Without an ARC

For the past week it seems as though all it’s done is rain, and I’m without an ARC. Please don’t read that as a complaint, though. I have two on the way: Love Marriage by V.V. Ganeshananthan through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers for April and Songs for the Missing by Stewart O’Nan through Barnes & Nobles’ First Look Book Club. Even if those books weren’t somewhere in the mail, I am still happy to be without an ARC. While I absolutely love getting to read free books (who wouldn’t), there is a special commitment made to read and review them in a timely manner. From the moment they arrive in the mail, they become my first in line to be read. Books I’ve actually purchased sit gathering dust on my bookshelf. So, right now, I feel pretty foot loose and fancy free – and my current choices are proving to be very interesting and very personal.

Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield – I bought this book at some point last year for my husband. At that time I bought the book, I knew nothing about the author. I had no idea that the author lived in Charlottesville around the same time as my husband. Last night, after midnight, Danny and I discovered that he knew Sheffield’s wife when she lived in Roanoke!!!! I won’t reveal any more here, because it will be repeated in my review. Suffice to say that I kept saying, “It’s a small f*#!ing world!” over and over again. I’m really excited to write my post about this memoir. It’s going to be a lot of fun!

Mistaken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Hope by the Van Ryn and Cerak families. I remember when the story about this tragically deadly car accident hit the news. At the time, I must have registered that the Van Ryn family was from Grand Rapids, but I was surprised again to hear that familiar accent when I happened upon their interview on Dateline NBC at the end of March. The story was as beautiful as it was heart wrenching. This isn’t typically the type of book I would buy or read, but the hometown connection and the goodness of these people made it impossible for me not to buy.

So, I’m not fretting how long it’s taking Love Marriage to arrive. I’m basking in the glow of my own choices right now.

April 29, 2008 | Filed Under Barnes & Noble, Books, Family, First Look Book Club, Free, LIfe, LibraryThing, Memoir, My Life with Books, Reading, What's Up, entertainment 

Comments

6 Responses to “Without an ARC”

  1. Devourer of Books
    Posted: Apr 29th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
    1

    I know what you mean. Now with ReaderViews I can have about as many free books as I want. However, after the two I just got in the mail today, I think I am going to wait a couple of weeks before asking for any more. Of course, I requested from the April bonus batch and probably will from the May batch, so I might have more coming there, plus the Stewart O’Nan book and the YA book for that blog tour, but I need to make time for all these books I keep buying!

    Reply to this comment.
  2. lisamm
    Posted: May 9th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
    2

    I’ll be reading Songs for the Missing with B & N too.. in preparation for it I just read O’Nan’s Last Night at the Lobster and thought it was really good. Can’t wait for “Missing”!!

    Reply to this comment.
  3. Literate Housewife
    Posted: May 9th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
    3

    Lisa, that is a great idea!!!! I know I’ve seen that book before, but I didn’t make the connection to the author. I might rent that from the library to take with me on my vacation.

    Reply to this comment.
  4. lisamm
    Posted: May 9th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
    4

    I got it from our local library and read it in one day. It’s very small- I think 147 (little) pages.

    Reply to this comment.
  5. Devourer of Books
    Posted: May 9th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
    5

    That is a good idea, maybe I’ll look into that too…

    Reply to this comment.
  6. lisamm
    Posted: May 9th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
    6

    It really is good. I reviewed it here: http://lisamm.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/review-last-night-at-the-lobster-by-stewart-onan/

    Reply to this comment.
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