Stacking the Shelves - 2.14.15

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

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Bought:

From Powell's Indiespensable club package (details):
Powell's subscription club delivers the best new books, with special attention to independent publishers. Signed first editions. Inventive, original sets. Exclusive printings.... Every six weeks, another installment to read and admire.

Plus, every package is stocked with exciting surprises!

This is package #51. (sorry - this is sold out, but you can signup for the next one)

Wolf Winter
by Cecilia Ekbäck
-Mystery, Scandinavian
Powell's | Goodreads
Swedish Lapland, 1717. Maija, her husband Paavo and her daughters Frederika and Dorotea arrive from their native Finland, hoping to forget the traumas of their past and put down new roots in this harsh but beautiful land. Above them looms Blackåsen, a mountain whose foreboding presence looms over the valley and whose dark history seems to haunt the lives of those who live in its shadow.

While herding the family’s goats on the mountain, Frederika happens upon the mutilated body of one of their neighbors, Eriksson. The death is dismissed as a wolf attack, but Maija feels certain that the wounds could only have been inflicted by another man. Compelled to investigate despite her neighbors’ strange disinterest in the death and the fate of Eriksson’s widow, Maija is drawn into the dark history of tragedies and betrayals that have taken place on Blackåsen. Young Frederika finds herself pulled towards the mountain as well, feeling something none of the adults around her seem to notice.

As the seasons change, and the “wolf winter,” the harshest winter in memory, descends upon the settlers, Paavo travels to find work, and Maija finds herself struggling for her family’s survival in this land of winter-long darkness. As the snow gathers, the settlers’ secrets are increasingly laid bare. Scarce resources and the never-ending darkness force them to come together, but Maija, not knowing who to trust and who may betray her, is determined to find the answers for herself. Soon, Maija discovers the true cost of survival under the mountain, and what it will take to make it to spring.

For Review:

Granted Wishes
by Tanya Vought
-Contemporary Romance
courtesy of publisher
Thanks !
Amazon | Goodreads

A Rant of Ravens
The Birdwatcher's Mystery series - book 1
by Christine Goff
courtesy of publisher
Thanks !
Amazon | Goodreads
Library:

Jane Austen Cover to Cover: 200 Years of Classic Book Covers
by Margaret C. Sullivan
-Art, Jane Austen, Non-fiction
Amazon | Goodreads
Jane Austen’s six novels are true classics, still immensely popular some 200 years after their first publication. But although the celebrated stories never change, the covers are always different. Jane Austen Cover to Cover compiles two centuries of design, from elegant Victorian hardcovers and the famed 1894 “Peacock” edition to 1950s pulp, movie tie-in editions, graphic novels, foreign-language translations, and many, many others. Filled with beautiful artwork and insightful commentary, this fascinating and visually intriguing collection is a must for Janeites, design geeks, and book lovers of every stripe.

=====> got this for the eye candy - delicious! and the trivia bits about each cover - scrumptious as well ;-)

OTHER things on my shelf: kinda book-related

Currently binge-watching...

Cowboy Bebop
Amazon | imdb | Wikipedia
A book spin-off...

Cowboy Bebop, Vol. 1
by Yutaka Nanten
-Graphic Novel, Japan
Amazon | Goodreads
From one of the most popular anime series of all time comes a manga to match. Spinning off from the anime story line seen on Cartoon Network, the manga series hooks readers with the same combination of Sci Fi action, crazy comedy, and a twist of old-school hipster cool. This black-and-white miniseries, released in the 100% Authentic Manga format, is perfect for fans of the Cowboy Bebop anime.

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* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers

The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock

The Golden Mean
(Griffin & Sabine Trilogy #3)
by Nick Bantock

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter @nickbantock

Published: 1993
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genre: Art, Epistolary, Romance
Hardback: 48 pages
Rating: 5

Griffin & Sabine Trilogy series:
Griffin & Sabine
Sabine's Notebook
The Golden Mean

I received your Paris card. I waited but you did not returne the 23rd. I waited until the 31st, but you did not return. What happened? Where are you?
--Sabine

Sabine's Notebook ended with a disturbing disclosure--Griff and Sabine had somehow eluded each other once again. The Golden Mean beings with an even more disturbing development:

I was sure I understood. Yet you were not here when I returned and there was no sign that you ever had been here... Today comes your card saying you were in this house for three days after my return. I am bewildered...
--Griffin

It seems that each cannot exist in the presence of the other. Yet neither can continue without the presence of the other. And so, in this final volume of the Griffin & Sabine trilogy, they struggle against the mysterious forces that keep them apart. Time is running out: Sabine's crystalline visions of Griffin's artwork grow cloudy and dim, and a threatening stranger begins to appear everywhere she goes. The Golden Mean is the tale of Griffin and Sabine's journey towards one another, sometimes dreamy, sometimes desperate, sometimes nightmarish. The golden mean--the harmony of perfect balance--is what they seek in the haunting conclusion of this extraordinary correspondence.

Told in the compelling style of the first two best-selling volumes of the trilogy, The Golden Mean allows readers to open richly decorated envelopes and draw forth intricately illustrated letters, to decipher the quirky handwritten postcards with their macabre and magical artwork, to indulge, in other words, in the wonderfully illicit activity of reading someone else's mail.

My two-bits:

Finally got around to reading the last of this trilogy. It was just one of those books that I took for granted. You know, the kind of book that sits in your tbr pile with the expectation that it will be an automatic 5-star rating. So, you leave it sitting on the shelf for later. Then it turns out to be waaaay later until an opportunity arises that brings it out onto the forefront again.

In this case, it is the Winter Bingo challenge that makes this book jump to the top of my reading pile. The bingo category is Epistolary. This is a category that has limited selection compared to something like Romance.

Fortunately the bingo challenge enabled me to "hit two birds with one stone."

And, indeed the book was indeed a 5-star gem.

The relationship between the two characters concludes in a satisfying way, but first with mystery, uncertainty and a bit of suspense.

The artwork and whimsical nature of the book and how the story literally unfolds (in actual letters) created the same wonder and excitement I had when I first came across the first book in this trilogy.

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* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: Epistolary

Touch by Natalia Jaster

Touch
by Natalia Jaster

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website

Published: 2014
Publisher: self
Genre: Mythology, New Adult
ebook
Rating: 5

*Mature YA: sexual content and language. Intended for readers 17 and older*

The myth of Eros isn’t the truth. Her story is the truth . . .

Love is an immortal bad girl. With a strike of her arrow and a smirk on her face, she pins human hearts together against their will. It’s for their own good, of course—silly, clueless creatures that they are.

But Love has never loved. Not until the Fates parcel her off to a small, frostbitten town littered with needy souls. Not until she crosses paths with Andrew, a crippled boy whose gaze locks onto hers. Yet how can this be? Mortals don’t have the power to see deities.

The longer they’re friends, the more Love wishes she could touch Andrew. In gentle ways. In other tempting and reckless ways as well.

It’s impossible. She isn’t a true part of his world. She’s an outsider whose fingers will only ever sweep through him. A mischievous, invisible goddess who’s destined to be alone. And he’s destined for someone else. By order of the Fates, it’s Love’s duty to betray his trust. To seal his heart while ignoring the gash in her own.

Or she could become human. For there is one very tricky, very dangerous way to do so.

If only Andrew felt the same about her, it might be worth the risk.

My two-bits:

Sweet love story between a goddess and human. Because it the first time for the goddess to fall in love, a young adult love story enfolds. The couple goes through the usual ups and downs found in a teen romance along with the added element of meddling immortal gods.

The characters were likable including those with imperfections.

I liked how this mythology and its gods/goddesses were presented.

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* review copy courtesy of author

* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: Based on Mythology

Stacking the Shelves - 2.7.15

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

~*~
Bought:

Lessons in Love:
A Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 1
by Charlie Cochrane
-LGBT, Historical, Mystery, Romance
Amazon | Goodreads
For Review:

The Secret of Pembrooke Park
by Julie Klassen
-Christian, Historical, Jane Austen theme
courtesy of publisher for tour
Thanks Laurel Ann!
Amazon | Goodreads

Shadow Scale
(Seraphina, #2)
by Rachel Hartman
-Dragons, Fantasy, YA
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Aisha!
Amazon | Goodreads

Unelmoija:
The Dreamshifter
(Weeia Book 1)
by Elle Boca
-Urban Fantasy
courtesy of author
Thanks !
Amazon | Goodreads
Library:

Seraphina
(Seraphina, #1)
by Rachel Hartman
-Dragons, Fantasy, YA
Amazon | Goodreads
In her New York Times bestselling and Morris Award-winning debut, Rachel Hartman introduces mathematical dragons in an alternative-medieval world to fantasy and science-fiction readers of all ages. Eragon-author Christopher Paolini calls them, "Some of the most interesting dragons I've read in fantasy."

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

=====> Listening to the audio version. Wanted to read this before dipping into book 2, Shadow Scale which will be released March 10, 2015. So far, so good.

~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers

Let’s do it, let’s fall in love from Christine Goff

A Rant of Ravens
book 1
by Christine Goff
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads
From the author of The Birdwatcher’s Mystery Series, I have a special valentine themed guest post that incorporates birds.

~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
by Christine Goff
~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
Let’s do it, let’s fall in love

Birds have always been equated with love, from creationist mythology to medieval poetry to modern times—particularly white doves. In Greek Mythology, Aphrodite (the goddess of Love), is often pictured with doves. In Judaism, doves are symbolic of purity, tenderness and hope. Christians traditionally use the dove as symbols of peace and love. Pagans, Native Americans, military and pacifist groups, the peace movement and even the Communist Party have used doves as a symbol.

But what made birds symbolic of love? It wasn't until the 14th Century that Geoffrey Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement of England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia entitled "Parliament of Foules" that love, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day were linked. By 1928, when Cole Porter wrote his popular song lyrics for "Let's Do It," birds were well-established case studies for courtship and love.

Doves are the perfect symbol for romance because they are monogamous. Unfortunately, they don't actually exist in the wild. They are in reality, a white variety of the Ringneck Dove, a small bird—not a strong flyer—that possesses a rather underdeveloped homing instinct. When you see "white doves" released at weddings, you're really witnessing white homing pigeons, who are stronger flyers and will return to their coop.

Lovebirds are also committed to one partner. This species of small parrot is native to the forests and savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. If you find them in the wild in the U.S., they're usually living in Arizona and escapees from an aviary.

But the truth is, birds are great role models for love. About ninety percent of the wild bird species are monogamous and mate for life.

Birds that do it in North America include:

Albatrosses. They usually don't hook up until they're eight or nine years old, but when they do, they stick together forever—and they've been documented to reach fifty years of age. They solidify their bond first by grooming each other, then performing a sort-of jousting ritual with their beaks, tapping them together in a choreographed dance.

Bald eagles. This majestic symbol of the Unites States stays together until "death do [us] part." Known to live as long as twenty-eight years in the wild, only if one dies will the other find another mate. Their spectacular courtship rituals include locking talons, flipping, spinning and twirling through the air, spiraling toward the ground and pulling out before the crash in what's commonly called a Cartwheel Display.

Whooping cranes. This bird, which neared extinction, is making a bit of a comeback. When they migrate north to their breeding grounds, they perform elaborate dance to choose the mates they will keep for their twenty-two to twenty-four years in the wild. The tallest birds in North America, to attract their partners, they will bow their heads, flap their wings, leap and bounce. They are not afraid to make a spectacle of themselves.

So, take a lesson from the wild and the promise of spring. "Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Let's do it, let's fall in love."

~end

Guest post created by Christine Goff, author of The Birdwatcher’s Mystery Series
© 2015. All rights reserved.

About the author:
Christine Goff is the award-winning author of five environmental novels and a new international thriller series. The bestselling Birdwatcher's Mystery series. I was nominated for two WILLA Literary Awards, a Colorado Author's League Award, and published in the UK and Japan. Astor + Blue Editions is set release a new book in the Birdwatcher's Mystery series, A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS, in October 2015.

Find out more about this book and author:
Website
Goodreads
Twitter @christinegoff

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by Christine Goff
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READ The Birdwatcher’s Mystery Series...

A Rant of Ravens
book 1
by Christine Goff
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads
In an attempt to escape hellish matrimony, Rachel Stanhope sojourns to her Aunt Miriam’s ranch in Colorado in search of some peace and comfort. As a favor to her aunt, a bird enthusiast, Rachel agrees to host meetings of the local birdwatching society. On her first expedition, however, instead of finding a LeConte’s sparrow, she makes a much more disturbing discovery: a dead body. Identified as a reporter for Birds of a Feather magazine, this man was trying to dig up troubling information on Miriam’s deceased husband and a bird trafficking scheme…and now sweet Aunt Miriam is the prime suspect in this fowl play.

Death of a Songbird
book 2
by Christine Goff
Amazon | Goodreads

A Nest in the Ashes
book 3
by Christine Goff
Amazon | Goodreads

Death Takes a Gander
book 4
by Christine Goff
Amazon | Goodreads

A Sacrifice of Buntings
book 5
by Christine Goff
Amazon | Goodreads
FYI: The next book in this series, A Parliament of Owls, will be released October 2015!