Sunday, January 04, 2009

Mailbox Monday--An Embarrassment of Riches



Another slow week as far as sending out books to fellow PBS members--only three. But Paperback Swap and my Amazon gift card sent plenty for me to drool over! Here's the rundown of the fourteen books I received last week:

  • The Journal of Jules Renard, edited and translated by Louise Bogan and Elizabeth Roget. (A) This book has been celebrated abroad and is cited as a principle influence by writers such as Somerset Maugham and Susan Sontag. I've been dipping into this at odd moments, and I love his eye for detail: "The spider glides on an invisible thread as though it were swimming in the air."
  • Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis. (PBS) I learned about this book from Lesa on her blog, and since I've enjoyed several of Willis' books, I tracked this down through Paperback Swap.
  • In Pursuit of the Green Lion by Judith Merkle Riley. (PBS) I enjoyed the first in the trilogy (A Vision of Light) so much that I was happy to get my hands on this one. Historical fiction at its best!
  • Murder in a Cold Climate by Scott Young. (A) The first in a mystery series about Inspector Matthew Kitologitak of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police set in the Canadian Arctic. I've had the second in the series for a few years now, and I finally got my hands on this one. YES! I absolutely loathe being cold, so don't ask me why I like to read books set in such frigid places.
  • A Cotswold Killing by Rebecca Tope. (A) The first in a mystery series set in a small Cotswold village in England.
  • The Picasso Scam by Stuart Pawson. (A) The first in the Detective Inspector Charlie Priest mystery series set in Yorkshire, England.
  • The Devil in the Bush by Matthew Head. (A) The first Dr. Mary Finney mystery set in the Belgian Congo during World War II.
  • The Dragonfly: A Bury St. Edmunds Historical Time-Travel Novel by Rosemary Goodwin. (A) Cathy (like the character's name) is a history professor who takes a whallop to the head in a car accident. She finds herself in an Anglo-Saxon village, 17th-century Bury St. Edmunds, and another village in 1943. Time-travel is one of my favorite sub-genres.
  • Murder in Metropolis by Lonnie Cruse. (A) The first in a mystery series set in small town Metropolis, Illinois which is known as the "home" of Superman. I don't think Superman makes an appearance, however.
  • Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas (PBS). An epistolary novel set on an Iowa farm during the Civil War. It features quilting, which I love but have neither the patience nor the skill to pursue.
  • Damage Control by J.A. Jance. (PBS) The latest in the Sheriff Joanna Brady mystery series set in Bisbee, Arizona. When it comes to setting, this series is one of my all-time favorites--and the characters and plots are wonderful, too. Might have to take this one with me when Denis and I go to spend a week in Bisbee at the end of January!
  • Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron. (PBS) Cat hair makes me sneeze, but I'm sure I'll love Dewey.
  • Don't Think Twice by Wayne Johnson. (PBS) The first in a mystery series set in northwest Minnesota.
  • The Green Age of Asher Witherow by M. Allen Cunningham. (PBS) A character study set in 19th-century California.
There you have it--what arrived in my mailbox last week! If you'd like to see what mail carriers, and FedEx and UPS drivers are delivering to other people, click on the mailbox at the top of the post to be taken to the home of this fun meme, Marcia's The Printed Page.






8 comments:

  1. You had a great week! I only got one book last week. I'm trying to be optimistic about it, though.

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  2. Looks like a nice week for you!

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  3. That's wonderful! I love it when I have a week like that. The only book in that stack that I own is Dewey, and I haven't read it yet.

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  4. The Jules Renard sounds interesting, And I'm sure you'll love Dewey, I'm reading it now. You had a good week for books. Enjoy. My MM is now posted.

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  5. Cathy,

    I'm honored that Murder In Metropolis is one of the books you received to read this year. Hope you enjoy it! Warm regards, Lonnie Cruse

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  6. Hi, Lonnie! In a way, your book is a natural for me. I was born and raised in a small farm town in central Illinois, and I have a friend down in southern Illinois whose husband takes her to Metropolis every year.

    I just visited your website and took a look at Fifty-Seven Heaven. The best car my Grampa ever owned was a black '57 Chevy!

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  7. What a great week! Happy reading!

    I hope you had a wonderful holiday!

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

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