelete
  5. We are going to hear more about that Caroline Graham book, aren´t we? I love the TV series, and I have read two of her books but I was a bit disappointed. As far as I remember, they did not really strike me as well-written, but I may be ready to give her a third chance if you like it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dorte--I think I have one other in the series ahead of it, but yes, you will hear more about it. I enjoyed the first in the series because of the characters in Barnaby's family, and I enjoy watching the series as well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Cathy - The Harper's Quine actually sounds interesting! Can't wait to see your review.

    :) Wendi

    ReplyDelete
  8. By the way - I meant to ask how you were liking the Blog Improvement Challenge? I wanted to do that one!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wendi--I'm really enjoying it. This week's assignment is rather tough. It calls for brainstorming, and my brain's worn out! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  10. Cathy, just wondering after reading this, if you have read any of Gerald Hammond's books? I've enjoyed them very much. As British as toad-in-the-hole, authentic background details, great plot and characters.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just what I needed, Susan--another new author to look up! LOL I've requested a couple of his books from Paperback Swap. Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Which ones, Cathy? He has several heroes/heroines but my very favourite is Keith Calder, a guy who is not the most respectable person in the world, but is an expert on guns. And poaching.

    I guess I wouldn't classify Hammond with a "literature" tag, more teller of a rattling good yarn. Even the fact the technology is dated because they were written several years ago wasn't a problem for me. I'm very much looking forward to what you think.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Susan--one was the first in the Calder series. I can't remember which Hammond series the second was from.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you for stopping the 'mailbox' this week. Looking at all your books, which seem to from series, reminds me in need to get back to catching up on my series reading.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!