Incoming Books ~ (a mash up blend of genres)!

 

Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes. ~ Hugh Prather

I am making some simplifications – or at least attempting them for sanity and clarities' sake. Our book Previews will now be called the very original and thought provoking - Incoming Books. *kidding*  I have been putting off this needed change for far too long.

Incoming Books post will have book covers, purchasing links, a short descriptive snippet, and publisher stats for those we have in line for review. I hope this is a better format for everyone, and easier for me.

Here they are, a mix up of genres for your general bookish enjoyment and perusal. I just love lists of books with covers - so much fun!

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The American Girl ~ by Monika Fagerholm (translated by Katarina E.Tucker)

In 1969, a young girl makes a trip from Coney Island to the swampy coastland on the rural outskirts of Helsinki, Finland. There her death will immediately become part of local mythology, furnishing boys and girls with fodder for endless romantic imaginings.

Paperback: 528 pages; Other Press; (February 16, 2010) US|UK|Canada.

The Glitter Scene ~ by Monika Fagerhom (translated by Katarina E.Tucker) 

Set in Finland, Johanna hears the local lore about the American girl and the tragedy that took place more than thirty years ago, and begins to question how her parents fit into the story. A mystery that explores the roles of truth and myth, reality and fiction, and the repercussions of family secrets.  (This story is a stand alone sequel to the above, both are translated from Swedish).

Paperback: 500 pages; Other Press (August 9, 2011) US|UK|Canada. – (pre-purchase)

Mr. Chartwell ~ by Rebecca Hunt (magical realism)

In this original, funny, and exuberant novel, Rebecca Hunt explores the key character - Mr. Chartwell. He is Winston Churchill’s ‘black dog’, with motives far darker and deeper than they at first seem.

Hardcover: 256 pages;  The Dial Press (February 8, 2011)  US|UK|Canada.  UK and Canada covers are different (and so much nicer).

 

The Book of Tomorrow ~ by Cecelia Ahern (magical realism)

Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, the gatehouse is a world away from Tamara's childhood.  In her new home Tamara is lonely and bored and longs to return to Dublin. When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara finds a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its core.

Hardcover: 320 pages: Harper (January 25, 2011) US|UK|Canada.

Wither ~ Lauren Destafano  (young adult sci fi)

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

Young Adult (ages 14 and older) Hardcover: 368 pages:  Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; (March 22, 2011) US|UK|Canada. –  pre-purchase

Moondogs ~ by Alexander Yates (fantasy)

An effervescent novel pivoting around the disappearance of an American businessman in the Philippines and the long-suffering son, jilted lover, slick police commissioner, misguided villain, and supernatural saviors, who all want a piece of him.

Hardcover: 352 pages: Doubleday (March 15, 2011) US|UK|Canada.  – pre-purchase 

 

The Promises She Keeps ~  by Erin Nealy (magical realism)

Promise, a talented young vocalist with a terminal illness, is counting on fame to keep her memory alive after she dies. Porta is an aging witch and art collector in search of the goddess who will grant her immortality. 

Paperback: 352 pages; Thomas Nelson; Original edition (February 8, 2011) US|UK|Canada.

The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine  ~ Alina Bronsky  (translator Tim Mohr)  (dark humor- general fiction)

This is the story of three generations of women - the highly opinionated Rosa, the slightly stupid Sulfia, and Aminat, a child supposedly conceived by Sulfia in a dream.  This is a quirky novel with an unreliable narrator told in the author’s distinctive and translated from German prose.

Paperback: 304 pages; Europa Editions (April 26, 2011)  US|UK|Canada.  - pre-purchase.  For praise from Publisher’s Weekly.

Radio Shangri-La ~ by Lisa Napoli  (non-fiction memoir)

A burned out journalist from Los Angeles, Napoli had a friend of a friend with connections to the Himalayan country of Bhutan who launched a new youth radio station. She accepts and tells her experience in part travelogue and memoir where the reader gets insight into this tiny country, its culture and why it is considered the happiest kingdom on earth.

Hardcover: 304 pages; Crown (February 8, 2011) US|UK|Canada.

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady ~  by Elizabeth Stuckey-French  (dark humor- general fiction)

Seventy-seven-year-old Marylou Ahearn is going to kill Dr. Wilson Spriggs come hell or high water. In 1953, he gave her a radioactive cocktail without her consent as part of a secret government study that had horrible consequences.

Hardcover: 352 pages; Doubleday (February 8, 2011) US|UK|Canada.

Hawkmoon: The Runestaff  ~ by Michael Moorcock (fantasy)

The latest re-release in the Moorcock Hawkmoon series. For more information on the other books recently re-released by Tor in this series link to our preview for the series.

Paperback: 208 pages; Tor Books; First Edition edition (December 7, 2010) US|UK|Canada.

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Our first group of Incoming Books for the year, and they are colorful – perfect for a late winter pick me up. Most have a touch of the speculative. 

Which would you read first? Thanks for reading!