Mailbox Monday: Post-grad edition

Today's mailbox was photographed in Livorno, Italy, of all places!

So, I haven't been a great blogger of late.  I've been busy doing that job that pays for rent and food.  Namely, I work for a university, and this past Friday was our graduation.  It was a lovely ceremony and a very happy occasion.  But I've been busy with off-site meetings, graduation, and an academic conference.  Part of the time I was living in a hotel and part of the time I was spending 4 hours a day commuting back and forth from the hotel.  That'll eat into a girl's blogging time, so sorry about that.  Hopefully, I'll be back on track this week.

Speaking of this week, I have absolutely nothing bookish planned.  I'm going to get through the next several days, and then I've got a long weekend.  And I am going to spend at least 48 hours of it someplace warm and sunny.  With a big pile of books.  Friends are optional.

I was so very busy over in academia, that I didn't really have a chance to acquire many books.  This is a manageable list.  Yay!

Oh, before I forget:  The giveaway for Eyes Wide Shut by Andrew Gross is still open, and is in risk of being cancelled for lack of interest.  You know what that means?  Odds are excellent if you want to enter.

Start Something That Matters
by Blake Mycoskie
Release date: September 6, 2011
Source: Paper galley from publisher

I've already gifted this galley to a professor I work with.  He's all about social transformation, as is the book, so it seemed like a good match.

Darkness, My Old Friend
by Lisa Unger
Release date: August 9, 2011
Source: Amazon Vine Program

I've been a fan of Unger's since her breakout novel, Beautiful Lies.  Truthfully, I haven't liked anything as much as that first book, but they've all been enjoyable.  I read Fragile, the prequel to this novel, so I'll read this one too.  It'll be a quick read.

Sanctus
by Simon Toyne
Release date: September 6, 2011
Source: Amazon Vine Program

You may recall that I received a galley of this novel last week.  I picked it up and got sucked in immediately.  Since I had more Vine choices than books I was all that interested in reading, I decided to choose this book I knew I'd be reading anyway.  Now I have a spare galley to give away.

Snuff
by Terry Pratchett
Release date: October 11, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

I won't pretent to have read all or most of the Discworld books, but I've read enough to know the world.  I thought, why not?  I've always wanted to read more of these, and there are many hard copies on my bookshelves.  So, I've got a lengthy backlist to enjoy in years to come.

Art + Paris Impressionists and Post-Impressionists: The Ultimate Guide to Artists, Paintings and Places in Paris and Normandy
Release date: July 19, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

After reading Christopher Moore's Sacre Bleu, I was left with a slight regret that I didn't know more about the real artists and art he wrote about in his novel.  This book is the perfect companion to go along with it!  Now the only problem is restraining myself from jumping on a plane to Paris.  I have frequent flyer miles burning a hole in my pocket!

The Language of Flowers
by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Release date: August 23, 2011
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

This was a fairly buzzy debut novel at BEA.  Also, it's set in and around San Francisco, so I've been meaning to read it.  It finally got to it this week.  It was enjoyable, but nothing I'd feel the need to rave about.  Review TK.

How to Eat a Cupcake
by Meg Donohue
Release date: March 13, 2012
Source: Electronic galley from publisher

This is another novel set in San Francisco, which is basically what convinced me to read it.  Plus, I give myself free dispensation to eat as many cupcakes as I like while reading it.  I should read it in a cupcake shop, as I read Chocolat in a chocolaterie.




Books finished this week:

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Eyes Wide Open by Andrew Gross


Currently reading:

Sanctus by Simon Toyne
Luminarium by Alex Shakar
Sleeping Beauty by Elle Lothlorien


So, give it up--what have you been reading?  What books have you acquired this week?  Please let us know in the comments!

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?