The Printed Page

I’m a very visual person and love beautiful, or interesting, cover art. It entices, and invites, me to stop and take a peek instead of walking right on by. This week’s Cover Attraction is: Title: The Edge of Impropriety Author: Pam Rosenthal Release date: November ’08

The ribald private life of novelist Countess Marina Wyatt is the stuff of public scandal—and it doesn’t hurt the sale of her romances either. But she’s totally unprepared for her consuming new affair with Jasper James Hedges, noted art appraiser and her former lover’s uncle. In Marina, Jasper sees a work of art of another kind. And for all of Marina’s passionate inventions, nothing can compare to what Jasper delivers—an erotic and dangerous voyage to the edge of impropriety and beyond.

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What’s your favorite cover attraction this week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Cover Attraction post.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

*** Historical fiction ~ Persona Non Grata: A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie (new-to-me author/Shelf Awareness) (Claimed by Warren)

At long last, Gaius Petreius Ruso and his companion, Tilla, are headed home—to Gaul. Having received a note consisting only of the words “COME HO ME!” Ruso has (reluctantly, of course) pulled up stakes and brought Tilla to meet his family.

But the reception there is not what Ruso has hoped for: no one will admit to sending for him, and his brother Lucius is hoping he’ll leave. With Tilla getting icy greetings from his relatives, Lucius’s brother-inlaw mysteriously drowned at sea, and the whole Ruso family teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, it’s hard to imagine an unhappier reunion. That is, until Severus, the family’s chief creditor, winds up dead, and the real trouble begins…

Fiction ~ One Foot Wrong by Sofie Laguna (new-to-me author/publicist contact) (Claimed by Trin)

A child is imprisoned in a house by her reclusive, religious parents. Hester Wakefield has never spoken to another child, nor seen the outside world. Her one possession is an illustrated children’s Bible, and its imagery forms the sole basis for her capacity to make poetic, real-life connections. Her companions at home are Cat, Spoon, Door, Handle, Broom, and Tree, and they all speak to her, sometimes telling her what to do. One day she takes a brave Alice in Wonderland trip into the forbidden outside, at the behest of Handle, and this overwhelming encounter with light and sky and sunshine is a marvel to her. From this moment on, Hester learns that there are some things she cannot tell her parents, and she keeps this secret to herself. Hester buries it among her other secrets, the ones that take place in the shadowy corners of her insular world, and she keeps them all locked inside her as they multiply and grow, waiting until she can find other ways to be free.

Contemporary/historical fiction ~ The Memorist by M.J. Rose (Kindle eBook; not available for Read It Foward)

Meer Logan visits the Manhattan office of Malachai Samuels, the erudite head of a reincarnation foundation. When Malachai shows her an auction catalogue photo of a gaming box once owned by a friend of Ludwig van Beethoven, the photo closely resembles a sketch Meer made as a child based on what Meer wishes were false memories. Malachai believes Meer has been haunted by past-life memories, in particular those of Margaux Neidermier, whose husband in 1814 asked Beethoven to decipher a song inscribed on an ancient flute. The box turns out to contain a Beethoven letter suggesting the composer didn’t destroy the “memory flute” as he claimed to have done at the time. When the box is stolen soon after Meer examines it, she heads to Vienna for answers. Alas, others are on the same trail, including FBI Special Agent Lucien Glass of the Art Crime Team, Austrian authorities and assorted thieves.

Historical fiction ~ Why Mermaids Sing: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery by C.S. Harris (Kindle eBook; not available for Read It Forward)

Murder has jarred London’s elite. The sons of prominent families have been found at dawn in public places, partially butchered, with strange objects stuffed in their mouths. Once again, the local magistrate turns to Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, for help. Moving from the gritty world of London’s docks to the drawing rooms of Mayfair, Sebastian confronts his most puzzling—and disturbing—case yet.

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What books came into your house last week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Mailbox post or a list of books if you don’t have a blog.

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Read It Forward details

Welcome to By the Chapter. This week’s featured book is Somewhere In Time by Richard Matheson. I’d like to thank Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves for sharing hosting duties with me this week.

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If you’re not familiar with Somewhere In Time here’s a little background:

Somewhere in Time is the powerful story of a love that transcends time and space, written by one of the Grand Masters of modern fantasy.

Matheson’s classic novel tells the moving, romantic story of a modern man whose love for a woman he has never met draws him back in time to a luxury hotel in San Diego in 1896, where he finds his soul mate in the form of a celebrated actress of the previous century. Somewhere in Time won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and the 1979 movie version, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, remains a cult classic.

*** So when I first started this book I wasn’t much taken with the narrative style. The 1st person narration isn’t what bothered me, what threw me off was the short, choppy, staccato sentences. In Part One Richard was recording his thoughts instead of telling a story. And it was taking forever to make headway in the plot line. But once we got 1896 where he meets Elise, the woman he has convinced himself he’s in love with from seeing her picture, this story picked up and turned into something I really ended up enjoying. Richard encounters many obstacles in his journey to 1896. Not only must he adapt his clothing, speech, and mannerisms to this era but he must convince Elise that they are each other’s destiny. This is a love story that burns intensely hot and fast. For a short time Richard lives the life of his dreams, loving the woman he was meant share his life with. I wanted so much for their story to have a happy ending knowing that it wasn’t going to be. After having finished this book I can understand why it was award winner. I’d recommend this story to anyone who enjoys time travel novels with a romantic twist of fate.

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If you’ve read, or are currently reading, Somewhere In Time please share your thoughts with us.

*** This week’s reading scheduling: Monday: The Printed Page Wednesday: Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves Friday: The Printed Page/Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves

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I’ve just finished Ghostwriter by Travis Thrasher. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it to those of you who love edge-of-your-seat suspense tinged with horror without the gore. Mr. Thrasher is a new-to-me author and I’ve already gone to Amazon and wish listed a couple of his other books. I’m looking forward to reading his new novel, Broken, to be released in 2010. Just a couple of months ago I read Ted Dekker’s BoneMan’s Daughter. At the time Mr. Dekker was another new-to-me author who landed on my suspense/horror favorites list after reading that one novel. What I enjoyed most about both these novels was the intense level of good/evil, suspense/horror without any heavy-handed religious overtones coming from these faith-based authors. I”m not familiar with other faith-based authors who write in this genre. So here’s my question: what faith-based authors would you recommend who write terrific suspense/thriller/horror novels without being preachy? I know I must be missing out on some great novels. Also gore level isn’t a factor as I love true gory, gut-spilling horror though no vampires, werewolves, zombies or fantasy.

Let me know which faith-based author(s) gets your pulse racing, your heart pounding, who keeps you on the edge of your seat and throws in a twist or two you don’t see coming. Even if someone else names one of your favorites go ahead and include that same author in your comments. Repeated mentions must be a sign of good things.

Taking June off was not only good for my hands and wrists but my reading benefited as well. I read 15 books, 5,246 pages and DNF’d two. There are no formal book reviews for June.

Title: The Angel’s Game Author/website: Carkis Ruiz Zafon 470 pages Publisher: Doubleday Publication date: June ’09 Genre: Fiction I found this book interesting. Not something I’d typically read. It was dark and a bit on the strange side. I wasn’t real taken with the ending. I’m debating reading The Shadow of the Wind. I’m thinking I’ll download the sample chapters to my Kindle, read those and then decide.

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martín, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city’s underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner.

Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Close to despair, David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book unlike anything that has ever existed–a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, and perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realizes that there is a connection between his haunting book and the shadows that surround his home.

Title: The Known World Author/website: Edward P. Jones 432 pages Publisher: Amistad Publication date: August ’06 Genre: Historical fiction I didn’t finish reading this one only getting about halfway through (216 pages). Personally I think this book is a mess and you’ll no get recommendation from me to read it. It doesn’t make sense, very confusing. You spend your time reading in circles chasing story lines that have nothing to do with anything. I know it’s award winning book but honestly I can’t understand why.

Caldonia Townsend is an educated black slaveowner, the widow of a well-loved young farmer named Henry, whose parents had bought their own freedom, and then freed their son, only to watch him buy himself a slave as soon as he had saved enough money. Although a fair and gentle master by the standards of the day, Henry Townsend had learned from former master about the proper distance to keep from one’s property. After his death, his slaves wonder if Caldonia will free them. When she fails to do so, but instead breaches the code that keeps them separate from her, a little piece of Manchester County begins to unravel.

Title: The Marriage Bureau for Rich People Author/website: Farahad Zama 291 pages Publisher: Putnam Adult Publication date: June ’09 Genre: Fiction This is a debut novel for Mr. Zama. Though it is a bit rough around the edges I ended up really enjoying the story. It makes a good book to throw in the beach bag and enjoy a relaxing day reading.

A thriving arranged-marriage bureau in contemporary India resides at the heart of Zama’s charming debut. The customers who visit Mr. Ali’s bureau—a project he began in retirement to pass the time—are mostly pragmatists: they look for mates based on height, complexion, caste, economic status and religion. As business picks up, Mr. Ali, a Muslim, takes on a young assistant, Aruna, a poor Hindu girl, who helps him formulate happy unions. While the bureau prospers, Mr. Ali and his wife contend with their headstrong son, a human rights advocate who worries them constantly, and Aruna faces her dismal home life and a handsome young client who may want more from her than lists of potential matches.

Title: Valeria’s Last Stand Author/website: Marc Fitten 259 pages Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Publication date: April ’09 Genre: Fiction This was one of those books that I’m glad I read the author interview in the back of the book before getting too far into the story. The background provided by the author helped me understand what he wanted to achieve with his novel. I can’t say I enjoyed this one as it was all a bit weird. I liked Part One more than Part Two. I finished but it wasn’t memorable.

Life in an isolated Hungarian village is turned upside down by an unusual love affair in Fitten’s promising debut. In the small hamlet of Zivatar, 68-year-old Valeria is known by all as a cantankerous woman, quick to criticize everything from the produce at the market to the mayor’s lofty ambitions to lure foreign investors to the town. But a chance encounter one day with the elderly local potter—a man Valeria has known for years but never noticed—changes everything. The widower potter falls just as hard for Valeria, despite his relationship with Ibolya, the owner of the village’s only tavern. Unaccustomed to being smitten, Valeria tries to maintain her normal routine, but the village is in an uproar over this unlikely love triangle. The arrival of a traveling chimney sweep intent on bilking the townspeople sends another ripple through what was once a placid village.

Title: The Dead Man Author/website: Joel Goldman 408 pages Publisher: Pinnacle Publication date: April ’09 Genre: Suspense/thriller I’m a sucker for popular, mass market suspense thrillers. Books that hook me right from the start, take me on a great ride and leave me wanting more. So it was with The Dead Man by Joel Goldman. He could quickly became favorite of mine. I’m looking forward to reading more novels from Mr. Goldman’s back list.

Careful What You Dream. Milo Harper wants former FBI agent Jack Davis’ help. People in Harper’s study of the human brain are starting to die – and dying exactly in the very ways they have dreamed…Harper wants Jack to get to the truth and counter lawsuits aimed at the foundation. But when Jack investigates, the truth explodes: a serial killer is lurking inside one of the most advanced research facilities in the world. For Jack, the case will shatter illusions, raise ghosts, and take him onto both sides of the law – and into the path of a murderer’s terrifying rage.

Title: Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret Author/website: Steve Luxenberg 358 pages Publisher: Hyperion Publication date: May ’09 Genre: Memoir I love memoirs and Mr. Luxenberg’s is as good as any I’ve read. He takes a family secret that was so well hidden that he didn’t realize his mother had a sister until well into his adult life. Thread by thread he weaves together the story of an aunt that who was mysteriously institutionalized and never mentioned within family circles. It’s amazing how his mother kept this secret from those close to her yet others acquainted with the family knew. This story is sadly touching. By the time you’re done reading his aunt is lovingly brought to life and appropriately remembered in death.

Throughout her life, Luxenberg’s mother, Beth, reveled in her status as an only child. Then, a few years before her death in 1999—and utterly out of the blue—she admitted to having a mentally and physically disabled younger sister named Annie, who died in 1972. Beth’s failing health precluded Luxenberg and his siblings from learning any more. After Beth’s passing, Luxenberg set out in search of answers. His dual roles as reporter and son proved both blessing and curse; the journalist dug furiously for facts, while the son wondered if long-buried secrets were best kept that way. His questions were many: What prompted Annie’s commitment, at age 21, to Eloise Hospital, southeastern Michigan’s sprawling psychiatric facility? Why was there next to no record of her early years? Most baffling of all, why did Beth, two years Annie’s senior, refuse for so long to acknowledge her sibling’s existence? Armed with superb investigative skills and relentless determination, Washington Post senior editor Luxenberg tracked down remaining family and friends and interviewed an exhaustive list of experts who might shed light on Annie’s plight. Part memoir, part mystery, part history of the mental-health movement, Annie’s Ghosts is a fascinating account of a life lived in the shadows and a family beset by despair.

Title: Elvis Takes A Backseat Author/website: Leanna Ellis 320 pages Publisher: B&H Fiction Publication date: January ’09 Genre: Fiction Sweet with a certain charm but not anything new. It wasn’t difficult to tell how this one would turn out. Does have some Christian overtones but nothing preachy.

When Claudia, a 40-something Texas widow, holds a garage sale to offload some of her late husband’s belongings, she discovers a note he scribbled in the last days of his illness, asking her to return a bizarre three-foot bust of Elvis Presley to Memphis. Reluctantly, Claudia embarks on a return to sender road trip to Tennessee with her 60ish aunt, who knew Elvis personally, and a caustic teenage girl who is harboring a secret.

Title: Dragon House Author/website: Dragon House/John Shors 347 pages Publisher: NAL Trade Publication date: September ’09 Genre: Fiction Here it is plain and simple: I loved it! Personally I think you should read all his novels. And I’m looking forward to next May when I get my hands on an ARC of his next novel.

Dragon House tells the tale of Iris and Noah—two Americans who, as a way of healing their own painful pasts, open a center to house and educate Vietnamese street children. In the slums of a city that has known little but war for generations, Iris and Noah befriend children who dream of nothing more than of going to school, having a home, and being loved. Learning from the poorest of the poor, the most silent of the unheard, Iris and Noah find themselves reborn. Resounding with powerful themes of suffering, sacrifice, friendship, and love, Dragon House brings together East and West, war and peace, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.

Title: Saving the World (Maximum Ride, Book 3) Author/website: James Patterson 416 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers Publication date: May ’07 Genre: Fantasy/YA Rarely do I read YA fiction but this is one series I’m hooked on. I enjoy spending time with Max and company.

The time has arrived for Max and her winged “Flock” to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of “Re-evolution”, a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race…and to terminate the rest. Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel have always worked together to defeat the forces working against them–but can they save the world when they are torn apart, living in hiding and captivity, halfway across the globe from one another?

Title: Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz Author/website: Perfection/Julie Metz 340 pages Publisher: Voice Publication date: June ’09 Genre: Memoir I can’t say I enjoyed reading about someone else’s pain and loss but I didn’t put it down. At times she’s a bit too honest and provides more information than I needed to read.

As recounted in this dark and affecting memoir, Metz’s discovery of her husband’s long trail of philandering well after he died reveals the state of willful ignorance and comfortable self-deception that reigned in her marriage. At their home in the northern suburbs of New York City on June 8, 2003, Henry, her husband of 13 years, suffered sudden cardiac arrest, leaving the author, a 44-year-old graphic artist, widowed and the sole caretaker of their six-year-old daughter, Liza. Initially unable to face the details surrounding his death, she left to her friends the task of cleaning out her dead husband’s office, though those same well-meaning people hid from her the truth they gleaned from Henry’s computer files and correspondence: he had been enjoying a two-year affair with another woman in their town, as well as numerous other dalliances. Metz, after the shock of Henry’s death, found solace in shopping and flirting with a much younger artist, Tomas, who was also friendly with Henry; once Tomas intimated that Henry had another life, the author began digging, calling and e-mailing every woman she learned had had a relationship with her husband, obsessed with finding the truth.

Title: Still Life Author/website: Joy Fielding 384 pages Publisher: Atria Publication date: March ’09 Genre: Fiction Interesting premise for a story. It’s been a year or two since I read a novel by Joy Fielding and I enjoyed Still Life.

Casey Marshall has it all: a successful interior-design business; a handsome, loving husband; wonderful friends; and a boatload of family money at her disposal. But just as she’s contemplating starting a family, she’s the victim of a hit-and-run accident that leaves her in a coma. But she’s not completely out of it, so she’s a witness to everything that happens in her hospital room. But is that so bad? Isn’t it everyone’s dream to be a fly on the wall, to hear what might be said at our funerals? Even though Casey is privy to everyone’s “private” remarks and conversations as they visit, she feels trapped and helpless, especially when it becomes abundantly clear that the incident with the car was no accident. Her frustration mounts as her sister, the wayward but bighearted Drew, becomes a suspect, along with everyone close to her.

Title: While My Sister Sleeps Author/website: Barbara Delinsky 336 pages Publisher: Doubleday Publication date: February ’09 Genre: Fiction Interesting that I chose two books in row that dealt with women in comas (see Still Life above). I’m a fan of Ms. Delinsky’s novels and for the most part I enjoyed While My Sister Sleeps. I thought the blackmailing of Chris was an unnecessary plot line and didn’t add anything to the story.

An Olympic marathon contender, self-centered Robin Snow often rubs her younger sister, Molly, the wrong way. After many years in her sister’s shadow, Molly takes out her resentment with petty actions, such as refusing to accompany Robin on a run. Fatefully, Robin has a heart attack while training and falls into a coma. As Robin’s condition fails to improve, Delinsky digs tediously into the family’s woes: Molly’s touchy relationship with Robin’s ambitious reporter ex-boyfriend; middle son Chris’s dealings with a would-be blackmailer; mother Kathryn’s trouble coming to terms with Robin’s dire prognosis.

Title: The Blue Notebook Author/website: James Levine 210 pages Publisher: Spiegel & Grau Publication date: July ’09 Genre: Fiction I was hoping for something more or, maybe, something different. The story telling style of The Blue Notebook didn’t really appeal to me. I’m in the minority on this one.

The Blue Notebook brings us into the life of a young woman for whom stories are not just entertainment but a means of survival. Even as the novel humanizes and addresses the devastating global issue of child prostitution, it also delivers an inspiring message about the uplifting power of words and reading–a message that is so important to hold on to, especially in difficult times. Dr. Levine is donating all his U.S. proceeds from this book to help exploited children. Batuk’s story can make a difference.

Title: Relentless Author/website: Dean Koontz 368 pages Publisher: Bantam Publication date: June ’09 Genre: Suspense I’ve read almost every novel this man has written. I love his classic (older) novels and run hot and cold on his newer stuff – more suspense and less horror. His writing style has changed over the last few years and I’m still trying to adjust. While I enjoyed Relentless as with some of his more recent novels I thought the ending was ‘too easy’. That said I’ll buy Breathless when it’s released in November.

Bestselling author Cullen Cubby Greenwich is mortified when Shearman Waxx, the nation’s premier literary critic, savages his work. Cubby manages to find the syphilitic swine at Roxie’s Bistro in Newport Beach, Calif., where the author’s six-year-old prodigy son nearly pees by accident on Waxx in the restaurant’s men’s room. In retaliation, Waxx threatens Cubby with doom and gets things started nicely by blowing up his house. With almost superhuman ease, the book critic keeps track of Cubby and his family as they flee for their lives.

Title: Easy on the Eyes Author/website: Jane Porter 332 pages Publisher: 5 Spot Publication date: July ’09 Genre: Women’s fiction My least favorite JP novel. I never really warmed up to Tiana. I knew exactly where this story was headed before I’d read more than a few chapters – knew how we were going to get there and where we’d end up. Even the revelation wasn’t much of a surprise to me.

At 38, Tiana Tomlinson has made it. America adores her as one of the anchors of America Tonight, a top-rated nightly entertainment and news program. But even with the trappings that come with her elite lifestyle, she feels empty. Tina desperately misses her late husband Keith, who died several years before. And in a business that thrives on youth, Tina is getting the message that her age is starting to show and certain measures must be taken if she wants to remain in the spotlight. It doesn’t help that at every turn she has to deal with her adversary–the devilishly handsome, plastic surgeon to the stars, Michael Sullivan. But a trip away from the Hollywood madness has consequences that could affect the rest of her life.

Title: The Other Queen Author/website: Philippa Gregory 448 pages Publisher: Touchstone Publication date: September ’08 Genre: Historical fiction So even with the less than stellar reviews I really wanted to read The Other Queen. It’s been sitting on my Kindle since December of ’08 when I bought it to read on vacation. Never having gotten around to ‘cracking’ it open I decided it was time to give it a go. Boy oh boy were the other readers right – this isn’t her best work. I love PG’s other novels having reading several of them. I didn’t finish TOQ – DNF’d at page 147. Talk about repetitive storytelling. Every chapter is a rehash of the chapter before told from a different character’s POV. And not only are you a frustrated reader because of this but the two female characters keep constantly reminding you of their lofty positions. I just wanted shake some sense into these ladies and say ‘get on with it already’.

In 1568, after fleeing rebellious Scottish lords, Mary is placed into the custody of George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his wife, Bess of Hardwick. This turns their Derbyshire estate into a hotbed of intrigue and possible treason. George, normally loyal to a fault, falls in love with Mary; Bess secretly reports to William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth’s spymaster, while fretting about her foolish husband and the continual draining of their funds; Mary plays them against one another while plotting to escape, with Cecil noting her every move.

And a very short novella, Serial, by Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch. It’s only 44 pages.

*** Favorite book: Dragon House by John Shors Least favorite book: The DNFs – The Known World and The Other Queen

I’m a very visual person and love beautiful, or interesting, cover art. It entices, and invites, me to stop and take a peek instead of walking right on by. This week’s Cover Attraction is: Title: Sorrow Wood Author: Raymond L. Atkins Release date: August ’09

When the charred body of a promiscuous, self-proclaimed witch is discovered at a farm called Sorrow Wood, nearly everyone in the sleepy town of Sand Valley, Alabama, is drawn into the case. As the murder probe continues, a multitude of secrets are revealed, including one that leads back to the rock castle home of Wendell Blackmon, Sand Valley’s police chief, and his beloved wife Reva. The town’s inhabitants ruminate on the true meaning of commitment, love, death, hope, and loss as they delve deeper into questions such as Who was this woman? Where did she come from? and What did her presence mean to Wendell, Reva, and the townspeople of Sand Valley?

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What’s your favorite cover attraction this week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Cover Attraction post.

Welcome to By the Chapter. This week’s featured book is Somewhere In Time by Richard Matheson.

Follow today’s discussion over at Elizabeth’s blog, As usual, I need more bookshelves

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This week’s reading scheduling: Monday: The Printed Page Wednesday: Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves Friday: The Printed Page/Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves

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Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

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Historical fiction ~ Sacred Hearts by Susan Dunant (publicist contact) (Claimed by Ruth & Alyce)

The year is 1570, and in the convent of Santa Caterina, in the Italian city of Ferrara, noblewomen find space to pursue their lives under God’s protection. But any community, however smoothly run, suffers tremors when it takes in someone by force. And the arrival of Santa Caterina’s new novice sets in motion a chain of events that will shake the convent to its core.

Ripped by her family from an illicit love affair, sixteen-year-old Serafina is willful, emotional, sharp, and defiant–young enough to have a life to look forward to and old enough to know when that life is being cut short. Her first night inside the walls is spent in an incandescent rage so violent that the dispensary mistress, Suora Zuana, is dispatched to the girl’s cell to sedate her. Thus begins a complex relationship of trust and betrayal between the young rebel and the clever, scholarly nun, for whom the girl becomes the daughter she will never have.

As Serafina rails against her incarceration, others are drawn into the drama: the ancient, mysterious Suora Magdalena–with her history of visions and ecstasies–locked in her cell; the ferociously devout novice mistress Suora Umiliana, who comes to see in the postulant a way to extend her influence; and, watching it all, the abbess, Madonna Chiara, a woman as fluent in politics as she is in prayer. As disorder and rebellion mount, it is the abbess’s job to keep the convent stable while, outside its walls, the dictates of the Counter-Reformation begin to purge the Catholic Church and impose on the nunneries a regime of terrible oppression.

Historical fiction ~ The Belly Dancer by Deanna Cameron (new-to-me author/author contact) (Claimed by Gwen)

At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the modern, the exotic, and the ground-breaking collide. But Dora Chambers has more pressing matters to consider. Hoping to begin a life of wealth and privilege in Chicago, she sets out to earn the approval of the Fair’s Board of Lady Managers to appease her ambitious, aloof husband. Unimpressed, they give Dora the distasteful task of enforcing proper conduct at the Egyptian belly dancing exhibition.

But Dora’s sensibilities are not so easily flustered. She finds herself captivated by these exotic women, and by their enigmatic manager, Hossam Farouk, who makes his mistrust of her known—although his lingering glances hint at something else.

As Dora’s eyes are opened to the world beyond a life of social expectations and quiet servitude, she finds the courage to break free of her self-imposed bondage, and discovers the truth about the desire and passion in her own heart.

Fiction ~ Saffron Dreams by Shaila Abdullah (new-to-me author/publicist contact) (Kindle eBook; not available for Read It Forward)

You don’t know you’re a misfit until you are marked as an outcast.

From the darkest hour of American history emerges a mesmerizing tale of tender love, a life interrupted, and faith recovered. Arissa Illahi, a Muslim artist and writer, discovers in a single moment that no matter how carefully you map your life, it is life itself that chooses your destiny. After her husband’s death in the collapse of the World Trade Center, the discovery of his manuscript marks Arissa’s reconnection to life. Her unborn son and the unfinished novel fuse in her mind into one life-defining project that becomes, at once, the struggle for her emotional survival and the redemption of her race. Saffron Dreams is a novel about our ever evolving identities and the events and places that shape them. It reminds us that in the midst of tragedy, our dreams can become a lasting legacy.

Memoir ~ Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Michael J. Fox (Kindle eBook; not available for Read It Forward)

There are many words to describe Michael J. Fox: Actor. Husband. Father. Activist. But readers of Always Looking Up will soon add another to the list: Optimist. Michael writes about the hard-won perspective that helped him see challenges as opportunities. Instead of building walls around himself, he developed a personal policy of engagement and discovery: an emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual outlook that has served him throughout his struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Michael’s exit from a very demanding, very public arena offered him the time-and the inspiration-to open up new doors leading to unexpected places. One door even led him to the center of his own family, the greatest destination of all.

The last ten years, which is really the stuff of this book, began with such a loss: my retirement from Spin City. I found myself struggling with a strange new dynamic: the shifting of public and private personas. I had been Mike the actor, then Mike the actor with PD. Now was I just Mike with PD? Parkinson’s had consumed my career and, in a sense, had become my career. But where did all of this leave Me? I had to build a new life when I was already pretty happy with the old one..

Always Looking Up is a memoir of this last decade, told through the critical themes of Michael’s life: work, politics, faith, and family. The book is a journey of self-discovery and reinvention, and a testament to the consolations that protect him from the ravages of Parkinson’s.

Fantasy ~ Somewhere In Time by Richard Matheson (new-to-me author/Kindle eBook; not available for Read It Forward)

Somewhere in Time is the powerful story of a love that transcends time and space, written by one of the Grand Masters of modern fantasy.

Matheson’s classic novel tells the moving, romantic story of a modern man whose love for a woman he has never met draws him back in time to a luxury hotel in San Diego in 1896, where he finds his soul mate in the form of a celebrated actress of the previous century.

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What books came into your house last week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Mailbox post or a list of books if you don’t have a blog.

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Read It Forward details

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If you enjoy Mailbox Monday Vote It Up @ BookBlips

Welcome to By the Chapter. This week’s featured book is Somewhere In Time by Richard Matheson. Sharing hosting duties with me this week is Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves.

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If you’re not familiar with Somewhere In Time here’s a little background:

Somewhere in Time is the powerful story of a love that transcends time and space, written by one of the Grand Masters of modern fantasy.

Matheson’s classic novel tells the moving, romantic story of a modern man whose love for a woman he has never met draws him back in time to a luxury hotel in San Diego in 1896, where he finds his soul mate in the form of a celebrated actress of the previous century. Somewhere in Time won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and the 1979 movie version, starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, remains a cult classic.

*** I’m about a third of the way through this story. The writing style is a bit different and threw me off at first. It’s written as if you’re reading a character’s thoughts, his thinking process, personal self-talk instead of reading a story in the narrative form. Which is exactly what our main character is doing. Richard Collier, the narrator, is recording his thoughts as he isn’t much longer for this world and these will be his final words, his goodbye. Definitely not my favored story style. Also, it’s a bit drawn out and slow for me right now. It hasn’t really captured my attention like I was hoping it would. And, no, I haven’t seen the movie so I have no comparisons to make. It’s not bad but it’s not great either or I’m not apperciating the story for what it is.

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If you’ve read, or are currently reading, Somewhere In Time please share your thoughts with us.

*** This week’s reading scheduling: Monday: The Printed Page/ Wednesday: Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves Friday: The Printed Page/Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves

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Hi all,

I’ve launched a companion blog to The Printed Page – Marcia’s Kindle Corner. I wanted a place to gush about my Kindle and eBook reading. Great author discoveries and maybe some chuckers. A home where all things eBook in my world wouldn’t be distracting to those who have no interest, yet!, and place for other eBook readers to gather.

I have no detailed plans for Marcia’s Kindle Corner. This is an adventure but right now I do know this: it is my reading journal, among other things, for eBooks. It is not an all things eBook site as there are plenty of great dedicated sites out there doing that already (check the side bar). I’d like to think it might someday become a place for eBook readers to share their eBook experience, authors they’ve discovered, books they love or don’t, pictures of their Kindles in the wild (real world), whatever strikes the eBook fancy. And it’s a kind of cool looking blog. I’m still working out the details so some of these are things to come.

To start off at Marcia’s Kindle Corner you’ll find posts about books that are adventurous reading, not my usual mainstream, popular author Kindle reading (that can still be found here at The Printed Page). This blog is for the free and cheap Kindle books & authors I’ve come across and took for a ‘test’ read. Also when my Kindle travels, which is about twice a year, I’ll post pictures of my Kindle in the wild.

(P.S. not me!)