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Saturday, April 4, 2009

In My Mailbox (4)

I'm in a bit of funk about the mail. Over the last couple of months there seems to be a rash of gremlin activity with my mail. I sent one book to requestor, she never got it. I got in return a cut, empty envelope with a stamp, "media inspected." No explanation. I requested a book. Got a note to mark receive. I wrote the sender that the book didn't arrive. I sent three books; the recipient only got one. Two books, separate orders came crushed by machines. Thankfully not so badly they couldn't be read but I was miffed. Today, I went to my local used bookstore to make myself feel better. I also picked up some books from the library. Check out Story Siren for In My Mailbox links.

I bought one book, Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison. I lurve Georgia with all my heart! No one can make the pain of being a teenager seem more funny than the characters of this book. If your looking for good, silly humor, this is THE thing to read. Some of the best bits involve Angus, the most obnoxious "house-cat" ever.

From the library:


The Fold by An Na will have a reader laughing, while considering what beauty is and what they're willing to change for it. Joyce is a very likeable and real character. An Na surrounds her with a wonderful caring family and a great best friend in Gina.


The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor- Mbachu Niger, West Africa, 2070: After a nuclear fallout in the early twenty-first century, the earth's civilization has been completely transformed. Magic, mysticism, and mind-blowing technology now rule the world. In West Africa, fourteen-year old Ejii struggles to master her own magical powers. When her world is completely upended after she witnesses her father's death, Ejii faces a unique opportunity to explore her power and realize her destiny. But is she ready for the responsibility that comes along with that? ... Fast-paced and full of tender friendships and thrilling action, this futuristic adventure heralds a bright new talent in young adult science fiction.


Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne Thirteen-year-old Celeste Harris is no string bean, but comfy sweatpants and a daily chocolate cookie suit her just fine. Her under-the-radar lifestyle could have continued too, if her aunt hadn’t entered her in the HuskyPeach Modeling Challenge. To get out of it, she’s forced to launch Operation Skinny Celeste—because, after all, a thin girl can’t be a fat model! What Celeste never imagined .

*all titles link to reviews.

26 comments:

the story siren said...

i think that is the worst book luck I've ever heard of!! i have models, i really need to read it! and I haven't read any of the angus books... i might have to check those out

Bookworm said...

Loved Models, can't wait to read The Fold!
Happy reading!

Amy said...

oh wow, you've had a bad week in the mail!..I hate when a book gets ,lost in the mail-that's the worst...
the first one looks super funny though!

Diana Dang said...

The Fold looks interesting, mainly because it revolves around an Asian character. Haha, Asian pride!

deltay said...

Angus, Thongs... hahaha, awesome. Hmm, The Fold's cover looks intriguing.

^^ Nice speel under "Leave your comment" ;)

Claudia said...

this is really disturbing!?! I wonder what is going on with your books. Media inspected - WTH?

susan said...

Claudia, anytime you ship media rate, the post office tells you they have the right to inspect the mail. The problem is so idiot is failing to put my contents back and forward it on.

Diana, stay tuned. May is Asian Heritage Month. I'll be featuring more Asian, South Asian writers and books here and at Color Online. Care to share any
recommendations?

Bookworm, glad to hear you liked it.

Deltay, what can I say? I'm a social animal.

Kristi, I've been shipping books for years. And I mean tons of books. I've never experienced the frequency and in such a concentrated period like this.

GirlGriot said...

That is some pretty bad book luck! Maybe we have similar gremlins at work: none of the cookies I've mailed out as gifts have arrived. One set made it back to me. The others ... well, I just hope someone enjoyed them, even if that 'someone' wasn't the person I sent them to! Glad you took yourself book-shopping. That always picks me up, no matter if my bad luck is postal or other.

susan said...

Thank, GG.:-)

Zetta Elliott said...

I agree with Girlgriot--let's just hope somebody somewhere is enjoying all those books--including 4 of the 5 I sent you. I wonder if I'm the only person having a hard time with The Shadow Speaker! Do you read lots of SF? Enough to know how it rates compared to other SF YA novels? I'm only going on my experience with her first novel, which wasn't good either...don't let the USPS get you down!

susan said...

Zetta, how many did you have in the last shipment? It was only your last package that was damaged. Please tell there wasn't a total of 5 books in there. Maude, help me I just might go sistergurl at post office tomorrow. I just read your note about Bird. Do we have to start paying for insurance and delivery confirmation to deter thieving employees? I have been sending books for years. I do not understand why things are suddenly so crazy.

susan said...

Zetta,I don't read a lot of SF. I just picked up SS so no trouble to speak of. I will read it this week and let you know.

wdebo said...

I want to read The Fold really badly, I loved An Na's "A Step from Heaven" she realli is an amazing author

Wdebo :)

Sandra said...

I sent out 300 books through swapping in two years and never lost one. Since November I have lost several and several more never arrived to me after months. I could just scream so I understand how you feel. You've got some interesting reading there to distract you though. Quite the variety. I'll keep that in mind about Asian Heritage Month too.

susan said...

Hi Sandra, thanks on all fronts. I'm way behind on my reading. I hope to crank through these and pick up more adult fiction. I didn't realize how far off pace I was. It's been a very busy first few months of the year.

Blodeuedd said...

That is really bad luck for you, sorry to hear that. But at least you treated yourself to some books ;)


My Mailbox

Yvonne said...

I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck last week. Hope this week is better. I'm glad you were able to get some books, though. Enjoy them.

Serena said...

LOL Models Don't eat chocolate cookies...what a great title.

Happy reading and I hope that the mail problem gets resolved soon!

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Love your description of the first title!

Shalonda said...

Oh my! I am so sorry to hear about your trouble with postal system. That's so awful. I got a package today (media mail) and it was already open. Just luckily, the book was in tact.

But you did make out pretty well this week. Hopefully next week, you won't have to deal with the postal situation.

Wendi said...

Ohhhh - Models Don't Eat chocolate Cookies sounds wonderful, fun, humorous, etc!! I might need to add that one to my wish list if you end up liking it. :)

Here's my Mailbox! ~ Wendi

Kathleen said...

Wow that is incredibly terrible book luck. I've been wondering about the mail myself. Quite a few books I request never get here, many from Bostick but not all. Even a blogger friend sent me a book and it never showed either.

One book came in an envelope a bit too small and so the top of the book was stuck to the envelope (from the glue used to close the envelope)

Anonymous said...

That sounds really diasapointing. I luuurve the confessions of Georgia Nicolson series. Hope you enjoy it!

Anonymous said...

Wow. You can tear up the pages. I wish I could add these to the pile(s) by my bedside ;-} .

Wrighty said...

Good books! I hope to get some of these too. You have had bad luck! It's so bizarre that they are random events but near the same time. I hate to have something happen to my books. Hope it's all good luck now.

Marcia said...

Thank you for stopping by the mailbox this week. Enjoy your books!