Mailbox Monday

Thanks to Marcia at The Printed Page for hosting Mailbox Monday. These are the books that I found in my mailbox or door this week . Alright, we also went back to the sale at Waldenbooks and picked up the last three on my list. 

The Fire King (A Dirk & Steele Romance) by Marjorie Liu
Received from Dorchester Publishing.

Long ago, shape-shifters were plentiful, soaring through the sky as crows, racing across African veldts as cheetahs, raging furious as dragons atop the Himalayas. Like gods, they reigned supreme. But even gods have laws, and those laws, when broken, destroy.

Zoufalství. Epätoivo. Asa. Three words in three very different languages, and yet Soria understands. Like all members of Dirk & Steele, she has a gift, and hers is communication: that was why she was chosen to address the stranger. Strong as a lion, quick as a serpent, Karr is his name, and in his day he was king. But he is a son of strife, a creature of tragedy. As fire consumed all he loved, so an icy sleep has been his atonement. Now, against his will, he has awoken. Zoufalství. Epätoivo. Asa. In English, the word is despair. But Soria knows the words for love.

The Turkey’s Treat by Marie Sanderlin Metroke
Received from the author.

It’s four days before Christmas, and young Jeff Watson just wants the perfect holiday – tree, turkey, and snow covering the ground. Mother Nature takes care of the weather, but the Watson family still has a lot to do before the big day. Picking out a turkey is at the top of young Jeff’s list. But he never imagined the tasty dish would be one that talks back! Through it all, Jeff discovers the true meaning of Christmas is about more than just the fixings. And that’s a message kids of all ages can gobble up!

$20 Per Gallon by Christopher Steiner
Received from Hachette Book Group.

Imagine an everyday world in which the price of gasoline (and oil) continues to go up, and up, and up. Think about the immediate impact that would have on our lives. Of course, everybody already knows how about gasoline has affected our driving habits., but there are more, not-so-obvious changes on the horizon that Chris Steiner tracks brilliantly in this provocative work. Consider the following societal changes: people who own homes in far-off suburbs will soon realize that there’s no longer any market for their houses. Telecommuting will begin to expand rapidly. Trains will become the mode of national transportation. Cheap everyday items that are comprised of plastic will go away because of the rising price to produce them. And this is just the beginning of a huge and overwhelming domino effect that our way of life will undergo in the years to come. Steiner sees how this simple but constant rise in oil and gas prices will totally re-structure our lifestyle. But what may be surprising to readers is that all of these changes may not be negative–but actually will usher in some new and very promising aspects of our society. Steiner will probe how the liberation of technology and innovation, triggered by climbing gas prices, will change our lives. The book may start as an alarmist’s exercise…. but don’t be misled. The future will be exhilarating.

Tamed by a Laird by Amanda Scott
Won at Bibliophiles ‘R’ Us.

Baroness-in-her-own-right, Jenny Easdale is ready to accept her fate. She’s agreed to marry a man she will never love—yet not before slipping away for one last adventure. Following a traveling minstrel troupe, she’s whisked into a world of intoxicating freedom. Then, all too soon, she finds herself in danger—from a vengeful political plot against Scotland and from the man who has come to take her home.

Dutybound to return with his brother’s wayward bride, Sir Hugh Douglas is not prepared for how her quick wit, courage, and laughing eyes touch his warrior heart. Now, as the merry minstrels play matchmaker and passion sparks between Hugh and Jenny, the conspiracy against Scotland builds…and threatens all they hold dear.

Queen Vernita Visits the Blue Ice Mountains by Dawn Menge
Received from the author.

Queen Vernita continues her monthly visits with her friends at the Blue Ice Mountains. While visiting the mountains she learns about the local flora and fauna.

Egyptology by Helen Ward, Dugald A. Steer , Ian Andrew

Who can resist the allure of ancient Egypt — and the thrill of uncovering mysteries that have lain hidden for thousands of years? Not the feisty Miss Emily Sands, who in 1926, four years after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, led an expedition up the Nile in search of the tomb of the god Osiris. Alas, Miss Sands and crew soon vanished into the desert, never to be seen again. But luckily, her keen observations live on in the form of a lovingly kept journal, full of drawings, photographs, booklets, foldout maps, postcards, and many other intriguing samples.

Rich with information about life in ancient Egypt and peppered with Miss Sands’s lively narration, Egyptology concludes with a letter from the former Keeper of Antiquities at the British Museum, explaining which parts of this unique tale may be accepted as fact, which are guided by legend, and which reflect the author’s delightful sense of fancy. 

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Barcelona, 1945—A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called The Shadow of the Wind, by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax’s other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever written. Soon the boy realizes that The Shadow of the Wind is as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget, for the mystery of its author’s identity holds the key to an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love that someone will go to any lengths to keep secret.

The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr

For Holmes and his affable annalist, Dr. John Watson, this spirited escapade begins sometime in the late 19th century with their receipt, in London, of an encrypted telegram from Sherlock’s eccentric elder brother, Mycroft, “a senior but anonymous government official.” It summons them to Edinburgh, Scotland, where architect Sir Alistair Sinclair and his foreman, Dennis McKay, have been slain in the midst of rehabilitating the medieval west tower of the Royal Palace of Holyrood–the very wing where Queen Mary had lived, and where Rizzio had met his brutal, politically motivated end. Mycroft fears these murders portend new threats against Britain’s present monarch–the elderly Queen Victoria, who infrequently lodges at the palace–by a known assassin, perhaps in nefarious league with the German Kaiser. En route north, Holmes and Watson are menaced aboard their train by a red-bearded bomb thrower (supposedly a rabid Scots nationalist), only to discover that still greater dangers await them, and others, at Holyroodhouse. The plaintive drone of a weeping woman, cruelly punctured and shattered corpses, a pool of blood “that never dries,” and a disembodied Italian voice with unexpected musical tastes all imply the wrath of wraiths behind recent atrocities. But Holmes and Watson deduce that greed, rather than ghosts, may be to blame.

What books found their way to your house last week?