Thank You, Secret Santa!

I participated in a bookish Secret Santa Exchange hosted by The Broke and the Bookish this year for the first time. It was so much fun! I had a great time shopping for my recipient.

I wanted to share with you the items I received from my Santa. I have no idea who sent it, I only know that it was sent from Susanville, CA. I love my gifts so a big hearty THANK YOU and a giant bear hug across the internet :)

There was not one, but TWO books in the box! Both are nonfiction and sound like terrific reads. I've started Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, and so far I'm really enjoying it.

Driving Mr. Albert: A Trip Across America with Einstein's Brain by Michael Paterniti

Albert Einstein's brain floats in a Tupperware bowl in a gray duffel bag in the trunk of a Buick Skylark barreling across America. Driving the car is journalist Michael Paterniti. Sitting next to him is an eighty-four-year-old pathologist named Thomas Harvey, who performed the autopsy on Einstein in 1955 -- then simply removed the brain and took it home. And kept it for over forty years.

On a cold February day, the two men and the brain leave New Jersey and light out on I-70 for sunny California, where Einstein's perplexed granddaughter, Evelyn, awaits. And riding along as the imaginary fourth passenger is Einstein himself, an id-driven genius, the original galactic slacker with his head in the stars. Part travelogue, part memoir, part history, part biography, and part meditation, Driving Mr. Albert is one of the most unique road trips in modern literature.

and

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home by Rhoda Janzen

Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. It was bad enough that her husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, but that same week a car accident left her injured. Needing a place to rest and pick up the pieces of her life, Rhoda packed her bags, crossed the country, and returned to her quirky Mennonite family's home, where she was welcomed back with open arms and offbeat advice. (Rhoda's good-natured mother suggested she get over her heartbreak by dating her first cousin—he owned a tractor, see.)
Written with wry humor and huge personality—and tackling faith, love, family, and aging—Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is an immensely moving memoir of healing, certain to touch anyone who has ever had to look homeward in order to move ahead.

Also in the box were three fantastic bookmarks and some beautiful hand-made note cards and bookplates.

Many thanks to The Broke and The Bookish for hosting. I look forward to participating again next year.

Did you receive any bookish gifts this year? I'd love to hear about them.

Happy reading and I'll talk to you soon,

Angela