Friday Finds (01/08/10)

***Note: Click here for details of my current giveaway!***

Wow, my first Friday Finds of 2010 ... cool! And yet again, Alyce from At Home With Books is responsible for more than her fair share of these books - 2 out of the 10. I really think I should start joining in with Chris's Bad Blogger thing simply so I can heap points on Alyce for all the books she makes me add to my TBR list.... :)


One Amazing Thing, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - found through At Home With Books - A disparate group of people is trapped together after an earthquake. As things become more and more hopeless one person "suggests that each tell a personal tale, 'one amazing thing' from their lives, which they have never told anyone before. And as their surprising stories of romance, marriage, family, political upheaval, and self-discovery unfold against the urgency of their life-or-death circumstances, the novel proves the transcendent power of stories and the meaningfulness of human expression itself." Sounds great, right?!


Grayson, by Lynne Cox - found when I wrote about another of her books - Lynne is a long-distance open-water swimmer who specializes in very cold water swims. This is the story of her encounter with a baby gray whale during one of her swims.




Volsungasaga, a ancient Norse epic - found 5-Squared's review through the Mythology Bookworms Carnival - Here's just an excerpt of what Jason had to say "But Gravy, I don't know if it was all the snow, or the constant raiding and battling, or what, but these folks imagination? Vivid! If the bible had these stories (and the bible is spicy enough), you wouldn't take kids to church." His review is hilarious! [Update: I reviewed this already!]


Her Mother's Daughter, by Julianne Lee - found at Devourer of Books - This is a more sympathetic treatment of Queen Mary (aka Bloody Mary), daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. I've always liked Mary despite her later actions so I'm quite interested in reading this one.




Touching the Void, by Joe Simpson - found through At Home With Books - This is the ulitimate story of survival. After a climbing accident in the Andes, two men are separated and one thinks the other is dead. In fact he is NOT dead, but he IS seriously injured ... yet he manages to basically crawl out of the mountains. Woah. This one sounds very intense!



Revolver, by Marcus Sedgwick - found at Bart's Bookshelf - This made Darren's top 10 of 2009 list. It is the story of a gun and how it passes from father to son, and how it is used. The setting is a remote Canadian town north of the Arctic Circle. After the father's death a man breaks into the house and the son must decide whether to use the gun or not. Darren explained it MUCH better than that so go check out his review.




The Complete Stories of Truman Capote, by Truman Capote - found at Book Chatter - I've always wanted to read something by Capote but IN COLD BLOOD holds no interest for me. This sounds like the perfect collection, and Ti highly recommended it - that's good enough for me.





Firmin, by Sam Savage - found at Bibliolatry - I can't say it any better so I'm posting her entire review here:

If you're a book lover, you absolutely must read Firmin. Firmin is, well, a rat -- but he's the most likable fellow I've met in a long time. Living in the basement of a bookstore in the 1960s, Firmin survives his early years by munching on the likes of Joyce and Melville. Soon, however, he learns that books are not for eating, but for reading -- and read he does, becoming arguably the most-educated rat to ever live. Unfortunately, with his increasing knowledge comes a self-awareness that is none too kind. As Firmin becomes all-too-aware of his own limitations, he yearns for a greater life than the one he must endure. Filled with allusions and pathos, Firmin is a book for everyone -- but especially for those who love literature. And look: the book comes replete with its own little bite mark. Sigh. I love you, Firmin!

In a nutshell: This is one rat you can't help but love. You can live with me, little buddy! Bibliolatry Scale: 6 out of 6 stars

An Irish Country Doctor, by Patrick Taylor - found at Letters From a Hill Farm - This is not normally my kind of book but I LOVED the video Nan posted in her review - go watch it if you can. The language/dialect and people of Ulster (Northern Ireland) hold a special place in my heart so now I really want to find an audio of this one.




Her Royal Spyness, by Rhys Bowen - found at Wordsmithsonia - This sort of reminds me of a mix of Wodehouse's Jeeves, Laurie R. King's Mary Russell, and a bit of something else ... and Ryan's review made it sound like lots of fun.


What have YOU found recently? Hop over to Should Be Reading and share with everyone.