Monday, September 10, 2012

Mailbox Monday 09.10.12



Hosted this month by BookNAround.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Suspense and secrets are woven together in this engrossing fiction debut by Kim Fay. The Map of Lost Memories takes readers on a daring expedition to a remote land, where the search for an elusive treasure becomes a journey into the darkest recesses of the mind and heart.

In 1925, the international treasure-hunting scene is a man’s world, and no woman knows this better than Irene Blum, who is passed over for the coveted curator position at Seattle’s renowned Brooke Museum. But she is not ready to accept defeat. Skilled at acquiring priceless, often illicitly trafficked artifacts, Irene is given a rare map believed to lead to a set of copper scrolls that chronicle the lost history of Cambodia’s ancient Khmer civilization. Such a find would not only restore her reputation, it would be the greatest archaeological discovery of the century.

As Irene travels from Seattle to Shanghai to the Cambodian jungles, she will encounter several equally determined companions, including a communist temple robber and a dashing nightclub owner with a complicated past. As she and her fellow adventurers sweep across borders and make startling discoveries, their quest becomes increasingly dangerous. Everyone who comes to this part of the world “has something to hide,” Irene is told—and she learns just how true this is. What she and her accomplices bring to light will do more than change history. It will ultimately solve the mysteries of their own lives.

From Ballantine Books via NetGalley.


Like her art, Marilyn Monroe was rooted in paradox: She was a powerful star and a childlike waif; a joyful, irreverent party girl with a deeply spiritual side; a superb friend and a narcissist; a dumb blonde and an intellectual. No previous biographer has recognized—much less attempted to analyze—most of these aspects of her personality. Lois Banner has.

Since Marilyn’s death in August of 1962, the appetite for information about her has been insatiable. Biographies of Marilyn abound, and whether these books are sensational or flawed, Marilyn’s fans have always come out in bestselling numbers. This time, with Lois Banner’s Revelations, the fans won’t be disappointed. This is no retread of recycled material. As one of the founders of the field of women’s history, Banner will reveal Marilyn Monroe in the way that only a top-notch historian and biographer could.

In researching Revelations, Banner’s credentials opened doors. She gained access to Marilyn intimates who hadn’t spoken to other biographers, and to private material unseen, ignored, or misinterpreted by her predecessors. With new details about Marilyn’s childhood foster homes, her sexual abuse, her multiple marriages, her affairs, and her untimely death at the age of thirty-six, Revelations is, at last, the nuanced biography Marilyn fans have been waiting for.

Won.


10 comments:

Jessica ( frellathon ) said...

How could someone not love Marilyn and to think she's probably be told to lose weight now how times have changed and not for the better.

The Reading Date said...

Both books look pretty great. The Marilyn book sounds particularly fascinating. Enjoy!

Kristen said...

The Map of Lost Treasures sounds fascinating. I love it when authors allow female characters to follow their interests even if they are isolated in a man's world. After all, some of history's most remarkable women were just that way. Happy reading this week!

bermudaonion said...

Those both look like excellent books to me. Enjoy!

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I'll bet the Marilyn book is good!

Jennifer | Mrs Q Book Addict said...

These both look really good. Enjoy! The Map of Lost Memories is really intriguing.

Joanne said...

I love the synopsis of the first book -- sounds intriguing!

Melissas Eclectic Bookshelf said...

I love the sound of The Map of Lost Memories!!! Enjoy!! My Added to the Bookshelf post!

♥ Melissa @ Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

Anonymous said...

Two good books in your mailbox, enjoy!

http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2012/09/mailbox-monday.html

Anonymous said...

I love the cover for The Map of Lost Memories! I'm a sucker for a great cover and this one definitely makes me want to read it! It definitely sounds like the kind of book I'd enjoy.