strange and random happenstance

1) Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by J.M. Barrie - Because I adore this little short story that introduced the world to Peter Pan. Also, my copy is a tiny little paperback Penguin mini that hasn't aged very well, whereas this is a Facsimile Edition of the original with drawings by Arthur Rackham! Score! Bought at Frugal Muse.

2) Endgame by Ann Aguirre - The end of Sirantha Jax, weep, sob. Bought at Barnes and Noble.

3) Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann - I have been wanting to get my hands on this book in George's Ghost series for awhile, and imagin my joy and finding both at once. There was almost a happy dance, I lie, there was a happy dance, once I had taken the books of the shelf and made sure no one would snag them from beneath my nose. Bought at Barnes and Noble.

4) Ghosts of War by George Mann - Ditto above, happy dance, yeah! Bought at Barnes and Noble.

5) The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron - I admit I know nothing about this book. But I had a 30% off one YA or Kids book and I saw this vaguely Steampunky cover and read the blurb and it said English Country Estate, so I was sold, if it's any good, only time will tell... Bought at Barnes and Noble.

6) The Curse of the Kings by Victoria Holt - So over on Lauren Willig's site, she was having a discussion/recommendation as the best "gateway" book for those who've never read Victoria Holt. I personally have never read her and when her recomendation was one about Egypt, I went straight to Amazon and bought it now. Bought at Amazon.

7) Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie - Another Christie facsimile I ordered with Mrs. Oliver, finally arrived from England! Bought at Amazon UK.

8) Third Girl by Agatha Christie - Ditto! Bought at Amazon UK.

9) The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe - I've been waffling on buying this one for awhile, so the fact that she was doing a signing at Murder by the Book swayed me to the yes category. That and I could get my copy of her first book signed! Bought at Murder by the Book.

10) Seizures by Katy Reichs - Again, another book I was debating that swung to the yes category by a signing at Murder by the Book. Bought at Murder by the Book.

11) Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr - Yeah, a new Melissa Marr book which everyone has told me is awesome. Though it's still hard for me to type "carnival" and not want to but an "e" on the end. Damn, I miss that show. Bought at Murder by the Book.

12) Ruby Red by Kersin Gier - Has been on my "to get" list for a long time and to tie in with the new book they re-released the first book (aka, this one) in a snazzy new and elegant cover. Bought at Amazon.

13) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - Did I know that they had released the book in the Everyman's Children's Classics Library? Uh, duh, no I didn't otherwies I would have bought it long ago! I love this series from Everyman's Library! Bought at Amazon.

Ok, now here will be the, damn, she went to a Fierce Reads author event with Marissa Meyer, Ann Aguirre, Lish McBride and Elizabeth Fama, so I couldn't NOT buy all their books... right? Also, I know you're jealous I was there and just won't admit it...

14) Enclave by Ann Aguirre - I was kind of kicking myself for not getting this book in the spring at the RT Convention where I first met Ann, so luckily I got my chance again! Also, right when Outpost came out, which leads too... Bought at Books and Company.

15) Outpost by Ann Aguirre - See, I couldn't just buy Enclave, now could I? Bought at Books and Company.

16) Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride - Serious cover lust and after hearing more about the book, it made me want to stop reading my current book and pick this up. Bought at Books and Company

17) Necromancing the Stone by Lish McBride - Perhaps even great cover lust, sigh. Bought at Books and Company.

18) Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama - Probably the book prior to the event I was least excited about, until I heard, evil mermaids, New England, and kind of like Frankenstein. Yeah, sold! Bought at Books and Company.

So, with all the work at school I've been stressed, and I tend to stress by books... it's weird, but it's like, I'm looking forward to when I have free time so I over buy books. Also, as a side note, perhaps it's unwise my doctor's office is like right near Barnes and Noble, so when I went in thinking I was breaking out in hives (I wasn't, just bug bites) to calm myself after, what better thing is there than books?

19) Foretold by Carrie Ryan - YA Anthology that I've been waiting for. Even better, it arrived at Frugal Muse so I got it for a quarter of the list price! Bought at Frugal Muse.

20) The High Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate by Scott Nash. Never heard of this book. Saw it and it looked awesome, so, yeah, I bought it. Bought at Frugal Muse.

21) The Twelve Rooms of the Nile by Enid Shomer - As I said on "Tuesday Tomorrow" it's about Egypt, so I'm sold, also, gorgeous cover! Bought at Barnes and Noble.

22) Dodger by Terry Pratchett - DUH! Terry Pratchett devote in the house! Bought at Barnes and Noble.

23) In a Witch's Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell - Witchy fun, perfect for October! Bought at Barnes and Noble.

24) Alchemystic by Anton Strout - The proclaimed nemesis of Patrick Rothfuss, who donated money for every preorder... odd that I bought Pat's nemesis's book on Pat's recommendation... Bought at Amazon.

25) Death on a Silver Tray by Rosemary Stevens - The first in her Bean Brummell mystery series, highly recommended by Lauren Willig. Bought at Amazon.

26) The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King - I recommended the newest in this series about Sherlock Holmes recently and realized, I haven't read the first. So this is the first, fyi. Bought at Barnes and Noble.

27) Happily Ever After by Harriet Evans - I love Harriet Evans and have been wanting her newest book for quite some time but sadly every time I tried to get a copy it was damaged beyond belief, sometimes it astounds me what mailing a book does to it. But FINALLY I found a mint copy! Bought at Barnes and Noble.

Note on the bookstores:
Amazon.com - because sometimes, more often that not, your local Barnes and Noble didn't stock that ONE book you where looking for, and having prime means everything shows up so fast!

Barnes and Noble - the last big chain in the Midwest that everyone knows and loves or loathes accordingly.

Books and Company - Local bookstore, not local to Madison, but Oconomowoc, which isn't that far away. They have great signing events, I got to meet Erin Morgenstern through them last year!

Frugal Muse - local Madison, Wisconsin chain with two stores in town which sells both old and new books at wonderful prices (at a really steep discount for new books too) and is easily my favorite bookstore.

Murder by the Book - the best bookstore in the world! They're in Houston, Texas and have tons of amazing events and for every book you buy they'll let you send in three books to get signed. Love you all!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Ann Ag, Carrie Ryan, Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Fama, George Mann, Harriet Evans, Katherine Howe, Katy Reichs, Lish McBride, Melissa Marr, Peter Pan, Steampunk, Terry Pratchett

Bones Are Forever by Katy Reichs
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: August 28th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the FOX televison hit Bones, is at her brilliant best in a riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan—a story of infanticide, murder, and corruption, set in the high-stakes, high-danger world of diamond mining.
A woman calling herself Amy Roberts checks into a Montreal hospital complaining of uncontrolled bleeding. Doctors see evidence of a recent birth, but before they can act, Roberts disappears. Dispatched to the address she gave at the hospital, police discover bloody towels outside in a Dumpster. Fearing the worst, they call Temperance Brennan to investigate.

In a run-down apartment Tempe makes a ghastly discovery: the decomposing bodies of three infants. According to the landlord, a woman named Alma Rogers lives there. Then a man shows up looking for Alva Rodriguez. Are Amy Roberts, Alma Rogers, and Alva Rodriguez the same person? Did she kill her own babies? And where is she now?

Heading up the investigation is Tempe’s old flame, homicide detective Andrew Ryan. His counterpart from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is sergeant Ollie Hasty, who happens to have a little history with Tempe himself, which she regrets. This unlikely trio follows the woman’s trail, first to Edmonton and then to Yellowknife, a remote diamond-mining city deep in the Northwest Territories. What they find in Yellowknife is more sinister than they ever could have imagined.

Crackling with sexual tension, whip-smart dialogue, and the startling plot twists Reichs delivers so well, Bones Are Forever is the fifteenth thrilling novel in Reichs’s “cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series” (The New York Times Book Review). With the FOX series Bones in its eighth season and her popularity at its broadest ever, Kathy Reichs has reached new heights in suspenseful storytelling."

You can NEVER have enough of Bones!

Foretold by Carrie Ryan
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: August 28th, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Richelle Mead, Lisa McMann, Michael Grant, Meg Cabot, Laini Taylor, and nine more of the hottest YA authors to hit the shelves explore the concepts of prophecy and prediction in this story collection edited by NYT bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan.

Have you ever been tempted to look into the future? To challenge predictions? To question fate? It's human nature to wonder about life's twists and turns. But is the future already written—or do you have the power to alter it?

From fantastical prophecies to predictions of how the future will transpire, Foretold is a collection of stories about our universal fascination with life's unknowns and of what is yet to come as interpreted by 14 of young adult fiction's brightest stars."

A to die for selection of some of the best YA authors out there today writing stories about prophecy and prediction edited by Carrie Ryan, who is just the sweetest. Can. Not. Wait.

Endgame by Anne Aguirre
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: August 28th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Regret Nothing.

Sirantha Jax has the J-gene, which permits her to “jump” faster-than-light ships through grimspace. She loves nothing more than that rush, but the star roads have to wait…

Her final mission takes her to La’heng, a planet subjugated during first contact. Since then, the La’hengrin homeworld has been occupied by foreign conquerors.

All that’s about to change.

Now, as part of a grass-roots resistance, Jax means to liberate the La’hengrin. Political intrigue and guerrilla warfare are new to her; this will be the most dangerous game she’s ever played—spies and conspiracies, a war of weapons and hearts, and everyone might not make it out alive…"

The end of the Sirantha Jax books, wail, sob.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Ann Aguirre, Bones, Bones and Forever, Carrie Ryan, Endgame, Foretold, Kathy Reichs

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The latest installment in the beloved, best-selling series is once again a beautiful blend of wit and wisdom, and a profoundly touching tale of the human heart.

At a remote cattle post south of Gaborone two cows have been killed, and Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s No. 1 Lady Detective, is asked to investigate by a rather frightened and furtive gentleman. It is an intriguing problem with plenty of suspects—including, surprisingly, her own client.

To complicate matters, Mma Ramo-tswe is haunted by a vision of her dear old white van, and Grace Makutsi witnesses it as well. Is it the ghost of her old friend, or has it risen from the junkyard? In the meantime, one of Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni’s apprentices may have gotten a girl pregnant and, under pressure to marry her, has run away. Naturally, it is up to Precious to help sort things out. Add to the mix Violet Sephotho’s newly launched run for the Botswana Parliament and a pair of perfect wedding shoes—will wedding bells finally ring for Phuti Radiphuti and Grace Makutsi?—and we have a charming and delightful tale in the inimitable style of Alexander McCall Smith."

Another installment in the beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"It's the summer of 1932 and Maisie Dobbs has been wondering lately whether she is descending into the doldrums. Those bracing fears are jolted away when she receives an official request to begin undercover work probe activities "not in the interests of His Majesty's Government." After accepting a position as a junior lecturer in the Cambridge philosophy department, she begins observing as students and faculty members vie for political dominance. Matters reach a flash point, however, when her college's controversial pacifist founder and principal is murdered. As officials fumble on with their investigation, Maisie focuses on the Nazis in her midst. A breakthrough book for an award-winning British author whose popularity has grown steadily with each new release."

I new Maisie Dobbs with perhaps my favorite cover yet!

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.

Annah's world stopped that day and she's been waiting for him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn't feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again.

Except, Catcher has his own secrets -- dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah's longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah -- can she continue to live in a world drenched in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction? "

The third in Ryan's succesful Forest of Hands and Teeth series.

Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz
Published by: Philomel
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Scorpia has dogged Alex Rider for most of his life. They killed his parents, they did their best to con Alex into turning traitor, and they just keep coming back with more power. Now the world's most dangerous terrorist organization is playing with fire in the world's most combustible land: the Middle East. No one knows Scorpia like Alex. And no one knows how best to get to Alex like Scorpia. Until now.

The chases have never been more intense, the fights more treacherous, or the risks so perilous to mankind. And this time, Alex won't get away."
Ah, Anthony Horowitz, I will follow you anywhere...

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
Published by: Riverhead
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Many think of 1776 as the most defining year of American history, the year we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self-government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as crucial to our nation’s identity, when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded Cuba, and then the Philippines, becoming a meddling, self-serving, militaristic international superpower practically overnight.

Of all the countries the United States invaded or colonized in 1898, Vowell considers the story of the Americanization of Hawaii to be the most intriguing. From the arrival of the New England missionaries in 1820, who came to Christianize the local heathen, to the coup d’État led by the missionaries’ sons in 1893, overthrowing the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling if often appalling or tragic characters. Whalers who will fire cannons at the Bible-thumpers denying them their god-given right to whores. An incestuous princess pulled between her new god and her brother-husband. Sugar barons, con men, Theodore Roosevelt, and the last Hawaiian queen, a songwriter whose sentimental ode “Aloha ‘Oe” serenaded the first Hawaii-born president of the United States during his 2009 inaugural parade.

With Vowell’s trademark wry insights and reporting, she lights out to discover the odd, emblematic, and exceptional history of the fiftieth state. In examining the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn, she finds America again, warts and all."

One for my mom, she just loves Sarah Vowell!

The Vampire Voss by Colleen Gleason
Published by: Mira
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Voss, also known as Viscount Dewhurst, relishes the sensual pleasures immortality affords. A member of the Dracule—a cabal of powerful, secretive noblemen marked with a talisman that reveals their bartered souls—the mercenary Voss has remained carefully neutral…until Angelica.

Angelica Woodmore possesses the Sight, an ability invaluable to both sides of a looming war among the Dracule. Her very scent envelops Voss in a scarlet fog of hunger—for her body and her blood. But he is utterly unprepared for the new desire that overcomes him—to protect her.

Now Voss must battle his very nature to be with Angelica…but this vampire never backs down from a fight.

Colleen Gleason back to what she does best... VAMPIRES!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Lesson in Secrets, Alexander McCall Smith, Anthony Horowitz, Carrie Ryan, Colleen Gleason, Jacqueline Winspear, Sarah Vowell, Saturday Big Tent Wedding, Scorpia Rising, Vampire Voss

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: March 9th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Dagger Award–winning and internationally bestselling author Alan Bradley comes this utterly beguiling mystery starring one of fiction’s most remarkable sleuths: Flavia de Luce, a dangerously brilliant eleven-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. This time, Flavia finds herself untangling two deaths—separated by time but linked by the unlikeliest of threads.

Flavia thinks that her days of crime-solving in the bucolic English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacy are over—and then Rupert Porson has an unfortunate rendezvous with electricity. The beloved puppeteer has had his own strings sizzled, but who’d do such a thing and why? For Flavia, the questions are intriguing enough to make her put aside her chemistry experiments and schemes of vengeance against her insufferable big sisters. Astride Gladys, her trusty bicycle, Flavia sets out from the de Luces’ crumbling family mansion in search of Bishop’s Lacey’s deadliest secrets.

Does the madwoman who lives in Gibbet Wood know more than she’s letting on? What of the vicar’s odd ministrations to the catatonic woman in the dovecote? Then there’s a German pilot obsessed with the Brontë sisters, a reproachful spinster aunt, and even a box of poisoned chocolates. Most troubling of all is Porson’s assistant, the charming but erratic Nialla. All clues point toward a suspicious death years earlier and a case the local constables can’t solve—without Flavia’s help. But in getting so close to who’s secretly pulling the strings of this dance of death, has our precocious heroine finally gotten in way over her head?"

How excited am I about this book? Beyond excited! I just loved the first Flavia De Luce book, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and have been counting the days to the new book. Count is over! Book is here! Now if only I can get my homework done today so all tomorrow can be spent devouring this book...

*Added note. Sad to say, the newest addition in the Flavia books is done with nowhere near the same production value. Instead of the wonderful cover with no dustjacket, the publishers have copped out, and now we have a dustjacket and my books won't match. Sigh, sometimes I really hate publishers.

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Published by: Delacorte
Publication Date: March 9th, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves."

Forest of Hands and Teeth related book that quite literally everyone who's my friend on Goodreads has on their tbr pile. Literally! EVERYONE! Well... maybe 1 who isn't, but that's still very impressive. It's kind of funny too. The cover, not as catching as the original, but, the original was one of the best covers of last year... so what can you say?

Abandon the Night by Joss Ware (aka Colleen Gleason)
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: March 9th, 2010
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the raging fires, five men emerge with extraordinary new powers. They are humankind's last hope . . . but they cannot survive this dark, ravaged world alone . . .

Quentin Fielding had everything. Money. Power. Women. But now that civilization is all but annihilated, Quent wants only one thing: revenge. Harnessing a strange new "gift," he embarks on a deadly mission to find the man responsible for the chaos and destruction, the man he should have killed years ago: his father. Only one thing stands in his way—a mysterious, arrow-wielding beauty . . .

ZoË Kapoor is on her own quest for vengeance, searching for the monstrous fiends who murdered her family. Soon she and Quent join together, journeying through the ruins of the world they once knew as a desperate desire builds between them. Drawing closer to an enemy they never imagined, ZoË and Quent must abandon all fear, abandon all regret, abandon the night . . ."

3rd and I believe final book in the new post apocalyptic world that Joss Ware, aka Colleen Gleason has created. I'm interested to check them out... not Gardella interested, but still curious.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abandon the Night, Alan Bradley, Carrie Ryan, Colleen Gleason, Flavia De Luce, Joss Ware, The Dead Tossed Waves, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Weed That String's The Hangman's Bag