It’s been an exciting couple of weeks Chez Book Whisperer! My NBF has been a busy boy again recently and brought me all sorts of goodies. For anyone with a nervous disposition please look away now.

From publishers / authors

Aren’t they beautiful? It’s amazing how long I can stare lovingly at a pile of books for, really it is. The following have been sent to me as review copies by publishers or authors (thank you all very much) and  also won two of them in a twitter competition.

 So what did I get?

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (currently reading and LOVING it)

Blueeyedboy by Joanne Harris

 A Taste of Sorrow by Jude Morgan

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman

The Fallen by Mark Terry

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares

Timecatcher by Marie-Lousie Fitzpatrick

Burley Cross Postbox Theft by Nicola Barker

Jane’s Fame by Claire Harman

The Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen by Arielle Eckastut

Wild Romance: The True Story of a Victorian Scandal by Chloe Schama

Pearl of China by Anchee Min

 Picked up at a church sale for £1.00 for the whole bag

Yes, that’s right, you read that correctly! The church hall down the road has a used book sale (some of which look like they haven’t even been read!) and this week they had a sign saying “Fill up a carrier bag with books for £1.00″. Erm, OK then!

The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillippa Gregory (brand new hardback)

The Other Half Lives by Sophie Hannah (brand new hardback and signed!)

A Woman’s Life by Guy de Maupassant

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

I Claudius by Robert Graves

Hovel in the Hills by Elizabeth West

Stories for Summer by various (inc. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James, D H Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, Oscar Wilde etc)

Second Fiddle by Mary Wesley

Portrait of the Artist by James Joyce

Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer

They Were Defeated by Rose Macauley

A Woman of Cairo by Noel Barber

Books I have bought or swapped online

You know, a girl’s gotta treat herself!

Esther Waters by George Moore (love my Victorian classics)

The Captive of Kensington Palace by Jean Plaidy (want to know more about the lady on the throne)

The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjowall and Per Waloo

Jane Eyre’s Daughter by Elizabeth Newman

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

An Utterly Impartial History of Britain by John O’Farrell

The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles (given to me as a gift by the lovely Tisha who stayed with me last week on her travels round Europe)

Has anyone read any of these yet? Anything interesting in these piles that you would like me to review soon?

In My Mailbox is brough to us by Kristi at The Story Siren.

I think I’ve done pretty well again this week, with some nice suprises in the post and a few little treats (OK, more than a few) for myself.

Here is what gems are now adorning my bookshelves this week:

Bought for myself

Waterland by Graham Smith

Waterland by Graham Smith

I was recommended this book by Love Reading on their Like-for-Like page when I put that I love John Fowles. It looks beautifully written so can’t wait to read this one.

 

The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski

 

The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski

I managed to track a copy of this book down when I saw Savidge Reads and Novel Insights raving about it. It’s out of print now but apparantly Persephone Books are going to reprint it soon.

 

 The Secret Cinderella Society by Carolyn Turgeon

 I have seen quite a lot of review on this book around th blogosphere and thought it was about time I got my own copy. There doesn’t seem to have been much fuss made about it in the UK though.

The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles

 

The Seamstress by Frances de Pontes Peebles

This book has been read by quite a few of my Goodreads friends and they all had great things to say about it so when I saw a copy staring up at me in Waterstones I just had to have it.

The Glass of Time by Michael Cox

The Glass of Time by Michael Cox

I love the look of this book. Gothic, Victorian, secrets: what’s not to love?

 

Books sent to me this week 

 

Bequest by A. K. Shevchenko

 Sent to me by Sam at Headline Books. Thanks, Sam. Looks like one I will enjoy.

 

 and Falling, Fly by Skyler White

 Sent to me by The Berkley Publishing Group. Thank you!

The problem with having so many new books is what do I read next when I want to read them all now?

 

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren and it is a place where we can show off and drool over our latest books.

I have had a good week this week with some great books landing on my doormat (and a few little treats for myself too!)

So here is what is new for me this week:

 

 

 

Sent to me for review  

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

“Major Ernest Pettigrew (Ret’d) is not interested in the frivolity of the modern world. Since his wife’s death, he has tried to avoid the constant bother of the village women, his ambitious son and the suburbanisation of the English countryside. He prefers to lead a quiet life, upholding the values that people have lived by for generations – respectability, duty and a properly brewed cup of tea (very much not served in a polystyrene cup with teabag left in). But when his brother’s death, and a love of Kipling, sparks an unexpected friendship with the widowed village shopkeeper, Mrs Ali, the Major is forced to confront the realities of the twenty first century. Written with a delightfully dry sense of humour, “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” is a charming, against-all-odds love story that introduces unforgettable characters and questions how much risk one should take for personal happiness in the face of family obligation and tradition.”

I was Jane Austen’s Best Friend by Cora Harrison

 ”When shy Jenny Cooper goes to stay with her cousin Jane Austen she knows nothing of the world of beautiful dresses, dances, secrets, gossip and romance that Jane inhabits. But Jane is already a sharp observer of the customs of courtship, and when Jenny falls utterly in love with the dashing Captain Thomas Williams, who better than Jane to help her win the heart of this most eligible of men?”

 

Far From the Land: A Irish Memoir by Thomas J Rice

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The setting of Far From the Land is rural Ireland in the 1950s. Thomas Rice has written a memoir about a way of life that no longer exists: no running water, no toilets, no electricity, and little access to education, jobs or basic health care. Early on the story plunges into a culture haunted by recent memories of famines and still showing some of the scars from The Great Hunger of the 1840s.

Writing about father-son relationships, the author recalls the night his absentee IRA father returns from England for the first time in ten years. Known as “The Voice” because of his tenor’s talent, the impact of his first song, Thomas Moore’s haunting tribute to the sweetheart of his martyred friend, Robert Emmet, was beautiful. The poem was titled, She is Far From the Land. No one in the kitchen that night ever forgot it. It was the perfect song, sung by the perfect voice, at the perfect time.

Far From the Land has the benefit of five decades of retrospection as the author brings each of his characters to life with startling honesty, without nostalgia or cliché. Readers will come away with a renewed respect for rural Irish culture and her people.”

Playground by Samuel Bonner

“Jonah had been looking forward to going back to London since the moment he was forced to leave. After being away for so long, Jonah wasn’t expecting the sinister and brutal changes in his friends personalities and behaviour. It wasn’t that long ago, they were up to wayward antics typical of boys their age. Gone were the times of hanging around the fried chicken shop and loitering in the park where they got drunk on cheap booze. Shootings, rape, stabbings, robbery and drug induced violence were now their games of choice. What should have been the best week of the summer quickly turns into a nightmare for Jonah, as he is sickened by the depravity he witnesses. His friends prey on the weak, and before long Jonah is himself hunted down. Confused, betrayed and terrified, he scrambles across the once familiar streets as he desperately tries to survive and escape the viciousness of an unforgiving city. This is a shockingly disturbing tale of peer pressure and the evil among a gang of inner-city youths.”

Books I have bought

You Belong to Me by Mary Higgings Clark

“Regina Clausen is forty-three, successful in her career but insecure and unfulfilled in her personal life. Travelling alone on the luxury liner Gabrielle, she disembarks in Hong Kong saying she will rejoin the ship when it docks in Japan. She is never seen again. Three years later, an anonymous caller to psychologist Susan Chandler’s radio show tells of a strange encounter with a man on a cruise ship, and his sinister gift of a ring engraved: ‘You Belong To Me’. Susan thinks little of it at the time. But when Regina’s mother appears at her office with a ring bearing the same inscription, found amongst her daughter’s belongings, Susan begins to suspect that they are on the trail of something menacing and dangerous. As she looks deeper, Susan finds herself confronted with the horrifying possibility that she may know the killer, and that she may even be his next victim …”

 

While My Pretty One Sleeps by Mary Higgins Clark

“A story of domestic danger and mystery, set against the world of New York’s fashion industry. The sudden disappearance of Ethel Lambston, a gossip writer known to many but loved by few, draws boutique-owner Neeve Kearny into a tangled drama in which she is already unknowingly involved.”

 Wedlock: How Geaorgian Britain’s Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore

“WEDLOCK is the remarkable story of the Countess of Strathmore and her marriage to Andrew Robinson Stoney. Mary Eleanor Bowes was one of Britain’s richest young heiresses. She married the Count of Strathmore who died young, and pregnant with her lover’s child, Mary became engaged to George Gray. Then in swooped Andrew Robinson Stoney. Mary was bowled over and married him within the week. But nothing was as it seemed. Stoney was broke, and his pursuit of the wealthy Countess a calculated ploy. Once married to Mary, he embarked on years of ill treatment, seizing her lands, beating her, terrorising servants, introducing prostitutes to the family home, kidnapping his own sister. But finally after many years, a servant helped Mary to escape. She began a high-profile divorce case that was the scandal of the day and was successful. But then Andrew kidnapped her and undertook a week-long rampage of terror and cruelty until the law finally caught up with him.”

 

I can’t wait to dive into these books. The review books all look very exciting and I just love Mary Higgins Clark for a good old cozy mystery so I always look forward to reading those. The final one has some great reviews and I love non-fiction about historical figures so this should be a good’n.

Ally synopses are take from Amazon except for Far From the Land which is taken from Goodreads.

 

It’s so long since I did an update on my latest lovelies so there are quite a few to post. Anyone with a nervous disposition (and my husband) please look away now.

Firstly, the books I have been sent by publishers recently (thank you, all!)

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Random by Craig Robertson – sent to me by Simon & Schuster on behalf of the Mystery and Thriller challenge on Book Chick City’s blog

Trespass by Rose Tremain – sent to me by Chatto and Windus for review

Country Driving by Peter Hessler – sent to me by canongate for review

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Books I have won:

 

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Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen sent to me by Puffin Books on behalf of Jenny at Wonderous Reads

Raven: Sons of Thunder by Giles Kristian sent to me by Bantam Press

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Books sent to me by Amazon Vine:

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The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran

Successful Novel Plotting by Jean Saunders

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Books swapped on Readitswapit:

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Eve Green by Susan Fletcher

Oystercatchers by Susan Green

After reading the absolutely BRILLIANT Corrag, I just have to read more by this author.

Oh, and look out for an interview with Susan Fletcher about her upcoming book, Corrag, on 8th March!

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Book’s I’ve bought:

I recently got a £20.00 book voucher for Waterstones so I spent a glorious couple of hours in the big shop in Leeds – pottering, cooing, admiring, drinking coffee, more cooing and admiring and here is what I came home with:

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East Lynne by Ellen Wood (I’m reading it right now and it’s FANTASTIC!)

Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy

Dead Souls by Gogol

Forever Amber by Kathleen Windsor

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That’s all folks! Actually, it isn’t but I will have to finish the rest later as I have a book I’m dying to get back to read and it’s Sunday afternoon so that means cup of tea, horizontal on the sofa, cat on lap and book in hand. Perfect.

 

Here’s a photo of some of my latests beauties. They’re sitting on a shelf just waiting for me to dive into them.

Horns by Joe Hill – ARC copy from my friend Lori (Thank you!)

Country Driving by Peter Hessler – ARC from Canon Gate (Thank you!)

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters – Hardback copy sent by Virago Press (Thank you!)

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty – Secret Santa present from my fellow book-loving friend Jesse (Thank you!)

The Secret Garden by Frances Burnett – Swap on Readitswapit

Beastly by Alex Flinn – Swap on Readitswapit

Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfieffer – A treat for me from Amazon

I Can See You by Karen Rose – only £7.00 hardback in Asda so it would have been rude to walk away

In my mailbox is courtesy of Kristi The Story Siren

In my mailbox is courtesy of Kristi The Story Siren

These are the books I bought in New York in December.