Jan 5, 2009

Mailbox Monday #11


Mailbox Monday is here once again! Thanks to Marcia at The Printed Page for hosting this wonderful meme where we get to see what lands in everyone's mailboxes during the week.

Here's what I got in my mailbox; It was more than I expected:

From SantaThing:




1. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, which I presume was picked because I mentioned that I wanted to branch out into fantasy reading more.






2. The Odyssey by Homer, which I'm not sure why this was selected given that I noted I would love to read more contemporary poetry. I have read Homer's Odyssey many times, and I doubt I'll be reading this again anytime soon.







3. Now Silence by Tori Warner Shepard, which I received from the author and will be reading during the WWII reading challenge.







4. The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick, which is an ARC I received from Paul Samuelson at Sourcebooks. It's a big one at nearly 600 pages, so lets hope this one keeps my attention long enough for a March review.







5. Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, which I purchased at Target shortly after Christmas. I couldn't resist this best-seller. I've heard so many great reviews of this book, I just had to have it.






6. A Dangerous Affair by Caro Peacock is my first book from the Harper Collins' First Look program. I'm bit annoyed that I have less than a month to review it, especially since many of the others I've seen have at least until the first of the next month. This book is slated for release on 1/27/09.






7. The Scent of Sake by Joyce Lebra is another book I received from Harper Collins' First Look program. It's interesting that I only got one email about getting a First Look book and it wasn't this one. This book is slated for release 2/17/09. I probably won't be reviewing this one until near the end of January.



***Today's the last day for a chance to win Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips! The Gods Behaving Badly Contest, which runs through January 5 at Midnight EST.***

20 comments:

Sandra said...

The Thirteenth Tale is one I enjoyed very much but I must tell you that it's not fantasy. Sarah's Key and Scent of Sake both interest me. I'll watch for your reviews of them. Happy reading in 2009. My MM is now up.

Louise said...

Interesting books! I read The Thirteenth Tale and am probably the only one I know who didn't like it :-) Can't wait to hear what you think once you get to it.

bermudaonion said...

You had a great week. I've yet to get anything from HC First Look, but I keep trying.

Amy said...

The Scent of Sake looks good! I've also had bad luck with HC First Look so I stopped trying. The one book I was told I would receive, I never did. Funny about the Odyssey. Enjoy your books!

Serena said...

Sandra: Well now I am truly at a loss as to why the person picked the Thirteenth Tale. LOL O boy.

Bogsider: I probably will not get to 13th tale until Feb. at this point.

Bermudaonion: A Dangerous Affair is my first and then surprise I got a second in the mail. LOL gotta love it.

Serena said...

Amy: These are my first books from them. And I'm surprised that they never sent an email about the Scent of Sake, and the login page where it tells you which books you have to submit reviews for doesn't even have the Scent of Sake listed. Odd I tell you.

I really am perplexed by both of the books I received now from SantaThing, though I have heard good things about 13th Tale.

Anonymous said...

*Now Silence* looks good, nice that it ties in with the WWII challenge.

Re: First Look. I rec'd a different book than the one I requested (not the one listed on my "you still have to review this" page). I tried twice emailing to ask how to fix the problem (they're still looking for a review of Book X, but I rec'd Book Y), but no answer. I've heard of so many snafus with the program that I've dropped out. I'm not usually cranky, but it bothers me when an email is not responded to!

Alyce said...

Great list! The Thirteenth Tale was my favorite read last year.

I'm also stopping by to let you know that I've given your blog an award.

http://athomewithbooks.blogspot.com/2009/01/butterfly-award.html

Serena said...

Dawn: I hear you on that one. I have a similar situation with a different program.

I have no idea what is going on with First Look, but they will just have to wait for my Scent of Sake review, because it's not going to get done by Jan. 15.

Jeannie said...

Oooh, somebody must have been a good girl to get those great books!

Happy New Year, Serena. :D

The Bookworm said...

Great books Serena, enjoy them :)
I've been wanting to read The Thirteenth Tale for a while myself.
I received a copy of The Kingmaking too. It is long! good luck with it.
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

I can't wait to hear what you think of The Thirteeth Tale. Don't worry--not too much fantasy. More gothic Willie Collins/Bronte-ish. :)

Toni said...

I loved The Thirteenth Tale. ENJOY!

avisannschild said...

Wow, you got some great-sounding books this week! I also loved The Thirteenth Tale. Too bad your SantaThing partner was a bit confused about contemporary poetry! Now Silence looks good, as do the books you got from First Look. I should look into them again.

Happy New Year and happy reading!

Serena said...

Jeannie: I must have been a good girl indeed.

Naida: I'll have to let you know what I think of the 13th Tale.

Trish: interesting that the santathing person would pick 13th tale when I mentioned fantasy.

Toni: I've heard many people liked the 13th tale

Avis: I'm not sure what I think about FIrst Look since I got two books, but then they told me I only got one. LOL

Luanne said...

Nice mix - but to echo what everyone else has mentioned - The Thirteenth Tale is more gothic mystery and not fantasy. I'll be curious to see if you like it. I did but I love books like this.

Ti said...

I enjoyed Thirteenth Tale. It was creepy and mysterious and very well written. I hope yuou enjoy it.

Anna said...

FirstLook gave me the 15th as a deadline for The Scent of Sake as well. It would've been nice if they'd provided the book earlier. I started it this morning, so we'll see.

Looking forward to your reviews. I hope you'll let me borrow Now Silence when you're done.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Iliana said...

Ooh what a bounty. The one I'd definitely like to read is the Caro Peacock book. Have fun finding a spot for all of these books on your bookshelves :)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for stopping by the 'mailbox' this week. 'The Thirteenth Tale' just keeps getting buried on my wish list. I noticed you have 'Sarah's Key' on your MM post this week. Dar from Peeking Between the Pages and myself are co-hosting a Noontime Book Chat the week of February 9th featuring this book. If you get a chance to start reading it by then please stop by and join us.