Mailbox Monday - April 30

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house recently, but here's a warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Created by Marcia at The Printed Page, Mailbox Monday, now has its own blog. Hosting duties are rotated every month. April's wonderful hostess has been Cindy's Love of Books.  If you haven't dropped by to visit her, be sure to pop in.

It's been a slow month at the Post Office box (where I get my mail), and the UPS guy hasn't been to the house too often either.  Things have become busier than ever at the Net Galley mailbox since more and more publishers are seeing the wisdom of sending out review galleys via the e-net, rather than the expense of sending paper galleys.  In some ways that's great since I don't have piles of books sitting around in every nook and cranny of the house, but it does remove any chance we have to comment in reviews on the physical look and feel of the book.  That said, I did still get some "real" books including two from our wonderful publisher DownEast Books:

Maine Beaches: A Pocket Guide.
DownEast Books has put out an entire series of pocket guides that are perfect for quick look-ups of information about a variety of attractions.  This one is crammed full of directions, special events, dates and times of openings, other area things to do, and is perfect for people who have postcard visions of Maine beaches but no earthly idea of how to find the right (and nearby one).  A definite guide for visitors, and a welcome addition to the guest room "library" of locals.

 

Grandma Drove the Lobsterboat

The redoubtable Grandma—this book is a sequel to Grandma Drove the Snowplow—is at it again. After all her hard work collecting the town’s garbage and plowing the roads, Grandma deserves a day off—and what better day than Labor Day. All she has to do is sit back and enjoy a nice boat ride with her littlest grandson Billy while her sons catch the lobsters for the town Lobster Bake. But what happens when the waves get choppy, the fog rolls in, and all the boats are in difficulty? Can Grandma take the helm and get the lobsters back to shore in time?
More great fun as our intrepid heroine is again placed at the center of small town life and in the middle of a local celebration.   Our town children's librarian is giving this one a test drive at story-hour today, and I can't wait to hear the kiddie's reactions. 
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 St. Martin's Press sent an ARC of Donna VanLiere's latest, due for publication in July.

I must confess that this is a new author for me, although her Christmas series is quite popular with many reading friends.  I decided it was time to give her a try, and this one looks like a good place to start.  I'm a devotee of Southern fiction, and the publisher's blurb has me hooked:

From The New York Times bestselling author comes a poignant, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel about an unlikely path to motherhood, and of two lost souls healing each other. 1950 Tennessee, a time and place that straddles the past and present. Ivorie Walker is considered an old maid by the town (though she’s only in her early thirties) and she takes that label with good humor and a grain of salt. Ever since her parents passed away, she has hidden her loneliness behind a fierce independence and a claim of not needing anyone. But her mother’s death hit her harder than anyone suspects and Ivorie wonders if she will be alone forever.

When she realizes that someone has been stealing vegetables from her garden—a feral, dirty-faced boy who disappears into the hills—something about him haunts Ivorie. She can’t imagine what would make him desperate enough to steal and eat from her garden. But what she truly can’t imagine is what the boy faces, each day and night, in the filthy lean-to hut miles up in the hills. Who is he? How did he come to live in the hills? Where did he come from? And, more importantly, can she save him? As Ivorie steps out of her comfort zone to uncover the answers, she unleashes a firestorm in the town—a community that would rather let secrets stay secret.

I'm thinking I'm going to start a separate post (maybe even a meme if anyone wants to pile on) listing books I've received for consideration through Net Galley.  There are usually two or three a week, so I have to dream up a clever name (and maybe logo) and we'll see how that goes.  In the meantime, don't forget to link up to Cindy with your mailbox, or leave a link in a comment here.  We'd love to hear about what you received this week.