Jun 9, 2013

Sunday Salon: Books for Review

The Sunday Salon.com Welcome to the Sunday Salon!This post lists new books and links up to It's Monday; What Are You Reading? at Book Journey;  to Mailbox Monday hosted by Dolce Bellezza; and to Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews.

Our cool summer continues, making it feel like an extension of spring. Not that I mind. Everything seems greener in front of my window and I keep that birdbath full for winged bathers!

I read four books last week, a lot for me, and reviewed three:
I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag by Jennifer Gilbert, a memoir
Gaijin Cowgirl by Jame DiBiasio, an adventure thriller
The Original 1982 by Lori Carson, women's fiction.

I finished There Was An Old Woman by Hallie Ephron, a mystery that started out really well but ended as if it was rushed and not well thought through. The ending was a bit puzzling, as only two of the people involved in the crimes were named, while a third simply was not mentioned at all, just fell off the radar, so to speak, when it was clear to me he was very much part of the crime. I reviewed an uncorrected proof, so hopefully the editors caught this unfinished business for the final copy.

A few review books came in the mail: 


The Artist's Way for Parents: Raising Creative Children by Julia Cameron and Emma Lively is to be published August 13, 2013 by Tarcher.  I requested a galley and was lucky to get it. The book is described as " an ongoing spiritual toolkit that parents can ener - and reenter- at any pace and at any point in their children's early lives." It gives tips and exercises for developing creative aspects, such as self-expression, focus, inventiveness, connection, and even safety. 
The Last Summer of the Camperdowns by Elizabeth Kelly was published June 3, 2013 by Liveright and came as an ARC.
Book description: The book introduces Riddle James Camperdown, the twelve-year-old daughter of the idealistic Camp and his manicured, razor-sharp wife, Greer. It's 1972, and Riddle's father is running for office from the family compound in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Riddle has her hands full juggling her eccentric parents. When she accidentally witnesses a crime close to home, her confusion and fear keep her silent. As the summer unfolds, the consequences of her silence multiply. Another mysterious and powerful family, the Devlins, slowly emerges as the keepers of astonishing secrets that could shatter the Camperdowns. As an old love triangle, bitter war wounds, and the struggle for status spiral out of control, Riddle can only hope for courage to reveal the truth. 


Courting Greta by Ramsey Hootman is to be published June 18, 2013 by Gallery.  Book description: Samuel Cooke knows most women wouldn't give him a second glance even if he were the last man on earth. He's the cripple with the crutches, the nerdy computer genius every female past puberty feels compelled to mother. So when he leaves his lucrative career to teach programming to high schoolers, romance definitely isn't on his radar. 

Perhaps that's why Greta Cassamajor catches him off guard. The sarcastic gym coach with zero sense of humor is no beauty - not even on the inside. But an inexplicably kind act toward Samuel makes him realize she is interesting....




Operation Saladin by Roger Croft is the sequel to The Wayward Spy, and published May 2, 2013 by CreateSpace.
The book involves espionage and suspense with an MI6 operative in the Middle East. 
Restrike by Reba White Williams, a mystery published June 1, 2013 by Delos. I requested a review copy from the author and was surprised by a copy.Thanks!
Book descriptionMoney and murder go hand in glove in the rarified art world of Reba White Williams’ first novel. Cousins Coleman and Dinah Greene moved from North Carolina to New York after college to make their mark on the art world. When billionaire Heyward Bain arrives, announcing plans to fund a fine print museum, Coleman plans to publish an article about him. Dinah hopes to sell him enough prints to save her gallery. At the same time, swindlers, attracted by Bain’s lavish spending, invade the print world to grab some of his money.

When a print dealer dies in peculiar circumstances and after one of Coleman’s editors is killed and Coleman is attacked, Coleman becomes even more determined to discover the truth about Bain. 

Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa by Benjamin Constable, published June 4, 2013 by Gallery.
Book description: What writer Benjamin Constable needs is a real-life adventure wilder than his rampant imagination. And who better to shake up his comfortable Englishman-in-Paris routine than the enigmatic Tomomi “Butterfly” Ishikawa, who has just sent a cryptic suicide note? She’s planted a slew of clues—in the pages of her journal, on the hard drive of her computer, tucked away in public places, under flowerpots, and behind statues. Heartbroken, confused, and accompanied by an imaginary cat, Ben embarks upon a scavenger hunt leading to charming and unexpected spaces, from the hidden alleys of Paris to the cobblestone streets of New York City.

But Butterfly’s posthumous messages are surprisingly well informed for the words of a dead person, and they’re full of confessions of a past darkened by insanity, betrayal, and murder. The treasures Ben is unearthing are installments of a gruesome memoir. Now he must draw a clear line between the real and surreal if he is to save himself, Butterfly, and what remains of their crazy and amazing friendship

These all look pretty good to me, as they all have some element of mystery, which I love.

What did you get in your mailbox? 

41 comments:

  1. I'm curious about Courting Greta...enjoy your haul.

    I loved There Was an Old Woman...and now I'm curious about that ending. Perhaps I missed some details!

    Here's MY SUNDAY/MONDAY UPDATES

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    1. Looking forward to Courting Greta too! I was disappointed in the ending of the Ephron book and may try to compare it to the final version.

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  2. It's been a cool summer here so far as well. I hope that continues because I am NOT a fan of the heat :)

    I'm very curious about The Artist's Way. I like the thought of raising children in a creative way. I hope you enjoy it.

    The Last Summer of the Camper-downs, yay! There's such good buzz about that book. I received a copy in the mail this week too and I was all excited ;)

    Have a great week!

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    1. The Artist's Way is a book my son might like for his girls. I would have loved to have it when he was young :)

      Good to hear the Last Summer...has some good reviews. Looking forward to reading it. I do love mysteries with little girl sleuths.

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  3. You got such an interesting assortment of books! I hope they are all wonderful. Come see what I got at Inside of a Dog and Ms. Martin Teaches Media. Happy reading!

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    1. I love a variety of genres, except for horror and some kinds of fantasy.

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  4. I'm curious about the latest Julia Cameron book. I can't wait to read your thoughts on it. Happy reading.

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    1. I'd like to read her previous book for adults, The Artist's Way.

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  5. The Last Summer of the Camperdowns sounds really interesting. And I too reviewed I Never Promised You a Goodie Bag, and will have my review of Gaigin Cowgirl up tomorrow.

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    1. Hope to catch your review tomorrow, Shoshanah.

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  6. Great books for you to jump into this summer! I was so happy that it did at least get into the low 70s today and the sun was actually out!!!

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  7. The Gilbert book looks so good. Enjoy the summer from freezing Melbourne.

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    1. I can't imagine it freezing in Australia! I guess it's winter there? Enjoy the great Australian views!

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  8. I have Restrike for a review, too. Looks good.

    Here are my posts.

    The Sunday Salon

    It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

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    1. Hope we both like Restrike, Yvonne. Looks like a good first mystery.

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  9. You have a lot of interesting sounding reading ahead, Harvee. We've had lovely weather as well. I'm glad we haven't rushed into summer.

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    1. Now it's raining, Suko. A cool spring rain in June!

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  10. I've been meaning to read Courting Greta, and Three Lives looks good too. Artistic kids are the best, hope you have fun with the Artist's Way book.

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    1. I want to pass it on to my son for his girls. Wish I had had this book years ago, but then a lot of its suggestions were ones that I did.

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  11. Mysteries are so much fun in winter! Enjoy!

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    1. I like them all year round too, Sam, but winter's a good time to curl up with them.

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  12. Looks to be a great bunch of books. hree Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa looks to be a lot of fun.

    PS = I really like your new blog format.

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    1. Thanks for liking the new format, Brian. I hope to read Tomomi Ishikawa for the Japanase Lit Challenge, if they allow books by non Japanese, but about Japanese. Will have to check that out.

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  13. I got Three Lives too and I think it and all your other new books look interesting. I hope they're great!

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    1. Are you joining the Japanese Literature Challenge 7? I hope this book can be included even though it's by a non Japanese author.

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  14. Your books look interesting. Enjoy!

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  15. A nice mix of interesting reads, enjoy!

    http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2013/06/mailbox-monday_10.html

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  16. Great group of titles. Will look for your reviews.

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    1. I hope to post a review of the Artist' Way for Children soon!

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  17. I have Three Lives as well and cannot wait to start reading it!

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    1. Let's compare notes later on, on facebook!

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  18. We had a very mild spring. It was lovely. Hope you are enjoying yours, too!

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  19. "Goodie Bag" was in my mailbox - a surprise from the publisher because I reviewed the book last year :) I'll spotlight it in a few weeks. I hope you enjoy all your new books!

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  20. Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa sounds good, happy reading. That's odd about the ending of There Was An Old Woman. Maybe it is an editing issue.

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  21. I really like Hallie so that's too bad about her latest.

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