New Arrivals!

My loot for the last six weeks! Yes, my last post was 6 weeks ago. That’s fine because it’s sort of relaxing not to get so many books every week. Relaxing, because I always want to start reading them straight away. 🙂

Books for review

Shovel Ready by Adam Sterbergh

I received this book from the Dutch rep for Random House USA. I’m always interested in dystopia and this sounded good. I read a few positive reviews about the book and I’m really looking forward to this one. I’m hoping it’s a bit like Ready Player One, which I loved.

The publisher says: “Spademan used to be a garbage man.  That was before the dirty bomb hit Times Square, before his wife was killed, and before the city became a blown-out shell of its former self.

Now he’s a hitman.

In a near-future New York City split between those who are wealthy enough to “tap in” to a sophisticated virtual reality, and those who are left to fend for themselves in the ravaged streets, Spademan chose the streets.  His new job is not that different from his old one: waste disposal is waste disposal.  He doesn’t ask questions, he works quickly, and he’s handy with a box cutter.  But when his latest client hires him to kill the daughter of a powerful evangelist, his unadorned life is upended: his mark has a shocking secret and his client has a sordid agenda far beyond a simple kill.  Spademan must navigate between these two worlds—the wasteland reality and the slick fantasy—to finish his job, clear his conscience, and make sure he’s not the one who winds up in the ground. “

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A Highly Unlikely Scenario by Rachel Cantor

This book I also received from the Dutch rep for Random House USA. This is a fun, but rather weird book. It plays is the near future, but because of time travel, some of it is set in the 13th or so Century. I read it already, and I liked it for its weirdness. My review is HERE.

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Cold Storage, Alaska by John Straley

I got this book from Soho Press. I love stories in cold places, so the title, Alaska, immediately made me sit up. It’s a mystery but I expect it’s more than that!

From the publishers: “Reformed with the dream of opening a bar-slash-church, Clive “The Milkman” McCahon returns to his Alaska hometown of Cold Storage after a 7-year jail stint for dealing coke. He has a lot to make up to his brother, Miles, who has dutifully been taking care of their ailing mother—and, really, all of Cold Storage.

Miles is a Physician’s Assistant and the closest thing to a doctor this side of Sitka.

But Clive doesn’t realize the trouble he’s bringing home. His vengeful former business partner is hot on his heels, a stick-in-the-mud State Trooper is dying to bust him for narcotics, and, to complicate everything, Clive might be going a little insane—lately, he’s been hearing animals talking to him.

Will Clive’s arrival breathe new life into the dying town and its hard-drinking, no-nonsense inhabitants? Or will the trouble he brings along be the last nail in Cold Storage’s coffin?“

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From the library

To Be a Cat by Matt Haig

I happened to come across this children’s book in my local library. Since I love the other two (adult) books I read by the author, I thought it would be fun to try this one. This is a book from the writer of The Humans and The Radleys.

The publisher says: “Barney Willow’s life couldn’t get any worse. He’s weedy, with sticky-out ears. Horrible Gavin Needle loves tormenting him – Barney has no idea why. And headteacher-from-hell Miss Whipmire seems determined to make every second of Barney’s existence a complete misery! Worst of all, Dad has been missing for almost a year, and there’s no sign of him ever coming home.

Barney just wants to escape. To find another life. To be a cat, for example. A quiet, lazy cat. Things would be so much easier – right?“

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A Book I Bought

Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino

I read The Devotion of Suspect X last year and I really loved that for being quite different from what I was used to. This book, which I’ve read already, was not quite so intriguing, but still a good read. My review is HERE.

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And one in Dutch

The Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami

For all Murakami Fans! A new book is out: in Japanese, in Chinese, in German, in Dutch… But I haven’t discovered an English translation yet. I’m sure it’s on its way!  I got this from the Dutch publishers for review. 

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Have you read any of these books? Which of these would appeal to you?