Skip to main content

The Sunday Salon


Again, it’s a quiet Sunday—and weekend—here. Yesterday, I absolutely meant to write reviews of Stone’s Fall and The Last Queen, but it was such a beautiful day (75 degrees) that I went outside and read Jen Lancaster’s lsugh-out-loud new book on the hammock instead. I guess the reviews will have to wait for another day!

This week has been an exciting one in terms of ARCs received—in addition to the Jen Lancaster (actually it’s a finished copy), I received Angel’s Game from Random House. I think my dog was almost as excited as I was upon its arrival (in the “please, may I attack and destroy this?” kind of way. Me: um, how about no?). So that leads to me question: what’s the most exciting, most-anticipated ARC you’ve ever received?

Oh, and congratulations to everyone who completed the read-a-thon yesterday—I’m not sure if I have that kind of stamina, so kudos!

Comments

Meghan said…
Ooh, I have Stone's Fall too. Looking forward to your review!

- Meghan @ Medieval Bookworm
Frances said…
You have made me want a hammock! Will check out all your new goodies as I have not read any of them - yet. Today I am reading Unaccustomed Earth. Happy reading!
Michelle said…
I really don't receive any ARC books... but I love the convo with your dog. Too funny!
Bookfool said…
Oh, hmm, I don't know. I get excited about all of the ARCs that show up on my doorstep, to be honest -- possibly too excited. I've had to completely stop requesting. I'm reading So Not Happening, today. It's hilarious.
Anonymous said…
Just got a copy of The Blue Notebook and can't wait to read it!! - Stephanie

Popular posts from this blog

Another giveaway

This time, the publicist at WW Norton sent me two copies of The Glass of Time , by Michael Cox--so I'm giving away the second copy. Cox is the author of The Meaning of Night, and this book is the follow-up to that. Leave a comment here to enter to win it! The deadline is next Sunday, 10/5/08.

A giveaway winner, and another giveaway

The winner of the Girl in a Blue Dress contest is... Anna, of Diary of An Eccentric ! My new contest is for a copy of The Shape of Mercy , by Susan Meissner. According to Publisher's Weekly : Meissner's newest novel is potentially life-changing, the kind of inspirational fiction that prompts readers to call up old friends, lost loves or fallen-away family members to tell them that all is forgiven and that life is too short for holding grudges. Achingly romantic, the novel features the legacy of Mercy Hayworth—a young woman convicted during the Salem witch trials—whose words reach out from the past to forever transform the lives of two present-day women. These book lovers—Abigail Boyles, elderly, bitter and frail, and Lauren Lars Durough, wealthy, earnest and young—become unlikely friends, drawn together over the untimely death of Mercy, whose precious diary is all that remains of her too short life. And what a diary! Mercy's words not only beguile but help Abigail and Lars

Six Degrees of Barbara Pym's Novels

This year seems to be The Year of Barbara Pym; I know some of you out there are involved in some kind of a readalong in honor of the 100th year of her birth. I’ve read most of her canon, with only The Sweet Dove Died, Civil to Strangers, An Academic Question, and Crampton Hodnet left to go (sadly). Barbara Pym’s novels feature very similar casts of characters: spinsters, clergymen, retirees, clerks, and anthropologists, with which she had direct experience. So it stands to reason that there would be overlaps in characters between the novels. You can trace that though the publication history of her books and therefore see how Pym onionizes her stories and characters. She adds layers onto layers, adding more details as her books progress. Some Tame Gazelle (1950): Archdeacon Hoccleve makes his first appearance. Excellent Women (1952): Archdeacon Hoccleve gives a sermon that is almost incomprehensible to Mildred Lathbury; Everard Bone understands it, however, and laughs