Welcome to Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia of To Be Continued, a place where readers share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.
After several years of being on tour with different blogs as the monthly host, the Mailbox Monday Blog is now the permanent home for the meme.
I’m not sure where all my time goes but last week just flew past. It seems like the older I get the more time accelerates. Yard work, spring cleaning and still no spring! I’m sure flowers and leaves are bursting out somewhere, but not where I live. Here’s what arrived in the mailbox last week:
New Arrivals
Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews – St. Martin’s Press and Tandem Literary.
A wedding florist finds love and trouble in this delightful new novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Ladies’ Night.
The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson – Delacorte Press.
An adventure story set in a magical world that is both exciting and dangerous.
Decoded by Mai Jia – Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
In his gripping debut novel, Mai Jia reveals the mysterious world of Unit 701, a top-secret Chinese intelligence agency whose sole purpose is counterespionage and code breaking.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – a win of a 25th Anniversary edition from HarperOne.
This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids.
New Audiobooks
Love Life by Rob Lowe from Simon & Schuster Audio.
Rob Lowe is back. In Love Life, he expands his scope, using stories and observations from his life in a poignant and humorous series of true tales about men and women, art and commerce, fathers and sons, addiction and recovery, and sex and love.
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin from Highbridge Audio and Audiobook Jukebox.
With his wife gone, a rare book stolen, and both his bookstore and love of life in serious decline, only something extraordinary could alter the sagging fortunes of A. J. Fikry and Island Books. What he discovers one night among the children’s books, however, could change everything.
New Giveaway
Win a copy of Monday, Monday by Elizabeth Crook:
With electrifying storytelling and the powerful sense of destiny found in Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto, and with the epic sweep of Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins, Elizabeth Crook’s Monday, Monday explores the ways in which we sustain ourselves and each other when the unthinkable happens. At its core, it is the story of a woman determined to make peace with herself, with the people she loves, and with a history that will not let her go.
To enter, leave a comment on the giveaway post. US addresses only by midnight 5/3.
What are you reading?
——————————–
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Thank you to everyone that stopped by to read my review and enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of:
The Remedy
Winner: Carl
——————————–
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
It’s been over a year since I adopted Charlie, a Lovebird, from a rescue shelter. At the time I thought Charlie was a boy but when the bird began to lay eggs, I realized he had to be a she. It took almost a year for Charlie to adjust to her new home and feel safe and secure, but she has now settled in nicely. She went for her vet check-up a couple of weeks ago and is in excellent health. She even squawked at the doctor; naughty girl.
Blogging Companion
Charlie likes to be out of her cage house as much as possible. As long as she behaves she is welcome to sit on my shoulder or desk when I blog or am working from home. Misbehaving includes chewing my papers instead of her toys or being excessively nippy, all normal behavior for a pet bird but distracting when I’m trying to work.
Blogging Interruption
Walking on the keyboard is not a good idea for the obvious poopy reason but also because she thinks fingers are toys and tries to nip them as I type.
Sharing Breakfast
Although Charlie has her own breakfast bowl of fruit, my plate is always much more interesting!
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. It is now hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Countdown to the Readathon
It’s almost time for the Readathon which begins tomorrow at midnight GMT and continues for 24 hours. There are lots of fun events, mini-challenges and prizes. Hundreds of bloggers are participating and it just gets better every year.
For more information check out the informational video by Andi from Estella’s Revenge or stop by 24HourReadathon.com.
This will be my fifth Readathon. I have yet to make a full 24 hours but it’s always been a great time. The most important part of the Readathon is to have fun and participate for whatever hours you can.
I will be updating this post throughout the Readathon.
Rather than fill my feed with posts that a some of you may not be interested in, I will use this one post for my updates and mini-challenges throughout the day and on twitter at #readathon.
——————————–
Let the Readathon Begin!
Hour 1 – Introduction
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I live in the USA in a suburb of Chicago.
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
The Here and Now by Ann Brashares. It’s been at the top of my stack for a week or so but I held off reading it until today because it’s the perfect book for the Readathon.
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I haven’t put a lot of thought into snacks this time. I went grocery shopping yesterday so there are both healthy and junk foods to choose from, but my go-to snacks are almost always cereal, popcorn or chocolate.
4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I love birds! If you’ve been here before, you already know this from my Saturday Weekend Birding posts on birds and nature. I’ve been blogging for about 10 years and have had a book blog since 2009. I’m an eclectic reader, gardener, bird watcher, amateur photographer and all around nature lover.
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today?
As silly as this sounds, Read More! I get easily distracted by all the challenges and visiting other blogs.
Read more…
The Word Exchange
by Alena Graedon
Narrated by Tavia Gilbert, Paul Michael Garcia
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Doubleday
Publish Date: April 8, 2014
Formats: Audio: 16½ hours | eGalley: 386 pages
Audio Listening Level: Intermediate
Rating: 2½ of 5
From the Publisher:
In the not-so-distant future, the forecasted death of print has become a reality. Bookstores, libraries, newspapers, and magazines are a thing of the past, as we spend our time glued to handheld devices called Memes that not only keep us in constant communication but have become so intuitive as to hail us cabs before we leave our offices, order takeout at the first growl of a hungry stomach, and even create and sell language itself in a marketplace called the Word Exchange.
Anana Johnson works with her father, Doug, at the “North American Dictionary of the English Language,” where he is hard at work on the last edition that will ever be printed. Doug is a staunchly anti-Meme, anti-tech intellectual who fondly remembers the days when people used e-mail to communicate or even actually spoke to one another. One evening, Doug disappears, leaving a single written clue: ALICE a code word he and Anana devised to signal if one of them ever fell into harm s way. Thus begins Anana’s journey down the proverbial rabbit hole.
My Thoughts:
When I read the publisher’s synopsis (above) I immediately moved this to the top of my reading list. A literary science-fiction thriller involving the death of language in a near-future world where almost all printed material is gone and ‘memes’ (smartphone-like devices) have become essential tools sounded so good, and it could have been if it wasn’t so difficult to stay involved in the story.
Despite a compelling premise, the story didn’t take off until after the half-way point. The concept was good, the execution not so much. It got bogged down in lots of stream of consciousness rambling and overly descriptive narrative that was confusing, distracting and didn’t make me care much about any of the characters.
I began by listening to the audio, but with the slow progress in the plot my mind kept wandering. After a few hours I switched to an eGalley figuring if I was reading faster it would be more interesting. But there were all these annoying footnotes forcing me to jump to the end of the chapter to complete the thought. I suppose they were there to make some point or other but it was lost on me.
At about the half-way point I put this book down for a week before returning to the audio version. I was interested enough to want to find out how it ended and there were still a lot of questions to be answered. Anana’s father was still missing. The Word Flu Virus was spreading and people were speaking nonsense words. (However, the inclusion of actual non-sense in the dialog was another distraction that made it hard to understand and follow a conversation). At this point we still know little about the word flu or where it came from. Eventually we do learn the history of the memes, those smartphone-like devices, and a corporate conspiracy is revealed and most of the questions are answered.
The last third of the story was much better, but I don’t like to work this hard to read a book.
Audio Production:
The audio production was competently performed by Tavia Gilbert and Paul Michael Garcia. The story was told in alternating points of view between Anana and her friend and co-worker, Bart. My only problem with the audio was that it was difficult to keep my mind from wandering when I came to an overly verbose section. When the story picked up I had no problem paying attention. The pacing of the novel was uneven but it was not the fault of the narrators – both of their performances were fine. And those footnotes I mentioned earlier? Much easier to hear them read right along with the text – an improvement over the need to jump to the end of each chapter, multiple times, in the print version.
Conclusion:
Those who like speculative fiction might want to give this a try. The story line was clever but, although this is a genre I usually enjoy, the writing style wasn’t for me. If you’ve read this and feel differently let me know or leave me a link to your review.
——————————–
Source: Review copies provided by Blackstone Audio and NetGalley.
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Almost wordless: One of the first butterflies we see in the spring in the northern parts of the country. They can tolerate cold weather. This one was lounging in the sun.
——————————–
More Wordless Wednesday. © 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
About the Book
Monday, Monday: A Novel
by Elizabeth Crook
Publisher: Sarah Crichton Books
Publish Date: April 29, 2014
Format: Hardcover | 352 pages
Monday, Monday follows three students caught up in the massacre: Shelly, who leaves her math class and walks directly into the path of the bullets, and two cousins, Wyatt and Jack, who heroically rush from their classrooms to help the victims. On this searing day, a relationship begins that will eventually entangle these three young people in a forbidden love affair, an illicit pregnancy, and a vow of secrecy that will span forty years. Reunited decades after the tragedy, they will be forced to confront the event that changed their lives and that has silently and persistently ruled the lives of their children.
With electrifying storytelling and the powerful sense of destiny found in Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto, and with the epic sweep of Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins, Elizabeth Crook’s Monday, Monday explores the ways in which we sustain ourselves and each other when the unthinkable happens. At its core, it is the story of a woman determined to make peace with herself, with the people she loves, and with a history that will not let her go. A humane treatment of a national tragedy, it marks a generous and thrilling new direction for a gifted American writer.
First Chapter, First Paragraph
1. THE TOWER
Shelly stared at the graph of imaginary numbers on the chalkboard, confounding figures represented by the letter i and less relevant to her life than fairies from her childhood or the vanishing rabbit in the magic show at the Student Union last week. The professor had the face of a cherub and arms too long for his squattish body, and was marking on the chalkboard as he spoke. “The square root of minus four,” he said, slashing the numbers onto the board, a ring of sweat under his arm, “is two i. Two i squared is negative four. That’s two times two is four—times i times i, which is negative one…” [1st chapter excerpt]
What do you think? Would you keep reading?
Win a Copy
Thanks to the publicist, I have one copy of Monday, Monday to give away to a reader with a US mailing address. To enter, leave a comment on or before midnight, May 3, 2014. For an extra entry tweet or blog the giveaway and include the link. I will draw a random winner who will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond.
About the Author
Elizabeth Crook, author of Monday, Monday: A Novel, is the author of three novels, The Raven’s Bride, Promised Lands, and The Night Journal. She has written for anthologies and periodicals, including Texas Monthly and the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, and has served on the council of the Texas Institute of Letters. Currently she is a member of the board of directors of the Texas Book Festival. She lives in Austin with her husband and two children.
Connect with Elizabeth: Facebook | Webpage
First Chapter Tuesday is hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea. Join us by visiting Diane and linking your own First Chapter post or to find out what others plan to read this week.
——————————–
© 2014 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Source: Review copy and giveaway provided by FSB Associates.
——————————–
Advertisements appearing on this site are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed or approved by me.
Under My Apple Tree 