Mailbox Monday – February 9, 2009

Visit Marcia at The Printed Page to link your Mailbox Monday and see what other readers found in their mailbox this week. I had a great week in books…here’s what arrived in my mailbox and from my favorite UPS man:

Straight From The Horse’s Heart: A Spiritual Ride Through Love, Loss and Hope, by R.T. Fitch arrived directly from the author. Fitch and his wife have a herd of rescued horses and donate their time to supporting equine rescue efforts in Texas and Louisiana. The bulk of proceeds from the sale of this book will go to support a nonprofit organization called Habitat for Horses, an equine protection program. This looks like a wonderful book and I am looking forward to reading it.

Summer World: A Season of Bounty, by Bernd Heinrich arrived through a Shelf Awareness offer. Due for release by Ecco  in April 2009, this nonfiction book is already getting rave reviews. This is the highly anticipated and ‘eloquent illumination of animal survival in summer, from the bestselling author of Winter World.‘ Heinrich has authored numerous books including The Snoring Bird and Mind of the Raven. Summer World is beautifully illustrated with the author’s own drawings. I am looking forward to melting into this fascinating book.

The Age of Orphans, by Laleh Khadivi arrived from Bloomsbury through a Shelf Awareness offer. This novel (due for release in March) is Khadivi’s debut and will be the first in a projected trilogy about three generations of Kurdish men. The Age of  Orphans takes place in the Zagros Mountains of western Persia and is “the story of a Kurdish boy forced to betray his people in the service of  the new Iranian nation, and the tragic consequences as he grows into manhood.” It looks like a fascinating read.

Bleeding Heart Square, by Andrew Taylor came from Pamela at Hyperion. Taylor was recently awarded the 2009 Cartier Diamon Dagger Award for sustained excellence in crime writing. His latest literary thriller takes place in 1930s London where Taylor “weaves together three tangled threads in this heart-stopping evocation of London with gripping plot twists and compellingly complex characters.” This will be my first Taylor novel – and if it is as good as it looks, I will be seeking out his other work as well.

Land of Marvels, by Barry Unsworth arrived as an Advance Reader’s Edition from Doubleday (through a Shelf Awareness offer). Unsworth won the Booker Prize for his novel Sacred Hunger. Land of Marvels is an historical fiction thriller set in 1914 Mesopotamia (now Iraq). It was released in hardcover in January.

The Embers, by Hyatt Bass arrived through another Shelf Awareness offer from Henry Holt and Company. Bass wrote, directed and produced the film Seventy-Five Degrees in July (released 2006). The Embers is her first novel. It is a family saga of “buried secrets and deep regrets that crush a family while bonding its members irrevocably.” I love family sagas, so I am interested to pick this one up. The Embers is due for release in July.