Monday, June 1, 2009

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)


******

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?

33 comments:

Serena said...

hmm those books look familiar...oo you got marked...jealous I am...i have jantsen's gift and some of the others in your mailbox.

happy reading.

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Wonderful list of books. I hope your husband will review the Red Sox mystery book!

Kathleen said...

Wow you did well. Sounds like BEA was lots of fun. Did the author say why his book was banned?

Anonymous said...

Looks like you have some reading to do!!

gautami tripathy said...

Those sound like great reads! I am GREEN with envy!

:D

Not really!

Monday is here again

avisannschild said...

Ooh, the Francine Prose book sounds particularly interesting. I look forward to your review! Enjoy all your loot! (I hope you'll tell us more about BEA too!)

Sandy Nawrot said...

Wow! I am especially intrigued with the WWII books (no big shocker there). There is a movie out there called Downfall, that is based on the memoirs of Hitler's secretary, about the last days of the Third Reich. A view from the inside, if you will. It is phenomenal. You should watch it if you haven't, especially once you read that book!

Blodeuedd said...

So many interesting ones in there, like the Bronte one :D

Missy B. said...

Good reads!! I received Jantsen's Gift too! Happy reading!

Stephanie said...

If I'd known that the Charlotte Bronte book was in one of those tote bags I would have stolen one! :)

Alyce said...

Great choices! I can't imagine how hard it was to limit yourself to one tote. I am very interested in the WWII titles, and have added them to my wish list. I look forward to seeing reviews of these books.

Bonnie said...

What an great stack of books! The kids books look great and the Charlotte Bronte and Anne Frank books interest me. Looking forward to hearing more about your BEA adventures!

BurtonReview said...

Awesome reads there!
Especially the Charlotte Bronte.. the Anne Frank...
etc
Looking forward to reading about all the BEA Gossip as well.

Kristen said...

Only 8 books? You were positively restrained, I say! But I think you chose some fascinating ones. Enjoy them!

My mailbox is here: http://booknaround.blogspot.com/2009/06/monday-mailbox.html

♔ jessica.marie said...

Oh I love the cover of The Visibles.

And what a great selection of books you received both in the mail and at BEA this week! I hope you and the girl enjoy reading all of them! ^_^

Corinne said...

girl, this is AWESOME! What a HAUL! It sounds like BEA was SO super fun :)

Passages to the Past said...

Hope you brought extra suitcases to lug all those yummy books home! I am SO there next year!

Wrighty said...

Oooh, so many good books! I'm so jealous! One of these years I'm going to the expo. It sounds like great fun. I have Made in the USA and will be getting The Castaways. I look forward to reading both. Enjoy your great finds!

Janicu said...

Hi! I met you at BEA really briefly. I was with Alea and you were holding that Magickeepers book and a couple of others then! :) *waves*. Wasn't BEA awesome? I loved it.

Jeanette said...

Several great looking titles! I am going to have to add several of them to my wish list.

Lenore Appelhans said...

I got the Magickeepers book from Sourcebooks too! And I recently saw a documentary about Hitler's secretary. Her story is so fascinating. It was lovely to meet you at BEA - too bad we didn't get to really chat :(

Darlene said...

Wow, you sure did make up for this week Anna. lol. Great load of goodies. Enjoy!

Wendi said...

What fun you must have had at BEA!! I just love the cover of Magickeepers!!

Here's my Mailbox! ~ Wendi

Mari - Escape In A Book said...

Great books you've got there! Enjoy your reading!

Kristi said...

Wow - you got a great bunch of books at BEA - so glad you had a great time (I bet it was like heaven! :) ) Also looks like you have been on a winning streak -congrats!

Enjoy your reading!

Wanda said...

Looks like we can look forward to some interesting reviews from you and The Girl. BEA sounds like a book lovers dream come true!

Anonymous said...

What a great list. I hope you and The Girl enjoy them.

Toni said...

Wowsa.. You got a great deal of good stuff.. Right on.. thanks for sharing!!!

bermudaonion said...

Wow! What a haul. I had to much fun meeting you and Serena - you two are so much fun!

Jeannie said...

Awww, how sweet. Thank you, Anna. But wow- you've got a lot of reading to do. I know you can do it though.

Ladytink_534 said...

I seriously love the House of Night series. Hope you enjoy Marked and the rest of your books!

Becca said...

Wow, Anna. You're not kidding. You made up for it this week, huh? How exciting to receive so many books! I also have Into the Beautiful North coming soon from Hachette and I am very excited about it. I also want to read Jantsen's Gift and The Moment Between. I can't wait to read your reviews!

Anna said...

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my Mailbox. I have a lot to read from BEA, but my haul is tiny compared to most of those who attended!