Mailbox Monday

This has to be the most fun post to write all week. And I can get just as excited about reading what others have received too. This week was a doozy because on top of the expected arrivals, I received four ARCs that I'd requested back in August and had given up on receiving. To wit...

Eclipse by Richard North Patterson. My son introduced me to this writer when I needed something lighter and I liked his work. This ARC comes from Henry Holt and Company. It's set in a fictional African nation and involves greedy oil companies and defending someone who will be sentenced to death. Sounds intense.

Yes, You Can Make it Happen by Junai Jinsei, an ARC from Outskirts Press, also a Henry Holt and Company publication. This is non-fiction and not my usual choice but I'll give it a whirl.

The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak from Bookmooch. This was on the Orange Prize longlist, one of my ongoing reading challenges.

Arsenic Soup for Lovers, subtitled When Chicken Soup Doesn't Work, short stories by Georgia Z. Post. From the author, who calls them "Very Very Short Stories for Very Very Busy People" Her previous book was With Malice Toward Some. I like this woman already.

Jenford: A Short History of Upland, a novel by Hendrik E. Sadi. From the author. Same publisher as Arsenic Soup, which is iUniverse of Lincoln Nebraska.

Keeping the Faith: A Memoir by Faith Evans, won during BBAW, but I can't remember where. It was my first experienced with that whirlwind phenomenon and I apologize to whoever was responsible. It could very well have been MyfriendAmy herself. I am now offering it in a giveaway, it's a beautiful hardcover and has a lot of inside information about the music industry and the author's life as B.I.G.'s wife before he died.

Tethered by Amy MacKinnon, from Read It Forward. Another ARC that I thought wasn't coming but I'm glad it did.

The Believers by Zoe Heller, author of Notes on a Scandal. An ARC from the Barnes & Noble First Look Club, my first from them.


Swap by Sam Moffie, his first book, which I did not request. Mr. Moffie thought I needed something to read while I was waiting for his ARC of The Organ Grinder and the Monkey to arrive, which he said would take another three weeks. Surprise surprise, it had arrived nine days before his letter and I will be having a giveaway. Let's just say the story involves baseball players and an infamous incident a few short years ago, albeit fictionalized, and they were not swapping baseball cards. Not my cup of tea. In fact if you've read this far and want it, leave a comment saying so and I'll send it to you. Or email me if you prefer.

A Day at the Apple Orchard by Megan Faulkner & Adam Krawesky. A Scholastic publication acquired through Bookmooch. It's a non-fiction pictorial about children in an orchard. I'm taking this to a reunion with my four sisters next year. We grew among apple orchards.

If any title, here or mentioned in my blog or library interests you, let me know. I'll move it up in the TBR pile and review it. Even if I've already read it. Or answer any questions you have about it. Until next week...keep your letter openers sharpened.