Saturday, May 13, 2017

The Massive Spring Book Haul (Part 2)


Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve gotten recently. I’ve acquired an insane number of books in the past few months. I’m going to show them to you in batches so that neither of us gets overwhelmed.





Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo


Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. 
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. 
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.





Weird Things Customers Say In Bookstores – Jen Campbell


Filled with fun and quirky illustrations by the award-winning Brothers McLeod and featuring contributions from booksellers across the United States and Canada, as well as the author's native UK, Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores is a celebration of bookstores, large and small, and of the brilliant booksellers who toil in those literary fields, as well as the myriad of colorful characters that walk through the doors every day. This irresistible collection is proof positive that booksellers everywhere are heroes.





Within These Walls – Ania Ahlborn


With his marriage on the rocks and his life in shambles, washed up crime writer Lucas Graham is desperate for a comeback. So when he’s promised exclusive access to notorious cult leader and death row inmate Jeffrey Halcomb, the opportunity is too good to pass up. Lucas leaves New York for the scene of the crime—a split-level farmhouse on the gray-sanded beach of Washington State—a house whose foundation is steeped in the blood of Halcomb’s diviners; runaways who, thirty years prior, were drawn to his message of family, unity, and unconditional love. Lucas wants to tell the real story of Halcomb’s faithful departed, but when Halcomb goes back on his promise of granting Lucas exclusive information on the case, he’s left to put the story together on his own. Except he is not alone. For Jeffrey Halcomb promised his devout eternal life . . . and within these walls, they’re far from dead.





The Bombs That Brought Us Together – Brian Conaghan


Fourteen-year-old Charlie Law has lived in Little Town, on the border with Old Country, all his life. He knows the rules: no going out after dark; no drinking; no litter; no fighting. You don't want to get on the wrong side of the people who run Little Town. When he meets Pavel Duda, a refugee from Old Country, the rules start to get broken. Then the bombs come, and the soldiers from Old Country. Little Town changes forever. 
Sometimes, to keep the people you love safe, you have to do bad things. As Little Town's rules crumble, Charlie is sucked into a dangerous game. There's a gun, and a bad man, and his closest friend, and his dearest enemy. 
Charlie Law wants to keep everyone happy, even if it kills him. And maybe it will . . . But he's got to kill someone else first.





A Manual For Cleaning Women: Selected Stories – Lucia Berlin


With the grit of Raymond Carver, the humor of Grace Paley, and a blend of wit and melancholy all her own, Berlin crafts miracles from the everyday, uncovering moments of grace in the Laundromats and halfway houses of the American Southwest, in the homes of the Bay Area upper class, among switchboard operators and struggling mothers, hitchhikers and bad Christians.




Have you read any of these? What did you think?









10 comments:

  1. I haven't read any of them.
    Shadow and Bone seems like the kind of book you said you wanted to get away from in your Tuesday post.
    The Jen Campbell one seems fun.

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  2. A Manual for Cleaning Women has been on my TBR for a while now. Can't wait to see your thoughts! Happy reading!

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  3. I've read and loved Shadow and Bone!

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  4. I kinda want to read those Weird Things Customers Say books, they look fun. :)

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  5. I saw Weird Things on a blog somewhere and I'm definitely intrigued. It looks like too much fun!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  6. that's an interesting list of books. the one i'd be most inclined to read would be the bookstore one, but then, i worked in bookstores for a combine eight years... i've heard all the thing. :]

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  7. The author of "Weird Things Customers Say" has an excellent booktube channel, which as I write that, I think you are the person who referred me to it? So, yeah, that was helpful of me. I was not a Bardugo fan after reading Shadow & Bone, and didn't continue the series, but boy do I love her other duology. Within These Walls is a no thanks for me, but the last two sound really interesting. I used to read a lot of Raymond Carver and Grace Paley back in the day, so the comparison intrigues me.

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  8. I have Within These Walls and Shadow and Bone on my TBR list. I am really curious about Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores as well. Enjoy!

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  9. I recently read the entire Shadow and Bone series and even though I felt mixed about the second one, I did love the series in general! Happy reading :)

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  10. 'Weird Things Customers Say in Book Stores' made me lol so much XD

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