In My Mailbox (Dec. 12, 2009)

This was a monster big week for me. I decided to shop some sales at Amazon and buy some presents for my Media Centers. Here is what I bought and donated unread:

I bought three copies of each of these. Two are for my K-5 Media Center because we didn't have any copies of the Wimpy Kid books and one was to add to the copies available at my 6-12 Media Center to meet the high demand. I tried the first 50 pages of the first book before I donated them to see what they were alike. I decided that they weren't what this 59-year-old could really appreciate. I know I hit a homerun, though, because the day after they went into the elementary collection they were already checked out.

I bought these for my HS Media Center. I had heard about these new adaptations of Jane Austen's work but wasn't really interested. I have never read Jane Austen. I tried to read Pride and Prejudice when the movie came out a while ago and only lasted 25-30 pages before the language defeated me. I read for pleasure and don't want to have to work too hard at it. Two reasons got them on my Christmas list this year. First, I had a student ask about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies because his older sister was reading it and he wanted to try it. Second, Vera Nazarian who wrote Mansfield Park and Mummies is an author and blogger who has a sad story. She is in major financial difficulties because of health issues and the housing crisis and is in danger of losing her home. I wanted to help in some way and this is what she suggested -- buy her book and spread the word. So, if you can, buy a copy of this book. I read the first few pages and thought that I would be able to read it with pleasure but wanted to let my students have access. I hope to check it out one of these days when I am in the mood for that kind of story.

I bought some other YA titles that will be donated to my HS Media Center after I have read them. They are:

I have already read and donated The Magic Thief: Lost by Sarah Prineas. It was a fun read. I like the continuing growth of the main character and I like the magic world that is created. The codes are fun to solve too. This is a series that I enjoy and will be continuing.

I am currently reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. It got remarkable buzz in the blog world. From what I can tell so far, the buzz is well deserved. I like that the main character of this one is a 16-year-old buy.

Shadowland by Alyson Noel follows Evermore and Blue Moon which finally rose to the top of my TBR pile this week. It is an interesting series in the Twilight vein. I know I am enjoying them and know my paranormal loving students will enjoy them too.

Fallen by Lauren Kate is also a much anticipated book. I even joined a contest to try to win a copy (which is very unusual for me). It is next on my TBR list. The premise is interesting and I'm looking forward to it.

I also added a couple of books that I had previously read and donated to the HS to my own library. I probably wouldn't if Amazon hadn't offered them for a low price but I couldn't resist.

I recently added a copy of Twilight from out last book fair. Now I have all but the last of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. I'll wait for the paperback in the matching format so that I will have a set.

I added the rest of the books for me. These won't end up in either of my media centers.

Divine Misdemeanors in the next in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton. LKH is definitely one of my guilty pleasures.

Changing the World is the new collection of Valdemar stories by Mercedes Lackey and others. I have read all of the Valdemar books and the Arrows to the Queen books are still on my re-read frequently list. Come to think of it, they would be YA friendly. I'll have to see if I can scout out an omnibus of them for my HS Media Center.

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Jouhnson, and Lauren Myracle will give me a chance to see the styles of these YA authors. I have never read any of them even though I have their books in my HS Media Center. (Guess I spend too much time keeping up with the paranormal.)

See Me After Class: Advice for Teachers by Teachers has been touted as a funny book for new teachers. Given that this is year 34 for me, I am anything but new. However, "funny" appealed to me and I want to give it a try.

Seduced by Shadows by Jessa Slade got good reviews on one of the blogs about the paranormal I follow. The blurb sounded good and so it got added to my massive TBR.

I also added three books to my Kindle this week:

Alpha Turned by K. B. Alan and Tempt Me with Darkness by Shayla Black are both paranormals (which is currently my preferred genre). Wild Heat by Bella Andre is a romance. It got a great review and had in interesting story so it got added to my TBR.

That's it for me this week. Wish me lots of snow days so that I can try to catch up.