In My Mailbox is a weekly feature that is hosted by The Story Siren. Every Sunday (maybe Monday if I’m feeling off) I will post a list of all of the books I received or bought over the past week. I don’t expect this to be a weekly feature at TS – but hey – it’d be great if it was!

The UPS man probably got tired of having to deliver to me [since I'm out in the boonies] over this past week but since he was bringing me books I absolutely loved him. Even if he seems to be a perpetual grouch. Without further ado, these are the books that I received for the week of August 23 to August 30, 2009.

Books Received for Review:

Aurora of the Northern Lights by Holly Hardin

Back Cover Excerpt: Named for the Northern Lights, Aurora faces a woeful plight. To many lands she must roam, searching for her true home.

Come along as author Holly Hardin conjures a mystical world of adventure, sprites, and magical charms. After losing her parents, little Aurora sets off on her own. Because she’s different, Aurora finds it difficult to find anyone who will listen to her story, even at Christmas time. As her story continues, Aurora receives special gifts to keep her safe and important clues to find her new home.

Follow the journey as Aurora encounters a host of creatures along the way – including one very famous bearded man. What follows in this beautifully illustrated and delightfully written book is a heartwarming story of a home lost and found – and a Christmas lesson for us all.

I received this on Monday (August 24th) and immediately had to crack it open and read it! I meant to write a review for it, but then got side-tracked with Cult Insanity.

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children
by Po Bronson and Ashely Merryman

Amazon.com Product Description: In a world of modern, involved, caring parents, why are so many kids aggressive and cruel? Where is intelligence hidden in the brain, and why does that matter? Why do cross-racial friendships decrease in schools that are more integrated? If 98% of kids think lying is morally wrong, then why do 98% of kids lie? What’s the single most important thing that helps infants learn language?

NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. They argue that when it comes to children, we’ve mistaken good intentions for good ideas. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society’s strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring–because key twists in the science have been overlooked.

This book also arrived on Monday and I am now in the process of reading it. Truth be told, I was beginning to think it had gotten lost in the mail as it was expected to have arrived awhile ago. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming review and giveaway for this book!

She Still Calls Me Daddy: Building a New Relationship with Your Daughter After You Walk Her Down the Aisle by Robert Wolgemuth

“Dad, I’m getting married!” – four little words that change everything, even for the most prepared father. Suddenly your daughter – the little, the awkward adolescent, the spirited teenager, the young woman – who once depended on you, now turns to a new man for strength and support. It’s enough to stagger even the strongest of men.

As the father of two married daughters, Robert Wolgemuth understands the roller coaster of emotions that you feel as you walk your precious girl down the aisle. He also understand that giving her away at the altar doesn’t mean completely giving up the relationship that you’ve so carefully built over the years – it just means that the relationship is going to need some substantial renovation.

This book will give you special insights and the tools you need to gracefully expand your family and continue to cherish the young woman who still calls you Daddy.

This book also arrived on Monday. I felt sorry for the UPS man who delivered it. It was raining and it was late and yet he still continued his rounds. Gotta love that kind of dedication.

Friends Like These: My Worldwide Quest to Find my Best Childhood Friends, Knock on Their Doors, and Ask Them to Come Out and Play by Danny Wallace

Jacket Excerpt: Danny Wallace has friends. He has a wife and goes to brunch, and his new house has a couch with throw pillows on it.

But as he nears thirty, he can’t help wondering about his childhood friends. His first friends. Where are they now – and where, really, is he?

When Danny finds an address book in which he’d inscribed the names and numbers of the twelve best friends he has as a kid, he comes to a stunning realization. They were probably all turning thirty, too! Were they also trying to cope with the confusing new fog of adulthood? Did they have a couch with throw pillows on it?

Journeying from London to Berlin, Tokyo, Australia, and California, he risks rejection and ridicule to show up on his old pals’ doorsteps. Memories of his 1980s childhood – from Michael Jackson and Michael J. Fox to Ghostbusters and Goonies – reappear as he meets former buddies who have blossomed into rappers and ninjas, time-traveling pioneers, chain-restaurant managers, and even Fijian royalty.

Proving that as things change they also remain the same, Danny re-befriends them all, giving remarkable new resonance to the age-old mantra “friends forever!”

This one, along with Cult Insanity arrived on Thursday. This memoir is by the same author as Yes Man so I have high hopes for this one as well.

Cult Insanity: A Memoir of Polygamy, Prophets, and Blood Atonement by Irene Spencer

Thoughts of sleep fled as I listened to my pounding heart. Whom would I grab if we had to flee for our lives? Would I take the baby and leave the other nine to fend for themselves? Whom would I take and where would I run?

My agitated mind could not keep facing death every moment I was awake. I had to come up with a plan. The next morning, I walked three blocks to my ex-sister-wife Helen’s rock home. In a rush of words, I told her of my concern for my children’s lives and that I needed help. She agreed, and we walked together out of the house and through her backyard. She unlocked a small feed room adjacent to the goat corrals. Once inside, I scoped out the space. I could move a few bales of hay and, by stacking them a little higher, make a little more room in the shed. Helen offered a twin-size mattress that was stored on top of the hay. With a promise from Helen to tell no one, I felt relief flood me. I had a hiding place for my brood of children. We would be safe. – from Cult Insanity

I actually already finished reading this book and reviewed it too.

Books from Giveaways & Contests

Grandville by Bryan Talbot

Inspired by the work of nineteenth-century French illustrator Gerad, who worked under the nom de plume J.J. Grandville, and the seminal science fiction illustrator Robida – not to mention Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Rupert the Bear and Quentin Tarantino – Grandville is a steampunk masterpiece in which Detective Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard stalks a gang of ruthless killers through belle epoque Paris…Audacious, fantastical, beautifully drawn and coloured, it confirms Bryan Talbot’s reputation as one of the best graphic novelists in the world.

I’d like to thank @Vintagebooks for hosting this awesome giveaway! You guys are awesome!