Mondays: Mailbox/What am I reading?/Musing

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books. Alyce  is hosting it on her at home with books blog for the month of January 2012.

I received only two book, thanks to the publicists:

The Discovery of Jeanne Baret by Glynis Ridley:

In 1765, France sent an expedition around the world, hoping to claim new imperial prizes. Among the 300-plus men aboard the two ships was one woman—disguised as the male assistant of her botanist lover. Jeanne Baret left no written record of her experiences, but at least eight other passengers did. Mining their diaries for a glimpse of what went through Baret’s mind during her two years at sea, Ridley has assembled a portrait of a woman whose fortitude was matched only by her curiosity.

Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard: 

Detroit, 1971. Harry Levin, scrap metal dealer and holocaust survivor, learns that his daughter has been killed in a car accident. Travelling to Washington DC, he's told by Detective Taggart that the German diplomat, who was drunk, has been released and afforded immunity; he will never face charges. So Harry is left with only one option - to discover the identity of this man, follow him back to Munich and hunt him down. Told with swagger, brutal humour and not a little violence, it follows a good man who is forced to return to the horrors of his past. 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila of Book Journey.

I read the following:

1) Love Returned by Mildred Colvin

2) Return of the Runway Bride by Donna Fasano

3) The Passionate Italian by Diana Fraser

4) Of Novel Birth by Brenda Novak

5) Wild Angel by Miriam Minger

I am in the midst of reading:

Many books!

Are there any “raved reads” –books that everyone seems to be talking about– that you’re hoping to get read this year, yourself?

I pick what I want to read. If the "raved reads" are from the genre I like, I might pick those up. Or maybe not. It depends. I will never go for much hyped fantasy/paranormal fiction.