Through the Letterbox (1)
I couldn't wait until tomorrow. Maily because tomorrow will be revision day and there WILL BE NO DISTRACTIONS.
Through the Letterbox explores the contents of my letterbox on a weekly basis. Of course I only mention the really cool things, like books! If you would like to participate and have your own “Through The Letterbox” post, you can find more information here.
What did I get this week?
The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley (PB)
Jessica Wild isn’t big on commitment. But after inheriting millions from Grace, a sweet old lady she met in her grandmother’s nursing home, the situation seems to have changed. To put an end to the many questions about her nonexistent love life, Jess had led Grace to believe she had a boyfriend-turned-fiancé-turned-husband: her glamorous boss, Anthony Milton. But Jess’s fantasy to keep Grace happy has backfired-Grace has passed away and left her fortune not to Jessica Wild but to Mrs. Jessica Milton.
Having weighed all legal options, Jess comes to the realization that there’s only one thing she can do: get Anthony to fall in love with her and pop the question for real. With help from her feisty best friend, Helen, Jess reluctantly learns the art of flirting, seduction, and playing hard to get. But just when it appears that Anthony is about to ask the (literal) million-dollar question, Jess finds herself wondering if it’s right to say “I do” for all the wrong reasons.
A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson (HB)
When eighteen-year-old Ellen accepts the post of housekeeper at Hallendorf School of Music, Drama and Dance, she wasn't expecting it to be quite so unusual. For deep in the beautiful Austrian countryside, she finds an eccentrically magical world occupied by wild children and even wilder teachers, experimental dancers and a tortoise on wheels. Ellen is particularly intrigued by the enigmatic, and very handsome, Marek, part-time gardener and fencing teacher. Life in Hallendorf seems idyllic, but outside Hitler's Reich is already casting its menacing shadow over Europe. Through her growing friendship with Marek, Ellen begins to encounter the dreadful reality of a world on the brink of war. And, by the time she has figured out Marek's true identity and his dangerous mission, she is completely in love with him - and equally sure that her love will never be requited.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (AUDIO)
The African-born author of more than 50 books, from children's stories (The Perfect Hamburger) to scholarly works (Forensic Aspects of Sleep), turns his talents to detection in this artful, pleasing novel about Mma (aka Precious) Ramotswe, Botswana's one and only lady private detective. A series of vignettes linked to the establishment and growth of Mma Ramotswe's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" serve not only to entertain but to explore conditions in Botswana in a way that is both penetrating and light thanks to Smith's deft touch. Mma Ramotswe's cases come slowly and hesitantly at first: women who suspect their husbands are cheating on them; a father worried that his daughter is sneaking off to see a boy; a missing child who may have been killed by witchdoctors to make medicine; a doctor who sometimes seems highly competent and sometimes seems to know almost nothing about medicine. The desultory pace is fine, since she has only a detective manual, the frequently cited example of Agatha Christie and her instincts to guide her. Mma Ramotswe's love of Africa, her wisdom and humor, shine through these pages as she shines her own light on the problems that vex her clients. Images of this large woman driving her tiny white van or sharing a cup of bush tea with a friend or client while working a case linger pleasantly. General audiences will welcome this little gem of a book just as much if not more than mystery readers.
No-One You Know by Michelle Richmond (ARC)
Ellie Enderlin spent most of her childhood living in her sister's shadow. Lila was the good daughter - a mathematical genius who could do no wrong in their parents' eyes. Whereas Ellie was younger, wilder and could never quite match up. Until one day the shape of their family changes forever. Lila is brutally murdered. In the aftermath of her sister's death, Ellie entrusts her most intimate feelings to a man who betrays her utterly by turning the story into a bestselling true crime book - a book that both devastates her family and identifies one of Lila's professors as her killer. Twenty years later and two Americans meet by chance in a remote village in Nicaragua. Ellie is now a professional coffee buyer, an inveterate traveler and incapable of trust. Peter is the academic who saw his career ruined by being named as Lila's killer. He protests his innocence and leaves Ellie with a gift - the notebook that Lila carried everywhere, a piece of evidence not found with her body. Stunned, Ellie will return home to San Francisco to explore the mysteries of Lila's notebook, filled with mathematical equations, and begin a search that has been waiting for her all these years. It will lead her to discover more about the lover no one knew Lila had, to the motives and fate of the man who profited from their family's anguish - and to the deepest secrets even sisters keep from each other.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith (PB)
"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" features the original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone crunching zombie action.
I have titled this post 'In My Letterbox' but all of these books are from the library except for 'No-One You Know' which I won an ARC for in a competition. I do love the library. As a kid my parents would take us all there very weekend and we would come home with stacks and stacks of books. Then I grew up and managed to get a job in a library, which just made getting the best books a whole load easier. Then my sister got one and she still works there over the weekend, so even though I have too much revision to go, I still get books delievered home!
As soon as I can I will be posting reviews of these books here and on my book blog.
Today was one of those busy days. I was at work, in the Museum and NO ONE CAME until the last 15 minutes. Of course. It was inevitable. The day was absolutely lovely and we had to stay there until the very last moment. Sigh. But the three of us did have a good time chatting and gossiping and I did get some of my essay done. And all of that has completely tuckered me out. I think it was the sunshine. It has zapped all of my energy away. What a shame. I will have to go to bed and actually sleep tonight!
Okay, so now you know what's in mine, what did you get in yours? What are you reading?
♥Credit petite_bella or cutenpetite
xoxo