The Sunday Post - 2/03/13

 

The Sunday Post is a meme sponsored by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  It's a chance to share news.  A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

It's been a good week, in terms of books and blogging, and next week looks to be at least as much fun! In case you missed anything, here's a run-down on the last week: I took a look at the movies I'm looking forward to in 2013, reviewed Elizabeth Goudge's The Little White Horse, and congratulated Tamora Pierce (one of my favorite authors!) on receiving the Margaret A. Edwards Award.  And I put up not one but two News & Notes posts, one on Wednesday and the usual one on Saturday, because really, there were too many interesting things to squeeze them all into a single post!

In the coming week, I'm planning reviews of all three of Jessica Day George's YA fairy-tale retellings: Princess of the Midnight Ball, Princess of Glass, and Princess of the Silver Woods.  It's a great series and is now on my personal "must own" list. 

As for what's coming up farther down the road, well, here's the stack of books I acquired this week.  Most of them are from the library, but there are a few other goodies as well!

• Dying on the Vine, by Aaron Elkins.  A Gideon Oliver  mystery. (library)
• Mrs. Queen Takes the Train, by William Kuhn.  I just couldn't resist the premise of this novel about Queen Elizabeth going AWOL.  (library)
• Read On... Fantasy Fiction: Reading Lists for All Tastes.  Although this bibliography of fantasy novel is five years out of date, there are a lot of good suggestions for fantasy reading here.  The lists cover themes like "The Fellowship is the Thing: Companions on a Quest", "End-Djinn Trouble: When Magic Meets Technology", and "Smaug Gets In Your Eyes: Fantasy's Formidable Dragons."  There are suggestions for MG, YA, and adult fantasy.  I had a chance to browse this in a public library in my parent's home town during the holidays, and immediately ordered myself a used copy from Amazon -- used, so I don't feel bad about writing in it!  I plan to have fun discovering some "new" older novels.  (bought)
• Starting Now, by Debbie Macomber.  An ARC of Macomber's new Blossom Street novel, to be published in April (women's fiction.)  Should be fun!  (Publisher giveaway on Goodreads)
• The False Princess, by Eilis O'Neal.  YA fantasy about a princess who discovers that she is a a stand-in for the real princess, who is in hiding for her own safety.  This book has been on my TBR list for months, but there was a waiting list at the library. And now it's my turn!  (library)
• Dream Eyes, by Jayne Ann Krentz.  I got interested in Jayne Ann Krentz (aka Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle) a few years ago, mostly because of her crossover Arcane Society series.  Dream Eyes is a sequel to Copper Beach, which I didn't like as much; I'm hoping for better things from the second book.  (library)
• Cover of Snow, by Jenny Milchman.  A debut mystery/suspense novel set in the Adirondacks.  It's got terrific cover blurbs by some very respected authors (Lee Child, Laura Lippman, Nancy Pickard, Julia Spencer-Fleming).  I read an interview with Ms. Milchman on the Jungle Red Writers blog, and was the lucky commenter who won a copy of the book.  I've skimmed the opening chapter, and it looks really good.  (blog giveaway)

Obviously, I won't get to read all of these in one week (especially since I've got still got a few books from last month to get through!), so keep checking back for reviews of these and other titles!