Thursday, May 31, 2012

GIVEAWAY HOP: My Favorite Reads


This hop is hosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and Rachelle Writes.The goal of this hop is to giveaway a "favorite read", and I decided to pull together a selection of some of my favorite books from the last few years.

Here is what you have to choose from:

 Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale

Mark Twain meets classic Stephen King--a bold new direction for widely acclaimed Edgar Award winner Joe R. Lansdale.

May Lynn was once a pretty girl who dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star. Now she's dead, her body dredged up from the Sabine River.

Sue Ellen, May Lynn's strong-willed teenage friend, sets out to dig up May Lynn's body, burn it to ash, and take those ashes to Hollywood to spread around. If May Lynn can't become a star, then at least her ashes will end up in the land of her dreams.

Along with her friends Terry and Jinx and her alcoholic mother, Sue Ellen steals a raft and heads downriver to carry May Lynn's remains to Hollywood.

Only problem is, Sue Ellen has some stolen money that her enemies will do anything to get back. And what looks like a prime opportunity to escape from a worthless life will instead lead to disastrous consequences. In the end, Sue Ellen will learn a harsh lesson on just how hard growing up can really be.


Read my review here.


The Passage by Justin Cronin

“It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.”

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.


Read my review here.


Smonk by Tom Franklin

It's 1911 and the secluded southwestern Alabama town of Old Texas has been besieged by a scabrous and malevolent character called E. O. Smonk. Syphilitic, consumptive, gouty and goitered, Smonk is also an expert with explosives and knives. He abhors horses, goats and the Irish. Every Saturday night for a year he's been riding his mule into Old Texas, destroying property, killing livestock, seducing women, cheating and beating men all from behind the twin barrels of his Winchester 45-70 caliber over and under rifle. At last the desperate citizens of the town, themselves harboring a terrible secret, put Smonk on trial, with disastrous and shocking results. 


Thus begins the highly anticipated new novel from Tom Franklin, acclaimed author of Hell at the Breech and Poachers, Smonk is also the story of Evavangeline, a fifteen-year-old prostitute quick to pull a trigger or cork. A case of mistaken identity plunges her into the wild sugarcane country between the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, land suffering from the worst drought in a hundred years and plagued by rabies. Pursued by a posse of unlikely vigilantes, Evavangeline boats upriver and then wends through the dust and ruined crops, forced along the way to confront her own clouded past. She eventually stumbles upon Old Texas, where she is fated to E. O. Smonk and the townspeople in a way she could never imagine.

In turns hilarious, violent, bawdy and terrifying, Smonk creates its own category: It's a southern, not a western, peopled with corrupt judges and assassins, a cuckolded blacksmith, Christian deputies, widows, War veterans, whores, witches, madmen and zombies. By the time the smoke has cleared, the mystery of Smonk will be revealed, the survivors changed forever.

Read my review here.


The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell

Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.

For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.


Read my review here.


Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell

Evocative and compelling, rich in imagination and atmosphere, Under This Unbroken Sky is a beautifully wrought debut from a gifted new novelist.

Spring 1938. After nearly two years in prison for the crime of stealing his own grain, Ukrainian immigrant Teodor Mykolayenko is a free man. While he was gone, his wife, Maria; their five children; and his sister, Anna, struggled to survive on the harsh northern Canadian prairie, but now Teodor--a man who has overcome drought, starvation, and Stalin's purges--is determined to make a better life for them. As he tirelessly clears the untamed land, Teodor begins to heal himself and his children. But the family's hopes and newfound happiness are short-lived. Anna's rogue husband, the arrogant and scheming Stefan, unexpectedly returns, stirring up rancor and discord that will end in violence and tragedy.

Under This Unbroken Sky is a mesmerizing tale of love and greed, pride and desperation, that will resonate long after the last page is turned. Shandi Mitchell has woven an unbearably suspenseful story, written in a language of luminous beauty and clarity. Rich with fiery conflict and culminating in a gut-wrenching climax, this is an unforgettably powerful novel from a passionate new voice in contemporary literature.

Read my review here.

To enter for your choice of one of my favorite reads seen above, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to everyone!I hope the winner enjoys their choice of book as much as I did! And now, hop on through to the other blogs participating in the giveaway. Use the linky below to visit the next one on the list...

87 comments:

Natasha said...

One of my favorite reads is Falling Under by Gwen Hayes.

Tin said...

One of my favorite reads of all time is A.S. Byatt's Possession. (I love the movie version as well. ^_^)

Anonymous said...

The Host by Stephenie Meyer is my favorite book! :)

Unknown said...

Thanks for the giveaway! One of my favorite reads so far this year is Arcadia by Lauren Groff.

Ellie said...

My favourite three books of all time are probably 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde, 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt and 'Time Was Soft There' by Jeremy Mercer. Most people haven't heard of that last one - it's about Mercer's one-year stay at the famous Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris, and I love it so much that I now run my own bookshop! ;)

Meghan@OwlReadIt said...

ONE of my favorite books is Needful Things by Stephen King :D

Tanya said...

One of my favorites is Saving June by Hannah Harrington :)

Mervi said...

One of my favorite reads is Feed by Mira Grant. Thanks for the giveaway!

Disincentive said...

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk! :D
Anyway, I have a copy of The Passage on my shelf... I hope it will be as good as you say :)


please turn off the word verification!

oriana said...

one of my fav is The hous of Spirit, it was like the first novel that i read

thanks!

Mai in Wonderland said...

My fav book is Clockwork Orange.

Rafflecopter Name: Michael Byers

A.D. Duling said...

one of my favorite reads was Jewels by Danielle Steel

DeeDee Griffin said...

I loved The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Unknown said...

I have way too many favorite books to name, but I guess I'll say the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld.

magic5905 said...

Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers.
magic5905 at embarqmail dot com

Jennifer Haile said...

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Lilly said...

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is one of my favorite books.
Thanks a lot for this great giveaway!

Ivana said...

One that I just finished that made a huge impact is The Language of Flowers by V. Diffenbaugh. All time favorite, Lord of the Rings :)

Thank you for the giveaway!

Flord Naezel said...

My favorite is Unearthly. ;) Thanks for the giveaway!

Natalie @ Book Lovers Life said...

One of my favorite reads is Angelfall by Susan Ee

Natalie @ Book Lovers Life said...

OOPS forgot to say I entered as Natalie Cleary

debbie said...

My favorite book is the stand by stephen king.

Tracy said...

I loved, Catching Fire. A lot!

jodi lasher said...

I loved the twilight series.

Veronika said...

I loved Obsidian by Jennifer L Armentrout and the Divergent books by Veronica Roth.

Nancy said...

I liked the first two in Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller chronicles.

ZaraAlexis said...

I've got a lot to choose from (but I am also participating in this hop, so you can check out my post if you want and enter!).

But for this comment's purposes, I'm going to have to say...mmm...The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman and Alone in the Classroom by Elizabeth Hay as recent ones.

Thanks!

Na said...

One of my recent favorite read is The First Time by Joy Fielding. Such a tear-jerker.

Zemira said...

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta.

Katie Amanda said...

My latest favorite is The Immortal Rules.

katieamanda1(at)yahoo(dot)com

Suz Reads said...

I loved all of the Hunger Games trilogy!

Kate said...

The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

Dana said...

Jane Eyre will always be one of my favorite reads!

Thalia Anderson said...

Ico: Castle in the Mist. (:

JessS said...

One of my fave reads is the Nadia Stafford series by Kelley Armstrong. There are only two books (Exit Strategy and Made to Be Broken) but I love them!

Evil Queen said...

The Phantom of the Opera :D

Evil Queen said...

The Phantom of the Opera :D

Unknown said...

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour is my favorite read.

Thanks!

Unknown said...

Remember When by Nora Roberts is my current favourite

andalene said...

abrennan09@hotmail.com
My fave read is Murder on the Orient Express - by Agatha Christie.

Gale Nelson said...

I love the Blackdagger Brotherhood Series. Gale
pgan427@yahoo.com

Filia Oktarina said...

I love read Dark Hunter Series.

Emily said...

The Hunger Games Trilogy!

Aleksandra said...

One of my favs is Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey!

Thanks for the giveaway!

Unknown said...

I just love Obsidian

Carol said...

One of my favorite reads so far this year is Shade by Jeri Smith Ready. Thanks for the chance!!

Tiffany Drew said...

One of my favorite reads is The Dogs of Babel. It's such a heart breaking story!

Unknown said...

The Great Lenore by J.M. Tohline!

elizabeth @ bookattict . com

Emily @ Falling For YA said...

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater was one of my favorite reads this year!

Emisbookblog(at)AOL(dot)com

Monica Gutierrez said...

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. Thanks for the giveaway!

Monica Gutierrez
mgutierrez254@yahoo.com

Yael said...

Favorite reads: A lot of them, but off the top of my head, Tad Williams' Otherland quartet and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

Liese2 said...

One of my favorite books is Northern Lights by Nora Roberts.
sqwalker2@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

So far, one of my favorite book this year is The Daughter of Smoke and Bone :D

Thanks!

Tara said...

Reading Surrender by Elana Johnson right now and loving it!!!!!

Dinda said...

My favorite read this year is Clockwork Prince.

Anonymous said...

This year my favorite so far is
Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa.

Over all time? Shadow of the Window.

as for your giveaway, I would love to read the Joe Lansdale book. I've heard a lot of great things about it. Thanks for the giveaway.

Vinci said...

Thanks for the book hop
and adding to my list of books to read.My fav. book is the classic Jane Eyre. Edge of dark water seems
like my kind of book.
dayleb at telus dot net

Unknown said...

Happy to see "The Passage" on your list. I love that book! The Reapers ar the Angels sounds so good!

Debora B said...

One of my favorite reads os The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova! :)

Steph said...

Thanks for the giveaway! You picked some awesome books! One of my favorites is A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.

JanisKay said...

Thank you for this giveaway:) My favorite book would be a tough one to choose...I think I'd have to go with The Secret Garden:) Loved that book

Reading Mind / The Loyal Book said...

Harry potter forever and alwasys!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the giveaway.

My fave ever is The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baronnes Orczy. The book that changed my life (ie. it's got me reading).

The Passage was a great book & The Smonk looks absolutely intriguing, I will have to look out for that one.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the giveaway.

My fave ever is The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baronnes Orczy. The book that changed my life (ie. it's got me reading).

The Passage was a great book & The Smonk looks absolutely intriguing, I will have to look out for that one.

Kelly said...

Remember When by Nora Roberts ...

ronnkelly3@aol.com

BlackWolf said...

My favorite read this year is Wicked as they come

Spav said...

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder.

~Enamored Soul~ said...

Picking a favorite book is like asking which one of your children you love (I don't have any yet, and still this question is hard! lol :P)...But I'll list a few of my favorites.

"Pride & Prejudice" by Jane Austen, "19 Minutes" by Jodi Picoult, "The Iron House" by John Hart (I've heard it being compared to "The Passage" but since I've never read "The Passage", I can't confirm), and "The Stranger You Seek" by Amanda Kyle Williams.

Thank you for your generosity, and for being part of this blog hop, and for this amazing giveaway! :D

Name: Hira Hasnain
Email: Enamoredsoul(at)gmail(dot)com

Bridget Howard said...

One of my favorites is Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi!!!

Dovile said...

One of my top favorite reads is Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

LB said...

Divergent!

Darlene said...

My favourite series is the Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward, but Alpha & Omega by Patricia Briggs is a close second!

I also loved Memoirs of a Geisha and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society!

Kristia said...

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson. Thank you for the international giveaway :)
Kristia Miltiadou

Lilian said...

I loved The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman!

Sherina the Monster. said...

I love so many books! But my top favorite so far is "Something Blue". ♥

Tiff Pull said...

I love The Host by Stephanie Meyer and Starters by Lissa Price.

Why Not? Because I Said So! said...

I love The Help and The Hunger Games. I also love The Lord of the Rings series and Harry Potter series.

sweety said...

"Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews". :)

Thanks for the international giveaway!!

Rafflecopter name - Rosemarie D

Sarah Elizabeth said...

I love the werecats series by rachel vincent :)

Cayce said...

My all time favorite is The Count of Monte Cristo.
And a new one I love is Slammed by Colleen Hoover.

Thank you for the giveaway! :)

corey said...

And then there were None.
coreybrennan26@hotmail.com

aldelei89 said...

my current fave is The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare :)

aldelei89 at yahoo dot com

AEKZ2 said...

Pillars of the Earth is one of my favorites

Becca Wilson said...

The Host by Steph Meyer was one of the best I have read this yr!

Candice said...

Thanks for the giveaway! I read The Three Musketeers every year. I collect copies of Alice in Wonderland and my favorite fun read right now is Fancy Pants.
Thanks!

Isa said...

The Harry Potter series, The Fault in Our Stars and The Princess Bride. Thanks for the giveaway!

Linda Kish said...

I like She Makes It Look Easy

lkish77123 at gmail dot com