Wednesday 6 January 2010

Secret Santas!



Officially it may be January but my heart is still with Christmas. I was surrounded by a blanket of white whilst I was home for the holidays and returned to normality when I arrived back to London ... until today when I woke to white flurries once again. I was sad to take down my Christmas tree but consoled myself with the snow outside and now with sharing some of my Secret Santa gifts this year! One arrived at the same time as my Persephone Secret Santa and the other just missed by departure for home but was waiting for me at the Royal Mail depot.

My Holiday Swap blogging Santa was Brooke from Brooke Reviews who sent me -all the way from Florida- the wonderful colour-coordinated contents above. Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke is a book from my wishlist; the third in the Inkheart trilogy, which I have greatly enjoyed, I have been lusting after the final installment since its release last winter. Brooke was very generous and also sent me two very cool bookmarks and a notebook; I am a crazy collector of both so these were perfect gifts for me! Also in the package was some promotional material -including sampler- for the book, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I've been aware of some of the hype surrounding this book so look forward to the teaser and coincidentally Brooke reviewed the book today! Thank you for your generosity, Brooke, and for being so worried that it had been lost. I have really enjoyed the Holiday Swap this year and you can view my Santee's post here.



My other Secret Santa, photographed above (beautifully wrapped by Amazon) was arranged through the LibraryThing Virago Modern Classics group, which I partook in Christmas 2008 and in 2009. This time around my lovely Santa sent me Virago copies of My Cousin Rachel and The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is one of my all-time favourite years and yet in the fourteen years since first reading it I have never attempted another Du Maurier novel in case it didn't live up to my expectations; last year I decided that I would love to read more of her work -especially after hearing great things from blogging friends- and my Santa treated me to two that I can now indulge in. I am particularly excited about reading My Cousin Rachel after reading that another cookie crumbles preferred it to Rebecca! I intend to pick it up soon as it should make perfect reading during a dark, bleak winter.

I shall be sharing some more acquisitions over the weekend, including some that Santa also dropped off at home for me.

16 comments:

Eva said...

I loved House on the Strand (and Rebecca)! I did not love My Cousin Rachel, but I was also in a bad mood w/ life when reading it, so that might have been the cause. ;)

Those bookmarks and journal are so pretty!

Brooke Reviews said...

I always wondered what gifts wrapped from Amazon looked like! :)

I'm so glad you liked the presents. I hope you enjoy the book and the teaser! :)

Aarti said...

Those are gorgeous bookmarks! And I like the Amazon wrapping. Quality gifts- enjoy them :)

serendipity_viv said...

I have been wanting to read Inkspell and Inkdeath all year, after receiving Inkheart last Christmas,but I never got around to buying them.

I loved Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier more than Rebecca. It had a real gothic feel to it.

Kathleen said...

Congratulations on your lovely gifts! I loved Rebecca and really enjoyed My Cousin Rachel also. I don't think you will be disappointed!

Anonymous said...

Those bookmarks look well funky! I really like the look of them.

Hope you enjoy the Du Mauriers. I'm still trying to pick out my Du Mauriers for this year!

Rachel (Book Snob) said...

Well you got lucky! I love Daphne so I am jealous of those! I saw the movie of Inkheart, largely because I fancy the pants off Paul Bettany, but I haven't read the books. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts!

Anonymous said...

what a great gift. Brooke was actually my Santee - and she was your Santa. I kind of like the coming-full-circle of that. (:

Kals said...

Love the bookmarks and the journal!

It seems to be quite a great book haul :)

Dot said...

What lovely presents to receive! My Cousin Rachel is really good, I've not read House on the Strand so I look forward to hearing what you think!

Darlene said...

It's wonderful that through books, someone from across the globe can know you so well. Enjoy your lovely gifts!

Paperback Reader said...

Eva, isn't it funny how our moods and present situations affect our reading experience? Completely logical, of course.

I'm looking forward to using my bookmarks and notebook!

Brooke, as had I, which is why included the wrapped photo of those.

I am sure I will enjoy them - thanks again for your generosity and good taste!

Aarti, thank you. I'm a sucker for a pretty bookmark :).

Vivienne, I haven't got around tor reading Inkspell either yet so will be reading that and Inkdeath.

Jamaica Inn is another Du Maurier I have heard good things about and I fully intend to read that after these.

Kathleen, I hope not! I have faith I will enjoy it as much as you.

anothercookie, they're very funky and from Paperchase.

I look forward to finding out which Du Mauriers you choose; I very nearly read The Parasites in '09 but then had to return it to the library.

Rachel, I am very excited about my Daphne books!

I also fancy Paul Bettany and liked the movie but, as in most cases, thought the book was better.

Lena, ooh, how serendipitous! Now if only I had been your Santa then it would have been uncanny!

Kals, me too! I am very pleased with my gifts.

Dot, I'm glad that you also enjoyed My Cousin Rachel - I'm really looking forward to reading it now! Hopefully share my thoughts soon.

Darlene, I love the connections we make through books and blogging :).

Jodie said...

What nice presents, Inkdeath has such a creepily gorgeous cover that it's hard to resist.

Paperback Reader said...

Jodie, I love its creepiness! It's my favourite cover of the moment and I'm glad that my photo did it justice.

verity said...

Aren't you lucky - I wish I'd participated in a Secret Santa, although I was lucky to recieve a couple of presents from bloggers, including yourself (I didn't get around to making my Angel so have packed it carefully away for next year - should have opened the package earlier :). As you know I loved the CDs :)

Paperback Reader said...

There's always this year, Verity, and you were lucky with your gifts. Hopefully I'll be more in the spirit during the next Christmas spirit and listen to my mixes more! Happy you enjoyed them :).