Mailbox Monday: The Last Few Weeks.

Ok, so it's really almost Tuesday. But I promised myself that I would make some serious headway on the old to-do list before I did any blogging. The list isn't quite complete, but complete enough for me to have earned a little respite.

I only do this meme every once in a while because I don't like typing up a whole post unless it is going to be fairly substantial. These are basically my acquisitions for the month of February and this little slice of March. It's been a good haul lately. :)

Purchased:

• The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. This has been on my TBR for a while, and when I went to Borders today to use up my 40% off coupon, this book stood out to me more than any of the others I read a few pages of. Can't wait to get started, although I can tell it's definitely going to be a weird trip.
• The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. I also looked at this one today at Borders, but ended up using my Amazon giftcard to buy it for my Kindle. It seems pretty intriguing - I really like the different voices of the sisters.
  
• Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. I read a sample of this and finally had to buy it for the Kindle because it was on sale for a low price. It seems like it will be hilarious and vocabulary-enlarging.
• The Odd Women by George Gissing. I saw this on a list of under-appreciated literary classics, and as it was a public domain book, snatched it up!
• Thanks for the Memories by Cecilia Ahern. This was on sale for $1.99 when I purchased it for my e-book. I thought I'd grab it for a time when I need a light-hearted beach read.
  
• The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by Mayra Calvani and Anne K. Edwards. While I plan on taking all advice with a grain of salt, I thought I could use a bit of professional assistance in working to improve my review-writing skills.

Won:

• Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys. This lovely book showed up on my doorstep and I was a little bemused until I realized that I had entered to win it on Shelf Awareness. Looks to be a haunting historical fiction novel.
• The Complete Adventures of Curious George by H.A. Rey. I didn't realize it was this book I would win when I entered a Facebook contest for "liking" HMH. But I don't have any picture books, so this will come in handy in a few years, and when my niece comes over.
• Best American Short Stories of 2010 were won in that same Facebook contest. I love reading short stories so I am really excited to jump into this one.
  

ARCs:

• The Mother Who Stayed by Laura Furman. This book has three sets of three short stories. Once again, I adore short stories so this should be a great read.
• Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull. Mr. Mull is a local author, and I am really enjoying this read so far. It is an exciting adventure story for middle grade readers, but I am swept up in the story even though I am about 10 years older than the recommended age.

Netgalleys:

• Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman. This book looks absolutely heartrending. It is a novel written for Goldman's wife to help him deal with his grief after losing her.
  
• Darkness Visible by William Myron. This is a memoir about a man's fight with depression. I enjoy reading about mental illness because of my background in neuroscience, and I am really looking forward to this memoir.
• A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine. I love Gail Carson Levine. She is the first author I ever heard speak, and I was absolutely enchanted. I can't wait to read her next book.
• Bumped by Megan McCafferty. Bring on the dystopia. I may laugh at it but I clearly can't get enough!
• The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson. Ok, confession. I have not read the first book. I have never read any Maureen Johnson. But she is so freaking hilarious on Twitter that I knew I needed to start reading her books. When I saw this one on NetGalley, requesting was a no-brainer.

So, obviously I have quite a bit of reading to do! I'm planning on making the most of the next few months before I start nursing school and have to start being responsible again. (Oh, by the way, I got into nursing school!) But now I'd better get back to completing that dreaded to-do list. Have a good night everyone!

Mailbox Monday is hosted this month by I'm Booking It.