Stacking The Shelves (April 6) | Crimeworm (with thanks to CleopatraLovesBooks)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you’re adding to your shelves, be it buying or borrowing. From ‘real’ books you’ve purchased, a book you’ve borrowed, a book you’ve been given or an e-book they can all be shared!
I asked one of the lovely publicists I deal with at Serpents’ Tail if I could pretty please have any spare copies she might have of Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty. Not only did she oblige, in record time, she also sent me the book I most wanted but didn’t feel cheeky enough to ask for (obviously it’s different if they send you it, unsolicited) – Attica Locke‘s Pleasantville. Since Black Water Rising, I’ve had an “author crush” this highly talented young woman. Marina Sofia says this has a bit of politics in it, but I’m sure despite that, it’ll be fantastic. (One of my classes at first year in Uni was Political Science, and I’ve always had a strong interest in politics and current affairs, but I have to admit to being a bit puggled by the US system, especially as it now seems to have created a deadlock between both parties in both houses, making it pretty much impossible for Obama to do anything in his last two years, thus making him look like a “lame-duck” president – but it’s the system that’s created this situation, not him!) Anyway – you can wake up now – this book takes us back to the ’90s, when a mayoral campaign ends in a murder, and the return of Jay Porter, from Black Water Rising to defend the nephew of the mayoral candidate, who’s accused of the murder of a girl who was helping electioneer for the defendant’s uncle.
From Bookbridgr, I received two books this week, despite requesting them some time apart – Lonely Graves, by Britta Bolt, which is the first in the Pieter Posthumus Trilogy. In Amsterdam, Pieter works in the Lonely Funerals department, which ensures no-one goes to the grave unmourned. I’ve got to say, as soon as they saw that name on the application form, I’m sure he was a shoo-in for the job. He takes his responsibilities seriously, so when a young Moroccan immigrant is found in a canal in mysterious circumstances, he starts his own investigation. The other Bookbridgr – oh joys! – is the latest John Connolly, A Song Of Shadows. Actually, it isn’t really “oh joys”. Because despite reading Connolly since his first, Every Dead Thing, I got stuck at The Lovers – nothing to do with Connolly’s work, just – so many books! Which means I’ve got five to read – and I really wanted to read The Wolf In Winter first! But as that would take ages, then I’ll have to skip the five, then go back. I know Certain Book Bloggers who would have palpitations at the thought of reading a series out of sync, but not me. I can take this on the chin, guys. ‘Cos there’s no way I could read all five, could I…?
I was having trouble getting A Killing Winter by Tom Callaghan to download from NetGalley, so I e-mailed the publicist concerned, who said, “Do you just want me to send you the book?”, which was just so nice and helpful of him. It’s set in Kyrgyzstan, which is a new one on me – I’m reading a book set in Cambodia at the moment too (I do my travelling vicariously, through my reading – basically as I’ll never be able to afford to go to any of these countries – although bizarrely my friend Stephen worked in Georgia, and now Kazakhstan, opening up new branches of – get this – New Look! Who’d have thunk it?) Anyway, A Killing Winter has shades of Child 44, to me – a murder, but orders of a cover-up from those on high – but a policeman determined to see justice done. And I do like books based in the former USSR. I was also sent My Sunshine Away, which I’ve heard so much about from my US blogging friends, and have been dying for…author MO Walsh wants to go for a wee dram in July when he’s over – as long as it’s not a “wee” one! I expect we can arrange that… Hopefully he’ll be up for the Edinburgh International Book Festival – the one time when all book things aren’t in London! Also, I met Alex Gray, who was signing books at Waterstones for their stock. She was lovely, and signed my collection of her books – although most are on Kindle, annoyingly. She was on her way to my home island, Mull, where she’s set her latest book – Keep The Midnight Out. I’m hopefully going to try to do something for my One Year’s blogoversary – but that’s all on the QT, so I didn’t tell you…
The one on the right – Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible: Adventures In Modern Russia, by Peter Pomerantsey, is a journey about what it’s like living in Russia nowadays if you have money, and all the different “tribes” in Moscow. As I’ve already mentioned, I do enjoy reading about Russia, and this got some good reviews in the broadsheets when it came out in January, so I snipped it up today in the Kindle Daily Deal. The book on the left is one I wrote a short blog post about when I had just started blogging (and didn’t know what to write about – I hadn’t discovered NetGalley yet!) The news came out that my old school friend, Colin Macintyre, who had cult musical fame as Mull Historical Society, had sold his first book. It shows you how long the process takes – that was pretty much a year ago! I’ve got a hard copy, but I know it’s on NetGalley, and (is this a fashion?!) is set on Mull. It’s sort of quirky, but any of you bloggers out there who fancy reviewing it, I’d be really grateful – it’s good to see any old school friends doing well, and if you can do anything – however small! – to encourage it, you feel you should. And he’s a really nice guy, too (and was rather the school heartthrob among certain girls, if I remember correctly!)
Apologies to anyone who visited this post last night and found lines of code gobbledegook (well, that’s what it was to me!) – I have no idea why that happened but after a ton of deleting, I got the garbage out and this is what remained (some would say there’s plenty of garbage left…)
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