Literature and Poetry Reviews, Home of the Virtual Poetry Circle
You know what I was doing over weekend, don’t you?
Naturally, watching the latest QT, Inglourious Basterds, with Anna from Diary of an Eccentric.
Can I just Say…AWESOME!
Ok, you want a real review? Go ahead, check it out at War Through the Generations.
You know I gave it a great review, but what did Anna say?
Welcome to another Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page, where we share our books from the library, the bookstore, swap programs, and the publishers, etc.
The number of ARCs is tapering off for me, while I try to catch up on the books already in my piles.
1. Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran from the author for review.
2. Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes Year 2 by Susan Helene Gottfried from the author for review.
3. Let the Shadows Fall Behind You by Kathy-Diane Leveille from the author for review.
4. Girls of Tender Age by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith from the author for review.
5. The White Queen by Phillippa Gregory, which I won from A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore.
What books did you get in your mailbox?
Also, I have a great international giveaway for the Rooftops of Tehran going on through August 24, 2009.
Welcome to another peak inside by mailbox, here at Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page.
The number of books making it into my mailbox should be smaller and smaller in the coming weeks as I decline more offers than I accept from publishers. I really need to focus on the books already lining my shelves.
Plus, I have a coupon and a gift certificate for two different bookstores that are burning holes in my pockets!
1. The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan from the Amazon Vine program, which will be published in August/September 2009.
2. The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy by Sara Angelini for review in October 2009 from Sourcebooks.
3. Dusk by David Doub, which I won from Literary Escapism.
4. Soul Survivor by Bruce and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross, which I won from A Bookish Mom.
5. Short Girls by Bich Minh Nguyen, which I received from Library Thing and was published in July 2009.
6. The Woodstock Story Book by Linanne G. Sackett and Barry Z. Levine, which I received from Lisa Roe for review–check out my preview of the book at D.C. Literature Examiner.
Ok, so when I decided to write this up, the Borders coupon for my birthday (15% off) burned a hole in my pocket and sent me to the bookstore to pick out some books:
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, which I have seen so many of you rave about.
8. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris, which is (I believe) the second book in the Sookie Stackhouse series–this will be great for the challenge…Now, that I have two books from the series I can get started.
9. Best Burgers from Publications International, which is a board book my husband picked out from the bargain bin for $1.99…which ended up being considered a cookbook by the Borders’ system and I paid $1.39 for! Must have been a good day for sales.
What did you get in your mailbox?
After visiting Florinda’s blogging space at Kittling Books, which generated tons of comments about her magnet collection, Florinda has challenged everyone to show off their magnets. Naturally, I obliged!
I love collecting magnets with animals on them, particularly from places I’ve visited. Some of my favorite magnets also incorporate another love of mine–photography–so you’ll notice family members and friends on my magnets. Two of my favorites are the two cat magnets on the bottom left corner, which I’ve had for years. I sent away when I was a kid to have photos of my two cats–Puddy and Tat–put on refrigerator magnets. I could have left these with my mom, but they were my best buds when I was a kid, so I kept them with me.
On the right side, near the top is a giant stuff caribou from Caribou Coffee, which I love…his little hands are magnetic and I just couldn’t resist sticking him on the fridge. You’ll also note some hand painted goodies on the same side, which The Girl made me, and some made with yarn, which my great aunt in Colorado sent me when I was a kid.
I do have other magnets on the bottom part of the fridge, but I’m not showing that section because it is a mess. Maybe next time.
***
Don’t forget my recent Examiner.com interviews with Kyle Semmel of the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He talks about blogging and translation, here and here.
And my giveaways:
1. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (5 copies); TODAY!
2. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre (2 copies); Deadline August 14
Focus Features’ Pride & Prejudice stars Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen and was released in 2005. What’s to love about this version of the classic Jane Austen novel is the performances, the score, the cinematography, the screenplay adaptation, and everything.
Keira Knightley plays Elizabeth Bennet and she does a beautiful job expressing the character’s emotions, prejudices, and nuances, and Matthew MacFadyen, who plays Fitzwilliam Darcy, plays off of her so well. The chemistry between the two actors sizzles on the screen, and the tension between the characters is palatable.
My love of piano music is catered to in the score of this movie from the scene with Elizabeth looking out over the countryside on her way to Pemberley with her aunt and uncle to the consistent pianoforte playing by the various characters.
While there are scenes from the book that are not in this movie, the pacing is perfect. Knightley easily portrays Elizabeth’s fire and her love for her sister. MacFadyen’s performance is equally captivating as Mr. Darcy from the touch of Elizabeth’s hand and the clenching and unclenching of his fist to the longing gazes he casts in Elizabeth’s direction.
The supporting cast is brilliant from Donald Sutherland as Mr. Bennet to Dame Judi Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourg, providing moments of laughter and anger.
***May contain spoilers***
Some of the best scenes are when it rains and Darcy professes his ardent love against his better judgment, the witty repartee between Darcy and Elizabeth at Rosings, the first dance between Darcy and Elizabeth, and the short exchange between Darcy and Bingley when he visits Jane after a long absence. The best scene of course is when Darcy and Elizabeth meet in the field early in the morning after his aunt visits late the previous evening.
Check out this P&P video set to music. Check out the trailer.
Focus Features’ Pride & Prejudice (2005) receives 5 bags of popcorn from me and makes the first movie for the Everything Austen Challenge.
Welcome to another Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page. We’ve got books. . . yes, more books, this week. Ready for a photo of the beauties?
From the bottom, up:
1. The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl for a TLC Book Tours on October 22.
2. The Walking People by Mary Beth Keane, which I won from Peeking Between the Pages.
3. Picking Bones from Ash by Marie Mutsuki Mockett from the Amazon Vine Program.
4. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry for a TLC Book Tours on August 31.
5. Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman, which I snagged from our office kitchen. Some of us drop books in the kitchen to give away as freebies, and I got two this week and gave a third to Anna at Diary of an Eccentric. I haven’t read Alice Hoffman yet. Can you believe it?
6. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which is also from the office kitchen.
7. FU, Penguin by Matthew Gasteier, which came a s a surprise from Random House.
What did you get in your mailbox? Have you read any of these, what are your thoughts? Do you like Alice Hoffman? What books of hers have you read?
It’s another full mailbox this week at Savvy Verse & Wit. It always amazes me how many books make it into my home each week.
Here’s what came last week:
1. Eye of the Whale by Douglas Carlton Abrams; the author graciously sent me this novel and I am thrilled to review another of his books. If you missed my review of the Lost Diary of Don Juan, check it out.
2. A Summer Affair by Elin Hilderbrand, which I won at All About {n}. If you haven’t checked out Nely’s blog you should.
3. The Condition by Jennifer Haigh for the August Book Club Girl August 18 show.
4. Carta Marina: A Poem in Three Parts by Ann Fisher-Wirth, which I received from the poet for review in October.
5. Searching for Pemberley by Mary Simonsen from Sourcebooks for review in November/December.
6. Willoughby’s Return by Jane Odiwe from Sourcebooks for review in October/November. If you missed my review of Odiwe’s Lydia Bennet’s Story, check it out.
7. The Waker’s Corridor by Jonathan Thirkield, which I received from the American Academy of Poets. This book of poems received the Walt Whitman Award in 2008.
8. Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak from the author for review in August.
9. Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, a young adult novel from Simon & Schuster for review in October.
10. A Rotten Person Travels the Caribbean by Gary Buslik from the author for review in September.
What did you get in your mailbox?
Another Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page, has arrived. This meme is all about book love and sharing what came in the mail, in from the library, and whatever other means books arrived in our homes.
Here’s what came in my mailbox this week:
1. Dirty Water: A Red Sox Mystery by Mary Ann Tirone-Smith and Jere Smith, which I got through inter-library loan for our 2nd book club meeting.
2. Mercury in Retrograde by Paula Froelich from the publisher, Atria.
3. The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos, which I won from Pudgy Penguin Perusals for correctly guessing the name of Pudgy (Alphonse).
4. When You Went Away by Michael Baron from the publisher Story Plant
5. Sweet Mary by Liz Balmaseda
6. Visions of America by Joseph Sohm for review with Lisa at the Online Publicist
7. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
8. Fair Creatures of an Hour by Lynn Levin from the poet for review.
What arrived in your mailbox this week?
Welcome to another Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page.
Here’s what I got in my mailbox, while I was out of town for a memorial service, which was beautifully done. I’m back now, and hope to get into the swing of things again and resume commenting on a regular basis.
Some of these were surprises.
1. B as in Beauty by Alberto Ferreras
2. Hungry Woman in Paris by Josefina Lopez
3. Houston, We Have a Problema by Gwendolyn Zepeda
4. The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos by Margaret Mascarenhas
5. Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea
6. The Widow’s Season by Laura Brodie from the author for review in October.
7. The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
What arrived in your mailbox this week?
Don’t forget my giveaway for Rubies in the Orchard by Lynda Resnick. Deadline is July 24.
Another Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page, is here. This is another big one thanks to the local library sale. I’ve included Amazon.com links for the affiliate program in this issue.
Here are the books I received in the mail:
1. A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve from Hatchette Group for review.
2. Last Days in Lacuna Cabal by Sean Dixon for review in August from Blue Dot Literary, LLC.
3. The Moon Looked Down by Deborah Garlock from Hatchette Group for review.
4. A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman for a TLC Book Tour in September.
5. Bloody Awful by Georgia Evans for review.
6. Bloody Right by Georgia Evans for review.
Books I received from my mother in the mail:
7. Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
8. Swimsuit by James Patterson
9. 8th Confession by James Patterson
10. Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson
Books I snagged at the Germantown Library Sale this weekend for $6:
11. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
12. Voices of Ireland by Malachy McCourt
13. The Vietnamese and Their Revolution by John T. McAllister, Jr. and Paul Mus
14. The Raid by Benjamin F. Schemmer
15. The Caves of Perigord by Martin Walker
16. Nam by Mark Baker
17. Holocaust Poetry by Hilda Schiff
18. Downfall by Richard B. Frank
19. Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni
What did you get in your mailbox?
Welcome to another edition of Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page. This is the meme in which I share what books I received through the mail, the book sales, the library, and any other location.
This week, I received the following:
1. Cheerful Money by Tad Friend from Hatchette Group.
What did you receive in your mailbox?
Also, check out the Quote Challenge for the blogiversary, here and here and here.
Welcome to the latest edition of Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page.
I’ve been accepting fewer books fore review, but I have received a few this week and I can’t wait to read them.
1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows for a TLC Tour in August.
2. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange from Sourcebooks for review in August.
3. Red to Black by Alex Dryden from Shelf Awareness for review.
What did you get in your mailbox this week?
Also, have you checked out my latest article on the Examiner? Here’s my D.C. Literature Examiner posting about YA novels in verse.
Don’t forget my giveaways: 2-year Blogiversary, here and here and here.
