IMM: New Crayons Galore! 02/28/2010

(In My Mailbox Meme from The Story Siren and New Crayons Meme from Color Online)

This week every single book I got were all POC-related, either by content or author or both. 8D And er, you’d think after blowing my money last week I would have learned to hold back a bit. But no! Too many shiny books out there to be bought! Namely the newly released Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and the fact that Michelle Sagara West was available for signings this week propelled me to buy the remaining two books of the Sun Sword series. I’m trying hard not to think about my dwindling funds in my bank account.



Books will be talked about from top to bottom, left to right, under the cut. 8D

In My Mailbox - 02/21/2010

(meme from The Story Siren)

lawl I had to make 2 photos for this book haul. *dies ever so slowly* Lazy IMM w/o goodreads links because I'm lazy.

THE BOUGHT AND THE MAILED:

Top to bottom, left to right (all bought unless I say otherwise):
Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner
The Fall of Kings by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman
The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliot, signed (Thanks for sending it, Zetta! ♥)
All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka
Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl
8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, signed (Thanks again Zetta!)
The Uncrowned King by Michelle West
The Shining Court by Michelle West
Sea of Sorrows by Michelle West

w00t, I finally got my hands on the rest of Ellen Kushner's works! For 13 bucks, no less. *_* And yay for it going to count for my LGBT challenge. *_* As you can see, Zetta was amazing and sent over a marvelous package of the brand new awesome version of AWAM with the pretty cover, and 8th Grade Superzero which I finished and will have a review up this week. *crosses fingers* Anddddddd got my hands on most of the 1st half of the West's Sun Sword series. I'm that much closer to getting the whole complete set. *_*

THE BORROWED AND THE SWAG

Top to Bottom, left to Right:
The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate
Freak Show by James St. James
Deadtown by Nancy Holzner - borrowed from ninefly
The Dark Divine Swag (bookmark + sticker) - thanks ninefly!
A Wish After Midnight Swag (5 bookplates!) - thanks Zetta!

Okay, so how much do I love the swag? I already read and loved and reviewed the Dark Divine, and while I may not have my own copy of TDD (which will be rectified soonnnnnn, very soon) but I haz bookmark and sticker to comfort me while I wait for paperback!! (trying to ease up on the hardcovers, for I am brooooke) Which is all mine mine mineeeeeeee, mwuahaha. And the AWAM bookplates!! *HUGS THEM* I was wondering if anyone'd be interested in winning the AWAM swag in a giveaway. I have four left over that I can totally give away, but one is for myself. 8D And, also, I might as well mentioned that I gobbled up and finished Freak Show already and OMG MY SAPPY SAPPY HEART, HOW FABULOUS IS THIS NOVEL?! I HAVE NO WORDS. REVIEW IS COMING, I SOLEMNLY SWEAR. (I'm so behind on reviews. It's disgusting)

+

Pimping my first book giveaway. Join it! Please? =D

*wanders off to sleep*

In My Mailbox - 02/14/2010

brief IMM post because I just got back from today's Chinese New Year celebrations. HAPPY NEW YEARS TO MY FELLOW ASIANS WHO ARE CELEBRATING! Also Happy Valentine's for those who celebrate that holiday, etc.

(meme by The Story Siren)



The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (Thanks ninefly)
Ravenous by Sharon Ashwood (signed) + bookmark & letter (Thanks Tynga)
Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan (Borrowed from ninely)
A Million Shades of Grey by Cynthia Kadohata (Sent to me by Book Chick City THANKS SO MUCH.) *
The Serpent's Children by Laurence Yep
Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep
Mountain Light by Laurence Yep

Mwuahaha, I'm closer to collecting the whole Golden Mountain Chronicles series!! Also, haz The Summer I Turned Pretty. Also known as, ohmigawd it's Jenny freakin' Han. Same applies for Cynthia Kadohata, except, you know, amplified 10 fold.

* Finished it today. Soooooooooo good. And the saddest Kadohata MG story by far. (For those who know Kadohata, yeah, that is REALLY saying something)

In My Mailbox - 02/07/2010

(meme from The Story Siren)

I actually didn't buy any books this week, but two weeks ago I got books that I didn't get to post about because I was busy trying to finish off my January challenges, posting reviews and what not. Which I of course left all till the last minute and as January ended on a weekend I had to mass-write and post my entries and had no room to talk about the books I got. So I figure I'll remedy this error of mine this week instead! =D

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng

"The Gift of Rain spans decades as it takes readers from the final days of the Chinese emperors to the dying era of the British Empire, and through the mystical temples, bustling cities,and forbidding rain forests of Malaya." In 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton - the half-Chinese, half-English youngest child of the head of one of Penang's great trading families - feels alienated from both the Chinese and British communities. He discovers a sense of belonging in his unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat who rents a nearby island from his father. Philip proudly shows his new friend around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo teaches him about Japanese language and culture and trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. As World War II rages in Europe, the Japanese savagely invade Malaya, and Philip realizes that his mentor and sensei - to whom he owes absolute loyalty - is a Japanese spy. Young Philip has been an unwitting traitor, and he is forced into collaborating with the Japanese to safeguard his family. He becomes the ultimate outsider, trusted by none and hated by many. Tormented by his part in the events, Philip risks everything by working in secret to save as many people as he can from the brutality he has helped bring upon them.

I bought this solely on the recommendation of the most excellent Michelle. Besides, any book that takes place in Malaysia = MUST READ. ♥ I checked out the first few chapters and the writing was exceptionally lovely. Thanks for the rec, Michelle! =D

A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi

A rich and beautiful novel set during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the early 1980s, and based on the author's personal experiences of the conflict. Ten-year-old Ruba lives in a village outside Beirut. From her family home, she can see the buildings shimmering on the horizon and the sea stretched out beside them. She can also hear the rumble of the shelling -- this is Lebanon in the 1980s and civil war is tearing the country apart. Ruba however has her own worries. Her father hardly ever speaks and spends most of his days sitting in his armchair, avoiding work and family. Her mother looks so sad that Ruba thinks her heart might have withered in the heat like a fig. Her elder brother, Naji, has started to spend his time with older boys -- and some of them have guns. When Ruba decides she has to save her father, and when she uncovers his secret, she begins a journey which takes her from childhood to the beginnings of adulthood. As Israeli troops invade and danger comes ever closer, she realises that she may not be able to keep her family safe. This is a first novel with tremendous heart, which captures both a country and a childhood in turmoil.

I bought this on a whim and was hoping I could use it for the the January's theme of the Social Justice Challenge, which was Religious Freedom (... yes I was cutting the deadline reallyyyyyy close, but what matters was that I finished on time! =D). And it was AMAZING. Totally worth my money and I wrote up a long review for this novel, if anyone's interested. Or, of course, just go and buy it now. Trust me, it's worth it.

In My Mailbox - 01/17/2010

(Meme from The Story Siren)

LIBRARY:

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

He is a brilliant math Professor with a peculiar problem--ever since a traumatic head injury, he has lived with only eighty minutes of short-term memory. She is an astute young Housekeeper, with a ten-year-old son, who is hired to care for him. And every morning, as the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to each other anew, a strange and beautiful relationship blossoms between them. Though he cannot hold memories for long (his brain is like a tape that begins to erase itself every eighty minutes), the Professor’s mind is still alive with elegant equations from the past. And the numbers, in all of their articulate order, reveal a sheltering and poetic world to both the Housekeeper and her young son. The Professor is capable of discovering connections between the simplest of quantities--like the Housekeeper’s shoe size--and the universe at large, drawing their lives ever closer and more profoundly together, even as his memory slips away. The Housekeeper and the Professor is an enchanting story about what it means to live in the present, and about the curious equations that can create a family.

- I'm about halfway through, SO FRICKIN GOOD, READ THIS EVERYONE, NINEFLY ESPECIALLY, YOU HEAR ME?!?!?! Unless the ending somehow impossibly disappoints, I'm gonna run to the bookstore to find a copy of my own. Highly recommended, y'all. ♥

Children of the Waters by Carleen Brice

Trish Taylor’s white ancestry never got in the way of her love for her black ex-husband, or their mixed race son, Will. But when Trish’s marriage ends, she returns to her family’s Denver, Colorado home to find a sense of identity and connect to her past.
What she finds there shocks her to the very core: her mother and newborn sister were not killed in a car crash as she was told. In fact, her baby sister, Billie Cousins, is now a grown woman; her grandparents had put her up for adoption, unwilling to raise the child of a black man.
Billie, who had no idea she was adopted, wants nothing to do with Trish until a tragedy in Billie’s own family forces her to lean on her surprisingly supportive and sympathetic sister. Together they unravel age-old layers of secrets and resentments and navigate a path toward love, healing, and true reconciliation.

- Diverse characters! Sister bonding! Family stuff! What more can one want out of a novel, really?

Written On Your Skin by Meredith Duran

THE SOCIETY BEAUTY WHO SAVED HIS LIFE...
Beauty, charm, wealthy admirers: Mina Masters enjoys every luxury but freedom. To save herself from an unwanted marriage, she turns her wiles on a darkly handsome stranger. But Mina's wouldbe hero is playing his own deceptive game. A British spy, Phin Granville has no interest in emotional entanglements...until the night Mina saves his life by gambling her own.

THE JADED SPY WHO VOWED TO FORGET HER...
Four years later, Phin inherits a title that frees him from the bloody game of espionage. But memories of the woman who saved him won't let Phin go. When he learns that Mina needs his aid, honor forces him back into the world of his nightmares.
IN LIVES BUILT ON LIES, LOVE IS THE DARKEST SECRET OF ALL...

Deception has ruled Mina's life just as it has Phin's. But as the beauty and the spy match wits in a dangerous dance, their practiced masks begin to slip, revealing a perilous attraction. And the greatest threat they face may not be traitors or murderous conspiracies, but their own dark desires....

- *wrings hands* Please don't let there be any Orientalism, please don't let there be any Orientalism...

Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan

Jameela and her family live in a poor, war-torn village in Afghanistan. Even with her cleft lip and lack of educational opportunities, Jameela feels relatively secure, sustained by her Muslim faith and the love of her mother, Mor. But when Mor dies, Jameela’s father impulsively decides to start a new life in Kabul. Jameela is appalled as he succumbs to alcohol and drugs, then suddenly remarries, a situation that soon has her a virtual slave to a demanding stepmother. After she’s discovered trying to learn to read, Jameela is abandoned in a busy market, eventually landing in an orphanage run by the same army that killed so many members of her family. Throughout it all, the memory of her mother sustains her, giving Jameela the strength to face her father and stepmother when fate brings them together again. Inspired by a true story, and set in a world far removed from that of Western readers, this powerful novel reveals that the desire for identity and self-understanding is universal.

-Whut a Canadian YA author wrote a book with non-white characters?! Pinch me, please.

EBOOK:

Birthday Girl by Diane J. Wright

TOTAL BOOKS = 5

In My Mailbox - 01/10/2010

(Meme from The Story Siren)

So I'm dropping the total book count from my title, because I've been informed that it's too confusing to see random letters there next to the date and the last thing I wanna do is confuse people who see my posts, so... Voila!

Pictures of the bought only. I'd take a pic of my library books but my camera is not cooperating so... ETA later? lolETA: Top Photo is books bought, bottom photo is books borrowed. Books will be discussed from Top to Bottom, Left to Right (when applicable)

The Tally:
Bought: ETA 9
Borrowed: 7
Received: 0
TOTAL = ETA 16!!

NOTE: All summaries (with the exception of the Floating World, which is from Amazon.Com) are from GoodReads.Com

In My Mailbox - (5) 01/03/2010

(Meme from The Story Siren)

So, I bought two books this week!

Ash by Malinda Lo
In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

- Finally bought it! Hope it ends up being good~

Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab full-time and everyone has a reaction. Her parents, her teachers, her friends, people on the street. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it does make her a little different from everyone else.

Can she handle the taunts of "towel head," the prejudice of her classmates, and still attract the cutest boy in school? Brilliantly funny and poignant, Randa Abdel-Fattah's debut novel will strike a chord in all teenage readers, no matter what their beliefs.

- I've read this novel this summer and came across this novel in the bargain section for... Wait for it... 2 BUCKS!!! 2 FRICKIN BUCKS!! FOR THE HARDCOVER!! AND IT WAS THE LAST COPY!! I grabbed it and held it to my chest with a frenzied, crazed look in my eyes, directed at all those suspicious, malicious people who may try to take this book away from me. (I joke, of course! Or am I? =D) Steal of the week, baby. ♥

Swapped w/ ninefly
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Cold Spot by Tom Piccirilli

ETA: Holy shit and I almost forgot to mention - I got a belated xmas gift from my friend: The UK copy of Demon's Lexicon!!! And she gave me a Barcelona bookmark as well. My friends are the best. =D

TOTAL: 5

In My Mailbox - (10) and the presents list 12/27/2009

(Meme from The Story Siren)


Will discuss books from Top to Bottom, Left to Right.

Malice by Chris Wooding (bought) - Because I missed Wooding's stuff, and it was selling at $8.99. I'm curious about how the half-comic aspect of this novel works out. =D

Swoon by Nina Malkin (bought) - Bought this with the giftcard I got. lol a little present to myself. The forbidden aspect of this romance looks like just my thing. =D

Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger (bought) - Because I love Meminger's blog, and I liked what I read of this novel before I was obliged to return this book back to the library or suffer fines to my account. I am definitely gonna finish this novel before Meminger comes to the T.O. signing. *determined face*

Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe (bought) - Because after having loved it and wrote up my review, how could I not own my own copy? =D

In My Humble Opinion Journal (present) - =DDDDDDDDDDDDD The Most Awesome Journal Ever. It's So Awesome, I Have To Talk About It With Caps On All My Words.

The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw (bought) - Actually I heard some not-so-positive reviews for this novel, but any novel that has a Malaysia setting warrants a must-buy from me. Also, it was only $5.99~ =D

Usurper of the Sun by Housuke Nojiro (bought) - I finally bought a book from Viz's Haikasoru publishing line! I'm really excited about Haikasoru and am happy to support the works they put out. I read the first half of this novel and I'm really enjoying it so far. Also, the translation was good, a fluid read. =D

Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata (bought) - I figured I owned all of Kadohata's other YA novels, I might as well buy this to finish off my Kadohata YA collection. =D

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (bought) - Okay, having obsessed with this novel and raved about it in my review, I had to have it in my bookshelf.

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton (present) - Never heard of this novel but the synopsis looks appealing. Thanks ninefly~

And here are the books I bought for people as presents:

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Soon I Will be Invincible by Austin Grossman
Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson
Happy Hour at Casa Dracula by Marta Acosta
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
Tenderness by Robert Cormier
Anne of Green Gables, the 3 movies boxset (okay that's not a book, but it's ~*related*~)

In My Mailbox - #14 12/20/2009

(Meme from The Story Siren)

Sooooo many books this week eeeeeeeeeeee~~!! =D

1 giveaway
4 catologue
3 bought
6 borrowed
Total = 14!! =D

GIVEAWAY:




The Hour Glass by Hilary Spiers

Won this from Goodreads. It's a short story anthology. Will be using the holidays to go through the short stories, along with my little towering pile of anthology collections I neglected this year... I'll do my best to get a full review up, but no promises.




CATALOGUE:



Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Eeeeeeee so excited for this book! There's WWII and women and plane pilots and POC and it just sounds like a really, really promising YA historical novel, if the first chapter is anything to go by. >D






Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

A;LSKDFJASDLKFJ I GOT THIS HARDBACK FOR $9.99 CDN!!! ASL;DKJFDASL;JF Did I ever mention how much I love Kadohata? I love, love, love Kadohata. I haven't read Kira-Kira yet (blasphemous, I know), but if her other books are anything to go by, I'm confident that I'm going to love this one.






A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Rapunzel retelling! =D I love retellings, and I'm interested in how Bunce relocates the setting into 1700s England.









Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle

It just looks like a cute MG novel. And bonus: a diverse cast! =D







BOUGHT:

BLUE BLOODS BOXSET -
Blue Bloods, Masquerade, Revelations by Melissa de la Cruz

You know how everyone has their guilty vampire reads? Well, the Blue Bloods series is mine. Yes yes it's generic and way too much brand-name dropping and the writing is horrid and the cast sucks but THE CRAZY MYTHOLOGY OF EPIC, YOU GUYS. REINCARNATIONS! PSEUDO-INCESTUOUS TWINS. It's like Gossip Girl meets Twilight meets Angel Sanctuary and it makes my heart die in happiness.

BORROWED:



The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

I already reviewed this. SO GOOD. I'M BUYING MY OWN COPY THIS WEEK OR WHENEVER IS THE CLOSEST CHANCE I GET TO HIT A BOOKSTORE.








Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

Cute, light-hearted read. Lots of fun, but not exactly a book I'm going to remember in the future or thinking about getting my own copy though. Will do a write up for it soon.








The Kiss of Death by Marcus Sedgwick

It's about time I started a Sedgwick novel, and I thought I'd start of with this copy. From the first few pages it looks really promising.








The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriot

Retelling of the Wild Swans! Which is like, only one of my favourite fairytales of alllllll tiiiiiime~~ I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that it'll end up being good.







Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Borrowed on a whim. it's one of those titles wherein I see the cover on sites so many times that I finally got curious enough to check it out.








Riot by Walter Dean Myers

Because I felt the need to check out more of Myers stuff, and the whole draft riots aspect of this novel sounded interesting.

In My Mailbox - #2 + #3

(Meme from The Story Siren)

So I was like, lalala speed marathoning all my tv shows now that my papers are done and spamming twitter with ninefly over our diff American/Taiwanese/Korean(just me) shows [For the curious: ninefly - Firefly (US) and Black & White (TW), me - Vampire Diaries (US), Autumn's Concerto (TW), You're Beautiful (KR)] and then I looked at the time and was like, homg I need to post something on my book blog to prove I'm alive or something.

'sides I missed out last week and I got some really cool books (IMO anyhow) so I really wanna talk about them! =D

LAST WEEK:

The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa (bought)

The sequel to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya!! Which was only like, ONE OF THE MOST EPIC JAPANESE LIGHT NOVELS EVAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR~~~!!! *___* I haven't gotten around to reading this yet due to school (cursesssss) and being waylaid by tv shows, but I willllll find time when the holidays come around and I finish the last of my exams. *determined*


Bound By Your Touch by Meredith Duran (borrowed)

Honestly, nothing could have induced me to check this out of the library if it weren't for the fact that Sarah Rees Brennan enticed me with her Book Summaries of Awesome to ignore the hideous, hideous cover and check out some Meredith Duran stuff. I finished it and it's gonna appear on my Triple Snapshot feature soon. =D

Last Week's Book Count: 2

THIS WEEK:

The Summoning +
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong (swapped)

I swapped Warchild in order to borrow these two books. While I can't say it was worth the trade, the series was an interesting read and I enjoyed it despite its issues. There shall be meta post on this series soon.

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier (bought)

Got it half price!! =D As this is a book from the PUSH line, I'm pretty sure I read this book already back in middle school when I was in a major PUSH phase. But I don't really remember much from it except that I thought it was funny and I liked the girl's sister (tres cool. xD). This is, if I'm remembering the right book, lol. If this book does happen to be the one I remember from childhood, I'll post it under the Throwback Thursday feature. =D

This Week's Book Count: 3*

*This excludes all book gifts I bought this week.

In My Mailbox (3) 11/22/2009

(Meme from The Story Siren)

Random Note: ninefly bugged me into getting GoodReads. I'm wingstodust there, so if anyone wants to add me, well, there I am. =D

lol something I noticed last week. At first I thought the # besides the "In My Mailbox" title meant the amount of books you got that week as oppose to, you know, the number of times you did IMM. It feels strange to me that it's actually the latter because, honestly, who cares how many times you've done IMM? (Can you feel my n00b-ness showing through? lulz) I guess the title tags would be confusing if I get the same number of books in a week, so instead I'll be adding the date on the tile as well as the amount of books I got. =D

Nothing bought this week, but I did borrow three books from the library.



Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe

I finished it and loved it and I swear the review is coming up soon. It reminds me of Natsume Yuujinchou, except replace Japanese mythology with contemporary ghosts, for those who know their animanga. =D








I Wanna Be Your Shoebox by Cristina Garcia

I first heard of this from Doret and it sounded adorable~ So obviously I had to get it. =D I am a few chapters in and I really like it so far. =D








Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher

Historical fiction with girls and dancing. How can this possibly go wrong? *optimist*





So, what did everyone else get this week? =D

In My Mailbox (13)

(Idea from The Story Siren)

So ninefly convinced me to do In My Mailbox, with a conversation that went something like this (albeit embellished, because I have a tendency to do so):
ME: But if I do In My Mailbox people are gonna discover my horrendous book shopping sprees and sometimes I don't have much to say about the books I read and what if people expect reviews -
NINEFLY: STOP WHINING AND JUST DO IT. YOU HAVE TOO LITTLE POSTS ON YOUR BLOG ANYWAYS.
ME: ... Fiiine. But I don't have to like it

Anyhow, the novels I bought this week (arranged with ninefly's help, because clearly I can't do anything on my own) er, I don't know how that random sticker got there? *is very messy person*:



Received: 0
Borrowed: 0
Bought: 13

Will be discussing novels in the order of the photo, from top to bottom, left to right. (Top Row: Hardcovers, Middle Row: Mass Market Paperbacks, Bottom Row: Trade Paperbacks)