Mailbox Monday

It's Mailbox Monday, a fun weekly meme sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page.  Just as the post office or mailbox is a place to gather to share the news, this gives readers  a chance to share the books that came into their house last week.

This week, I got two directly from authors, and three I ordered myself from Amazon.  The ones I ordered, West with the Night, and Brunetti's Cookbook, I've already read and reviewed.  I wanted a personal copy of the Beryl Markham bio, so I could mark up the wonderful quotes (Ok---I know, writing in  books is blasphemy, but at least I can put some little fluorescent stickies in.)  The third book, Nights of the Pufflings, by Bruce McMillan, is the story of the puffins who have nests near the glacier, Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland  that is now home to the currently erupting volcano.  I got it to take to my granddaughter when we go visiting next month.


So here's what authors sent:

 War on the Margins

Libby Cone asked that I hold the review on this one until it comes out in the US in August.  I'll honor her request, but I'm going to read it in the meantime.  The novel is based on the Nazi occupation of the Guernsey Islands during World War II.  After reading the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society last year, I can't wait to read a different account of that same piece of history.
The back cover says:

France has fallen to the Nazis.  Britain is under siege.  As BBC bulletins grow bleak, residents of Jersey abandon their homes....
When the Germans take over, Marlene Zimmer, a shy clerk at the Aliens Office, must register her friends and neighbours as Jews while concealing her own heritage, until eventually she is forced to flee.  Layers of extraordinary history unfold as we chart Marlene's transformation from unassuming office worker to active Resistance member....

Ms. Cone graciously indicated that book bloggers really got this one going in the UK, so perhaps that will happen here. I'll keep you posted.

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Langata Rules: Pirates at Lat 10

Another from an author, this time a self-published piece fiction. I had requested this one last year (don't remember where I saw it), but did not receive it until this week.  I am being very careful about accepting self-pubs, because all too often they turn out to be not to my liking, and not very well done.  I do feel however, that I can't pre-judge a book just because it is self-published. The only thing worse than not finding a mainstream publisher for your book is self-publishing and then getting bad ( or no) press.  The synopsis for this from the publisher (Mountainland Publishing Inc.) says:

African pirates take control of the The Odessa, a British merchant ship with seemingly innocent cargo, starting a desperate race among pirates, warlords, rebel insurgents, government agents, shadowy oil interest and enigmatic business magnates.


"Ken Miller has crafted a smart, timely thriller about contemporary piracy that is both suspenseful and illuminating.  Old-fashioned buccaneering and rebellion are mixed with modern weaponry and espionage in the international tale about the perils of lawlessness." Mark Lingquist, author of The King of Methlehem.

It certainly sounds like an exciting book and hubby has already grabbed it from my pile.   I hope it lives up to its blurb.