Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly event hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.

Click the book titles for book synopses.

In the Mail:

Yummy:  Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins won from the Wonders and Marvels blog.  Reece read this from cover to cover when we received it!

and a bonus prize from them as well, Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins!

The Aelf Club: Unity by Stuart Brooke Richardson for a blog tour for Other Shelf Tours.














Yes, I joined another book club...The Literary Guild...so I received my introductory package in the mail.

Witch & Wizard by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White

And Dracula:  The Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt is on backorder. *sigh*

And the challenge addiction continues...

So...I only have a few more perpetual challenges to sign up for and then I'll be finished signing up for challenges (I think).

To see my reading lists for all my challenges, go to my challenge blog Challenges of the True Book Addict.  Be sure to follow me over there as well because I will be hosting a giveaway at my challenge blog as soon as I have 40 followers (spread the word)!

Here are the latest challenges I have signed up for:

Read the Book, See the Movie Challenge
Pages Read Challenge
18th and 19th Century Women Writers Reading Challenge
Art History Reading Challenge
World Religion Challenge
Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge
Take Another Chance Challenge
New Authors Challenge
100+ Reading Challenge

The Friday 56

Rules:


* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Helen took up her observation post again.  The men and women down below had risen to their feet to applaud the energetic entrance of a powerful man with a red beard, in a sheepskin-lined jacket so worn that it was shiny at the elbows.  He certainly hadn't gone to the trouble of putting on evening dress, and his muddy boots could have done with a good polishing.

Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat

Favorite Fictional Character--Morgaine (Morgan le Fay)

FFC is the brainchild of Ryan of Wordsmithonia.

My pick this week is a specific depiction of Morgan le Fay from one of my favorite books The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. 

A little background on the character from the book (from Wikipedia):

The book follows the trajectory of Morgaine (often called Morgan Le Fay in other works), a priestess fighting to save her matriarchal Celtic culture in a country where patriarchal Christianity threatens to destroy the pagan way of life. The book follows the lives of Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), Viviane, Morgause and other women who are often marginalized in Arthurian retellings. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are supporting rather than main characters.

The Mists of Avalon is in stark contrast to other retellings of the Arthurian tales, which consistently paint Morgaine as a distant, one-dimensional evil witch or sorceress; with no real explanation given (or required) for her antipathy. In this case Morgaine is cast as a strong woman who has unique gifts and responsibilities at a time of enormous political and spiritual upheaval; as she is called upon to defend her indigenous matriarchal heritage against impossible odds. The Mists of Avalon stands as a watershed for feminist interpretation of male-centered myth by articulating women's experience at time of great change and shifts in gender-power. The typical battles, quests, and feuds of King Arthur's reign are described as supporting elements to the women's lives.

I am particularly fond of this retelling of the Arthurian legend, and Morgan le Fay, because it portrays Morgaine as a sympathetic character who sets into motion events entirely by accident and chance.  She does not willfully entice Arthur, her brother, into a tryst in order to bear a son by him...a son who will later seek revenge (Mordred).  The story of Morgaine and the other women in Mists is taken to the level of strong female characters fighting to preserve a way of life against the tide of male-dominated mentalities and Christianity. 

I recommend that you read The Mists of Avalon and see for yourself what an artfully created character Morgaine is in the book.  I also recommend that you rent the television mini-series of The Mists of Avalon.  Morgaine is portrayed by the excellent Julianne Margulies in the movie and it is a beautiful screen adaptation of the book.

Mailbox Monday (late edition)

Mailbox Monday is a weekly event hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.

Last week was another great week for acquiring more books!

(Click titles for information on the books)




IN MY MAILBOX:

A Year of Pleasures--Elizabeth Berg (won from Ready When You Are, C.B.)


Book swag won from Ellz Readz--some cool Bree Despain The Dark Divine bookmarks and stickers.








BOUGHT:

These gems were purchased from the Second Saturday Book Sale, a monthly used book sale from The Friends of the Library.  Each hardcover was $2.00 and the paperback was $1.00.  What a steal!!!

The God of Spring--Arabella Edge (hardcover)

High Druid of Shannara: Straken--Terry Brooks (hardcover)

The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Morgawr--Terry Brooks (hardcover)

Mary Modern--Camille DeAngelis (hardcover)

Blood Noir--Laurell K. Hamilton (hardcover)

Trespass--Valerie Martin (hardcover)

The Sisters Mortland--Sally Beauman (hardcover)

Under the Greenwood Tree--Thomas Hardy (hardcover)

Mutiny on the Bounty--Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall (trade paperback)








So...what arrived in your mailbox over the past week?

Happy Birthday!

Today my youngest, Reece, turns seven! Happy Birthday to my dear sweet boy...he is definitely momma's baby, but I can feel him pulling away already. *sob*  We are having his party today at McDonald's...the one with the indoor playland...so I know he will have a great birthday.  I love you sweetie!

Challenges...just can't get enough!

I'm just about finished signing up for all the challenges I have so insanely decided to take on! Here are four more.  CLICK HERE to go to my challenge blog and see what I'll be reading.

ARC Reading Challenge 2010
Celebrate the Author
GLBT Challenge 2010
Read Your Name Challenge

Happy (Challenge) Reading =O)