Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Mailbox Monday: BEA boxes edition

Sorry all, I meant to have this up last night, but my computer froze up shortly before I was about to post it.  Anyway, as promised, here is the full inventory of the boxes I shipped by from BookExpo America in NY.  It's roughly 100 books which weighed 121 pounds and cost a lot to ship back to California.  And of course, add to the cost of these "free" books my travel and other expenses for the trip to NY and you'll see that that aren't so free after all.  But that's okay, I've done this before.  I know the costs involved.

If you're wondering why I grabbed duplicate copies of so many books, well, they're for you, of course.  I'll read and review as many of them as I'm able, and I have reason to believe that will be a fair number of titles.  But in addition to a copies for my own reviewing purposes, I'll share these books with blog readers in the Humpday Giveaways on Wednesday.  If you see a book that you're especially interested in having a chance to win,  please feel free to speak up in the comments section below.  I may be able to schedule it for giveaway sooner, rather than later, and it may also keep me from giving it away to my face-to-face book club.  (I bring a good stack of books to share with them each month, too.

Here's the list:

AUDIOBOOKS:

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (2 copies)
The Island by Elin Hilderbrand

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS:

Claim of Innocence by Laura Caldwell (signed)
In Desperation by Rick Mofina (signed)
Before Cain Strikes by Joshua Corin (signed)

HARDBACKS:

* In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larsson (5 copies)
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (5 copies)
The Whisper by Carla Neggers (signed)
The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane (signed)
Children and Fire by Ursula Hegi (2 copies)
The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey (signed)
Phantom Evil by Heather Graham (signed)
Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson (2 copies)
Dogfish Memory by Joseph A. Dane
Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr (signed)

TRADE PAPERBACKS & GALLEYS:

Queen of America by Luis Alberto Urrea (2 copies, 1 signed)
The United States of Banana by Giannina Braschi
* The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman (3 copies, 1 signed)
Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Temporary Perfections by Gianrico Carofiglio (2 copies)
Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain by Jim Lehrer (3 copies)
Crossed by Ally Condie (signed)
Hot Water by Erin Brockovitch with C.J. Lyons (2 copies)
Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield (signed)
Dove Season by Johnny Shaw (signed)
* The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (2 copies, signed)
The Restorer by Amanda Stevens (signed)
* Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (signed)
American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar (2 copies)
Wahoo Rhapsody by Shaun Morey (signed)
Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close (2 copies, signed)
The Pluto Files by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Maid by Kimberly Cutter (2 copies)
Great House by Nicole Krauss
Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste
The Lost Angel by Javier Sierra (2 copies)
The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
Enthralled by Melissa Marr (signed)
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt (2 copies)
The Inquisitor’s Apprentice by Chris Moriarty
The Soldier’s Wife by Margaret Leroy
Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil, MD (2 copies)
* The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
Defending Jacob by William Landay (2 copies)
The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandberg (2 copies)
Fallen by Karin Slaughter (signed)
* Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber (2 copies)
Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2 copies, 1 signed)
Operation Napoleon by Arnaldur Indridason
* The Magician King by Lev Grossman (2 copies, 1 signed)
The Taker by Alma Katsu
* The Submission by Amy Waldman (signed)
Next to Love by Ellen Feldman (2 copies, signed)
Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo
Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan (signed)
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber (3 copies)
Wisdom’s Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (signed)
* The Bridge to Neverland by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (signed)
The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch
Emory’s Gift by W. Bruce Cameron (2 copies)
How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston
Neon Panic by Charles Philipp Martin
* The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright (4 copies)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (signed)

This list doesn't include the handful of books I carried back in my luggage, but the books with the asterisk are the ten titles I'm most excited about.  The Chuck Klosterman novel I hand carried back would have bumped something above.  So, are you excited about any of these books?  What are your top picks?

Oh, as for my normal Mailbox Monday influx, let's just put those books off for next week.  This is enough.  I did finish Ann Patchett's State of Wonder since I posted yesterday.  I loved it!  What are you reading right now?  Picked up any good books in the past week?

12 comments:

  1. Wow! I would love to have a chance at Tension City. To be honest, I am not very good at recognizing authors (especially contemporary ones) and tend to chose which of your giveaways I enter based on your plot descriptions when you put them up for grabs.

    I am so glad that you had such a lovely trip! Your little nephew was certainly an added blessing! Such a little cutie.

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  2. Thomas Mullen is going to be one of the authors at the Dahlonega Literary Festival this year. He's one of the one I'm really excited about this year.

    This week I'm reading City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare, and I finished Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight last week. I'm been slow on my reading the past couple of weeks. Work has been killing me.

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  3. Ah, Care & April, I love it so much that you guys are always willing to comment!

    So, Care, your reward for speaking up is that Tension City will be today's Humpday Giveaway. AND, if less than five people enter the giveaway--as is my perogative and stated in the rules--I'm cancelling the contest and just sending you the book.

    And, April, This isn't much, but one of the items I picked up at BEA is a blad of Cassandra Clare's next novel, Clockwork Prince, which won't be published until December. I don't know if that interests you, but I'd be happy to send it to you.

    As for Thomas Mullen, I've never read him before, but I really am excited about The Revisionists. I love time travel stories. And how awesome is that cover? I love it. How cool that he's speaking at the Festival!

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  4. I'd love the blad! Thanks very much for the opportunity.

    I read Mullen's first book, Last Town on Earth, in one of my college classes and really enjoyed it. I haven't read his other book, but I'm thinking I'll read the other two books before the festival in November.

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  5. What types of books does Thomas Mullen write? The name isn't ringing any bells with me.

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  6. April, you've got it--just as soon as I locate it.

    And, Care, I've never read Mullen before, so I don't know. I'm really unfamiliar with his work. The description of the forthcoming book is:

    Would you kill to make the world a peaceful place?

    Zed is an agent from the future. A place where all of the world's problems have been solved. No hunger. No war. No despair.

    His mission is to keep that way. Even if it means ensuring every cataclysm throughout history runs its course, especially one just on the horizon.

    Zed's mission will ensnare the lives of a disgraced former spy named Leo; a young lawyer, Tasha, grieving over the loss of her brother; Sari, the oppressed employee of a foreign diplomat; and countless others. But will he finish his final mission before the present takes precedence over a perfect future? One that may have more cracks than he realizes?

    The Revisionists is a literary tale of action and intrigue that puts a fresh spin on today's global crises, asking questions about the nature of history and the future, and our own roles in shaping them.

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  7. As an avid Heather Graham reader, I would love to see her book up for a Humpday Giveaway. I, of course, would love to see a lot of the others up for grabs since I am just generally an avid reader but thought I should stick to just one! LOL! :) BTW, have you ever attended the RT Book Reviews convention? I am thinking really hard about attending this year's in Chicago.

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  8. Hi Penny,

    I so want to do the same deal with the Heather Graham book for you as I did with the Jim Lehrer book for Care. But I have to admit I'm torn...

    I wasn't planning on giving away Heather's book. I'm sort of friendly with her and her husband. They're a really lovely couple, and you spend enough time with people over the years, you sort of get to know them. Heather nicely inscribed my book, writing, "Susan, Wonderful to see you always!" So, you know, I was going to keep it, and possibly even read it.

    I suspect that you would enjoy this novel more than I would. Nothing against Heather, I've really enjoyed books she's written, but I'm not big on the supernatural. What do you think is the right thing to do in this situation, Penny?

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  9. Susan, of course you have to keep it! I have more than enough books to keep me entertained, and a couple of them are other books by her! LOL! I really do like her books. She's a good writer. Besides, there will be other giveaways and books...maybe the Karin Slaughter or Carla Neggers? *sigh* Sometimes I feel I should start my own chapter of bookaholics anonymous. :)

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  10. I'm going to hook you up, Penny. Not this week, but maybe the one after. I'll do another big giveaway for everyone to participate in this week. I'm thinking Erik Larson...

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  11. Thanks, Susan; I appreciate it!

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  12. Hi Susan,

    I'm looking to your list to round out my to-reads list this month--Dovekeepers caught my eye. Thanks for listing, as always.

    Cheers,
    Sonja

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