Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme begun by Marcia at The Printed Page where we share what arrived in our mailboxes for the past week. MM  is currently on tour. April's host is Amy at Passages to the Past.  Caveat: MM can cause your TBR list to explode exponentially. Here's what showed up chez moi last week.

Hardcover, 288 pages
Published March 1st 2011 by Harper (first published February 25th 2011)
ISBN0061732370 (ISBN13: 9780061732379)

From Goodreads:

The life Kamila Sidiqi had known changed overnight when the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul. After receiving a teaching degree during the civil war—a rare achievement for any Afghan woman—Kamila was subsequently banned from school and confined to her home. When her father and brother were forced to flee the city, Kamila became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings. Armed only with grit and determination, she picked up a needle and thread and created a thriving business of her own.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana tells the incredible true story of this unlikely entrepreneur who mobilized her community under the Taliban. Former ABC News reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon spent years on the ground reporting Kamila's story, and the result is an unusually intimate and unsanitized look at the daily lives of women in Afghanistan. These women are not victims; they are the glue that holds families together; they are the backbone and the heart of their nation.

Afghanistan's future remains uncertain as debates over withdrawal timelines dominate the news. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana moves beyond the headlines to transport you to an Afghanistan you have never seen before. This is a story of war, but it is also a story of sisterhood and resilience in the face of despair. Kamila Sidiqi's journey will inspire you, but it will also change the way you think about one of the most important political and humanitarian issues of our time.

Harper Collins is allowing me to hold a giveaway in May of The Dressmaker of Khair Khana for up to 5 copies of the book.

Hardcover, 336 pages
Expected publication: August 23rd 2011 by Ballantine Books (first published March 14th 2011)
ISBN034552554X (ISBN13: 9780345525543)

From Goodreads:

The Victorian language of flowers was used to express emotions: honeysuckle for devotion, azaleas for passion, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it has been more useful in communicating feelings like grief, mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen, Victoria has nowhere to go, and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. When her talent is discovered by a local florist, she discovers her gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But it takes meeting a mysterious vendor at the flower market for her to realise what's been missing in her own life, and as she starts to fall for him, she's forced to confront a painful secret from her past, and decide whether it's worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness. "The Language of Flowers" is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about the meaning of flowers, the meaning of family, and the meaning of love.

Hardcover, 320 pages
Expected publication: May 3rd 2011 by NAL Hardcover
ISBN0451233190 (ISBN13: 9780451233196)

From Goodreads:

Izzy Chambers is about to get married, but much remains to be done. Then the wedding plans get complicated when the wedding party's hair stylist begins missing appointments. When she's found dead, things really begin to unravel. Rumors circulate about the stylist's past and her connection to an unsolved murder years ago.

All the Seaside Knitters really know is they must rally to find some answers, so Izzy can don the wedding shawl they're surprising her with- and replace the whispers about town with wedding bells.

Penguin Group (USA) is allowing me to hold a giveaway in May for  one copy of The Wedding Shawl.

Hardcover, 272 pages
Expected publication: May 3rd 2011 by NAL Hardcover
more details...
ISBN0451233204 (ISBN13: 9780451233202)

From Goodreads:
Helen Hawthorne and her new hubby Phil have opened their own P.I. agency and their very first client is Shelby, who thinks her husband is developing a killer body for another woman.

To keep track of the suspected cheater, Helen gets a dead-end job at Fantastic Fitness, where she has to pump iron to stay employed. Then the budding agency takes on a murder case, and Helen has to move her workouts to the early morning just to keep up. With so much weight on her aching shoulders, will Helen catch a killer-or just drop dead from exhaustion?

Penguin Group (USA) is allowing me to hold a giveaway in May for  one copy of  Pumped for Murder.

What exciting books made their way to your home this week? Feel free to leave a link to your MM to make it easier for me to visit. Happy Monday!