Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme started by Marcia at Mailbox Monday in which bloggers can ramble on about the books they received/bought/stole over a given week. Each month a new blogger hosts the meme, and this month it’s Mrs. Q: Book Addict.
Last
week I made a resolution not to get any more books until I’d thinned out my to-read
pile a little bit. Guess what
happened? Yep, I got more books. But it wasn’t my fault, see. One was an audio book from the library, and
those just don’t count. One was an ebook
that was practically forced on me by
Zohar from Man of la Book (he
practices some tough love, that one).
And then the other was the single greatest work I have received for
review to date—I was physically and mentally incapable of saying no.
Allow
me to explain.
--- The Books ---
The Twenty-Year Death by Ariel S. Winter – This literary hit of Rohypnol (I was incapable of saying “no,” see?) is
the latest from the Hard Case Crime
series. It automatically jumped to the
front of my reading list as soon as I laid hands on it. This is Ariel Winter’s first published book,
but boy is it a doozy. It’s effectively
three books in one, each one set in a different decade and using the style of a
mystery/crime master from that era. The
first book, set in 1931, channels Georges Simenon. The second, in 1941, uses a Chandleresque noir
tone. And the third, set in 1951, is a tale
of psychotic unraveling a la Jim Thompson.
The three separate tales converge at the end to create what I’ve heard
is a mind-numbingly brilliant conclusion.
The mind behind Hard Case Crime, Charles Ardai, has stated that The Twenty-Year Death is way too long of
a book for publication in the HC series (which usually span about 200 pages),
but that it was so phenomenal that he couldn’t not buy it. You know what
the best part is, though? I’ve already
lined up an author interview and giveaway to coincide with the review. I couldn’t be more pumped.
Pegasus Falling by William E. Thomas – As I mentioned earlier, Zohar practically made me take this book. He’s a silver tongued devil, that one. It helps, though, that the book sounded
amazing. He reviewed it on his website, which was what
convinced me to give in. Pegasus Falling (from Acute
Angle Books) is the first book in a semi-autobiographical trilogy written
by a World War II veteran and posthumously published by his son. It details the life a British paratrooper,
his imprisonment as a POW by the Germans, eventual liberation, and life in Europe during the aftermath of the war. Z was absolutely right. It’s just the type of book I would love.
Not Comin’ Home to You by Lawrence
And now that I’ve showed you mine, it’s time to
show me yours. What did you get in your mailbox this week?
You win this week on the pic. I can't seam to find really cool ones. Nice books. Audio books don't count? Hmmmm okay then. Note to self stockpile on audio books which I've never read err heard.
ReplyDeleteA victory is a victory. I'll take what I can get.
ReplyDeleteAnd what I meant was that audio books don't count toward my massive TBR pile. I listen to the audio books when I'm driving, time that I wouldn't otherwise be able to use for reading, so I don't look at them the same way (or feel as guilty) as I do a physical book or ebook.
You dig? :)
Totally a loop hole :) But really I've never heard an audio book I want to try one out.
DeleteI always get mine at the library. Audio books are too expensive to buy for myself (upwards of 80 bucks), so the lib'ary is my go-to.
DeleteI finished "Gideon's Corpse" (D. Preston and L. Child.) It was book club, so I guess you can count it as "in the mail." I will get Gideon's Sword which was a precursor. I like the way they write and I like the character. I cannot imagine co-writing, can you? They both do well as soloists also.
ReplyDeleteI liked it. It is the first time I have been immersed in a book for quite a long while.
I read REAMDE and I just started it over since I was kind of out of it when I read it.
Dude, Preston and Child are one of my favorite guilty pleasures. The writing is predictable (but always dependable), and sometimes they're structured in frustrating ways (switching character POVs all the time, introducing a character POV only to kill them off in the same scene, etc.).
DeleteAnd no, I cannot imagine co-writing. One of the reasons I think we as writers like to write is that we get to be king (or queen) over our creation--and nobody likes to share the throne, right? Or at least very few people do.
I'm with you on the first title. You HAD to buy that one. Hell, now I have to buy that one just because of the title, alone. Your description only magnifies that need.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, no new books entered my house this week.
It helps that I didn't have to buy anything. The publisher sent it to me for review, so it's not like I was out any money or anything. Still, doesn't help my massive TBR stack, does it?
DeleteI hadn't heard of Pegasus Falling before, but it sounds very good. With books like that I always wonder how much is true vs. fiction, but since I find WWII stories fascinating I think I'll give it a chance and see if I can find it locally.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't either until Zohar hit me up about it. I'll see if I can dig up the publicist's email and send it to you. He might be able to give you an ebook copy for review, too.
DeleteI'm also feeling the pressure of my massive TBR pile. This week, I fell victim to the latest James Patterson novel that somehow found its way into my home after a visit to a local Target store (on a stop intended for purchasing a flash drive). I'm always a bit skeptical of Patterson novels, but I've been a fan of his Michael Bennett series and feel obligated to read the latest installment. Hopefully I'll be able to put a dent in this pile within the next couple weeks, but I know that the latest Tana French novel will be calling my name in a few days...
ReplyDelete-Ethan
http://e135-abookaweek.blogspot.com/
Ha! Ain't that the way of it? You go to a store (doesn't matter what store) for something totally unrelated, see a book display, and get sucked right in. Occupational hazard I guess, huh?
DeleteI have made a similar resolution: not to buy any books until I have finished every book on my shelf. I'm not counting library books because they don't stay on my bookshelves and I'm not buying them.
ReplyDeleteNice books! With that cover I had thought at first that The Twenty-Year Death was published many years ago.
That's Hard Case Crime's schtick--classic crime novels mixed with new ones, all of them with that pulp sleaze cover art aesthetic from the 50s and 60s. You really should try them out sometime. I mean, there are some stinkers, but there are some really good ones, too. If you ever want any recommendations, let me know.
Delete