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Mailbox Monday ~ July 26th

Marcia — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 06:01:00 +0000

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. 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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Mailbox Monday blog tour: Our August host is Chick Loves Lit

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RIF: Donating to local library
Title: Nonna’s Book of Mysteries (Alchemy, book #1) by Mary Osborne (new-to-me author)

At age fourteen, all Emilia Serafini wants is to learn to paint so that she can become an artist. But painters’ apprenticeships for young women don’t exist in the Florence of Renaissance Italy. The odds appear stacked against her until she receives a fascinating book, A Manual to the Science of Alchemy. It was once her grandmother’s and Emilia turns again and again to the Manual for guidance.

When Emilia meets the wealthy, brooding Franco Villani, her life takes a thrilling, but dangerous turn. Franco will do anything to win a place in the court of the powerful Cosimo de’ Medici. Well aware that Cosimo prizes ancient manuscripts above all, Franco realizes Emilia’s Manual would be invaluable to him in more ways than one.

Infused with the mysticism of alchemy, Nonna’s Book of Mysteries is an exciting portrait of a young woman who defies convention to seek her destiny

RIF: Donating to local library
Title: Broken by Karin Slaughter

When the body of a young man is discovered deep beneath the icy waters of Lake Grant, a note left under a rock by the shore points to suicide. But within minutes, it becomes clear that this is no suicide. It’s a brutal, cold-blooded murder. All too soon former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton — home for Thanksgiving after a long absence — finds herself unwittingly drawn into the case. The chief suspect is desperate to see her, but when she arrives at the local police station she is met with a horrifying sight — he lies dead in his cell, the words ‘Not me’ scrawled across the walls. Something about his confession doesn’t add up and deeply suspicious of the detective in charge, Lena Adams, Sara immediately calls the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Shortly afterwards, Special Agent Will Trent is brought in from his vacation to investigate. But he is immediately confronted with a wall of silence. Grant County is a close-knit community with loyalties and ties that run deep. And the only person who can tell the truth about what really happened is dead.

RIF: Adopt me
Title: In Harm’s Way (Sheriff Walt Fleming, book #4) by Ridley Pearson

Sun Valley sheriff Walt Fleming’s budding relationship with photographer Fiona Kenshaw hits a rough patch after Fiona is involved in a heroic river rescue and she attempts to duck the press. Despite her job and her laudable actions, she begs Walt to keep her photo out of the paper, avoiding him when he can’t.

Then Walt gets a phone call that changes everything: Lou Boldt, a police sergeant out of Seattle, calls to report that a recent murder may have a Sun Valley connection. After a badly beaten body is discovered just off a local highway, Walt knows there is a link-but can he pull the pieces together in time?

RIF: Adopt me
Title: Reversal (Harry Bosch, book #16) by Michael Connelly

Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.

Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years.

With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

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What books came into your house last week? Don’t forget to fill out Mister Linky or leave a comment with a list of books if you don’t blog. If you’re interested in Read It Forward you will need to leave a comment in addition to filling out a link feature.

In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

Mailbox Monday ~ July 19th

Marcia — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 06:01:59 +0000

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. 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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Mailbox Monday Blog Tour – Starting next month Mailbox Monday is going on a blog tour. Thank you to everyone who signed up to be a tour host. We booked out through December of 2011 in less than 24 hours. You all are an absolutely wonderful group. If you missed out on hosting a stop don’t despair as I’m taking names for a wait list. Its just way too early to even think about booking 2012 tour dates. Those on the wait list will be offered the 2012 tour stops before they go public. Also those wait listed will be contacted in the order your name went on the list to host a current tour stop should one become available. You can email me at marcia[at]printedpage[dot]us to sign up or use the contact form on the Mailbox Monday Blog Tour page.

If you get lost and can’t remember the current tour host you can stop by here as I have the information in a couple of different places. The right side bar has tour stops for the remainder of 2010. I’ve also put together a Mailbox Monday Blog Tour page.

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What books came into your house last week? You have the choice of using inlinkz or Mr. Linky. With inlinkz you can include a book cover if you’d like along with the link to your Mailbox Monday post (clicking on the image takes you to the blog post.)

Don’t forget to fill out either inlinkz or Mister Linky or leave a comment with a list of books if you don’t blog. If you’re interested in Read It Forward you will need to leave a comment in addition to filling out a link feature.

In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

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Read It Forward details

Mailbox Monday ~ July 12th

Marcia — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 06:01:16 +0000

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. 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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In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

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Read It Forward details

Mailbox Monday ~ July 5th

Marcia — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 06:48:12 +0000

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. 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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In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

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Read It Forward details

Mailbox Monday fans its your turn!

Marcia — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:09:58 +0000

Updated Monday @ 11:51PM MT (I work the late shift and do my thing when you all are sleeping)

Book bloggers are a phenomenal group of people and I feel blessed right now. Mailbox Monday’s blog tour is booked through September of 2011!! I’m absolutely blown away by the response. More details and a MMBT page to come here at The Printed Page but I just wanted to say thank you. I hope you all have as much fun hosting as I’ve had.

And one other thing you need to know right from the start: hosting MM is and should be FUN (yep I’m shouting at you ). Life happens and there’s not a darn thing you can do to stop it from getting in the way sometimes. So if for any reason you can’t host you’re not to fret, panic, get in a tizzy or wonder how to tell me. I’m your built in backup and can host any month. Enjoy!

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Many of you have expressed how much you’ll miss Mailbox Monday as will I. Truly its been one of the most fun things that I’ve done here at The Printed Page. I spent lots of time debating with myself about ending my hosting duties and in the end finally decided that I needed a change. But all good things don’t have to come to an end. Just because I’m not hosting doesn’t mean that Mailbox Monday can’t go on and with a little help for our friends we’ll have years to enjoy one of our favorite MEMEs. Join Mailbox Monday’s blog tour!

OK so finally you can admit it out loud – secretly you’ve been wanting to host Mailbox Monday! There now that you’ve gotten that part out of way you too can join the fun of hosting Mailbox Monday for a month. No long term commitment, no contracts, no fine print. Just pick your month. I’ll handle the publicity, hosting sign up and host notification. You – one month of having everyone stop by your blog.

So… coming soon will be a Mailbox Monday Blog Tour page with all the details. My real job gets in the way of blogging so I’ll work on it at work when the boss is ignoring me. For now pick your month and leave me a comment with your selection(s). As months will fill up fast you better pick more than one in the order you’d like to host. Months will be awarded first-come, first-served.

Mailbox Monday Blog Tour
2010
August – Shanyn @ Chick Loves Lit
September – Kathy @ Bermudaonion Weblog
October – Avis @ She Reads and Reads
November – Julie @ Knitting and Sundries
December – Lady Q @ Let Them Read Books

2011
January – Rose City Reader
February – Laura @ Library of Clean Reads
March – Laura @ I’m Booking It
April – Amy @ Passages to the Past
May – Mari @ Mari Reads
June – Bluestocking
July – Gwen @ A Sea of Books
August – Staci @ Life in the Thumb
September – Amused @ Amused by Books
October – Serena @ Savvy Verse & Wit
November – Holly @ Wonders and Marvels
December – Lady Q @ Let Them Read Books

Mailbox Monday ~ June 28th

Marcia — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 06:01:40 +0000

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. 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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Updated today @ 11:12AM MT – Mailbox Monday fans have spoken. Mailbox Monday is going on a blog tour! Now you can host a month of Mailbox Mondays – check out hosting details.

Mailbox Monday Announcement – Monday, July 26th (new date) I will post my last Mailbox Monday. While I have enjoyed everything about Mailbox Monday I’ve decided its time for me to move on.

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RIF: ARC – Adopt me
Poison: A Novel of the Renaissance by Sara Poole (new-to-me author)

In the simmering hot summer of 1492, a monstrous evil is stirring within the Eternal City of Rome. The brutal murder of an alchemist sets off a desperate race to uncover a plot that threatens to end the Renaissance and plunge Europe back into medieval darkness. Determined to avenge the killing of her father, Francesca Giordano defies all convention to claim the position of poisoner serving Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, head of the most notorious and dangerous family in Italy. She becomes the confidante of Lucrezia Borgia and the lover of Cesare Borgia. At the same time, she is drawn to the young renegade monk who yearns to save her life and her soul. Navigating a web of treachery and deceit, Francesca pursues her father’s killer from the depths of Rome’s Jewish ghetto to the heights of the Vatican itself. In so doing, she sets the stage for the ultimate confrontation with ancient forces that will seek to use her darkest desires to achieve their own catastrophic ends.

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In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

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Read It Forward details

Mailbox Monday ~ June 21st

Marcia — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 06:08:30 +0000

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. 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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I have something this week I haven’t had in a while -ARCs! I’d also like to thank my wonderful friend Kathy of Bermudaonion’s Weblog. She sent me two wonderful ARCs I have listed this week – The King’s Mistress and The Professor of Secrets. Thank you Kathy for remembering me when you were wandering around the BEA convention gathering.

RIF: ARC – Adopt me
The King’s Mistress by Emma Campion (new-to-me author)

Alice Perrers scholar Campion debuts with a dynamic fictionalization of the life of Alice Salisbury, who, at 14, leaves family and best friend Geoffrey Chaucer behind to marry Janyn Perrers, a prominent merchant who has the patronage of Isabella, the Queen Mother. Alice accustoms herself to the royal lifestyle, grows close to her husband, and bears a daughter. Her happiness is destroyed when royal fortunes shift, Janyn disappears, and Alice is summoned to court by Queen Philippa. To secure her daughter’s safety, Alice complies and is quickly drawn into the machinations and extravagance of Edward III’s mid-14th-century court, where she captures the king’s interest. Campion stays true to the facts of Alice’s life as the mistress of Edward III, the mother of his son John, and a successful businesswoman. This is a detailed rendering of Edward III’s court, one that provides an empathetic but realistic portrait of a colorful and, if Campion is to be believed, misunderstood woman.

RIF: ARC – Adopt me
The Professor of Secrets: Mystery, Medicine, and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy by William Eamon (new-to-me author)

In the tradition of Galileo’s Daughter and Brunelleschi’s Dome, this exciting story illuminates the captivating world of the late Renaissance—in this case its plagues, remedies, and alchemy—through the life of Leonardo Fioravanti, a brilliant, remarkably forward-thinking, and utterly unconventional doctor. Fioravanti’s marvelous cures and talent for self-aggrandizement earned him the adoration of the people, the scorn of the medical establishment, and a reputation as one of the age’s most colorful, combative figures. Written by Pulitzer-prize nominated historian William Eamon, The Professor of Secrets entices readers into a dangerous scientific underworld of sorcerers and surgeons. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, this gripping narrative will appeal to those interested in Renaissance history, the development of science, and the historical thrillers so popular today.

RIF: ARC – Adopt me
Lady of the Butterflies by Fiona Mountain (new-to-me author)

A lady lepidopterist may seem an unlikely real-life subject for historical romance, but Mountain (Bloodline) makes it work in this first-person account of the life of Eleanor Glanville, the late 17th-century naturalist accused of madness because of her devotion to studying butterflies. Daughter of a landowner, Eleanor grows up not just admiring the natural beauty of the marshy moors around her but also observing and collecting specimens according to the latest scientific methods. Butterflies become her passion even as she marries Edmund Ashfield, to whom she must cede control of her land, and it is Edmond’s lack of passion that drives her into the arms of his dashing friend, Richard Glanville, whom she later marries, though neither husband proves as steadfast as the London apothecary with whom she corresponds about science. In later years, Richard and Eleanor’s eldest son join forces to have her declared insane in order to gain control over her property so they can drain the wetlands. In fact, drainage—battles over it, the implications of it—is a huge piece of the novel and provides the most original passages of a lush and confidently plotted historical.

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In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

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Read It Forward details

Mailbox Monday ~ June 14th

Marcia — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 06:01:34 +0000

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. 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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RIF: Donating to the library
Shadow of the Swords: An Epic Novel of the Crusades by Kamran Pasha

An epic saga of love and war, Shadow of the Swords tells the story of the Crusades – from the Muslim perspective.

Saladin, a Muslim sultan, finds himself pitted against King Richard the Lionheart as Islam and Christianity clash against each other, launching a conflict that still echoes today.

In the midst of a brutal and unforgiving war, Saladin finds forbidden love in the arms of Miriam, a beautiful Jewish girl with a tragic past. But when King Richard captures Miriam, the two most powerful men on Earth must face each other in a personal battle that will determine the future of the woman they both love – and of all civilization.

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In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

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Read It Forward details

Mailbox Monday ~ June 7th

Marcia — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 06:01:31 +0000

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. 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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RIF: Kindle eBook
The Burning Wire, Lincoln Rhyme book #9 by Jeffery Deaver (favorite series)

Lincoln Rhyme is back, on the trail of a killer whose weapon of choice cripples New York City with fear.

The weapon is invisible and omnipresent. Without it, modern society grinds to a halt. It is electricity. The killer harnesses and steers huge arc flashes with voltage so high and heat so searing that steel melts and his victims are set afire.

When the first explosion occurs in broad daylight, reducing a city bus to a pile of molten, shrapnel-riddled metal, officials fear terrorism. Rhyme, a world-class forensic criminologist known for his successful apprehension of the most devious criminals, is immediately tapped for the investigation. Long a quadriplegic, he assembles NYPD detective Amelia Sachs and officer Ron Pulaski as his eyes, ears and legs on crime sites, and FBI agent Fred Dellray as his undercover man on the street. As the attacks continue across the city at a sickening pace, and terrifying demand letters begin appearing, the team works desperately against time and with maddeningly little forensic evidence to try to find the killer. Or is it killers . . . ?

Meanwhile, Rhyme is consulting on another high-profile investigation in Mexico with a most coveted quarry in his crosshairs: the hired killer known as the Watchmaker, one of the few criminals to have eluded Rhyme’s net.

Juggling two massive investigations against a cruel ticking clock takes a toll on Rhyme’s health. Soon Rhyme is fighting on yet another front – and his determination to work despite his physical limitations threatens to drive away his closest allies when he needs them most . . .

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In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

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Read It Forward details

Mailbox Monday ~ May 31st

Marcia — Sun, 30 May 2010 06:01:07 +0000

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. 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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RIF: Kindle eBook
Married by Morning (Hathaways, book #4) by Lisa Kleypas (favorite author)

Everyone in the Hathaway family loves Catherine Marks. Well, everyone except for the head of the family, Leo, Lord Ramsay. Leo thinks Catherine is far too outspoken, opinionated, and obstinate for a companion, and Catherine has an equally high opinion of her employer. For the sake of his sisters, however, Leo manages to strike an uneasy truce. But when he suddenly discovers he has one year to find a wife and produce an heir or lose the family’s beloved home, the first (and only) woman he even considers marrying is the one who drives him crazy. The only problem is that Catherine is a lady with secrets, and one of those secrets is about to destroy her carefully cultivated new life unless Leo can convince her to trust him to help set things right. A sharp-witted and sharp-tongued heroine closely guards the secret of her past from an equally determined hero with a few secrets of his own in the latest sinfully sensual, superbly written addition to Kleypas’ wickedly funny Hathaway series.

RIF: Kindle eBook
Think of a Number by John Verdon (new-to-me author/NetGalley)

Arriving in the mail over a period of weeks are taunting letters that end with a simple declaration, ‘Think of any number.picture it.now see how well I know your secrets.’ Amazingly, those who comply find that the letter writer has predicted their random choice exactly. For Dave Gurney, just retired as the NYPD’s top homicide investigator and forging a new life with his wife, Madeleine, in upstate New York, the letters are oddities that begin as a diverting puzzle but quickly ignite a massive serial murder investigation.

What police are confronted with is a completely baffling killer, one who is fond of rhymes filled with threats and warnings, whose attention to detail is unprecedented, and who has an uncanny knack for disappearing into thin air. Even more disturbing, the scale of his ambition seems to widen as events unfold.

Brought in as an investigative consultant, Dave Gurney soon accomplishes deductive breakthroughs that leave local police in awe. Yet, even as he matches wits with his seemingly clairvoyant opponent, Gurney’s tragedy-marred past rises up to haunt him, his marriage approaches a dangerous precipice, and finally, a dark, cold fear builds that he’s met an adversary who can’t be stopped.

In the end, fighting to keep his bearings amid a whirlwind of menace and destruction, Gurney sees the truth of what he’s become – what we all become when guilty memories fester – and how his wife Madeleine’s clear-eyed advice may be the only answer that makes sense.

A work that defies easy labels — at once a propulsive masterpiece of suspense and an absorbing immersion in the lives of characters so real we seem to hear their heartbeats – Think of a Number is a novel you’ll not soon forget.

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In the “Your name:” box, please enter either your name or your blog’s name.

In the “Your URL:” box please enter the URL/link that will lead directly to the post you are submitting (also called the permalink). This is not the URL to the blog’s home page.

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Read It Forward details