The Victor's Mailbox

To the victor go the spoils, so they say.  Thus, my mailbox had a very pleasant week, more than making up for in quality what it may have lacked in quantity.

BOUGHT:

First off, let's talk about the book I bought for myself that finally arrived this week, though it was ordered before Christmas.  These are the joys of buying a used book from across the pond; it just takes a long time to get a book sent from the UK to the US when you don't pony up for expedited shipping.

Either way, the book finally arrived in all its glory this week, completing a set I've been determined to own since 2005.  I had to wait several years until even used copies of it were within my fiscal reach, especially considering the astronomical exchange rate between the US dollar and the Pound Sterling.  Yes, readers, I am finally the proud owner of--well, "a picture is worth" etc.

For any Americans who may be reading this and didn't realize until just now how much better the covers of the British originals are than the American versions, I am truly sorry to have forcibly altered your worldview in such an abrupt fashion.  Don't get me wrong; I LOVE the artwork done by Mary GrandPre in our American exemplars, and would consider any edition perfect that was the UK original with the Bloomsbury cover and GrandPre's illustrations inside, but since that's not available, I insist on owning copies of the originals.  "NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN CHANGED," and all that sort of thing.  Sorry, got a little worked up.  Moving on.

WON:

I was incredibly pleased to receive this week a copy of The Victoria Vanishes, courtesy of a delightful giveaway hosted by Peggy from Peggy Ann's Post.  I honestly knew nothing about this book when I signed up for the giveaway, except that I'd been seeing it all over the place and the cover looked almost unbearably intriguing.  Naturally, it turns out that it's #6 in a series I don't own the rest of--yet!  Oh, drat, a whole new series I'll have to buy.  Unfortunate me.  Oh, the suffering.  HURRAY!  Excuse me.  Sorry.  Got a little worked up again.

Anyway, that was my exciting week, along with obsessively tuning in to every new episode of Downton Abbey and discovering Sherlock and holy sh*t! Where has that show been all my life?!  Okay, I've really got to get a handle on this bout of worked-up-outburst I'm suffering from, but it's true--I can't BELIEVE I haven't been watching Sherlock since the very beginning!  If you haven't seen it yet, put down your book for an hour (and yes, I realize I'm speaking sacrilege by saying that), flip open Netflix streaming and watch the pilot.  You won't be sorry (unless your viewing tastes are TOTALLY different from mine, in which case, I'm sorry in advance).  I'll stop rambling now.  Happy reading!

Happy Mailbox Monday!

DOH!  *facepalm*  I forgot until just now that it's MONDAY, and unlike last week, my mailbox actually had quite an exciting time of it this week, so I must post a Mailbox Monday entry immediately, while it still IS Monday!

ANYway, this week's haul included--

FOR REVIEW:

The Resignation of Eve: What if Adam's Rib is No Longer Willing to be the Church's Backbone?

by Jim Henderson

THIS one certainly looks like it will be nothing if not interesting.  Pretty much since the Evangelical movement began, its churches have always been regularly attended by more women than men.  This author is pointing out the fact that women are leaving for a myriad of reasons.  At the risk of stirring up a sh*t storm, I have to ask: I wonder if he mentions that one reason women are leaving is because they've been expected to do everything else in their churches, but have not been allowed to be part of the ordained leadership?

BOOKS I BOUGHT:

I have been determined for about a decade to own all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books in this beautiful, full-color edition, and this week, I finally accomplished that goal.  Hurrah!  It's a small thing, but it makes me disproportionately happy for some reason.

Big changes in my life occasioned the purchase of these last two books, changes to which I may or may not devote an entire post some time--I honestly haven't decided yet.  Some things just feel intensely personal, even if they're NOT about sex or bodily functions, don't they?  Religion can certainly be one of those things.  Who knows?  I may wake up tomorrow and decide to spill my guts about the whole thing to you, my loyal readers. 

Either way, this post isn't the time or place, so instead, let me just say that I got two lovely new books with shiny gold crosses embossed on their covers, and have been avidly studying them ever since.  Aren't they lovely?

Hope you enjoyed your mailbox experience this week as much as I enjoyed mine!

My Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a traveling meme, of all things, originally founded by Marcia from A Girl and Her Books and now on a permanent blog tour.  Different book bloggers host Mailbox Monday each month throughout the year, and as I jump on this bandwagon for the first time, it is currently being brought to us at Let Them Read Books.  The delightful point of the exercise is to share your latest acquisitions with an audience who can understand and appreciate your enthusiasm, not to mention that you can occasionally arouse just a tad of envy.  Library books don't count, but audiobooks and e-reads are welcome.

All my incoming this week consisted of e-books.  First, I received Surprised by Oxford through Booksneeze. It is a highly cerebral "coming of faith" spiritual memoir by Carolyn Weber, and I'm anxious to read it in large part because I'm looking forward to getting an inside view of the famous university.

The other two books I received this week were from Netgalley.  It was the first time I've ever had a request approved there, so I was pretty excited about it.  The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau is a historical novel set during the insanity of Cromwell's England.  I am always a sucker for good historical fiction, especially when set in the Sceptered Isle, so let's hope this one turns out to match that description.

Finally, House of Stone is a book which I hope will be a powerful if saddening read.  Here is its blurb for your consideration.

Last spring, when Anthony Shadid—one of four New York Times reporters captured in Libya as the region erupted—was freed, he went home. Not to Boston, Beirut, or Oklahoma where he was raised by his Lebanese-American family, but to an ancient estate built by his great-grandfather, a place filled with memories of a lost era when the Middle East was a world of grace, grandeur, and unexpected departures. For two years previous, Shadid had worked to reconstruct the house and restore his spirit after both had weathered war. Now the author of the award-winning Night Draws Near (National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, Los Angeles Times Book Prize) tells the story of the house's re-creation, revealing its mysteries and recovering the lives that have passed through it. Shadid juxtaposes past and present as he traces the house’s renewal along with his family’s flight from Lebanon and resettlement in America. House of Stone is an unforgettable memoir of the world’s most volatile landscape and the universal yearning for home.

Have you ever taken a university degree with which you then proceeded to do virtually nothing?  Thus far, that very accurately describes the Master of Arts I hold in Middle Eastern studies.  Be that as it may, I gained an untold wealth of information and made life-long friends, and ultimately would not have converted to the Eastern Orthodox Church without becoming better acquainted with the Near East.  I watch current events in that region closely, and there certainly have been some extraordinary events to watch in the past few years!  With the death of Muamar Qaddhafi, the once tightly-closed country of Libya is undergoing exciting but unnerving upheaval.  I look forward to reading Anthony Shadid's take on recent developments, especially since they strike so deeply personally for him.

That's my haul for the past week.  May your holiday mailbox be merry, bright, and full of lovely books!