Monday, June 29, 2009

Mailbox Monday-- Restraint? What Restraint?

Only 3 books were sent to new Paperback Swap foster homes this past week, while...er...um...the mail carrier lugged 18 to my mailbox and I just had to stop at Barnes & Noble and buy 3 more.

I'm blaming Denis for Barnes & Noble. If he hadn't bought me that netbook which led to me using his laptop desk which meant that he didn't have anything to put his laptop on, I never would've gotten the idea to go see a movie that was conveniently located almost on the doorstep of a B&N. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Of course I did buy the wrong Andrea Camilleri mystery the week before, and I just had to see if the right one was on the shelf in the bookstore....

And then I just couldn't stay away from a Bookcloseouts sale....

But I digress.

Here's my latest haul:

  1. The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves (PBS), the first Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope mystery set in East Yorkshire. I love Cleeves' Shetland Island Quartet books, and I've heard good things about Vera.
  2. Unseen by Mari Jungstedt (BC), the first Inspector Anders Knutas mystery set on Gotland Island, Sweden.
  3. Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri (B&N), an Inspector Montalbano mystery set in Sicily. I wasn't all that impressed with the first in the series, but I fell in love during book two.
  4. The Smell of the Night by Andrea Camilleri (B&N). These books can be hard to come by in a used state, so I decided not to take any chances!
  5. The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri (B&N). With the ones I was able to find on Paperback Swap, this means I know have all the books in the series that I haven't read yet. Bliss!
  6. Tilt a Whirl by Chris Grabenstein (PBS), the first in the John Ceepak mystery series. I've heard nothing but good about this series. I'm glad PBS finally came through for me!
  7. The Devil Is Dead by Roy Lewis (PBS), another in the Arnold Landon mystery series set in Northumberland, England that mixes murder with ancient architecture.
  8. In the Wind by Barbara Fister (BC). I've gotten to know this author through a Yahoo mysteries group and couldn't resist getting a copy of one of her books.
  9. The Writing Class by Jincy Willett (BC). Can a class of wannabe novelists solve a murder in their midst?
  10. Stewball by Peter Bowen (BC). I almost had heart palpitations when I realized that I didn't have all the books in my beloved Gabriel Du Pre series!
  11. Nails by Peter Bowen (BC). Now I have all the rest of Gabriel Du Pre to read, and I feel much calmer now!
  12. The Companion by Ann Granger (BC). I've read other mysteries by Granger and enjoyed them, so I thought I'd give her first Lizzie Martin historical a try.
  13. The Price of Darkness by Graham Hurley (BC), which completes my Detective Inspector Joe Faraday series set in Portsmouth, England.
  14. What Never Happens by Anne Holt (BC), the next in line in the Vik and Stubo mystery series set in Norway.
  15. A Darker Domain by Val McDermid (PBS), one of my absolute favorite mystery writers. If you haven't read any of her books, I'd suggest A Place of Execution. It's brilliant!
  16. The Anglo Files, A Field Guide to the British by Sarah Lyall (PBS). I'm looking forward to seeing what this American writer for the New York Times has to say about living amongst the British.
  17. The Tsarina's Daughter by Carolly Erickson (PBS). Russian historical novels rank among my guilty pleasures...especially ones that speculate about any of the children of Nicholas and Alexandra who supposedly survived.
  18. Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear (PBS), the latest in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series set in England during the 1930s. I love this series!
  19. Who Cut the Cheese? A Cultural History of the Fart by Jim Dawson (PBS). I got this for someone else in the house, but I won't name names....
  20. The Greenway by Jane Adams (PBS) is about a woman who returns to the area where her cousin disappeared as a child, only to have another child disappear. Has Cassie's return triggered this second disappearance?
  21. Rules of Engagement by Bruce Alexander (PBS), the last of the excellent historical mystery series centered around blind Sir John Fielding of the Bow Street Court and his young assistant.
Th-th-that's all, folks-- and it's certainly enough, isn't it?!?

I'd like to send a big Thank You to Marcia of The Printed Page for hosting this meme. If you'd like to participate or if you'd just like to see what other people got in their mailboxes last week, click on that hungry-looking mailbox at the top of this post! See you next Monday!




13 comments:

  1. All those books - it's like book heaven!!!
    Happy Reading : )

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  2. Poor Denis getting all the blame for your fun! I laughed when I saw Who Cut the Cheese? in your list of books.

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  3. I would be jumping up and down with excitement at my mailbox! LOL

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  4. You had just as many new books as my whole TBR this week :D

    No 1 is wonderful (just wait until you meet Vera Stanhope), no 2 is good, and no 14 is very good.

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  5. I can only say WOW, that is one great week!
    Enjoy

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  6. Yowzer, what a great week. I can relate to the Russian attraction. Works for me too.
    My mailbox is here Have a great week and happy reading.

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  7. Just tell the amilman you're helping him/her get in a daily workout, lifting books in lieu of lifting weights. ::grin::

    And I swear that bookstores emit a gravitational pull that any self-respecting book addict is completely and totally incapable of escaping. My husband is a Trekkie nerd so I just tell him I was trapped in a tractor beam. He just rolls his eyes.

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  8. YouR poor mailman. But it looks like some good books for your pile
    Mine is up at The Burton Review

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  9. I see I am not the only one who blames things on my husband when it comes to book buying.

    My MM is posted:
    http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com/2009/06/mailbox-monday-books-bought-11.html

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  10. Wow, Cathy, that's quite the pile! Happy reading!

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  11. I wasn't too impressed with Camilleri's first either, but now I HAVE to read the second . . .

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  12. You hit the jackpot, didn't you? Looks like hours of great fun.

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  13. Some good ones here (Bowen! McDermid!) ... and then there's mine (cheers) ... but I must say, I'm wondering if we need to stage an intervention. Or maybe we should just buckle on our Habitat for Humanity tool belts and come build an addition onto your house.

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