Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books (formerly The Printed Page) where book lovers share the titles they received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained over the past week. Mailbox Monday currently is on tour, and this month’s host is Mari Reads.
I didn’t receive any books last week, but I have some that I didn’t post from the week before:
Next to Love by Ellen Feldman, from Random House for an upcoming blog tour (IndieBound, Amazon)
A story of war, love, loss, and the scars they leave, Next to Love follows the lives of three young women and their men during the years of World War II and its aftermath, beginning with the men going off to war and ending a generation later, after the men have finally returned to a nation changed beyond recognition. Beautifully crafted, moving, and unforgettable, Next to Love depicts the power of love and friendship, and illuminates a transformational moment in American history. (publisher’s summary)
A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer, from Audra (thank you!) (IndieBound, Amazon)
In the anxious days after Pearl Harbor, Life photojournalist Claire Shipley finds herself covering one of the nation’s most important stories. At New York City’s renowned Rockefeller Institute, researchers are racing to save thousands of wounded American soldiers and countless others by developing a miraculous new drug they call penicillin. For Claire, a single mother haunted by the loss of her young daughter — a death the miracle drug could have prevented — the story is cuttingly personal, especially after she unexpectedly begins to fall in love with the shy and brilliant head physician, James Stanton. But Claire isn’t the only one interested in the secret cure. When a researcher dies under suspicious circumstances, the stakes become starkly clear: someone understands just how profitable the new drug could be — and will stop at nothing to get it. Now, with lives and a new love hanging in the balance, Claire with throw herself into harm’s way to find a killer — no matter what price she may have to pay. (publisher’s summary)
Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver, from a co-worker (IndieBound, Amazon)
“Animals dream about the things they do in the daytime just like people do. If you want sweet dreams, you’ve got to live a sweet life.” So says Loyd Peregrina, a handsome Apache trainman and latter-day philosopher. But when Codi Noline returns to her hometown, Loyd’s advice is painfully out of her reach. Dreamless and at the end of her rope, Codi comes back to Grace, Arizona, to confront her past and face her ailing, distant father. What she finds is a town threatened by a silent environmental catastrophe, some startling clues to her own identity, and a man whose view of the world could change the course of her life.
Animal Dreams is a suspenseful love story and a moving exploration of life’s largest commitments. (publisher’s summary)
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, from a co-worker (IndieBound, Amazon)
As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival. (publisher’s summary)
The March by E.L. Doctorow, from a co-worker (IndieBound, Amazon)
In 1864, Union general William Tecumseh Sherman marched his sixty thousand troops through Georgia to the sea, and then up into the Carolinas. The army fought off Confederate forces, demolished cities, and accumulated a borne-along population of freed blacks and white refugees until all that remained was the dangerous transient life of the dispossessed and the triumphant. In E.L. Doctorow’s hands the great march becomes a floating world, a nomadic consciousness, and an unforgettable reading experience with awesome relevance to our own times. (publisher’s summary)
What books did you add to your shelves recently?
Disclosure: I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2011 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I have Water for Elephants on my end table waiting to be picked up next!! Animal Dreams sounds really interesting – I hope you enjoy all your books Anna! Have a great week.
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Thanks, Lisa!
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Looks like you got some great books. You going to read Water for Elephants before seeing the movie?
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I’d prefer to see the movie after I’ve read the book, but we’ve been renting a lot of movies lately, so who knows?
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Nice mailbox Anna! Next to Love sounds particularly interesting, looking forward to your review!
Enjoy all of your new reads!
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Thanks, Amy!
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Great-looking books! Someday I’ll read Water for Elephants! I have preordered Next to Love…I have enjoyed several books by this author. Hope you enjoy your books.
Here’s MY MONDAY MEMES
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I can’t wait to hear what you think of Next in Love! I’d never heard of the author until joining the blog tour.
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NEXT TO LOVE looks very appealing. I’ve wanted to read FIERCE RADIANCE and you’ll love WATER FOR ELEPHANTS I suspect. I didn’t expect to and then did. Always nice. Enjoy, Anna!
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I can’t wait to find out! Thanks, Kay!
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Oooh, I’m so glad you’re reading Next to Love — I thought of you when I saw it and I can’t wait for your review. I just won a copy of Water for Elephants which I’ve never read so v much looking forward to it.
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Glad to see you’re on the tour, too. I thought it sounded like a book you’d enjoy as well. 🙂
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Oh, and ps: so glad you got A Fierce Radiance – enjoy!
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Thanks again!
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Great mailbox. These all look fabulous! I would have a hard time choosing which to read first. Next to Love and A Fierce Radiance look like books I would like to try. Water for Elephants is waiting for me on my Nook. I want to read it before I see the movie. Enjoy your books.
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I want to read it before seeing the movie, too, but I have several books I want to get to before this one.
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Next to Love sounds wonderful, I am addicted to WWII stories! Happy reading!
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Me, too! Thanks, Anne!
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Enjoy your books Anna 😀
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Thanks, Blodeuedd!
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Loved Water for Elephants. I’ve been meaning to read something by Doctorow for awhile now but haven’t gotten around to it. Enjoy your books!
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I’m glad to hear so many people enjoyed Water for Elephants. Can’t wait to give it a go.
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Going to read Water for Elephants and then go see the movie? I really enjoyed how WfE was setup with the old guy reminiscing. Hope you enjoy it and all these other reads, too.
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That’s the plan! Thanks, Care!
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Hope you enjoy Water for Elephants, it really moved me on so many levels. Wait till you meet the husband… what an experience.
Enjoy your reads 🙂
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Well, now you’ve made me curious!
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I really want to read Water for Elephants before seeing the movie. Enjoy your week.
My post is here.
http://teawithmarce.blogspot.com/2011/05/its-monday-what-are-you-reading.html
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Me, too! Thanks, Marce!
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So much good stuff there, I don’t even know where to begin!!!
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I hear ya!
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Wonderful mailbox. Happy reading. I received only one book in my mailbox!!
Here is my Monday: Mailbox/What Are You Reading?/Musings post!
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I saw you received Far to Go. Hope you love it as much as I did!
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Next to Love sounds good! And I’m curious to hear what you think of A Fierce Radiance. Enjoy!
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Thanks, Elysium!
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These sound really good,A Fierce Radiance peaks my interest.
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It does sound really good, doesn’t it?
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Those first two covers are gorgeous. I read Water for Elephants a while ago and just loved it. Enjoy your books!
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Thanks, Carol! Glad to hear you loved it.
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Great books Anna! Next to Love sounds really good. I look forward to your thoughts on that one. Happy Reading!
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Thanks, Darlene!
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Next to Love sounds really interesting, and probably touching too. Happy reading.
Here’s my Mailbox! ~ Wendi
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Thanks, Wendi!
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Next to Love looks amazing! I can’t wait to see what you think of it! Animal Dreams is a great book, btw.
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Glad to hear that. I’d never heard of the book until my co-worker offered it to me, and I said yes because I loved The Poisonwood Bible.
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Wow, you got some great looking books! I’m especially interested in the war/soldier books.
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Me, too!
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I LOVE Water for Elephants. Hope you enjoy it!
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Thanks, Misty!
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Water for Elephants is one of my favorites! Great mailbox! Enjoy those good-lookin’ books 🙂
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Thanks, Jenny!
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Love Barbara Kingsolver’s books. Animal Dreams I read a long, long time ago. It’s not my favorite but it’s still quite good. Enjoy your new books!
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Thanks for letting me know. It sounds like a unique book and I’m not sure what to expect.
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What a great variety of books! I will be getting Next to Love too. Enjoy all your books.
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Thanks, Laura! I’ll keep an eye out for your review!
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Excellent books this week. A Fierce Radiance and Animal Dreams are on my to read list but really I’d like to read any of those.
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Thanks, Leslie!
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I have never read anything by Doctorow, but a coworker loves this author. I should try The March….enjoy.
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I thought it sounded like a good one for the Civil War challenge.
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The Barbara Kingsolver one certainly appeals – I read The Lacuna recently, which is excellent.
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Glad to hear you liked The Lacuna. I’ve only read The Poisonwood Bible, but I’m looking forward to reading another one of her books.
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Water for Elephants is a timely read as the movie is coming out shortly.
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That’s why I was so excited when my co-worker offered me her copy. Hope to have time to read it before I see the movie.
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Next to Love looks beautiful. I just found out that S. Gruen went to my alumni in Canada around the same time I did. Who knew?
I am a huge Kingsolver fan.
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What a small world! 😉
I’ve only read The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver, but I loved it.
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Animal Dreams is great — I hope you enjoy it! Several of your other books sound good to me too. I still haven’t read either of Sara Gruen’s books, which I must remedy soon!
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So glad to hear you liked Animal Dreams. It doesn’t sound like my type of book, but I’d love to read more Kingsolver.
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I’ve got The March on my to-read-this-year list and can’t wait to get to it!
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I hope you get a chance to read it. I certainly need to start reading some Civil War books for the challenge!
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