Mailbox Monday -- June 1 (BEA Books and Other Reads!)

It's time for another Mailbox Monday, hosted by The Printed Page. I didn't post last week because I didn't receive any books, which was a bit of a relief to my husband and my cramped home, but I more than made up for it this time around.

I received a few books before I went to Book Expo America:



Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (from my dear friend Jeannie)



The Visibles by Sara Shepard (from the author)



Jantsen's Gift: A True Story of Grief, Rescue, and Grace by Pam Cope with Aimee Molloy (contest win from Bella is Reading...)



The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal by Sean Dixon (from Susan Wolf of Other Press LLC)



Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts (contest win from Books and Needlepoint)



The Moment Between by Nicole Baart (contest win from Peeking Between the Pages)

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Now for the BEA books...

I think I did really well. I was really selective, given that Serena and I could fill just one tote bag between us for the train ride home. (We had no desire or money to ship things.) I brought home 12 books total, with only 8 for myself.



The Girl was tickled pink that I brought her a signed copy of R.L. Stine's newest Goosebumps book, Escape From Horrorland. I was surprised there were tickets left for his signing when we arrived at 8:45 am on Saturday, and I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. I loved R.L. Stine's books when I was younger, and The Girl is crazy about the Goosebumps books and shows. He wasn't personalizing the books, which was fine, but he took the time to talk to every person in line and was very nice.



I also picked up an ARC of The Unusual Mind of Vincent Shadow by Tim Kehoe in the Hachette booth for The Girl. The cover says it will be released in November.



Another for The Girl: Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass by Erica Kirov, which I found in the Sourcebooks booth.



Dirty Water: A Red Sox Mystery by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith and Jere Smith. This one was for hubby, a die-hard Sox fan. He really liked that it was personalized and included a bookmark and baseball card. Serena waited in line for this one for me, while I waited in line for a Holocaust book...then learned that the author was unable to be there. :(

And these are for me:



Lives of Hitler's Jewish Soldiers: Untold Stories of Men of Jewish Descent Who Fought for the Third Reich by Bryan Mark Rigg. I was able to speak with the author for a few minutes while he signed the book. He seemed really interested in our WWII reading challenge and was very nice. He said I could email him about an interview, so look for that at some point in the future.



He Was My Chief: The Memoirs of Adolf Hitler's Secretary by Christa Schroeder (an ARC--the book is supposed to be published in August)



Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the After Life by Francine Prose. I spoke to Prose while she signed my book, and she was very nice. This is an ARC; the book is slated for publication in late September.



The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand, an ARC signed by the author. Serena and I had a great time chatting with her. She was very friendly and wanted to know about our blogs.



The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James--a surprise ARC in the tote bag from Book Club Girl at the book blogger panel.



Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea (audio). Kathy, Julie, and Amy brought us to Urrea's booth signing, and we had a blast. We got a chance to meet his wife, as well as Susan Ericksen, the reader of the audio version.



The Book of Walla by M. Ram Krishn. I don't think I would have picked this one up if it had been sitting alone on a table, but the author approached me and said, "My book was just banned in Malaysia." So, of course, I was curious.



Hope on a Tightrope: Words & Wisdom by Cornel West. Serena and I heard West speak at Quinnipiac College (now a University) a decade ago. He's a great speaker, and we had a chance to see him talk on one of the BEA stages, and later met him at his booth signing.

I'm still recovering from BEA exhaustion, but I'll post about my experiences at the event and elsewhere in NYC soon.

What books did you welcome into your home recently?