Monday Mailbox

Holy cats it's been a busy week for my overworked mailbox. I have started finding books in the mailbox, at the front door, in the garage on top of the clutter of our shoes, and propped against the closed garage door. I can't decide if this means that our mailman is a relative of the Easter Bunny and is having fun hiding the books or if he's just forgetful about where to stash things when the mailbox is just too crammed full to take another item of mail. I'd say I think he should start hiding the bills so we don't have to see them but it'd be hard to read in the dark when they turned our electricity off for non-payment of the bill, now wouldn't it?!

The Big Steal by Emyl Jenkins
This came from the folks at Algonquin Books. I am not a huge mystery reader but everyone should break out of her reading rut once in a while, right? And this one sounds fun and death-free, which makes it perfect (and not nightmare inspiring--which is key for me) as a choice to dip into mysteries.

Dragon House by John Shors
This came directly from the author and I am definitely looking forward to it since I enjoyed (and recommend) his Beneath a Marble Sky, which I read before our trip to India. He really captures place nicely and so I happily anticipate my armchair journey to Vietnam and into the lives of Vietnamese street children.

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
This one came through a Shelf Awareness offer. Dunant's Birth of Venus was a good read and this latest book, set in an Italian convent that is home to one unwilling novitiate, sounds delicious.

Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen
The read for next week's Picador Twitter bookclub, this one could really challenge me. I'll have to see later if that's a good thing or a bad thing!

Cornfield Heiress by E.
Sent to me by Author Marketing Experts, this book sounds like one wild ride. And it's authored by someone who can only use her initial as identification? Wonder just how scintillating this is going to get?! (Actually, the author's name is Errollynne Peters, which I discovered after just one measly Google search so I suspect she's not really trying to hide much of anything.)

Caenus and the Quiver of Artemis by Christopher Ledbetter
This came directly from the author, who I had cheerfully mistaken for a boy I used to know many years ago. It probably would have been too perfect for me to have known the author as a child. But I am pleased to have the chance to read his book, even if he isn't who I thought he was. It will be another one that is a bit of a stretch from my usual reading but I'm hoping to share it with W. and to get the 12 year old boy perspective on it as well. And since it is more along the lines of what he reads, I'm hoping he's willing to share this experience with me.

Vanishing by Candida Lawrence
From Unbridled Books, this is a memoir to feed my current memoir appetite. The fourth memoir by this author, I will have loads more to look forward to if I enjoy this one as much as the blurb suggests I will.

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama
A cross between Jane Austen and Alexander McCall Smith but set in India? The marketers certainly knew how to push my buttons, didn't they? I am looking forward to this one with a glee that is practically illegal.

Perfect Life by Jessica Shattuck
A LibraryThing Early Review book, I am fascinated by the premise of the book. An ex-boyfriend donates sperm and agrees to forfeit parental rights only to reappear in everyone's life. The potential here is enormous! And on a purely shallow note, I love the cover, even if it is another in the currently popular headless/partial headed bodies series.

A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand
From Valerie at Hatchette, this one is one that I'm hoping my book club might be induced to read. It sounds like perfect summer fare (play on title is only partly intentional).

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
A LibraryThing Early Review book (although already released), I enjoyed Strout's Amy and Isabelle years ago and am curious to see what she does with this novel as well.

As always, if you'd like to check out the goodies that other people found in their mailboxes, check out The Printed Page where Marcia kindly hosts this meme every week.