No books in the mail today...but I did go to a book sale. How could I resist! I walked away with a pile of books for me and my kids for $10. My family and I also went shopping while away last weekend and we just had to stop by Indigo bookstore, where my daughter picked up the first three in the Dear Dumb Diary series and my son was delighted to get the 6th and 7th Captain Underpants. What did I get? Check it out below.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Mari Reads is hosting for the month of May. You can view the touring blog list at Mailbox Monday blog for the upcoming months.

Bone China by Roma Tearne (bought at Chapters)

The Edge of Winter by Luanne Rice (bought at Chapters)

The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elizabeth Robinson (book sale)

The Maze Runner by James Dashner (book sale)

The Art Thief by Noah Charney (book sale)

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart (book sale)

So what did you get in your mailbox last week?

Didn't get any books in the mailbox last week but I was shopping at Costco and, of course, I made my way to the book section. I couldn't resist picking up the following books.This meme is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. You should check out her blog and see what others have received and to play along.The Books Bought meme is hosted by Cindy at Cindy's Love of Books, where you list your books or bookish items bought either in a week or month or whenever.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden takes root in your imagination and grows into something enchanting--from a little girl with no memories left alone on a ship to Australia, to a fog-soaked London river bend where orphans comfort themselves with stories of Jack the Ripper, to a Cornish sea heaving against wind-whipped cliffs, crowned by an airless manor house where an overgrown hedge maze ends in the walled garden of a cottage left to rot. This hidden bit of earth revives barren hearts, while the mysterious Authoress's fairy tales (every bit as magical and sinister as Grimm's) whisper truths and ignite the imaginary lives of children. As Morton draws you through a thicket of secrets that spans generations, her story could cross into fairy tale territory if her characters weren't clothed in such complex flesh, their judgment blurred by the heady stench of emotions (envy, lust, pride, love) that furtively flourished in the glasshouse of Edwardian society. While most ache for a spotless mind's eternal sunshine, the Authoress meets the past as "a cruel mistress with whom we must all learn to dance," and her stories gift children with this vital muscle memory.

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to Asha. But in a culture that favours sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter's life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives, even after the arrival of their cherished son. Halfway around the globe, Somer, an American doctor, decides to adopt a child after making the wrenching discovery that she will never have one of her own. When she and her husband Krishnan see a photo of baby Asha from a Mumbai orphanage, they are overwhelmed with emotion for her. Somer knows life will change with the adoption, but is convinced that the love they already feel will overcome all obstacles. Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer, and Asha, "Secret Daughter" poignantly explores issues of culture and belonging. Moving between two worlds and two families, one struggling to survive in the fetid slums of Mumbai, the other grappling to forge a cohesive family despite their diverging cultural identities, this powerful debut novel marks the arrival of a fresh talent poised for great success.

The Tsarina's Daughter by Carolly Erickson (Bought this one at Coles)


It is 1989 and Daria Gradov is an elderly grandmother living in the rural West. What neighbors and even her children don’t know, however, is that she is not who she claims to be—the widow of a Russian immigrant of modest means. In actuality she began her life as the Grand Duchess Tatiana, known as Tania to her parents, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra.

And so begins the latest entrancing historical entertainment by Carolly Erickson. At its center is young Tania, who lives a life of incomparable luxury in pre-Revolutionary Russia, from the magnificence of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to the family’s private enclave outside the capital. Tania is one of four daughters, and the birth of her younger brother Alexei is both a blessing and a curse. When he is diagnosed with hemophilia and the key to his survival lies in the mysterious power of the illiterate monk Rasputin, it is merely an omen of much worse things to come. Soon war breaks out and revolution sweeps the family from power and into claustrophobic imprisonment in Siberia. Into Tania’s world comes a young soldier whose life she helps to save and who becomes her partner in daring plans to rescue the imperial family from certain death.

So what did you get in your mailbox last week?

Mailbox Monday meme is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. You should check out her blog and see what others have received and to play along. The Books Bought meme is hosted by Cindy at Cindy's Love of Books, where you list your books or bookish items bought either in a week or month or whenever. I am placing these memes together because I have also bought books online that I received in my mailbox. Yay! Double the fun!

I bought the following two books online:
First Draft in 30 Days by Karen S. Wiesner

Many aspiring and experienced novelists throw out hundreds of pages (and waste valuable time) before they have a workable first draft of a novel. With First Draft in 30 Days, those days are over. In this guide, readers will find: A systematic method for completing a detailed first draft in just 30 days; Sure-fire methods to reduce time-intensive rewrites and avoid writing detours; Comprehensive, detailed and interactive worksheets to make the process seem less like work and more like a game; Flexible and customizable, this revolutionary system can be modified to fit any writer's approach and style.

Journey to Yesterday by June Lund Shiplett

This is a book I read about 25 years ago when I was...oh...about 5 years old...and it stayed with me because it was the first romance time-travel novel I read. When I mentioned it to my book club members, one of them said, "Hey, I read that book too...like 30 years ago!" Well, that started a frenzied search on the Internet to try to find this book whose title and author were forgotten. And then one of the members found it! And I ordered it from Amazon. It's about a young woman who dives into a pool and resurfaces in a lake in the middle of the night in Ohio in the year 1865. Sounds good already, huh?

I also bought at a book sale:

Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel

Synopsis from Amazon: While Galileo tangled with the Church, Maria Celeste--whose adopted name was a tribute to her father's fascination with the heavens--provided moral and emotional support with her frequent letters, approving of his work because she knew the depth of his faith. As Sobel notes, "It is difficult today ... to see the Earth at the center of the Universe. Yet that is where Galileo found it." With her fluid prose and graceful turn of phrase, Sobel breathes life into Galileo, his daughter, and the earth-centered world in which they lived.


The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

Synopisis from Amazon: After stealing the hearts of middle-grade girls with her delightful Newbery Honor-winning Cinderella retelling, Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine here creates a fairy tale of her own and gives it a characteristic grrrl-power twist. Twelve-year-old Addie admires her older sister Meryl, who aspires to rid the kingdom of Bamarre of gryphons, specters, and ogres. Addie, on the other hand, is fearful even of spiders and depends on Meryl for courage and protection. Waving her sword Bloodbiter, the older girl declaims in the garden from the heroic epic of Drualt to a thrilled audience of Addie, their governess, and the young sorcerer Rhys. But when Meryl falls ill with the dreaded Gray Death, Addie must gather her courage and set off alone on a quest to find the cure and save her beloved sister. Addie takes the seven-league boots and magic spyglass left to her by her mother and the enchanted tablecloth and cloak given to her by Rhys--along with a shy declaration of his love. She prevails in encounters with tricky specters (spiders too) and outwits a wickedly personable dragon in adventures touched with romance and a bittersweet ending. Young fans of princess stories will gobble this one up.

These are books that I won:

A Climate For Change by Katherine Hayhoe and Andrew Farley (Won from Reading At The Beach and Hatchette Bk Group)

Permission Slips by Sherri Shepherd (Won from That's a Novel Idea and Hatchette Bk Group)

Friends Like These by Danny Wallace (Won from Metroreader and hatchette Bk Group)

It was a fun week because none of these books are for review, only for pleasure!

So what did you get in your mailbox?

This is a meme hosted by Cindy at Cindy's Love of Books, where you list your books or bookish items bought either in a week or month or whenever.

This is a meme hosted by Cindy at Cindy's Love of Books, where you list your books or bookish items bought either in a week or month or whenever. The only catch to this meme is that they have to be items that you physically bought either at an indie store, big chain store, yard sale, library sale etc.

Last week I went to donate some clothing at my local charity, and I always stop to see if they have any interesting books on sale. I was thrilled to get the four following books for a total of $1.00.

Looking For Peyton Place by Barbara Delinsky (I love books based on actual events.)
The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky
Ya-Yas in Bloom by Rebecca Wells (heard so much about this book, but never got a chance to read it)
Jane and The Stillroom Maid by Stephanie Barron (This is a Jane Austen Mystery. I heard about this series on other blogs.)

Although used, the books are in such good condition, they look almost new.