Saturday, May 30, 2009

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (05-30-09)

A list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away an ARC for The Kiss. Deadline is May 30.

Readaholic is giving away 5 copies of To Beguile a Beast. Deadline is May 30.

Readaholic is giving away 5 copies of Bound to Please. Deadline is May 30.

Bookin' With Bingo is giving away 5 copies of All of Me. Deadline is May 30.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away 5 copies of Testimony. Deadline is May 30.

Unmainstream Mom Reads is giving away 5 copies of Afraid. Deadline is May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away a boxed audio set of Women's Murder Club. Deadline May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is also giving away an audio book of Undress Me In the Temple of Heaven. Deadline is May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away an ARC of Mother's Day Murder. Deadline May 30.

Linus's Blanket is giving away Conscience Point. Deadline is May 30.

A Circle of Books is giving away a gently read copy of Who By Fire. Deadline is May 30.

Linus's Blanket is giving away Mistress of the Sun. Deadline is May 30.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away one copy of Frenchman's Creek and one copy of My Cousin Rachel to two winners. Deadline is May 31.

Simply Stacie is giving away 5 Latin books to five winners. Deadline is May 31.

A Bookish Mom is giving away 5 copies of The Man's Book. Deadline is May 31st.

Luxury Reading is giving away 5 copies of The G-Free Diet. Deadline is May 31st.

Lee and Low is giving away three copies of the children's book Su Dongpo: Chinese Genius. Click here to learn more about the book and here to enter the giveaway. Deadline is May 31.

Back to Books is giving away 5 Latin books to five winners each. Deadline is May 31.

The Tome Traveller's Weblog is giving away one copy of Frenchman's Creek and My Cousin Rachel to two winners. Deadline is May 31.

Marta's Meanderings is also giving away 5 Latin books to each of five winners. Deadline is May 31.

Bookin' with Bingo has 5 sets of five Mother's Day books and 5 set of five asian books up for grabs. Deadline is May 31.

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time is another one giving away the asian books. She has 3 sets of five books. Deadline May 31.

Jo-Jo Loves to Read has 3 sets of five asian books. Deadline May 31.

Luxury Reading is giving away five Latino-themed books to five lucky readers. Deadline May 31.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away a copy of Life Sentences. Deadline is May 31.

Reverie Book Reviews is giving away two sets of 3 books each. Deadline is May 31.

Literary Escapism is giving away 5 sets of asian books. Deadline is May 31.


Tara's View on Books is giving away a copy of Finding Faith in a Skeptical World. Deadline is June 1.

Reader Rabbit is giving away 3 copies of Twenty Boy Summer. Deadline is June 2.

DK Mommy is giving away 3 copies of Bringing Nature Home: Using Native Plants to Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens. Deadline is June 2.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away an ARC copy of The Last Bridge. Deadline is June 2.

Literary Escapism is giving away 3 copies of Worst Nightmares. Deadline is June 2.

Diary of an Eccentric is giving away 5 copies of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline is June 3.

Suzanne McLeod is giving away a copy of either of her books The Sweet Scent of Blood or The Cold Kiss of Death, along with one of Carrie Vaughn's Kitty books. The Cold Kiss of Death releases in 7 weeks. Deadline for her giveaway is June 3.

So Many Books, So Little Time is giving away a copy of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline is June 3.


Bermudaonion is giving away one set of 3 books. Deadline is June 4.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 5 copies each of To Beguile a Beast and Bound to Please. Deadline is June 4.


A Bookish Mom is giving away It Happens Every Day. Deadline is June 5.

Drey's Library is giving away 5 copies of Bound to Please. Deadline is June 5.

DK Mommy is giving away a copy of A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs by Peterson Field Guides. Deadline is June 5.

Books and Needlepoint is giving away 5 copies of To Beguile a Beast. Deadline is June 5.

Books and Needlepoint is also giving away 5 copies of Bound to Please. Deadline is June 5.

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time has as many as 5 copies up for grabs. Deadline is June 5.

Drey's Library has a copy of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP available to win. Deadline is June 7.

Morbid Romantic is giving away 5 copies of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline June 7.


Bart's Bookshelf
is giving away two YA novels, Floodland and Starseeker. They list the deadline as May 27, but I think they meant to say June 7.

Yankee Romance Reviews is giving away 5 copies of A Hint of Wicked. Deadline is June 7.

Yankee Romance Reviews is also giving away 5 copies of Bound to Please. Deadline is June 7.

AND Yankee Romance Reviews is giving away 5 copies of To Beguile a Beast. Deadline is also June 7.

Barely Domestic Mama is giving away a copy of The Good Home Cookbook. Deadline is June 7.


Passages to the Past
is giving away a copy of Pope Joan. Deadline is June 8.

Brimful Curiosities is giving away 3 copies of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline is June 8.

Bitten by Books is giving away 10 copies of Kiss & Tell, one $100 Amazon gift card, and a book tote filled with free books and other merchandise. Deadline is June 8.

Readaholic is giving away 5 copies of The Night Gardener. Deadline is June 10.

Booking Mama is giving away a copy of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline is June 10.

Fantastic Book Review is giving away 2 copies of Strange Angels. Deadline is June 10.

Wendy's Minding Spot is giving away a copy of Worst Nightmares. Deadline is June 10.

Outnumbered 3-to-1 is giving away 3 copies of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline is June 11.

Peeking Between the Pages has 2 copies of Sea Changes up for grabs. Deadline is June 11.

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time is giving away The Night Gardener. Deadline is June 12.

Unmainstream Mom is giving away 5 copies of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline is June 13.

Wendy's Minding Spot is giving away 2 ARC copies of Dying Bites. Deadline is June 15.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away 3 copies of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline is June 15.

The Epic Rat is giving away 7 different books to four different winners. Books include some recent releases we've been hearing about like Mating Rituals of the North American WASP, Reunion, The Last Queen and The Wonder Singer. Deadline is June 15.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 5 copies of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline is June 15.

Chic Book Reviews is giving away a copy of Outcast. I can't find a deadline listed for it.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Teaser Tuesday (05/26/09 edition)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today's Teaser:

"Thursday's my birthday. I would be twenty-five--"
"Would be?" Samantha repeated and a chill swept through her blood.
"--you remember. I called you nine years ago, and you told me to get lost. You didn't listen, and--"

(Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson, page 138)

Monday, May 25, 2009

Mailbox Monday (05/25/09 edition)



Mailbox Monday is brought to us by The Printed Page. I'm late getting this up today, and almost missed it altogether! In my mailbox last week I got:

Jantsen's Gift was won in The Phantom's Lair's first giveaway.









The New Menopausal Years was won from Vaboomer.com. I'm not quite there yet. I've got a bit to go before I have to worry about menopause, but this ought to come in handy when I do.








I got Bees and Mist through the Barnes and Noble "First Look" program. This will be my first time joining in on a discussion of a book.









My thanks to The Phantom's Lair and Vaboomer.com for the books!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (05-23-09)

A list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld:

Bookin' with Bingo has 5 copies of I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti. Deadline is May 23.

The Burton Review is giving away 5 copies of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. Deadline is May 23.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away 3 copies of the audiobook First Family. Deadline is May 23.

Drey's Library is giving away 5 copies of Testimony. Deadline is May 24.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away your choice of three memoirs. Deadline May 24.

Lori's Reading Corner is giving away 3 copies of The Scarecrow. Deadline is May 25.

Tree Swing Reading has a massive book giveaway going on. Pick the books you are interested in. Deadline is May 25.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away a copy of the Latter-Day Cipher. Deadline is May 25.

At Home With Books is giving away one hardcover copy of The Survivors Club. Deadline is May 26.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away three copies of The Scarecrow. Deadline is May 26.

The Phantom's Lair has 5 copies of The Walking People up for grabs. Deadline is May 26.

Booking Mama is giving away a copy of Frenchman's Creek to one lucky winner. Deadline is May 27.

Passages to the Past is giving away a copy of Frenchman's Creek and one of My Cousin Rachel, each to a different reader. Deadline is May 27.

Lori's Reading Corner is giving away a copy of Still Life. Deadline is May 27.

Readaholic is giving away 5 copies of All of Me. Deadline is May 27.

Lori's Reading Corner is also giving away a copy of The Night Watchman. Deadline is May 27.

BookNAround is giving away 5 copies of Do Over. Deadline is May 27.

Book Reviews by Bobbie is giving away 6 books for BOOK BLOGGERS ONLY. Deadline is May 28.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away 3 copies of The Secret Speech. Deadline is May 28.

Readaholic is giving away 3 copies of the audio book Cemetery Dance. Deadline is May 28.

Readaholic is giving away 3 copies of The Secret Speech. Deadline is May 28.

Booking Mama is giving away 5 copies of Afraid. Deadline is May 28.

Carol's Notebook is giving away 5 copies of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. Deadline is May 28.

A Novel Menagerie is giving away 3 copies of April & Oliver. Deadline is May 28.

Book Chatter and Other Stuff is giving away a signed copy of Love & Biology At the Center of the Universe. Deadline is May 28.

Chic Book Reviews is giving away 5 copies of A Hint of Wicked. Deadline is May 29.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away an ARC for The Kiss. Deadline is May 30.

Readaholic is giving away 5 copies of To Beguile a Beast. Deadline is May 30.

Readaholic is giving away 5 copies of Bound to Please. Deadline is May 30.

Bookin' With Bingo is giving away 5 copies of All of Me. Deadline is May 30.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away 5 copies of Testimony. Deadline is May 30.

Unmainstream Mom Reads is giving away 5 copies of Afraid. Deadline is May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away a boxed audio set of Women's Murder Club. Deadline May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is also giving away an audio book of Undress Me In the Temple of Heaven. Deadline is May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away an ARC of Mother's Day Murder. Deadline May 30.

Linus's Blanket is giving away Conscience Point. Deadline is May 30.

A Circle of Books is giving away a gently read copy of Who By Fire. Deadline is May 30.

Linus's Blanket is giving away Mistress of the Sun. Deadline is May 30.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away one copy of Frenchman's Creek and one copy of My Cousin Rachel to two winners. Deadline is May 31.

Simply Stacie is giving away 5 Latin books to five winners. Deadline is May 31.

A Bookish Mom is giving away 5 copies of The Man's Book. Deadline is May 31st.

Luxury Reading is giving away 5 copies of The G-Free Diet. Deadline is May 31st.

Lee and Low is giving away three copies of the children's book Su Dongpo: Chinese Genius. Click here to learn more about the book and here to enter the giveaway. Deadline is May 31.

Back to Books is giving away 5 Latin books to five winners each. Deadline is May 31.

The Tome Traveller's Weblog is giving away one copy of Frenchman's Creek and My Cousin Rachel to two winners. Deadline is May 31.

Marta's Meanderings is also giving away 5 Latin books to each of five winners. Deadline is May 31.

Bookin' with Bingo has 5 sets of five Mother's Day books and 5 set of five asian books up for grabs. Deadline is May 31.

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time is another one giving away the asian books. She has 3 sets of five books. Deadline May 31.

Jo-Jo Loves to Read has 3 sets of five asian books. Deadline May 31.

Luxury Reading is giving away five Latino-themed books to five lucky readers. Deadline May 31.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away a copy of Life Sentences. Deadline is May 31.

Reverie Book Reviews is giving away two sets of 3 books each. Deadline is May 31.

Tara's View on Books is giving away a copy of Finding Faith in a Skeptical World. Deadline is June 1.

Reader Rabbit is giving away 3 copies of Twenty Boy Summer. Deadline is June 2.

DK Mommy is giving away 3 copies of Bringing Nature Home: Using Native Plants to Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens. Deadline is June 2.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away an ARC copy of The Last Bridge. Deadline is June 2.

Bermudaonion is giving away one set of 3 books. Deadline is June 4.

A Bookish Mom is giving away It Happens Every Day. Deadline is June 5.

Bart's Bookshelf
is giving away two YA novels, Floodland and Starseeker. They list the deadline as May 27, but I think they meant to say June 7.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 5 copies of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP. Deadline is June 15.

Drey of Drey's Library has an interesting contest going on. She is having people guess her birthday in order to win books. Winners pick their choice(s). Deadline is June 30.

Bookluver-Carol's Reviews is giving away 5 hardcover copies of Twenty Boy Summer. Some winners will be "instant winners". Deadline is June 30.


Chic Book Reviews is giving away a copy of Outcast. I can't find a deadline listed for it.

Friday 56 (05/22/09 edition)


Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

"The whole damned town heard about the caller, for Christ's sake. It was on the radio! Remember? Who was he, and how in the hell did he get past screening?"

(Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Teaser Tuesday (05/19/09 edition)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today's Teaser:

And yet she couldn't ignore the niggle of doubt that crept through her mind. Had someone been in her house?

Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson, page 236

Monday, May 18, 2009

REVIEW: Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea

I was excited about this book from the beginning. First of all, it was my first ARC, won from BermudaOnion. (Note: I actually received this book before my ARC of The Chosen One, but I read the other book first, as it was releasing first. So this is my first ARC received, but my second ARC reviewed.)

Then I began reading it, and immediately connected with the main character and the storyline. I found author Luis Alberto Urrea's writing style very easy and engaging-- something really necessary for me. I've said before that I am not a "book club" kind of girl. I don't want reading to be a challenge. I don't want to spend my time trying to interpret a bunch of symbolism. I simply want to be engaged and entertained, and perhaps have my eyes opened a little wider (in either enlightenment or surprise).

I slipped into this book like a comfortable pair of old slippers. It just felt good.

This is the story of a Mexican girl named Nayeli, who lives in the town of Los Camerones. The men have left her town for the US in search of work and fortunes, and the inhabitants of town have been left vulnerable. Nayeli gets the idea to go to the US to recruit Mexican men to come back to Los Camerones, and also in search of her own father who went to the US and quit writing to the family.

This story captures the complexities of illegal immigration and the highly-charged emotions surrounding it-- not only in our own country, but in Mexico as well. I enjoyed the characters of Nayeli and Tacho and the nutty Atomiko. I held on until the end, waiting to find out whether Nayeli would ever find her father.

One negative is the excessive use of spanish without translation. I often found myself feeling like an outsider looking in-- as if only I knew what they just said, I could join in on the joke and find it all very clever!

I also found a typo or two, and there was even one spot in the book where the wrong girl is referred to. I found myself thinking, "Wait a minute! That's not Yolo! That's Vampi!" I read it over and over to see whether I was missing something, but I wasn't. The author (or someone) used the incorrect girl's name in that spot! Hopefully these errors were caught and fixed before release, since this is an ARC copy that I have.

I found this to be a very enjoyable read. It wasn't deeply thought-provoking or emotionally stirring, but it was an interesting story with engaging characters and a beautiful writing style. I give it two thumbs up-- and maybe I'll throw in a pinky-toe, too!

Product Details

* Hardcover: 352 pages
* Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (May 19, 2009)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0316025275
* ISBN-13: 978-0316025270

My Rating: 8 out of 10

Mailbox Monday (05/18/09 edition)



Mailbox Monday is brought to us by The Printed Page. In my mailbox last week I got:

Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch from The Tome Traveler. Many thanks! I'm so excited to have won this book! I absolutely love the cover!








That was it this week, but that was enough!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (05-15-09)

A list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld:

Number One Novels is giving away a copy of Posed for Murder. Deadline is May 17.

The Tome Traveler is giving away a copy of Mistress of the Sun. Deadline is May 18.

Book Giveaways has just opened shop and is having their first giveaway (they'll be passing on books they've read). They are giving away a book called Ruins of California. Deadline is May 18.

Carp(e) libris reviews is giving away a copy of The Four Corners of the Sky. Deadline is May 19.

The Literate Housewife Review
is giving away Frenchman's Creek and My Cousin Rachel to one winner. Deadline is May 19.

Lori's Reading Corner is giving away a copy of Holly's Inbox. Deadline is May 19.

Find Your Next Book Here has 5 copies of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming available. Deadline is May 19.

Lori's Reading Corner is also giving away a copy of Where the Dead Lay. Deadline is May 20.

DK Mommy Spot is giving away a copy of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegetable Gardening. Deadline May 20.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away 5 copies of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. Deadline May 20.

Books and Needlepoint is giving away one copy of Frenchman's Creek and one of My Cousin Rachel to one lucky reader. Deadline is May 20.

S. Krishna's Books has a copy of Mistress of the Sun up for grabs. Deadline is May 20.

Carol's Notebook has 5 copies of the The Man's Book available. Deadline is May 20.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 5 copies of The BoneMan's Daughters. Deadline is May 21.

At Home with Books is giving away 5 copies of the G-Free Diet. Deadline is May 21.

The Novel Bookworm has 5 copies of Testimony available. Deadline is May 21.


Chic Book Chick
is giving away 5 copies of MixSh.akeStir. Deadline is May 21.

Chic Book Chick is also giving away 5 copies of Testimony. Deadline is May 22.

Bookin' with Bingo is also giving away 5 copies each of Made in the U.S.A. and The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. Deadline for both is May 22.

So Many Books, So Little Time is giving away 5 copies of Testimony. Deadline is May 22.

Trisha's Bookshelf is having her first giveaway, and it is for a copy of Naughty Neighbor. Deadline is May 22.

Reviews of Young Adult Literature is giving away The Truth About Forever and a book holder. Deadline is May 22.


Jenn's Bookshelf
is giving away 20 books to one lucky winner! Deadline is May 22.

Drey's Library is giving away 5 copies of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. Deadline is May 22.

Bookin' with Bingo has 5 copies of I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti. Deadline is May 23.

The Burton Review is giving away 5 copies of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. Deadline is May 23.

The Novel Bookworm is giving away 3 copies of the audiobook First Family. Deadline is May 23.

Drey's Library is giving away 5 copies of Testimony. Deadline is May 24.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away your choice of three memoirs. Deadline 5/24.

Lori's Reading Corner is giving away 3 copies of The Scarecrow. Deadline is May 25.

At Home With Books is giving away one hardcover copy of The Survivors Club. Deadline is May 26.

The Phantom's Lair has 5 copies of The Walking People up for grabs. Deadline is May 26.

Booking Mama is giving away a copy of Frenchman's Creek to one lucky winner. Deadline is May 27.

Passages to the Past is giving away a copy of Frenchman's Creek and one of My Cousin Rachel, each to a different reader. Deadline is May 27.

Book Reviews by Bobbie is giving away 6 books for BOOK BLOGGERS ONLY. Deadline is May 28.

Booking Mama is giving away 5 copies of Afraid. Deadline is May 28.

Carol's Notebook is giving away 5 copies of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. Deadline is May 28.

A Novel Menagerie is giving away 3 copies of April & Oliver. Deadline is May 28.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away an ARC for The Kiss. Deadline is May 30.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away 5 copies of Testimony. Deadline is May 30.

Unmainstream Mom Reads is giving away 5 copies of Afraid. Deadline is May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away a boxed audio set of Women's Murder Club. Deadline May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is also giving away an audio book of Undress Me In the Temple of Heaven. Deadline is May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away an ARC of Mother's Day Murder. Deadline May 30.

Linus's Blanket is giving away Conscience Point. Deadline is May 30.

A Circle of Books is giving away a gently read copy of Who By Fire. Deadline is May 30.

Linus's Blanket is giving away Mistress of the Sun. Deadline is May 30.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away one copy of Frenchman's Creek and one copy of My Cousin Rachel to two winners. Deadline is May 31.

Simply Stacie is giving away 5 Latin books to five winners. Deadline is May 31.

Back to Books is giving away 5 Latin books to five winners each. Deadline is May 31.

The Tome Traveller's Weblog is giving away one copy of Frenchman's Creek and My Cousin Rachel to two winners. Deadline is May 31.

Marta's Meanderings is also giving away 5 Latin books to each of five winners. Deadline is May 31.

Bookin' with Bingo has 5 sets of five Mother's Day books and 5 set of five asian books up for grabs. Deadline is May 31.

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time is another one giving away the asian books. She has 3 sets of five books. Deadline May 31.

Jo-Jo Loves to Read has 3 sets of five asian books. Deadline May 31.

Luxury Reading is giving away five Latino-themed books to five lucky readers. Deadline May 31.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Friday 56 (05/15/09 edition)


Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.
"We will only be there for as long as it takes to get the men to come," she continued. "The Americanos will be happy we're there! Even if we're caught!"

(Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea, page 56)

Due to be released in hardcover May 2009

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Teaser Tuesday (05/12/09 edition)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today's Teaser:
The cheap theater in Culiacan was known as Las Pulgas because it was so filthy you could get fleas from going there. But Garcia-Garcia had put a corrugated tin roof over his beloved Pedro Infante, leaving open only the last four feet between the tops of the cinderblock walls and the angled roof lest the overwhelming body heat condense on the tin and drop on the audience in a small salty squall.



(Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea, page 49)


(Sorry. I just couldn't pass up the revolting imagery of a salty sweat squall! And fleas! Now carry on...)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Mailbox Monday (05/11/09 edition)



Mailbox Monday is brought to us by The Printed Page. In my mailbox last week I got:

Virginia's War by Jack Woodville London (won on Unusual Historicals)










Mrs's Reppert's TwelveMonth Herbal by Bertha Reppert (won from Patti's Potions)


These books were purchased online from Barnes and Noble:

Flirting with Forty by Jane Porter (Bought because I turn 40 this year, and the book was at a great price!)










A Gift of Grace by Amy Clipston (I'd love to read about the merging of the Amish world and the "English" world when an Amish woman takes in her two teenage "English" nieces after their mother is killed)








Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson (for my Lisa Jackson challenge)











The Rising by Brian Keene (for a what I hear is a good zombie read)










I also allowed my addiction free reign, and bought a bunch of books on clearance at the stores:

Between the Tides by Patti Callahan Henry











Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern











The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova











John's Story (The Jesus Chronicles, Book 1) by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins










Learning to Breathe by Karen White (I'm especially looking forward to reading this one)










The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan











The Secret Bride: In The Court of Henry VIII by Diane Haeger










The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain (This is supposed to be a really good book!)










I'm going to try to get my addiction under control! I'm going to try to convince myself that I cannot buy any more books (1)until I have read at least twelve books from my shelves, (2)unless the book is needed in order for me to complete a challenge. Wish me luck!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (05-10-09)

Here is a list of some of the giveaways going on around Blogworld:

Jo-Jo Loves to Read is giving away five copies of Testimony. Deadline May 10.

In Search of Giants is giving away a copy of Lost Hours, and has an interview with the author Karen White. Deadline May 10.

Carol's Notebook is giving away 5 copies of One Deadly Sin. The deadline is May 15.

Bookluver-Carol's Reviews is giving a whole slew of books in honor of her Blogoversary. Among the books are a copy of The September Sisters, Evermore, The Season, Mackenzie Lost and Found, and I Know It's Over among others. All of her book giveaways expire May 15, unless otherwise indicated.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 5 copies of First Family. The deadline is May 15.

Jenn's Bookshelf is giving away 5 copies of Made in the U.S.A. Deadline is May 15.

Simply Stacie is giving away five asian novels. Deadline is May 15.

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time is giving away a copy of Best Intentions. Deadline is May 15.

The Tome Traveler is giving away a copy of Mistress of the Sun. Deadline is May 18.

Find Your Next Book Here has 5 copies of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming available. Deadline is May 19.

Carol's Notebook has 5 copies of the The Man's Book available. Deadline is May 20.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 5 copies of The BoneMan's Daughters. Deadline is May 21.

At Home with Books is giving away 5 copies of the G-Free Diet. Deadline is May 21.

Bookin' with Bingo is also giving away 5 copies each of Made in the U.S.A. and The Girl Who Stopped Swimming. Deadline for both is May 22.

Bookin' with Bingo has 5 copies of I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti. Deadline is May 23.

Book Reviews by Bobbie is giving away 6 books for BOOK BLOGGERS ONLY. Deadline is May 28.

The Phantom's Lair has 5 copies of The Walking People up for grabs. Deadline is May 26

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away an ARC for The Kiss. Deadline is May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away a boxed audio set of Women's Murder Club. Deadline May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is also giving away an audio book of Undress Me In the Temple of Heaven. Deadline is May 30.

J. Kaye's Book Blog is giving away an ARC of Mother's Day Murder. Deadline May 30.

Simply Stacie is giving away 5 Latin books to five winners. Deadline is May 31.

Back to Books is giving away 5 Latin books to five winners each. Deadline is May 31.

Marta's Meanderings is also giving away 5 Latin books to each of five winners. Deadline is May 31.

Bookin' with Bingo has 5 sets of five Mother's Day books and 5 set of five asian books up for grabs. Deadline is May 31.

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time is another one giving away the asian books. She has 3 sets of five books. Deadline May 31.

Jo-Jo Loves to Read has 3 sets of five asian books. Deadline May 31.

Luxury Reading is giving away five Latino-themed books to five lucky readers. Deadline May 31.

REVIEW: The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

This is one of those books that I finish and wonder how I am going to review it. The book was a relatively easy and breezy read, as far as the writing style and the length of the book. The subject matter was quite heavy, however, and parts of it were very disturbing.

I am also disturbed by the book's depiction of these people, who are quite evidently an LDS-type sect, and how accepting they are of things like murder and child abuse. I'm concerned with readers seeing an LDS-sect on TV and remembering the stories in this book, and having a negative bias towards the people under the assumption that these stories are based on truth. I don't know whether there was any real basis for some of the twists in the storyline of this book, but I do tend to stop and question things. I worry that teens, who this book is geared towards, may not approach it with the same skepticism.

That being said, the author did a good job at making the characters believable, and in making me care about Kyra. I felt her pain, and the pain of her family who loved her, but wanted to be good and faithful servants to their God and the prophet that guided them. I cheered on her rebelliousness and the surety of who she was and what she wanted. However I also felt despondency at the sect members' compliant natures that would stand by and allow their own children to be abused, and would defend the punishment and abuse of "disobedient" members, even the murder of innocents.

And I'm left frustrated with the ending of the book. Where's my happy ending? Doesn't the author know that all stories are supposed to have a happy ending with all the loose ends tied up in a pretty bow? (Are you listening Stephen King, who left me with a dead child at the end of Cujo? I read that book a good 25 years ago, and I've still never forgiven you for that one!) This book left me with so many questions, and a lot of frustration.

All in all, The Chosen One was a well-written book, but full of disturbing subject matter, and leaving me feeling emotionally heavy. I'm hesitant to recommend it for its target group (teens), but think that it is worth a read by emotionally stable individuals who will approach it with a skeptical and realistic eye.

The Chosen One is set to release May 12th.

My thanks to J. Kaye's Book Blog for passing this ARC onto me!

Product Details

* Reading level: Young Adult
* Hardcover: 224 pages
* Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1 edition (May 12, 2009)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0312555113
* ISBN-13: 978-0312555115

My Rating: 7 of 10

Friday, May 8, 2009

Friday 56 (05/08/09)


Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

The third time I went to choose a book, the guy in the ball cap said, "Hey, since we're getting to be book friends, I should tell you who I am." He stuck his hand at me. For a moment I didn't even move.

Men and women never shake hands in the Compound.

"I'm Patrick," he said.


The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

What's In a Name 2 Challenge

I'm joining in on the What's In a Name 2 Challenge, hosted by Annie of What's In a Name-2.

*This is a challenge that anyone can join, no matter what types of books they like to read. You should be able to find books from any genre that will work.

*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories. (Note: For each category, I have linked to the reviews posted so far for that category. This may be helpful in choosing books.)

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Examples might include: The Book Thief, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Historian

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. Examples might include: Twilight, Four Past Midnight, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. Examples might include: Eight Cousins, My Father's Dragon, The Daughter of Time

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Examples might include: The Bluest Eye, Bag of Bones, The Heart of Darkness

5. A book with a "building" in its title. Examples might include: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little House on the Prairie, The Looming Tower

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Examples might include: Insomnia, Coma, The Plague

*You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category.

*This challenge will include occasional prizes. There is no set schedule. Be sure to check in once a while to see if there are any contests going on. There will also be a prize awarded at the conclusion to one participant who completes the challenge.

My list so far:
  • PROFESSION: The Postmistress by Sarah Blake (DONE)

  • TIME OF DAY: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

  • RELATIVE: Imposter's Daughter by Laurie Sandell (DONE)

  • BODY PART: Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson (DONE)

  • BUILDING: The Shack by William P. Young (currently reading)

  • MEDICAL CONDITION: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (DONE)

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Teaser Tuesday (05/05/09 edition)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's Teaser:
How can I eat with him?
I hate him. Hate him.
How can I marry him?
I am sick to the very center.
I must think of a way out of this.

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Made in the USA Giveaway

The Book Faery Reviews has a quick giveaway going on for the book Made in the USA. This giveaway is only running for one day, and the deadline is tomorrow, 5/6/09. Get there and get signed up now!

Monday, May 4, 2009

HUGE Giveaways (plural) Going On At Drey's Library

Drey has THREE huge giveaways going on, thanks to Hatchette books. She is giving away your choice of a Mother's Day, Latino or Asian pack of books. Each pack will contain five books. The deadline is May 30th.

Get over there and get your name in for your number one choice now!

Mailbox Monday



Mailbox Monday is brought to us by The Printed Page. In my mailbox last week I got:

Live Your Joy by Bonnie St. John. I won this from Joystory.











And the Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano came to me via a giveway by Drey.









I received George Pelecanos' The Turnaround from The Book Faery Reviews.









Thanks for the books guys!

Additionally I picked up the following books at the book store (some were on clearance. Yeah me!):

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini











Catching Genius by Kristy Kiernan











Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin












The Color Purple by Alice Walker











The Covenant by Beverly Lewis











The Doctor's Wife by Elizabeth Brundage











So many books that I'm looking forward to reading! But I have my hands full right now, so one at a time!

Saturday, May 2, 2009

REVIEW: The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg

Dear Martin, I'm sorry the note I left you was so abrupt. I just wanted you to know I was safe...I won't be back for awhile. I'm on a trip. I needed all of a sudden to go, without saying where, because I don't know where. I know this is not like me. I know that. But please believe me, I am safe and I am not crazy, I felt as though if I didn't do this I wouldn't be safe and I would be crazy... And can you believe this? I love you. Nan

Sometimes you have to leave your life behind for a while to see it and really live it freshly again. In this luminous, exquisitely written novel, a woman follows the pull of the moon to find her way home. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, always honest, The Pull of the Moon is a novel about the journey of one woman -- and about the issues of the heart that transform the lives of all women.

My Review:

In Pull of the Moon, you follow along with Nan on both her physical and emotional journeys, shared with you through her diary entries and letters to her loved ones.

Nan is fifty, married with a grown daughter, and she has reached that point that I think many women reach at some point. She has spent her life as a wife and a mother, and has forgotten who SHE is, and now is consumed by the additional fear of losing her youth and desirability as she faces the physical changes of menopause. So she packs up, hops in the car, and just leaves her husband with a note of apology. She travels around the country, getting to know herself again, remembering who she is and what she likes and what she wants, while writing in her diary and writing letters to her husband to share with him the discoveries that she is making along the way.

I'll just say it. I LOVED this book. I can't truly identify with Nan. I've never lost my identity. Perhaps it's because I've never had children, and I've been divorced for ten years. So I have been able to maintain a better sense of my self. Perhaps it's just because I have a very strong knowledge of "who I am", as I never had any fear of losing myself during my ten years of marriage either.

So I found myself not really identifying with this place where Nan had found herself: feeling lost, depressed and on the verge of losing her mind along with her identity. However I could still identify with HER. She is every woman, on the basest of levels. And I love the way that author Elizabeth Berg causes me to turn the mirror on myself with a little "Aha!"

I like Nan. I like how she reminds me of things that I haven't thought of for a long time, I like when she makes observations like "...and soon we were all laughing, it was the kind of thing where the laughter feeds on itself, where the sound of someone else's snorting and wheezing keeps you going until you don't even know why you started laughing in the first place-- and you don't care. It's so good for you, that kind of hard laughter, so cleansing-- you feel like your liver's been held up and hosed down, your heart relieved of a million grimy weights." I remember that feeling, although it's been a long time since I felt it. Remember sitting around with your girlfriends, giggling hysterically, and someone would ask what was so funny, and you'd just shake your head and say "I don't know", look at each other, and laugh even harder?

I love the clear and descriptive visual analogies of statements like "Today I woke up and felt the old pull of sadness back. It's like a robe that is too heavy, weighing down my shoulders, dragging up dirt as it follows along behind me." This is one of my favorite lines from the book.

Even though I am divorced with no children, and am at a very different place in my life, there is a part of me that could identify with Nan. I could identify with her when she confessed, "I wanted to be able to tell Ruthie how to be popular, how to make and keep friends. But I was-- and still am-- pretty much a loner, one who wearies of almost anyone's company much too soon...Even when I got older, I'd be sitting with a bunch of college friends and suddenly have to leave...I wanted Ruthie to be different from me, to be someone who could make casual conversation without clenching her fists, who could be comfortable at a party." I think that most women can identify with Nan at some point. There's a little Nan in all of us.

Last night I sat in the movie theater, reading my book while we waited for the movie to start (Hugh Jackman buffed as Wolverine), and reached over and whispered in my boyfriend's ear. "You know how I'm always telling you that if I don't have someone to share an experience with, it's as if it never happened? Like 'If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?'" He nodded. "In my book she says, 'Occasionally, one learns quiet, and then how to keep it. Even me, who has always felt that everything must be shared, in order for it to be.' See? Nan gets me."

And so she does.

Product Details
  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Berkley Trade (October 10, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0425176487
  • ISBN-13: 978-0425176481

My Rating: 9 out of 10

Lost Hours Giveaway and Interview on In Search of Giants


In Search of Giants has a 7-step interview with Lost Hours author Karen White, and is giving away a copy of Lost Hours to one lucky reader! Please check it out! The deadline on the giveaway is 5/10/09.