In My Mailbox: March 25, 2012

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren as a way to highlight the books you receive every week (or so). A full explanation and rules can be found here.




From NetGalley:


Death by Petticoat: American History Myths Debunked
by Mary Miley Theobald

Available as: paperback
Pages: 144
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Release date: June 5, 2012
Suggested tags: non-fiction, history



I have such a weakness for books about American history. The quirky little facts in the description had me clicking "request" on NetGalley before I could think twice!

From Goodreads:

"Every day stories from American history that are not true are repeated in museums and classrooms across the country. Some are outright fabrications; others contain a kernel of truth that has been embellished over the years. Collaborating with The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Mary Miley Theobald has uncovered the truth behind many widely repeated myth-understandings in our history in Death by Petticoat including:

* Hat makers really were driven mad. They were poisoned by the mercury used in making hats from furs. Their symptoms included hallucinations, tremors, and twitching, which looked like insanity to people of the 17th and 18th centuries--and the phrase "mad as a hatter" came about.

* The idea that portrait painters gave discounts if their subjects posed with one hand inside the vest (so they didn't have to paint fingers and leading to the saying that something "costs an arm and a leg") is strictly myth. It isn't likely that Napoleon, King George III, or George Washington were concerned about getting a discount from their portrait painters.

Pregnant women secluded themselves indoors, uneven stairs were made to trip up burglars, people bathed once a year, women had tiny waists, apprenticeships lasted seven years--Death by Petticoat reveals the truth about these hysterical historical myth-understandings."

Radiate
by Marley Gibson

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 395
Publisher: Graphia
Release date: April 3, 2012
Suggested tags: young adult, realistic fiction



I read a lot of books by Lurlene McDaniel when I was younger, and from the description Radiate seems to have a similar feeling. I'm really looking forward to reading this one.

From Goodreads:

"Hayley Matthews is determined to be the best cheerleader she can. She works hard and pushes herself 110% all the time. Then Hayley finds a lump on her leg. The diagnosis is cancer. The prognosis is unclear. She could lose her leg. Or maybe her life. At first Haley is scared, terrified. In an instant, everything she’s worked for seems out of reach. But Haley is strong. She’s going to fight this disease. She will not let it take her life or her dreams."

From the bookstore:


The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story
by Mary Downing Hahn

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 144
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: April 20, 1989
Suggested tags: middle grade, paranormal, ghosts



I mentioned in another post that this was my favorite book in my younger days and that I needed to find a copy for myself. Guess what - I found it! (And for only $5!) This totally made my week! :)

From Goodreads:

"When Ashley discovers a turn-of-the-century doll it is just the first of several puzzling events that lead her through the hedge and into a twilight past where she meets Louise, an ailing child whose beloved doll has mysteriously disappeared."