In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. The idea is to share what books you got your hands on in the last week.Not too many books headed my way this week (but that's okay I haven't finished everything from last week yet!) Only 3 things to add- all of them made of awesome!

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa.

As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Once upon a time I was a little girl who disappeared.
Once upon a time my name was not Alice.
Once upon a time I didn't know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder

After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, Opal Cowan has lost her powers. She can no longer create glass magic. More, she's immune to the effects of magic. Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had, powers that make a difference in the world. Until spying through the glass becomes her new power. Suddenly, the beautiful pieces she makes flash in the presence of magic. And then she discovers that someone has st olen some of her blood--and that finding it might let her regain her powers. Or learn if they're lost forever...

Book Blogger Hop

This meme is hosted by Crazy for Books, so hop on over her way to see what she is up to!

Here is this weeks question: Do you judge a book by its cover?

Short answer is YES! I think that it's hard not to. Of course, if a book comes on a great recommendation then a bad cover won't stop me from reading it. Still, if I have a whole stack of books sitting on my desk, or if I browsing around the library or bookstore, then a good cover will make all the difference. A great cover can grab your attention and pull you in, it can entice you to read the back cover or front flap, it can make you excited for the book before you even read a single page. So yeah- great covers can make all the difference!

Here are some blogs I found while hopping around last week:


Must Love Books


A Readers Record

Whatcha Thinking Thursday (2)

It's week two of Whatcha Thinking Thursday, hosted by me! Here's how it works. Each Thursday I'll simply blog about something book related that's weighing on my mind. Feel free to comment away if you agree or disagree (just keep it clean, okay?), or if you want to post to your site either on the same topic or about whatever it is you're thinking about go right ahead. I just ask that you link back to here. Also, make sure you add your blog to the list so we can find you!

This week I'm thinking about Summer Reads.

I was working on my review of Sydney Salter's Swoon at Your Own Risk and I was about to say "It's a great little summer read" when I got to thinking, what the heck does that even mean? What exactly is a summer read and is it the same for everyone? For me a summer read is something lighter, that I can pick up on my way to the beach or pool and zip through in a day. It's not that it lacks message or depth neccessarily, it's just that it doesn't make me work to get through it and understand it. In my opinion a summer read is all about fun. I read other stuff in the summer and I'm sure I pick up light and happy books during the dark days of winter, but to be classified as a summer read in my book you've got to be a quick, easy read, that is uplifting and darn good time.

I started looking at other summer reads lists, Oprah has one, so does the Huffington post and I found that their summer reads lists are exactly the opposite of what I look for in a summer read. Huffington post has The Passage on theirs, while a great book, it is also 769 pages long- not exactly light reading in the sun.

So which us it? Is summer a time for heavy duty reading, or for light and fun reading? Is it different for different people? Maybe it's because some people use summer as downtime, with time reserved to get into these great (long, heavy) books, where as someone like me tries to cram as much activity as possible into the few sunny months that we have here in Upstate NY? I spend much more time reading during the months and months of cold and snow that we have and I save those "make you think" books for then.

If it's different for everyone, does that take away from the accuracy of using the term "Summer Read"? How about you- where do you stand- what's your definition of a "summer read"?