Monday: Books in the Mail

A busy mailbox last week brought me a variety of books though still mostly graphic novels.


From publishers for Cybils consideration:

Adventure, Romance, Mad Science! Agatha has finally made it to her ancestral castle, but so has a whole crowd of her friends - and enemies! Worse, the lives of two them are in danger, unless she can get the Castle's power source back up and running-quick!










Chocolate or Vanilla? This simple choice is all it takes to get started with Meanwhile, the wildly inventive creation of comics mastermind Jason Shiga, of whom Scott McCloud said “Crazy + Genius = Shiga.” Jimmy, whose every move is under your control, finds himself in a mad scientist’s lab, where he’s given a choice between three amazing objects: a mind-reading device, a time-travel machine, or the Killitron 3000 (which is as ominous as it sounds). Down each of these paths there are puzzles, mysterious clues, and shocking revelations. It’s up to the reader to lead Jimmy to success or disaster.

Meanwhile is a wholly original story of invention, discovery, and saving the world, told through a system of tabs that take you forward, backward, upside down, and right side up again. Each read creates a new adventure!


Vita is having a hard time making friends and meeting people at her new school until the day she holds auditions for her rock band Zebrafish. While she has big hopes and dreams for the group, she’s disappointed with the kids’ musical talents. However, she finds skills and abilities in these new bandmates, and they all work together to create a music video. As the band plans and strategizes, Vita can’t help but be disappointed that one member continually misses meetings. Then she learns that Tanya has leukemia, and Zebrafish holds a fundraising concert to help the hospital get the medical equipment it needs.




Chi is a mischievous newborn kitten who, while on a leisurely stroll with her family, finds herself lost. Separated from the warmth and protection of her mother, feels distraught. Overcome with loneliness she breaks into tears in a large urban park meadow., when she is suddenly rescued by a young boy named Yohei and his mother. The kitty is then quickly and quietly whisked away into the warm and inviting Yamada family apartment...where pets are strictly not permitted.






Mission: 01 contains the first four chapters of Twin Spica and three additional short stories set in the world of the property.

In a Tokyo in the not too distant future a young girl studies diligently with ambitions of soon attending space academy. If things work out just right, her future may very well be among the stars as well. And yet, every time she looks up to the stars there is a sense of melancholy in her heart. A sadness surrounds Asumi, as space exploration itself has profoundly impacted her life for as long as she can remember.

But she is not alone...A young man wearing a lion's mask is always beside her. He speaks of the constellations and galaxies as if he they were like home. He knows what it is like to love the stars--slightly bitter and yet always so warm and inviting. Truth is he has gone through much of Asumi is just experiencing. And now in spirit he will forever be with Asumi guiding her on her path to space.

The Fireworks of 2015:Yaginuma's debut comic is the pilot story in the Twin Spica universe, detailing a world a five years before the events in the series.

Asumi: Five years after the Lion Shuttle tragedy and the Kamogawa household face another sad event--the passing of Asumi's mother.

Yet Another Spica:In a short story exclusive to this release, Mr. Yaginuma details his own real life Twin Spica moment, where he believes encounters a living version of Asumi!

From Harper Collins Canada:

Andy gets a new game system around the same time toys start disappearing from the room.. and Buzz Lightyear is convinced the timing is no coincidence! Is the game system trying to destroy Andy's toys and imagination... or has Buzz Lightyear finally lost it?










Last Fall, BOOM! Studios showed the world that MARK WAID IS EVIL with the smash-hit graphic novel series IRREDEEMABLE. This Fall, BOOM! shows the world that Mark Waid...INCORRUPTIBLE! Super villain Max Damage had an epiphany the day The Plutonian destroyed Sky City. When The Plutonian turned his back on humanity, Max Damage decided to step up. Now Max Damage has changed his name to Max Daring and turned from his formerly selfish to become... INCORRUPTIBLE.







From Penguin Group (Canada):


Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their new-found physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot--if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends--they're a pack. They are Virals.


From Simon & Schuster Canada:

Iku is witness to a disturbance during a Board of Education speech on protecting children from the danger of books. The perpetrators are two young boys protesting the banning of their favorite books. But while Iku wants to reach out to the next generation of book lovers, Dojo insists that they can't play favorites. Will Dojo's prickly insistence on sticking to the rules ruin their budding friendship?








From Barefoot Books:

The exceptional talents of Carol Ann Duffy and papercut artist Rob Ryan combine to present the story of a girl's journey through life and the desires that shape it. With a kind of magic that is timeless, The Gift speaks to everyone who wonders about the mysteries that lie at the heart of the human experience. A unique gift book for all ages by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy This lyrical text about life, love and art is accompanied by stunning papercut illustrations. The Gift portrays the cycle of life in a subtle, accessible way while exploring themes of birth, death, love and the importance of family and friends.




Lebanese author Wafa' Tarnowska opens a window onto the Arab world with her magnificent new translation of eight stories from A Thousand and One Nights. This edition is notable for combining favourites such as 'Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp' with less familiar tales such as 'The Diamond Anklet' and 'The Speaking Bird and the Singing Tree'. The collection also features the frame story about Shahriyar and Shahrazade. A classic of world literature, newly translated by an Arab author who has divided her adult life between Europe and the Middle East, and who has based this retelling on a fourteenth-century Syrian manuscript. Sumptuous illustrations by French illustrator Carole Henaff, who has travelled in the Arab world and now lives with her family in Barcelona.

Comments

  1. Wow, you hit the jackpot! I love the cover of The Arabian Nights.

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  2. Those should keep you busy for a while. Meanwhile is calling my name.

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  3. I received for review Season of Seduction by Jennifer Haymore from The Book Tree.

    Although the widowed Lady Rebecca has sworn off marriage, men are another matter. London's cold winter nights have her dreaming of warmer pursuits-like finding a lover to satisfy her hungry heart. Someone handsome, discreet, and most importantly as uninterested in marriage as she is. Someone like Jack Fulton.

    A known adventurer and playboy, Jack seems like the perfect choice. There's just one problem: Jack isn't interested in an affair. He needs the beautiful, mysterious Lady Rebecca to be his wife. And he doesn't have much time to persuade her. A secret from Jack's past is about to surface, and by Christmas Day he'll be either married to Rebecca or dead.

    ***

    I received for review A Very Simple Crime by Grant Jerkins from Berkley Trade.

    A twisting debut novel of murder and dark family secrets from a riveting new voice in crime fiction.

    A murdered woman. A grieving husband. And their son-a mentally handicapped adult with a history of violent outbursts. A very simple case. Or is it?

    Leo Hewitt, an Assistant DA once blamed for setting free a notorious child-killer, is eager to redeem himself with this intimate and grisly crime. As he digs below the surface he discovers more than he ever anticipated-including an emotionally disturbed wife, a husband who'd do anything to escape his disastrous marriage, and an accused young man with no apparent means of defense. But with each shocking new revelation, Leo is only led deeper and deeper into the darkness-an inescapable trap of blood bonds and twisted family secrets.

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  4. I love seeing the Cybil's books coming in to people's shelves! Virals is getting rather mixed reviews, so I'll be curious about your thoughts on it. My Not-So-Bebe-Girl Autumn would LOVE the Library Wars. The Gift looks like a wonderful book for the keeper shelf, and The Arabian Nights has been getting great reviews! Enjoy them all!

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