Monday Mailbox

Great looking books have been practically pouring into my house and I've done nothing but stack them up and stroke them lovingly (okay, and read a few already). In order to remedy the oversight of me not crowing about the bounty, I am lumping them all into this post even thought this is far more than one week's worth. This past couple of weeks' mailbox arrivals:

Butterfly's Child by Angela Davis-Gardner came from Dial Press for a blog tour through TLC Book Tours.
Ever wonder what happened to Butterfly and Pinkerton's child after the opera Madame Butterfly ends? This imagining sounds wonderful and heartbreaking.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond came from William Morrow Cookbooks.
I have played around with Drummond's recipes on her website and they are always tasty so I am thrilled to have this cookbook to play around with.

The Greatest Love Story of All Time by Lucy Robinson came from Penguin UK.
How a woman's friends force her to go on after her perfect life is in shambles, this sounds like a completely and totally fun read. I mean, eight dates aren't exactly my own introverted idea of a way to fix things but I can't wait to see how they lead to the Greatest Love Story of All Time!

The Red House by Mark Haddon came from Doubleday.
I thoroughly enjoyed Haddon's first book and I'm looking forward to this tricky read about estranged siblings and their difficult families staying together in a vacation home.

When Captain Flint Was Still a Good Man by Nick Dybek came from Riverhead Hardcover for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Fishermen lead a dangerous life and this novel centered on king crab fishing and the family dynamics that surround this way of life sounds like a fantastic tale.

The Coldest Night by Robert Olmstead came from Algonquin Books.
A war story and a love story both, this should be riveting in Olmstead's hands.

Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon came from Ballantine Books.
A woman who is finding her life a little dull starts answering questions for a survey, becoming Wife 22 in her responses. I can only imagine where this is going to get her and I'm going to thoroughly enjoy being along for the ride!

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland came from Random House Trade Paperbacks for a blog tour through TLC Book Tours.
One of my very best friends has a great grandparent who worked for Tiffany and her connection has always meant I've been intrigued by tales of the man himself, especially in relation to the women who worked for him.

An Unexpected Guest by Anne Korkeakivi came from Little, Brown and Company.
This one sounds like a Mrs. Dalloway for today. My interest is definitely picqued.

The Aleppo Codex by Matti Friedman came from Algonquin Books.
A true life detective story about a Bible that disappeared and then reappeared incomplete? Gives you shivers, doesn't it? Well, it does for nerdy, bookish me.

Make It Stay by Joan Frank came from The Permanent Press for a blog tour through TLC Book Tours.
A story told at a dinner party has unexpected consequences for the guests. Definitely intriguing material here.

This Life Is In Your Hands by Melissa Coleman came from Harper Perennial for a blog tour through TLC Book Tours.
A memoir about a family who helped to pioneer the back to the land farming movement before abandoning their life in the wake of a tragic accident, this promises to be a marvelous read.

The Paper Garden by Molly Peacock came from Bloomsbury USA for a blog tour through TLC Book Tours.
Poet Molly Peacock weaves her own life together with the elderly widow who created beautiful paper-cut, mixed media collages of flowers in the late 1700's. Delectable, no?

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward came from Bloomsbury USA.
The 2011 National Book Award Winner, this grim look at grinding poverty and family looks to be amazing.

Keepsake by Kristina Riggle came from William Morrow Paperbacks for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
A novel about sisters, hoarding, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I imagine there will be some familiar reflections in here. Plus I adore the cover.

The Mercury Fountain by Eliza Factor came from Akashic Books.
What happens when the founder of a Utopian movement has to compromise some principles but his idealistic daughter refuses to do so as well? This one could well be deep and involved.

Gathering of Waters by Bernice McFadden came from Akashic Books.
I've not read McFadden before but I am interested to see how she writes about Emmett Till and his murder and all the time spiralling out and away from this seminal event.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker came from Other Press.
This has been getting rave reviews and the fact that it's centered on Burma and a long forgotten love letter makes it just that much more appealing to me.

The Absolutist by John Boyne came from Other Press.
A WWI novel, this looks to be a wrenching but important novel.


As always, if you'd like to see the marvelous goodies in other people's mailboxes, make sure to visit Cindy's Love of Books as she is hosting this month's Mailbox Monday and have fun seeing how we are all doing our part to keep the USPS and delivery services viable.