Sunday, November 1, 2009

In My Mailbox: 11/01/09

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren!
It has been a slow week compared to last week. My mail man and UPS dude must be very happy!






Evenings at the Argentine Club- Victor and Jaqueline Torres imagined moving to the U.S. would bring happiness and prosperity-instead they found a world of frustration. While Victor put long hours into his restaurant business, Jaqui devoted her life to her daughters, until they grew up and moved on. Even their eldest, Victoria, is torn trying to reconcile being the perfect Argentine daughter and an independent American woman. Antonio and Lucia Orteli face the same realities, especially when their only son Eric leaves their close-knit Argentine community in pursuit of his own dreams. When Eric unexpectedly shows up at the Argentine Club-the heart of the Argentine community in southern California-he starts a series of events that will bring these two families closer than ever. New relationships are formed and old ones are put to the test, as everyone must learn how to balance different cultures-and different dreams-without hurting those they love. Won this.




Permission Slips- Covering topics such as "It's Jesus or Jail,""Marriage, the Hard Way,""Children: The Gift You Can't Give Back," and "All the Things I Don't Know...And All the Things I Definitely Do," stand-up comedienne, actress, and ABC's The View co-host Sherri Shepherd comically chronicles her struggles to keep up with the many roles-professional, wife, mother, daughter, and friend-that women must play in today's world. Sherri urges women to pursue their most important dreams and to never give up, but also let's readers know that it's okay to give themselves "permission slips" when things don't always work out the way they want them to. As her many fans know, Sherri is never hesitant to speak from the heart, and her bubbly personality shines through in this delightful autobiography. Won this.


Amigoland- In a small town on the Mexican border live two brothers, Don Fidencio and Don Celestino. Stubborn and independent, they now must face the facts: they are old, and they have let a family argument stand between them for too long. Don Celestino's good-natured housekeeper encourages him to make amends—while he still can. They secretly liberate Don Fidencio from his nursing home and travel into Mexico to solve the mystery at the heart of their dispute: the family legend of their grandfather's kidnapping. As the unlikely trio travels, the brothers learn it's never too late for a new beginning.
With winsome prose and heartfelt humor, Oscar Casares's debut novel of family lost and found radiates with generosity and grace and confirms the arrival of a uniquely talented new writer. won this.




Tell Me Something True- Gabriella always loved the picture of her mother kneeling in front of a bed of roses, smiling, beautiful and impossibly happy. But then she learns that her late mother hated gardening; that she had never wanted the house in the Hollywood hills, the successful movie producer husband, and possibly, her only daughter. When Gabriella discovers a journal--a book that begins as a new mother's letters to her baby girl, but becomes a secret diary--the final entry leaves one question unanswered: the night her mother died, was she returning to Colombia to end an affair, or was she abandoning her family for good? Won this.





Zumba- Won this and can't wait to try it!








Bo's Cafe- High-powered executive Steven Kerner is living the dream in southern California. But when his bottled pain ignites in anger one night, his wife kicks him out. Then an eccentric mystery man named Andy Monroe befriends Steven and begins unravelling his tightly wound world. Andy leads Steven through a series of frustrating and revealing encounters to repair his life through genuine friendship and the grace and love of a God who has been waiting for him to accept it. A story to challenge and encourage, BO'S CAFE is a model for all who struggle with unresolved problems and a performance-based life. Those who desire a fuller, more authentic way of living will find this journey of healing a restorative exploration of God's unbridled grace. Sent to review.





Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz- All Ana Ruiz wanted was to have a traditional quinceaƱera for her daughter, Carmen. She wanted a nice way to mark this milestone year in her daughter's life. But Carmen was not interested in celebrating. Hurt and bitter over her father Esteban's departure, she blamed Ana for destroying their happy family, as did everyone else. A good man is hard to find, especially at your age Ana was told. Why not forgive his one indiscretion? Despite everything, Ana didn't want to tarnish Carmen's childlike devotion to her beloved father. But Ana knows that growing up sometimes means facing hard truths. In the end, Ana discovers that if she's going to teach Carmen anything about what it means to be a woman, it will take more than simply a fancy party to do it... Won this.


Have you entered my contest for a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble??

Until next time...
Happy Reading!

12 comments:

Emily said...

Lucky girl winning all those books :)
Happy Reading!

Anonymous said...

Great books. I have Permission Slips to review and I won Bo's Cafe on another blog. :) Happy Reading!

Monster of Books said...

So many books your going to have a blast reading them all. Good luck. Btw, I love your blog name :) Have fun muching down your books.

~Monster Of Books~

Stormi said...

haha I have always wanted to try Zumba. :)

Grain de Beaute said...

Hello Tena! :)

Thanks for dropping by my blog.

You have a wonderful week reading ahead of you.

I would really to know what you think of Tell Me Something True. The synopsis looks very intriguing. I'm very interested in reading this book.

Happy reading!

Brenda Hyde said...

Great wins:) Man oh man, you have a lot of reading to do! These aren't really titles I would have thought about reading so I'll have to catch all your reviews to see what I'm missing!

Ellz said...

Wow, cool blog, how have I missed this one?

Great IMM. I just started following you. You should follow me, I am doing some great giveaways this month. The first one starts tomorrow with a copy of Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler, open to followers!

Elie (Ellz Readz)

Alexia561 said...

This was a slow week? No wonder the UPS dude was happy! *L*

Looking forward to reading Permission Slips, as I like Sherri Shepherd.

Enjoy all of your wonderful books!

Nina said...

They all look so pretty and i have to say that Tell Me Something True cought my eye. Really want to know your opinion aobut that book, it just sounds great.

Have fun reading the books you got!

YA Book Queen said...

Wow! Great week for you!

I have to agree with some of the other people, Tell Me Something True does seem interesting!

Happy reading!

Shauna Leigh Atkinson said...

Wow, looks like a great week. Enjoy your book reads! Thanks for stopping by my IMM too. Take care.

Jess said...

Wow. Very cool. Damas, Dramas and Ana Ruiz sounds good, as does Tell Me Something True, and I like that title.