Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. The September host is Yolanda @ Notorious Spinks Talks.
Here’s what arrived last week:
Print Books:
The Preservationist by Justin Kramon from Pegasus Books through TLC Tours.
Told in alternating points of view, The Preservationist is the riveting tale of Julia and Sam’s relationship, which begins to unravel as the threat of violence approaches and Julia becomes less and less sure whom she can trust.
Audiobooks
From Harper Audio:
The Curiousity by Stephen P. Kiernan.
A powerful debut novel in which a man, frozen in the Arctic ice for more than a century, awakens in the present day and finds the greatest discovery is love .
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo.
Yangsze Choo’s stunning debut, The Ghost Bride, is a startlingly original novel infused with Chinese folklore, romantic intrigue, and unexpected supernatural twists.
The Arrivals by Melissa Marr
Chloe walks into a bar and blows five years of sobriety. When she wakes, she finds herself in an unfamiliar world, The Wasteland.
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
It’s September, and that means it’s time for one of my favorite reading events, R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril, hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings.
The event runs from September 1st through October 31st. There are multiple levels of perils to choose from, even a one book option for the time challenged.
There are only two simple goals for R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VIII:
1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.
Reading categories to choose from are:
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, and Supernatural — Something for everyone!
My Challenge: Peril the First:
Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be King or Conan Doyle, Penny or Poe, Chandler or Collins, Lovecraft or Leroux…or anyone in between.
Other challenges to choose from are Peril the Movie, Peril the Short Story and Peril the Group Read. For anyone new to R.I.P., you do not have to be a blogger to participate.
Choosing the books
About mid-summer I start setting aside spooky books so I will have a choice of audio and print for this event. That doesn’t mean that a scary recommendation won’t sneak to the top of the heap.
Potential Reads:
Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield (Gothic)
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo (Fantasy/Supernatural)
Joyland by Stephen King (mystery/Horror)
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (Scifi/Dystopia/YA)
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill (Horror)
Are you joining the fun?
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UPDATE: October 31, 2013
So, how did I do?
I exceeded my expectations! It helped that these are all genres I enjoy. I read and reviewed eight books.
Wrap-Up Post
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
It’s been a crazy week for me. Helping a family member move house took up most of my free time. There was little left for reading, only a few hours for audiobooks and no time to write.
Instead of wild birds this week I have some photos Charlie, the lovebird I adopted last year. Charlie’s family could no longer care for him and left him at a shelter. Several weeks after Charlie arrived I discovered he was a she when she began to lay eggs.
Charlie has tried to nest three times now and is always on the look out for a good nesting spot. Lovebirds are cavity nesters and in the wild will choose a spot in a hollow tree or a nesting box.
For lovebirds living inside a house with no trees, kitchen cabinets are an especially appealing place to attempt to nest. There are plenty of boxes and packages to shred for bedding and it’s dark and comfy in the back.
Above, she is posing on a package of Chips Ahoy cookies looking deceptively sweet and charming. Try to remove her and she will not hesitate to nip. Females are very territorial when they have claimed a perch. Lovebirds have large, sharp beaks for shredding and chewing.
I let her play for a few minutes and then coaxed her out of the cabinet by offering a favorite towel. She can’t resist playing with a towel. It’s a great distraction and prevents my hand from getting bit. Then I quickly shut the cabinet door.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. For the summer it will be hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Almost wordless: From the wildflower garden.
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More Wordless Wednesday. © 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
The Returned
by Jason Mott
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Fantasy
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Publish Date: August 27, 2013
Format: Hardcover | 352 pages
Rating: 4½ of 5
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Harold and Lucille Hargrave’s lives have been both joyful and sorrowful in the decades since their only son, Jacob, died tragically at his eighth birthday party in 1966. In their old age they’ve settled comfortably into life without him, their wounds tempered through the grace of time … Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, their sweet, precocious child, still eight years old.
My Thoughts:
In this mystical tale people around the world begin to return from the dead. They just appear one day, not necessarily where they died or where they lived, searching for their home or loved ones. No one is sure what they are or why they have come back. Even “The Returned” don’t know. At first the government is accommodating and attempts to reunite them with their families, but after a while the situation begins to get intense as more and more people “return”. Where will they live and can the planet sustain an unlimited number of people?
Although I very much enjoyed the book, I was a tiny bit disappointed it wasn’t the work of speculative fiction I was expecting. I would have enjoyed a deeper explanation or at least more insight into The Returned, but that was not the author’s intention. That part is left up to us. Also, this is not a science fiction story, the people are not turned into zombies or monsters. Instead, it was an emotional story about life, relationships, and what was or what could have been. There is an almost spiritual journey here.
The main focus of the novel is on Harold and Lucille Hargrave, their ‘returned’ son and Agent Bellamy, the local government liaison from the Bureau of the The Returned. The writing style was simple, yet graceful. Following each chapter is a two or three page essay written from the point of view of one of the Returned. These brief stories provide an interesting glimpse into the life of the individual; some are part of the greater story, some are not. And while these stories answered some questions, I was left with many more.
This is not a happy or feel good tale. It’s one that makes you think. While it’s not terribly sad, the story is very emotional. You can’t read this book and not think about someone you have lost that you would like to see again, even if it were only for a few days. At the end of the novel, in the Author’s Notes, the author explains his motivation for writing the book. Now I understand.
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Source: Review copy.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Mailbox Monday was created by The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their home last week.
Mailbox Monday is currently on tour, hosted by a different blog each month. Today’s Linky will be hosted by Kathy @ Bermudaonion’s Weblog.
Here’s what arrived last week:
Print Books:
The Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani from Harper.
For over a hundred years, the Angelini Shoe Company in Greenwich Village has relied on the leather produced by Vechiarelli & Son in Tuscany. This historic business partnership provides the twist of fate for Valentine Roncalli, the school teacher turned shoemaker, to fall in love with Gianluca Vechiarelli, a tanner with a complex past . . . and a secret.
How To Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman from St. Martin’s Press.
In the tradition of Emma Donoghue’s Room and S.J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep, a haunting literary debut about a woman who begins having visions that make her question everything she knows
What are you reading?
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© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
This is a Northern Cardinal feeding a recently fledged Brown-headed Cowbird. Why? Because a female Cowbird substituted one of her eggs for a cardinal egg when no one was minding the nest.
The cardinals raised this chick as one of their own and didn’t seem to notice that it doesn’t remotely resemble a young cardinal. (While Mr. Cardinal was feeding the cowbird his own son/daughter was hiding in my apple tree and then emerged to sit on the back fence.)
Brood Parasites
Cowbirds do not build nests or raise their own young. Instead, they lay their eggs in the nests of other species hoping that bird will rear their young. Over 144 species have been documented as cowbird foster parents.
Female cowbirds spend their days stalking other birds to locate their nests. When they find one they will toss out one of the host’s eggs and quickly replace it with one of their own. Many birds never notice the difference. Some birds do notice and will abandon the nest or build a new nest on top of the old one, and others may eject the offending egg.
Adult Female Cowbird
Cowbird young have a short incubation period usually hatching a day or two before the bird’s own young. They also have a voracious appetite and grow quickly often to the detriment of the host’s young. We like to think that the parents provide the same amount of food to each of their nestlings, but that is not the case. They feed the baby who opens his mouth the widest and this is often the large cowbird. The cardinal host parents in my yard were also able to raise one cardinal, however a normal, non-parasitized, nest would have produced three or four cardinals.
Adult Male Cowbird
- Cowbirds are promiscuous, there is no pair bond. Males and females have several different mates within a single season.
- A female can lay 35 to 40 eggs per nesting season.
- Cowbirds will lay eggs in the nests of more than 220 species of birds.
- It is theorized that cowbirds became parasitic because at one time they followed roving herds of bison and had no time to stop to nest.
- Cowbirds can be found across most of North America.
- Cowbirds do not “imprint” on their foster families and will join up with a flock of other cowbirds after a few months.
Saturday Snapshot was originated by Alyce at At Home With Books. For the summer it will be hosted by Melinda of West Metro Mommy. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
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