Angieville

I can make kind of a lovely story about why there's been so much radio silence around these parts lately. But the truth of the matter is my blogging time as been sucked away by the San Francisco Giants, who were not supposed to get into the playoffs but who did and so I am a very happy (but very nonblogging) girl. To make up for this, I'm happy to host a giveaway today, and a Halloween one at that!  Thanks to Penguin Books, we're giving away one copy of the new Penguin Classics edition of Washington Irving's classic The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories .   This new collection of larger-than-life tales contains Washington Irving’s best-known literary inventions—Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman, and Rip Van Winkle—and features a new introduction and notes by Elizabeth L. Bradley, author of  Knickerbocker: The Myth Behind New York  and literary consultant to Historic Hudson Valley, the caretakers of Irving’s Tarrytown, New York home. And here's th...

So never mind that these three pretties aren't due out until next spring . Let's focus on how awesome they are likely to be and how ecstatic I was to run across their covers. I trust all three of these authors (two of them new-to-me discoveries this year) to come through with beautiful writing and a sophisticated tale. One is a direct sequel, one a companion novel, and one a standalone. All three bode well for 2013. Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers This is the second in the His Fair Assassin  trilogy and sequel to the most excellent Grave Mercy . Though I'm not quite as enamored of this cover as I was with the first one, I am no less excited for Sybella's story. And I love the tagline, "Vengeance is divine." You spend most of the first book wondering what in the world is going on with this girl, so it's going to be just very good to find out! Due out April 2nd Under the Light by Laura Whitcomb At last! A cover! My heart can only stand so much hap...

Retro Friday   is a weekly meme hosted here at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! I include roundups from participating bloggers in my post every week. Wow. It's been way too long since our last Retro Friday review! Things just kept popping up on Fridays, but now we are back to regularly scheduled programming. And the book I've chosen for you today is an absolute keeper, but one that I rarely see featured for review for some reason. It hasn't been out that long really, but it's one I feel deserves more attention. I found it back in January of 2006 while browsing the Staff Picks shelf at my local bookstore. I'm always intrigued by the staff picks at bookstores and libraries. I love seeing what other bibliophiles pick when asked to recommend one title per month or so for the mas...