Saturday, July 1, 2017

The “At Least It’s Not Drugs” Book Haul


Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve gotten recently. It could be worse, right? I could be addicted to drugs instead of book buying . . .







My Cousin Rachel – Daphne du Maurier


Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cozy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries—and there he dies suddenly. Jealous of his marriage, racked by suspicion at the hints in Ambrose's letters, and grief-stricken by his death, Philip prepares to meet his cousin's widow with hatred in his heart. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious Rachel like a moth to the flame. And yet . . . might she have had a hand in Ambrose's death?







The Serpent King – Jeff Zentner


Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father's extreme faith and very public fall from grace. 
The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. Dill's only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia, neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending—one that will rock his life to the core.







Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race – Margot Lee Shetterly


Before John Glenn orbited the Earth or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as "human computers" used pencils, slide rules, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets and astronauts into space. 
Among these problem solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South's segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America's aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly these overlooked math whizzes had shots at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam's call, moving to Hampton, Virginia, and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. 
Even as Virginia's Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley's all-black West Computing group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War and complete domination of the heavens.








The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan


In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?







My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry – Fredrik Backman


Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy, standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus-crazy. She is also Elsa's best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother's stories, in the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal. 
When Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa's greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother's letters lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and totally ordinary old crones, but also to the truth about fairytales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.







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








12 comments:

  1. I liked The Forest of Hands and Teeth at the time but I might find the start too slow if I reread it! The zombie bits were good! I might watch the film of Hidden Figures bit I don't plan to read the book.

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  2. Oh I read the Forest of Hands and Teeth a few years ago...okay more than a few if I get technical lol. I enjoyed it as a different kind of take on things, something i hadn't seen before. I also have read the book but did enjoy the Hidden Figures movie! Happy reading! My Shelf

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  3. I haven't read any of them.

    My Cousin Rachel seems fun. Hidden Figures is a movie, so I might see that instead of reading the book.

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  4. Very nice haul, AJ! I had no idea Daphne du Maurier had written more books than Rebecca o.O I'll look for your review.
    And I want to watch Hidden Figures fully, I've only seen part of it so far.
    Have a wonderful weekend and happy reading.
    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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  5. Great set of books you got there! The Serpent King looks really interesting!


    Here’s my Stacking the Shelves!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog

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  6. I need to read Daphne Du Maurier, I haven't read her yet. I read The Forest of Hands and Teeth and enjoyed it. I think that's a series.
    Happy reading!

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  7. Sometimes I think books ARE drugs lol. Especially when I come home from Barnes & Noble and have spent too much! The Forest of Hands and Teeth sounds a little freaky and awesome too. I want to read that one.

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  8. I found myself uttering a similar phrase (about drugs), when my family started in about my books just this week. 😆 TSK is one of my faves and Backman is always good. I had listened to Hidden Figures on audio, and I remember the beginning bringing tears to my eyes.

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  9. I only have ONE of these NOT on my TBR or Read list - The forest of hands and teeth. Sounds so interesting! Great selection you have here. Hope you get to reading all of them soon!

    Here's my link: http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2017/07/library-card-july-2017.html

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  10. I haven't read any of your new books on your list. I do have a copy of The Serpent King and do want to get to it soon. I hope you enjoy all of these!

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  11. Wasn't a huge fan of the Forest of Hands & Teeth. Love The Serpent King though. I hope to read the YA edition of Hidden Figures this summer as part of my push to read more of what's on offer in my classroom library.

    BTW, I started Most Dangerous today and it's really good! Thanks for the push to finally pick it up!

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  12. Hidden Figures and The Serpent King are both books on my TBR. Also, I absolutely LOVED My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry, so I hope you can enjoy it just as much when you read it :D

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