My New Graphic Novels Frenzy...

...has led me to:

- buy The Books of Magic - Reckonings by John Ney Rieber for only 4 euro at Oxfam!

Ok, I didn't realise it wasn't Neil Gaiman till I came home, and that it was actually volume 3, but I'm still happy I got it. Now I only need vol.1 and 2. :P

- borrow Palestine and Safe Area Goražde by Joe Sacco



- request an interloan for Absolute Sandman by Neil Gaiman AND Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. Apparently my first try from home didn't work so had to do it from the library, and I forgot I also wanted to get Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot. Next time.

All this just today!
I wish I could just read and read and read...I think tonight I will start with
Death: the high cost of Living by Neil Gaiman and When the wind blows by Raymond Briggs and then start with the rest of the loot :D






And on a completely unrelated note, I just wanted to share the fact that this Sunday the 15th (I got a bit too impatient there...) I'm going to see the premiere of Coraline - the movie!!! And Neil Gaiman will be there for a Q & A!
Then, two days later I will go to another signing with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer.
Me very excited by all this.
You're allowed to be jealous :D

Mailbox Monday

To be honest, from the list I'm going to show you, only one came literally in the mailbox. And because I bought it. The rest is just plain old weakness. One was a "present", though:P
So there we go:

The Anatomy of Wings by Karen Foxlee. This will be published in March and I'm reading it now. I noticed it plainly because Mark Zusak, author of The Book Thief strongly recommends it and because it says it will appeal to those who liked How I live now by Meg Rosoff, The lovely bones by Alice Sebold (haven't read it but I will), and The Virgins Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides (haven't read it but I liked the film).
It's about ten-year-old Jennifer, who is growing up in the Australian Outback,while trying to come to terms to her thirteen-year-old sister's death.
I'm enjoying it, but I will talk more about it when I'm finished. I'm glad 'cause it suits the 2009 Pub challenge :D



The House at the Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. I haven't read any Pooh's books yet! And I know this is not the first, but it was on sale, for something like 2 euro, and I couldn't resist. Should I read the first book first?










The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan. From the back: Sixteen-year-old Nick knows that demons are real. Magicians call up demons in exchange for their power. The demons can appear in any shape, show you marvels, promise you anything - until you invite them in and receive their demon mark of death...
Demons, magicians and a sexual allure.
Perfect for Twilight fans (I'm not).
Deals with siblings relationships.
I don't know about this. It sounds a lot like The Amulet of Samarkand, but I hope it won't be, because I still have to read that one and I don't want to spoil it. Also not a Twilight fan.
But I will read it because our buyer needs feedbacks. It's published in June.
The fact that she is a fellow blogger is a point in her favour though

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. After reading so many good reviews I decided to take it home. After all it's a proof copy, hence free:) I'm expecting to like it a lot, so I don't want to be disappointed!










Freedom next time by John Pilger. Anytime I go near the Current Affair section I think I want to read this book, so I've bought it, finally. It deals with stolen rights in Afghanistan, India, Palestine, South Africa and also Britain and United States and about the courageous people who are battling to free themselves. I'm really looking forward to this, even though it won't be an easy read.







Honey and Clover by Chica Umino. My first manga of the year. I didn't realise how much I missed reading manga (mangas) till I read this. I loved it and will review it soon. This is the only book that actually came in my mailbox.










The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot.
I went to the library to look for manga and instead I saw this. I had read Nymeth's review earlier this year so I was really curious about it. I wasn't disappointed, this was brilliant stuff and will be reviewed soon too!

Book Binge!

Today I came back home with a bag full of books. OK, they've been sitting in my locker in work for ages but today I decided to actually adopt them and give them a real home among the other legitimate books! I've no excuses, they were FREE and I couldn't resist. But the fact that they are home now means that they're gonna go to the Master List of Books to Read for next year, which I plan to follow religiously. So it was a serious decision to make.
What did I get?

#1 - Mr Toppit by Charles Elton


The cover itself made me want to read it straight away. You can't see it but there's a little round window on the bee, and if you lift the flap jacket you see the "other" cover, which is a children's book called "The Hayseed Chronicles". But this is not a children's book. It's about a series of children's books, and the power that one of its character has on the real world. Or at least that's what I got from reading the blurb and an article on The Bookseller.
To be published in February 2009.




# 2 - The Unicorn Road by Martin Davies

"On the coast of medieval Sicily, and expedition prepares to venture into unknown lands in search of the mysterious beasts of the East.

Five thousand miles away, a young girl prepares to leave the water meadows of her childhood to travel to the Emperor's court.

Neither Journey is destined to run smoothly."

Doesn't it sound intriguing? This proof reading copy also came with an attractive see-through dust jacket, which just reads "Uncover and Discover the magical journey that awaits you". Published in January 2009.

#3 - Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson



This has been out a while but will only be published in Uk and Ireland in January. I've only heard good thinks about Speak, another YA book by the same author, so I have very high expectations for this one. But it's strange how Speak hasn't been published here, isn't it?



#4 - Firmin - adventures of a metropolitan lowlife by Sam Savage

This looks like a kid's book but in fact is not! It's a memoir of a rat who loves literature. "A debonair soul trapped in a rat's body".
I heard it was a publishing sensation in America, but not so much here. I'm very curious!





#5 - Instructions for living someone else's life by Mil Millington


I found myself flipping through it and giggling at what I had read, without even knowing what was going on. So I had to take it home and give it a chance to develop its full potential!
It's about a 25 -year-old guy in the 80's who all of a sudden wakes up in 2006, realising he has missed 18 years of his life. Stuck with a middle-aged body, a stranger for a wife and a life that hasn't turned out what he had hoped for. Nightmare or metaphor? Can't wait to find out.



#6 The Burnt-out Town of Miracles by Roy Jacobsen




I didn't even bother to stop and see what the book is about. I just liked the look of it. Plus it's a lovely, thin hardback. Free. Anyway, let's see what kind of book is it, shall we?
From the back: "My town was ablaze on 7 December, after all four thousand inhabitants had been evacuated, except for me. I was born here, had lived here all my life and couldn't imagine living anywhere else...There is always one, at least one, who doesn't follow the crowd, he doesn't even need to know why, and here in Suomussalmi it was me."
Hmm I still don't know much, but it sounds interesting. Creepy but interesting.

# 7 and last The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom


My proof copy looks much better. It has old-looking, sepia cover, which only says "Do you dare to enter?". I kind of hope they change the colour back to sepia, it looks much more intriguing.

From Amazon: "When Conrad Harrison impulse-buys a big old house in Wisconsin, his wife Jo doesn't share his enthusiasm, reluctant at the idea of leaving their LA life - so Conrad is left to set up their new home as she ties up loose ends at work. But Conrad's new purchase is not all that it seems. Soon Conrad is hearing the ghostly wailing of a baby in the night, seeing blood on the floor and being haunted by a woman who looks exactly like Jo. With his wife away, Conrad becomes obsessed by the pregnant girl next door, Nadia, who claims to be a victim of the evil in the house. The crying leads him to a bricked-up body, and the mystery of the Birthing House unravels, pulling in Jo, Nadia and leading Conrad to a nightmarish conclusion."

This is published in January but I think I'll leave it for Halloween and the RIP Challenge, it sounds perfect.

And that's it! If I ever wonder how I managed to accumulate so many books in so little time..here's the answer. I just can't say no, especially when I don't even have to open my wallet :P
But next year will be different. Oh yeah.

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And now I want to thank Zoe, who gave me the "I love your blog" award! Thank you thank you thank you!
So I'm supposed to:
) Add the logo of your award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

But I'll skip nominating anyone, I love all the blogs on my Reader (wow I've only recently discovered it and it's FAB!) and I don't want to choose only seven...
But thanks you so much again Zoe, I love your blog too:)

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One last thing: I went to cinema twice in the past few days. Saw "Inkheart" and I gotta say it was entertaining! I haven't read the book but I can feel they cut through it a lot, which can't be too bad because I remember when I started reading it, it was very long-winded. Now I have to decide whether to read Inkheart or skip it and read Inkspell instead. Touch decision.
I also watched "Changeling" and it was excellent! I loved the 1930's setting and Angelina Jolie gave a wonderful performance. Beside she was stunningly beautiful every second of it. She just earned a new fan.