Monday, March 23, 2009

Mailbox Monday-- Woman Overboard!

Last week I mentioned that I'd planned a trip to my favorite bookstore, the Poisoned Pen, in Scottsdale. I limit myself to no more than two trips per year, and you'll see why shortly. I would've had to have gone mad posting books to my bookshelf at Paperback Swap in order to make up for my indulgence, but I didn't. I decided to catch up on blogging instead. (Shame on me!) Only 4 books were sent to new homes last week. That should change, however, since I spent some time today going through my books. I listed 18 books on Paperback Swap and have another 20 to donate.

Not only do I have a huge haul from the Poisoned Pen to report, it was also a good week for Paperback Swap. I have a total of 20 books to account for from last week, 13 from the Poisoned Pen and 7 from Paperback Swap. Here's the scoop:

--The Pesthouse by Jim Crace (PBS). "Once the safest, most prosperous place on earth, the United States is now a lawless, scantly populated wasteland." Thanks for sending this, Cheryl! (She and I share a love of mysteries and "plague" books.)

--The Wolves of Savernake by Edward Marston (PBS), #1 in his Domesday mystery series which follows a group of William the Conqueror's surveyors and census takers in eleventh-century England.

--Poison Pen by Sheila Lowe (PBS), #1 Claudia Rowe mystery about a forensic handwriting expert.

--Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino (PBS). "
Kirino's subjects are women and murder. Two women in their late 30s have been killed in similar fashion within a year of each other: Yuriko, a prostitute, and Kazue, a successful professional who was turning tricks on the side. They are linked by a nameless woman, older sister of the former and classmate of the latter, who lays out their histories and her own in a chillingly dispassionate, curiously defensive narrative." Kirino's Out was one of my favorite reads a few years ago, so I was happy to get this book.

--The Last Ship by William Brinkley (PBS). "The unimaginable horror of total nuclear war has been let loose upon the world. Miraculously, a single ship-- the guided missile destroyer Nathan James-- has survived the nightmare of destruction. This astonishing, superbly written novel is the story of that ship, the 152 men and 26 women aboard her, their search for survival-- and the fate of mankind."

--Murder in Steeple Martin by Lesley Cookman (PP), #1 Libby Sarjeant mystery set in a Kent village in England.

--Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland (PP), #1 Emily Tempest mystery set in the aboriginal world of Australia.

--The Library Paradox by Catherine Shaw (PP), about the murder of an anti-Semitic professor in 1896 London.

--Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (PP), another in the entry of my mysterious love affair with septuagenarian Dr. Siri, who's the national coroner of Laos.

--Lone Creek by Neil McMahon (PP), a mystery featuring Hugh Davoren, a construction hand at a ranch outside Helena, Montana. This book was recommended to me by a friend from LibraryThing who knows my love of Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire mystery series.

--Cactus Heart by Jon Talton (PP), the latest in the David Mapstone mystery series set here in Phoenix.

--To Thine Own Self Be True by Judy Clemens (PP), the third in the mystery series featuring tattooed, Harley-riding dairy farmer Stella Crown.

--Blackman's Coffin by Mark De Castrique (PP), the first in a mystery series set in North Carolina featuring Sam Blackman, an ex-Chief Warrant Officer in the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the US military who lost a leg in Iraq.

--Frozen Sun by Stan Jones (PP), the third in an excellent mystery series set in the Inupiat villages of Alaska and featuring Alaska State Trooper Nathan Active.

--Heartshot by Steven F. Havill (PP), the first in the Posadas County, New Mexico mystery series featuring a newly elected Sheriff and his aging Undersheriff. This series was recommended by another mystery lover, Lesa of Lesa's Book Critiques.

--Life Sentences by Laura Lippman (PP), the newest standalone by award winner Lippman. I enjoyed What the Dead Know so much that I couldn't keep my hands off this one.

--Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart (PP), the first in the Baily Ruth mystery series. Baily Ruth is not the average sleuth: she's a ghost.

--The Leopard's Prey by Suzanne Arruda (PP), the latest in the Jade del Cameron mystery series that I enjoy so much.

--The Silverado Squatters by Robert Louis Stevenson (PBS), memoirs written while Stevenson was on his honeymoon in Napa Valley, California.

--The Mapmaker's Wife, A True Tale of Love, Murder, and Survival in the Amazon by Robert Whitaker (PBS). 1735 in the Amazon? One of my favorite places to armchair travel!

There you go. You are now witnesses to my plunging into the indulgent seas of book buying! I'm certain you now realize why I limit my visits to the Poisoned Pen!

To see what other participants found in their mailboxes last week, click on that hungry-looking mailbox at the top of this post to be taken to Marcia's The Printed Page.




28 comments:

  1. A leaning tower of books - (sigh) it's like winning a lottery!!!


    My MM is up : )

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow!! You got one or two books!! I found Mapmaker's Wife in my TBR, so we'll see who gets to it first (probably you).

    ReplyDelete
  3. You did fall off the wagon, but just think of all the good you did the economy. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Holy cow! You had a great week! Congrats and happy reading...the Last ship and grotesque sound intriguing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow great week :D
    A real tower. Have fun reading

    ReplyDelete
  6. Curse of the Pogo Stick - how could any book addict pass this by? Love the title! You got some great other ones too.

    My mailbox is Here

    ReplyDelete
  7. You got some really good books. Happy Reading.

    My MM is posted on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You just made a great case for PaperBack Swap. I've never used it but it sounds like a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm curious what you think of Life Sentences, I wasn't familiar with the author when I read it.

    I finished it last week, but I'm behind on reviews, so I haven't got around to it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow! It's a good thing you love to read. Btw, I sent you an email.

    --Anna
    Diary of an Eccentric

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow - this is quite a list, Cathy! I added Grotesque to my tbr list. By the way, have you ever seen gubb.net? That's where I keep my tbr, but you can house a million lists there. :) Keeps me organized.

    www.bookwormzreader.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love your leaning tower of books - and quite a few sound very interesting!! :) I'm really curious about the Mapmaker's Wife - that is one I've had my sights on for quite some time. I think it sounds interesting, and think my book club would enjoy it. Happy reading Cathy!!

    ~ Wendi

    ReplyDelete
  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Goodness gracious! That's a lot of books. good for you and good you only visit Poisoned Pen every six months, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wowser, lots of good reading there. I forgot to mention in my post all the books I bought--lol, that's probably a good thing though. Happy Reading.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Okay, if I need a good mystery, I know where to come. Great week.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mary--yes, it is. Totally off track here, but did you know that, in the UK, lottery winners do not have to pay income tax on their winnings? I want a UK-style lottery here in the US!

    Beth--you might be right because it's yelling at me from my TBR shelves! LOL

    Kathy--I didn't even think about that. Now I feel better. Thanks!

    Thanks, Serena! Those two books look especially promising...in a totally "winner stack".

    Blodeuedd--I will. Thanks!

    Kaye--It probably won't be long before I read that book. I've been wondering what on earth 70-something Dr. Siri is going to do with a pogo stick! LOL

    Thanks, Cindy!

    Margot--PBS is great! If you ever decide to join, let me know!

    Kelly--I'll keep an eye peeled for your review of Life Sentences. Thanks for the heads up!

    Anna--thanks for the email!

    Wormz--thanks for the tip about gubb.net. I'll check it out!

    Thanks, Wendi! I don't think it will be very long until I start reading The Mapmaker's Wife.

    Lilly--I have very little control when I walk into that place! LOL

    Dar--now you've got me curious about the books you bought!

    Luanne--see what I mean about making an effort to stay out of bookstores? LOL

    Susan--yes...I do tend to know a bit about mysteries! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  18. Oh my, you are going to be busy. You read a lot of different mystery series. I was given a copy of The Mapmaker's Wife but haven't gotten to it yet. If you haven't read The Lost City of Z, you would probably enjoy it. It is set in the Amazon as well, it's a true story but reads as easily as fiction. Happy reading.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sandra--I've already read The Lost City of Z, and I loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I reviewed The Pesthouse a while back and said I liked it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Wow, that's an amazing pile and I haven't even heard of most of those authors. Enjoy your books!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Scottsdale! I grew up in the Phoenix area (60s and 70s) and still come back to visit when I can. My husband and I enjoy strolling around Old Town Scottsdale. We haven't made it to the Poisened Pen though. We'll have to remedy that on our next trip! I haven't finished exploring your blog yet, so I'll be lazy and ask you if you've read any Betty Webb books? Crime fiction set in Scottsdale/Phoenix and surrounding areas.

    Nice book haul you had there last week!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Avis-- I *am* going to enjoy these books. It is such a treat to go to that bookstore!

    Terri-- Betty Webb's Lena Jones series is one of my favorites. Have you read any of Jon Talton's which are also set in the Phoenix metro area?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Jeanne--Thanks for letting me know that you liked the book!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow - that is a stack of books! Isn't it amazing what joy a book can bring?

    ReplyDelete
  26. I've seen reference to Talton, but I haven't read any yet. Thanks for reminding me!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Kristi--Books certainly make my heart go pitter patter!

    You're welcome, Terri! The first book in the series was a bit shaky for me, but they rapidly picked up steam, and now it's one of my favorite series set in Arizona.

    ReplyDelete

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