Monday, December 20, 2010

Mailbox Monday - December 20th


Mailbox Monday's December host is:  Lady Q @ Let Them Read Books.

Mailbox Monday is an opportunity to share the books that arrive by mail at your house during the previous week. Here is what I received:
 


This awesome Charles Dicken's, Chuck Fischer pop-up book,  A Christmas Carol is just so lovely. It arrived from Hachette, and was a win from Kim@ MetroReader.


Thanks Hachette and Kim; I LOVE it!


I also received a few new books for review.


  • I is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How it Shapes the Way We See the World; Jame Geary (Harper Collins) - "Metaphorical thinking is the way we make sense of the world" and neurological research shows that humans experience pleasure when performing the "cognitive gymnastics" of deciphering metaphors to connect two dissimilar things, asserts Geary (The World in a Phrase) in a delightful examination that borrows for its title from a poem by Rimbaud, whose writing aimed to "upset conventional orders of perception." Tests on people who do not understand metaphors, such as those with Asperger's syndrome, uncover the roles that "mirror" and "Gnostic" neurons play in conceptual comprehension and long-term memory. Geary also analyzes how metaphors are used in advertising, scientific discoveries, economics, and politics. "Metaphors, once forgotten or ignored, are easily mistaken for objective facts," he warns, showing how metaphor "surreptitiously infiltrates our purchasing decisions." Voters, consumers, and investors interested in knowing how their decisions may be influenced by well-planned metaphors will be fascinated by Geary's adept explication of the metaphor's role in defining perceptions.
  • The Dog Who Couldn't Stop Loving; Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (Harper Collins - Masson, the author of 24 books, including the best-sellers When Elephants Weep (1995) and Dogs Never Lie about Love (1997), examines the unique bond between dogs and humans in his latest book. Masson has long been interested in the relationships between humans and animals, and this look at the unusual connection between humans and dogs draws on recent scientific research and the author’s own observations of his intense bond with his dog Benjy to find out why, of all animals, we have developed such a special relationship with dogs. He explores various theories for why dogs love us (and vice versa) and why no other animals love us in quite the same way, and wonders if perhaps humans developed the capacity for love, sympathy, empathy, and compassion because we coevolved with dogs. A fascinating exploration of the unique relationship.
  • Take Me Home; Brian Leung (Harper Collins) -
    Take Me Home is a powerful story about friendship and love set against the stunning backdrop of 1880's Wyoming and based in the pages of history.
    Like many classic stories, Brian Leung’s new novel begins with a journey home. Adele “Addie” Maine is returning to Dire, a Wyoming coal-mining town, forty years after the deadly events that nearly took her life and drove her away without a word to her husband.
    Years earlier: Headed West to stay with her brother Tommy, a young and feisty Addie arrives in Wyoming having been convinced along the way that the Chinese who work alongside the white men in the small Wyoming town are half-man, half-beast—devious creatures to be wary of. When Tommy falters at homesteading, the siblings look to the coal mines and Addie comes into close contact with one Chinese man in particular, Wing Lee. The bond between the two is a mere spark at first, hampered by the reality for both that a friendship would be impossible, forbidden, even in a territory where almost everyone is an immigrant.
    Together, Addie and Wing harbor a secret. Ultimately Addie must protect Wing’s life and fight for what she knows is right, but she still can’t find the answers to life’s most important questions. It’s only as a much older woman, returning to Dire to bid farewell to a friend from decades ago, that Addie comes face-to-face with the man she’s certain tried to kill her, and at last confronts the surprises and losses that await at the end of a difficult journey.
    Take Me Home is a searing, redemptive novel that explores justice in a time of violence, and the sweeping landscape between friendship and love.
  • The Oracle of Stamboul; Michael David Lukas - Set in the heart of the exotic Ottoman Empire during the first years of its chaotic decline, Michael David Lukas’ elegantly crafted, utterly enchanting debut novel follows a gifted young girl who dares to charm a sultan—and change the course of history, for Byzantium and the world. An enthralling literary adventure, perfect for readers entranced by the mixture of historical fiction and magical realism in Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, Orhan Pamuk’s My Name is Red, or Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, Lukas’ evocative tale of prophesy, intrigue, and courage unfolds with the subtlety of a Turkish mosaic and the powerful majesty of an epic for the ages. 
I hope you received a few great books as well this week.

34 comments:

  1. Wow, you've a lovely haul there!
    The Chuck Fischer pop-up book is gorgeous!!

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  2. Your mailbox looks very interesting.

    Mine is also posted.

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  3. Wow! You got some really neat things! I love Dickens =)

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  4. What a good mailbox, Diane. Isn't A Christmas Carol pop-up book amazing?!! We are so lucky :-)

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  5. That pop-up book is gorgeous and Take Me Home sounds great! Thanks for linking up to Mailbox Monday. Happy reading!

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  6. Hope you enjoy everything! :)

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  7. What a great week in books! A Christmas Carol is just fabulous - I find myself looking through it a few times a week. Happy reading!

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  8. The Dog Who Couldn't Stop Loving looks SO good. The pop-up book is really cool too!

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  9. I just love that Dickens pop-up book and hope to find it in my Christmas stocking this year. What a beautiful book! I hope you enjoy all the others as well. They all look great!

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  10. Great books this week Diane :)

    I've seen that Christmas Carol book around the blogosphere, and it does look lovely.

    I am particularly interested in the dog book -- we have been struggling with some health issues with our dog lately, and it's been such a reminder of how much a part of our lives he is :)

    Enjoy your week!

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  11. OOOooh, as a former elementary teacher, I love pop-up books!! What a delightful find in your mailbox. Enjoyed the reviews. Happy Holidays from Texas! ~karen

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  12. Ooooh! The Christmas Carol Pop-Up book looks fantastic!

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  13. I love the pop up Christmas Carol. My mum would really like that one too. She loves A Christmas Carol and we have had to watch the original black and white film every Christmas.

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  14. A Christmas Carol pop up book - absolutely perfect for me! It looks fantastic!

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  15. The pop-up book looks gorgeous! I've not heard of the other books you received, enjoy your stash!

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  16. I received for review Lipstick in Afghanistan by Roberta Gately from Gallery Publishers.

    Roberta Gately’s lyrical and authentic debut novel—inspired by her own experiences as a nurse in third world war zones—is one woman’s moving story of offering help and finding hope in the last place she expected.

    Gripped by haunting magazine images of starving refugees, Elsa has dreamed of becoming a nurse since she was a teenager. Of leaving her humble working-class Boston neighborhood to help people whose lives are far more difficult than her own. No one in her family has ever escaped poverty, but Elsa has a secret weapon: a tube of lipstick she found in her older sister’s bureau. Wearing it never fails to raise her spirits and cement her determination. With lipstick on, she can do anything—even travel alone to war-torn Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11.

    But violent nights as an ER nurse in South Boston could not prepare Elsa for the devastation she witnesses at the small medical clinic she runs in Bamiyan. As she struggles to prove herself to the Afghan doctors and local villagers, she begins a forbidden romance with her only confidant, a charming Special Forces soldier. Then, a tube of lipstick she finds in the aftermath of a tragic bus bombing leads her to another life-changing friendship. In her neighbor Parween, Elsa finds a kindred spirit, fiery and generous. Together, the two women risk their lives to save friends and family from the worst excesses of the Taliban. But when the war waging around them threatens their own survival, Elsa discovers her only hope is to unveil the warrior within. Roberta Gately’s raw, intimate novel is an unforgettable tribute to the power of friendship and a poignant reminder of the tragic cost of war.

    ***
    I received for review Laney (The Brookehaven Vampires Series #1) by Joann Sowles from the author.

    In a small college town in Northern California, Laney Alexander leads a regular, uneventful life–that is, until the charming and alluring Oliver Knight enters her world. Who is this gorgeous and mysterious stranger? Or, rather, what is he?

    As Laney’s sophomore year of college begins, so does an unbelievable adventure–including a love she didn’t know she longed for. She soon learns that Oliver is not ordinary, nor is the rest of his family, including a sister who openly hates her and a brother who will stop at nothing for revenge. As she fights for her life, and Oliver’s love, Laney discovers that the fictional world of vampires isn’t so fictional after all. Nobody is safe, especially Laney, Oliver’s most important priority, and he will stop at nothing to protect her. With her mortality at risk, and a commitment revealed that she, without a doubt, knows she wants, Laney’s life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn…

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  17. Very nice, Diane. I love the pop-up book! Enjoy all of your new goodies. :)

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  18. Oooh...the pop-up A Christmas Carol looks awesome!

    Sue

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  19. That Dickens book look so beautiful!! Enjoy your new reads.

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  20. Oh you got some very interesting books there. That Oracle book especially caught my attention. Enjoy your reads!

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  21. Seriously the Christmas Carol looks absolutely amazing. It literally pops with colour and folds out well in your shot.

    Congrats on your win and DC Metro ROCKS!

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  22. That pop up book looks awesome! What a great win ... .and so timely too.

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  23. I've got my eye on The Oracle of Stamboul.

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  24. Thanks for the info. each of these books looks interesting.
    Ann

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  25. Isn't A Christmas Carol stunning? What a great (and fun) holiday book. :) Here's my Mailbox! ~ Wendi

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  26. That pop-up book is gorgeous! What a great win!

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  27. Oh - the Christmas Carol pop up book looks lovely and might be a nice addition for my classroom when I teach the novel to 7th graders. I will have to think about that for next year.

    Looks like you had another terrific Mailbox week :)

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  28. That Christmas Carol book is amazing!! That would make an excellent Christmas present.

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  29. What a gorgeous book! Happy reading!

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  30. What a gorgeous book! Happy reading!

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  31. Love the pop-up book! I really wanted to read I Is an Other, but I'm trying to cut down on the number of books I request these days... Happy reading and happy holidays!

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  32. The Christmas Carol book is absolutely gorgeous! I know it will be after the season, but that one MUST be bought for my house! Enjoy all of your new reads!

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