Windfall of books

I just love it when books fall into my lap. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, there's nothing better. Here are a few books I've acquired with little effort, and absolutely no money, lately.

Less Than Angels, by Barbara Pym. I've been on a Pym jag lately, so I mooched this on BookMooch. I recently mooched and read Pym's Quartet in Autumn, which I really enjoyed. Of course, I haven't reviewed it yet, but I'll try to get to it...

The Mercy Rule, by Perri Klass. This was sent to me by a publisher, unsolicited. This new for me. It's a novel by a doctor/novelist/mother, a combo that interests me, and I've heard her novels are nicely character driven.

We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver. I've wanted to read this ever since I read Shriver's later novel, The Post-Birthday World, which I really enjoyed. This book, about a mother and her violent child, has intrigued (and scared) me for a long time. I borrowed this one from a friend.

The Suicide Index, by Joan Wickersham. Another book from the publisher. This is a memoir of a daughter's exploration of why her father committed suicide, and again, this is an intriguing and scary subject--I'm definitely interested in reading this.

Mommy Wars, by Leslie Morgan Steiner. I've been meaning to read this and several other books on motherhood for a long time, but I tend to grab a novel instead. This is a collection of essays by different "fiery" women about working and motherhood, and the work-family balance. I acquired this from a friend who was cleaning out her bookshelves, and was about to give it to charity. Since it was something on my list, I snagged it!

This has been a crazy week, with little time for reading or blogging. The flowers and the bottle of champagne you may be able to spy in the picture behind my stack of books are from a wedding shower that I helped host at my house yesterday. But I did manage to finish Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, which I really enjoyed, and will write about soon.