Thursday, December 22, 2011

REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: Say Not What If by Andrew Friedman

Synopsis

"Say Not What If" is a nearly 10,000 word story written as a long rhyming poem. I have never seen a story written in this format. It has characters and dialogue just like a regular story, and is extremely easy to read and understand, regardless of whether you have a GED or a PHD. You can read it in about an hour, so it doesn't require a lot of time.

“Say Not What If” is about a man on death row, and has as its theme the concept that time is our most valuable commodity. As someone once said, “waste anything but time, because we really are promised no tomorrows.” This theme is explored through the life of a man who sacrifices his marriage and everything else for his career. He realizes much too late the terrible consequences of this decision, and then desperately tries to regain those lost years by making a much worse choice. The resolution of this latter choice involves an additional examination of the concepts of accountability and responsibility, redemption, and the morality of the death penalty.
  • Paperback, 52 pages
  • Published July 11th 2011 by CreateSpace
  • ISBN 1463627319
About the Author
Author Andrew Friendman is an attorney, although he has no experience with the death penalty. He has written an essay as a follow-up to Say Not What If, intended to "provide some background information on the current state of this critically important issue."


My Thoughts
Say not "what if" or wonder why
About all the things you did not try.
Say not "what if" or be heard to sigh
With a trembling voice and a tear in your eye
"Why did I let time go by?"
Say Not What If is a poetic novel from the perspective of a man on death row looking back over his life.

This issue is very personal to me, since I have a friend on death row. My best friend for a time in my late teens (we even talked about getting a place together after I graduated high school), we fell apart after he married at about 19 years of age. Things went downhill for him over the next decade, and the next that I heard of him, he was being sought after for a triple homicide that occurred during a robbery. After going on the run, he was finally apprehended on the other side of the country, along with his accomplice.

During the investigation, evidence was found to connect him to the crime scene, but no definitive proof was ever discovered that could point at him as the killer (or the sole killer). There were two people perpetrating the crime, both pointing their finger at the other as the killer, and no proof of which one did it, or whether both were involved.

So one is offered a deal to turn on the other, in exchange for life in prison and no death penalty. The other (my friend) is found guilty and condemned to death. But did he do it? Or was it his accomplice? And if his accomplice and he were both involved, shouldn't they both get the same sentence?

So now I am counting the days, waiting for word that his time is up. I read years ago that the average stay of a death row inmate in Florida is 15 years. My friend has been on death row now for...13 years, I think? Something like that. I got to see him last summer, after testifying on his behalf at an appeals hearing. The judge was kind enough to allow us to meet and talk for about 15 minutes after court had adjourned, amazing the counsel, as it was very unusual for a judge to grant such a concession.

So this story kind of hit home for me, and I really understand on a personal level the inconsistencies in sentencing, the preferential treatment given to some and not others, the risks of executing an innocent person, at least "innocent" in regards to what they are being sentenced death for-- killing another human being-- if not innocent of other crimes.

This was an interesting way to relay an idea-- as an almost 10,000 word poem. Well-written and engaging the mind, it gets you thinking and asking yourself questions on the subject of the death penalty, however not as much as I would hope. The villain is very "villainous", not eliciting too much sympathy. There is no question that he committed his crime, and it was a truly heinous crime involving a small child. Many who read his story will feel he got exactly what he deserved.

Some of the biggest debates of the death penalty are those over the "unfairness" of it all-- the fact that poor black men are more likely to be sentenced to death than affluent white. The most frightening debate is over whether it should be allowed if there is any chance of an innocent being executed. This story won't really incite too many of those types of conversations.

At only 52 pages long, it is a pretty quick read. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in the death penalty debate. In fact, I am giving away my copy of Say Not What If to another reader to experience and review.

Rules (you knew there had to be some):
  • You must be 18 years or older
  • Open to US and Canada residents only
  • To enter, just comment below. Be sure to leave your email address in your comment, or have it visible in your profile.
  • Be a book reviewer that will review this book on your own blog and/or on sites like GoodReads, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Deadline is January 14, 2012

Please note that this book is being shipped by me, and will be shipped without insurance or tracking. Therefore I am at the mercy of the post office. So far no book that I've shipped has been lost by them, but I can make no guarantees!

Thanks to the author Andrew Friedman for giving me the opportunity to read his story.


My Rating: 8 out of 10 

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review from the author, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays (12-20-11 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:

My victim lived at the end of the street
A girl of eight, so naive and sweet.
Always happy and eager to greet
As she ran around in just her feet.


-- Say Not What If by Andrew Friedman, page 12

Monday, December 19, 2011

2011 Challenge Recap

I did horribly on my challenges, per the usual. These challenges I don't expect to get any further with before the end of the year:

Foodie's Reading Challenge hosted by Joyfully Retired. I only read 2 out of 7 books planned.









2011 YA Reading Challenge hosted by For the Love of YA. I only made it through 4 of the 12 books planned.





Dystopia Challenge hosted by BA Reading Challenges. I only got through 1 of 5 of the books planned.







Off the Shelf challenge hosted by BA Reading Challenges. I made it through 10 of the 15 books desired.








New Authors challenge hosted by Literary Escapism. Close but no cigar! I made it through 22 of the planned 25 books.








Wish I'd Read That Challenge 2011 hosted by My Love Affair with Books. I made it through 4 of my 6 books.






Zombies: Satisfy Your Undying Hunger hosted by Book Soulmates. I only made it through 2 of the 10 books I'd hoped to get through.








Get Steampunked hosted by BA Reading Challenges. I didn't read any steampunk this year!





2011 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen. The only challenge I completed, having read my 32 of 32. I expect to read another book or two before the end of the year, so I should exceed my goal.



For 2012, I am planning far fewer challenges, since I have proven repeatedly to do terrible at them! Thanks for the challenges!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (12-17-11 edition)

NOTE: A reminder that you are free to email me about any giveaways that you are having, if you want me to blog them, and I'll be happy to try to post them even if I am not entering them. Just include a link to the giveaway, what you are giving away, how many copies are being given away, and the deadline in order to assure being included. Email me at nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com.

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

Books: A True Story is giving away your choice out of six books that you can identify. Deadline is December 24. International!

For the love of books is giving away your choice out of four YA books. Deadline is December 31. International!

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Other Life. Deadline is December 31. US/Canada only.

Books Like Stars is having a massive "Debut Author" giveaway! US only.

*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

REVIEW: First Love: Just Once in a Lifetime: A Memoir by Violeta Barrett

Synopsis

By 1956 Violeta Barrett had been working for a Wall Street investment firm more than a decade. Recently separated from her husband and feeling overworked, Violeta decided to vacation in Mexico. After her plane landed in Mexico City, a stranger with a deep, accented voice introduced himself as her tour guide. Violeta and Jorge had no idea they were about to begin a four-year romance that would endure the test of time and distance.

In her compelling memoir, Violeta shares a nostalgic and emotional journey where principles, love, and obligations collide and force unexpected decisions. Energized by the Mexican culture and Jorge's charm, Violeta is soon caught up in the joy of being loved. But before long she must return to her obligations, leaving Jorge behind. Through the more than seventy love letters she would receive from Jorge for the next few years, the two share a forbidden passion-until the forces of morality prevail.

Nearly fifty years ago, Violeta and Jorge fell in love, changing their lives forever. Their heartfelt story proves that true love is not affected by time. It is ageless. It is eternal.
  • ISBN-13: 9781450279932
  • Publisher: iUniverse, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 2/9/2011
  • Paperback, 224 pages
About the Author
from her website

Violeta Barrett, a Brooklyn transplant, moved from Canada to Ft. Myers, Florida, where she resides today, following her second husband's death. She has been published in the anthology Beyond Coping, and her poetry and writings have been printed in her local newspapers. Her passions are classical music, travel, photography, and, of course, love.

Visit her website
Read an article from our local newspaper
Learn more about the author


My Thoughts
Most women dream about finding love. Many do, but for many others, it remains a dream. I was one of the lucky ones, I thought. But love doesn't always come in a nice, neat package; it can truly be both agony and ecstasy. 
Location/Environment:

While the author lived in New York during much of the story, her love affair with Jorge took place in Mexico City and the surrounding area.


At around thirty years of age in 1956, Violeta had already been working for more than ten years at a Wall Street investment firm. During that time, she had also married, but separated from her husband after two years in an unconsummated marriage.

So it was at this point in her life that she decided she'd earned a vacation, and headed down to Mexico. As she steps off of the plane, she is greeted by a handsome Mexican tour guide by the name of Jorge. Over the next couple of weeks, Violeta and her tour companions are taxied around Mexico by Jorge, always charming and informative, if at times a little deceitful with his knowledge, making up what he doesn't know.
...Always eager to learn something new, I hung on to every word. Unlike the others, I didn't ask many questions until I became aware that some of his answers were suspiciously familiar. Out of earshot of the two women, I whispered to him, "Didn't you just use that term to refer to something else?"

He looked at me squarely and grinned. For a second I was puzzled but then I got it. I couldn't help grinning back.

"Why you trickster, you!" I stifled a laugh. "How do you know I won't snitch?"

"You won't do that, will you?" he replied. His eyes sparkled. "Tourists ask many detailed questions. They really don't care what the answer is, as long as you answer." (page 14)
I loved a scene relayed in the book of a time they were approaching a town, and as had become common, children surrounded the car, poor and beggarly, clamoring for money. Initially Violeta and her companions would give the children pesos, until Jorge pleaded with them to stop.
"Please don't make beggars of my people," he said.

Astonished, I asked, "What would you have us do, Jorge? Ignore them? They're children!"

Without faltering, he opened the car window and spoke to several of the boys in Spanish. They ran ahead of the car, clearing the way. Others shouted to their friends, who backed off. I soon realized he had put them to work, finding us a parking spot. One enterprising boy diligently polished the side view mirrors with the tail of his shirt, smiling broadly at us.

Jorge patted him lightly on the head. "Bueno," he said, then called out to the other boys, "Muy bien, muchachos." I learned a lesson that day I never forgot. (page 7)
I loved how, instead of giving out charity, he instilled worth in the children by having them work for what they received. It was payment for a job well done rather than charity.

As the days pass, and the group tours Mexico, Jorge and Violeta's feelings for one another grow. By the time that Violeta heads back to New York, both she and Jorge believe themselves to be in love.

The first 40-plus pages tell the story of their affair, while the other 150 or so pages are of Jorge's letter to Vy over the years, after she returns to New York.

This is one of those stories that is very personal, so it is hard to be critical at all. I am also inclined to feel sensitive towards the author and this story, given that she happens to be a local here in town. You tend to be protective of your own!

There isn't really much to be critical of as far as writing style and the like. The only really critical thing I have to say in that respect is that the timeline wasn't laid out very well, so I had a hard time envisioning how everything happened. I had to sort out her age, am still unclear on how long she was in Mexico, although I think it to be around 2 weeks, and feel that other things were left unclear as well. Like how she found out about Jorge's wife and when he had married. None of Jorge's letters ever mention his marriage, unless it was in one of the few letters not included in the book. Or perhaps he told her in one of their few phone calls over the years? I don't know. So I feel that bits of the story are missing, so I don't have a complete picture.

The love story was sweet, but unfortunately I'm a bit jaded and cautious where love is concerned, so I have to be skeptical of a love born from a brief encounter. I like to think it was genuine and sincere and full, but Jorge's letters smack a little of co-dependency to me. I felt suffocated by the clinginess of them much of the time. But given the way that their love has hung with Violeta all of these years, I have to trust that it was as deep and meaningful to them as a decades-long love affair.

My final word:
Sweet and lingering. If romance is your cup of tea, give this real-life one a try.

Purchase your own copy of First Love.

My Rating: 7.5 out of 10


Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review from the author, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel.

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (12-11-11 edition)

NOTE: A reminder that you are free to email me about any giveaways that you are having, if you want me to blog them, and I'll be happy to try to post them even if I am not entering them. Just include a link to the giveaway, what you are giving away, how many copies are being given away, and the deadline in order to assure being included. Email me at nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com.

Here is a list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld*. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:
Stuck in Books is giving away $12 to Amazon or Book Depository. Deadline is December 13. International!
Cuzinlogic is giving away a $10 for Barnes and Noble or Book Depository. Deadline is December 13. International!
Review Broads is giving away 5 copies of The Drop. Deadline is December 15. US only.
Peeking Between the Pages is giving away Come Back to Me. Deadline is December 17. US/Canada only. 
Books: A True Story is giving away your choice out of six books that you can identify. Deadline is December 24. International!
For the love of books is giving away your choice out of four YA books. Deadline is December 31. International!
Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Other Life. Deadline is December 31. US/Canada only.
Books Like Stars is having a massive "Debut Author" giveaway! US only.

*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

WINNER: The Invisible Floating Bookshelf (Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop)

I'm a little slow with picking my winner, as it has been a bit crazy this week, but I've finally got my winner for an invisible floating bookshelf, in honor of the Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop. And the winner chosen by random.org is...


Entry #15  Mariah Overlock

Congratulations, Mariah! I will be emailing you to get your mailing address. There will be more giveaways coming up after the holidays, which I hope all of you enjoy with your family and friends. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Teaser Tuesdays (12-06-11 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:

"Oh darling, please forgive me if I do wrong telling you this. I know I don't have the right to go as far as proposing to you. I'm just nobody, but if someday I get to be something and if you still love me, I'm going to beg you to be my wife."

-- First Love: Just Once in a Lifetime: A Memoir by Violeta Barrett (page 67)

Friday, December 2, 2011

GIVEAWAY: Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop 2011


You love books? You love the holidays? You love winning free stuff? Well, then you're in the right place! You've happened upon the Book Lover's Holiday Giveaway Hop, hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy & I Am a Reader, Not a Writer.

There are 250+ blogs participating in this giveaway, and you can find the entire list here

For my part, I am giving away a large Invisible Floating Bookshelf:

I love these things! So far, I have two of them by my bed. I may add more to my office and living room in the future! I have a small one to hold books that I've committed to reviewing, and a large one that I have to hold those books that I am most eager to read "just for fun".

The large bookshelf holds up to 20 pounds. Just look at how many books I have on my large shelf!


Quite an impressive load for a single, thin metal shelf, huh?

However I should mention that the large bookshelf isn't really "invisible" like the smaller one is. The base of the bookshelf is so large that a book must be at least 10" wide for it to be capable of covering the base and hiding it. So I find that I have to set books on the shelf, meaning that the shelf is visible from underneath, and there is the potential that if someone bumped into the shelf, they could cause all of the books to fall off the shelf. This hasn't been an issue for me.

Want your own invisible floating bookshelf? Use the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win! Be a follower (either via GoogleConnect, Email, Facebook, or Networked Blogs), and get an extra entry. Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!



Wednesday, November 23, 2011

REVIEW: Smonk by Tom Franklin

Synopsis

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&#8212all 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. 

  • ISBN-13: 9780061142772
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 11/6/2007
  • Pages: 272

About the Author
from Goodreads

Tom Franklin was born and raised in Dickinson, Alabama. He held various jobs as a struggling writer living in South Alabama, including working as a heavy-equipment operator in a grit factory, a construction inspector in a chemical plant and a clerk in a hospital morgue. In 1997 he received his MFA from the University of Arkansas. His first book, Poachers was named as a Best First Book of Fiction by Esquire and Franklin received a 1999 Edgar Award for the title story. Franklin has published two novels: Hell at the Breech, published in 2003 and Smonk published in 2006. The recipient of the 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship, Franklin now teaches in the University of Mississippi's MFA program and lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his wife, the poet Beth Ann Fennelly, and their children.

Find the author on Goodreads

My Thoughts

It was the eve of the eve of his death by murder and there was harmonica music on the air when E.O. Smonk rode the disputed mule over the railroad tracks and up the hill to the hotel where his trial would be.
Town/Location:

Old Texas, Alabama

I learned of this book from author Alden Bell when reading an interview with him for my review of his book The Reapers are the Angels. He listed Smonk as one of his favorite books, and I said at that time that after reading the synopsis for Smonk, I could see where he got his inspiration for his character Temple in The Reapers are the Angels.

This book is a rip-roaring ride! I had mentioned to my friends early on that this book was the most vile and obscene book I’d ever read, and yet the most entertaining. The author is unapologetic in his approach, seeming to set aside all sensibilities and censor. Brash and unadulterated, this story is totally in your face, almost daring you to be offended.
The widows fired and fired and fired and fired until the final cartridge hull clattered to a stop on the wagon floor and what was left of the judge resembled a steaming mass of afterbirth, blue and dripping. The silence of the world shocked them all. (p. 95)
Smonk is portrayed as a pretty despicable character, and is easily disliked from the beginning.
I heard he killed his own momma, he said.

For starters, said the other. (p. 8)
Evavangeline, on the other hand, while tough and unforgiving, and a 14-year-old prostitute on the run, is portrayed with a certain vulnerability. I found myself hoping for her redemption.
She tipped out the blood and prized free a gold molar with her knife and let him go and when he fell his head bled across the bunk like a can of paint overturned. She stepped back reloading. The gunpowder at such range had burned the web of skin between her thumb and forefinger. The Gramophone’s needle had been knocked ajar and she set it back and then, for a moment of her life, as smoke curled in the air, she listened to strings of Handel. (page 23)
The cover is as fascinating as the book was, and can’t really be described. The silhouette of a mean looking outlaw in front of a rundown town straight out of the wild west. The rain, the orange moon, the skeletal canine formed out of willowy smoke. Fascinating!

As for the writing style, I like the shorter paragraphs. One thing I did have difficulty with was the lack of quotations used in dialogue, initially making it difficult to tell the conversations apart from the narration. But I got used to this pretty quickly, so it didn’t take away from my enjoyment.

This is my first book by Tom Franklin, and I look forward to reading more of his work. I think Hell at the Breach may be next on my list.

Final word: Pick up this book, sit back with a drink, cover your ears and brace your sensibilities. You’re in for the ride of a lifetime!


My Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

CHALLENGE: 2012 ARC Reading Challenge


The 2012 ARC Reading Challenge is hosted by The Eclectic Bookshelf. I thought that this challenge would be a good way to keep track of my ARC books, as well as those I am requested to review.

The nitty gritty:

What qualifies for this challenge?:

1. Actual Advance Reader Copies - this includes from tour sites like ATW Tours.
2. Any book that YOU ARE ASKED by either an author, publisher, publicist, media group, etc. to review.
3. Book Sneeze, Pump Up your Books, Tyndale and S&S Galley Grab ("they send out a monthly list & the first ~100 to get to their site gets the book to review").

What does NOT qualify for this challenge?:

1. Any book that YOU personally asked for a review copy of.
2. Netgalley

The Rules:
  • Anyone can join.
  • You don't need a blog to participate.
  • Non-Bloggers: Post your list of books in the comment section of the monthly wrap-up post on Jamie's blog.
  • Audio, eBooks, and bound books count.
  • No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.
  • Create a sign up post and link to the linky below.
  • Challenge runs from January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012.
  • Crossover challenges is ok
There are four levels:
  1. The Mini ARC Challenge – Read 4 ARC's.
  2. The "Fun Size" ARC Challenge – Read 10 ARC's.
  3. The Jumbo Size ARC Challenge – Read 20 ARC's.
  4. The Mega size ARC Challenge – Read 21+ ARC's.
NOTE:  You may UPGRADE your challenge but you can NOT DOWNGRADE your challenge.

I'm trying for the "Fun Size" of 10 ARCs.
  1. The Expats by Chris Pavone
  2. The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen 
  3. Getaway by Lisa Brackmann 
  4. Edge of Light by Cynthia Justlin 
  5. Overseas by Beatriz Williams 
  6. One Moment by Kristina McBride 
  7. The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay 
  8. The Dog Stars by Peter Heller 
  9. And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman 
  10. John Saturnall's Feast by Lawrence Norfolk 
  11. Backyard Foraging by Ellen Zachos (review scheduled for 2/2713)
  12. Me, Who Dove Into the Heart of the World by Sabina Berman
  13. Wilderness by Lance Weller
  14. Sleep Talkin' Man by Karen Slavic-Lennard
  15. Dog by Matt Hlinak


Monday, November 21, 2011

CHALLENGE: 2012 "Bucket List" Reading Challenge


The 2012 "Bucket List" Reading Challenge is hosted by The Eclectic Bookshelf.

The nitty gritty:

1. Challenge starts on January 1, 2012 and goes until December 31, 2012.

2. You don't need a blog to participate.

3. Create a "sign up" post and link to the linky below.

4. There are 4 levels to this challenge....

      a. The Mini Cooper level - 4 "bucket" list books
      b. The Mid-sized Sedan level - 8 "bucket" list books
      c. The Pick Up level - 12 "bucket" list books
      d. The Semi level - 13 or more "bucket" list books

NOTE:  I am adding a stipulation to this challenge.  If you originally decided to start small with the Mini Cooper level and decide to upgrade that is fine.  But once you decide to go big you can NOT downgrade.

5. Each month a review link will be posted.  Please feel free to link up your reviews where ever you happen to post them...your blog, goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.

I am going Mini Cooper level, although I hope to read more. But it's best to start small and work your way up! Here is a link to my bucket list.

1. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
2. The Passage by Justin Cronin
3. One Second After by William R. Forstchen
4.

CHALLENGE: 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge


The 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge is hosted by The Book Vixen. I'm initially setting this for one book beyond what I expect to do this year. If I wind up not doing what I expect, I may adjust this number in 2012.

The nitty gritty:

  • Runs January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012 (books read prior to 1/1/12 do not count towards the challenge). You can join at anytime. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
  • The goal is to outdo yourself by reading more books in 2012 than you did in 2011. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. Nothing is set in stone; you can change levels at any time during the challenge.
  • Books can be any format (bound, eBook, audio).
  • Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
  • Grab the reading challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you could track your progress on Goodreads or LibraryThing.
Levels:
  • Getting my heart rate up – Read 1–5 more books
  • Out of breath – Read 6–10 more books
  • Breaking a sweat – Read 11–15 more books
  • I’m on fire! – Read 16+ more books
I will be going for 1-5 more books than I read this year. I'm thinking I may set my goal at 35, but won't have my definite number until 2012, after I see what my final totals are for 2011.

CHALLENGE: Just for Fun 2012


It's time to begin the challenge commitments for 2012. The first one that I've signed up for is the "Just for Fun" challenge hosted by Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book. I have so, so many books just waiting to be read, yet I keep getting buried under review books. Hopefully this will help remind me to take the time to read "just for fun"!

The nitty gritty:
  • All book formats are allowed, printed, audio, e-book.
  • These books can be counted in your total books read for the year challenge and to one other challenge such as a Where Are You Reading Challenge but try not to cross them over to many other challenges as they really are to be read. 
  • JUST FOR FUN! Everyone that completes the Challenge, 12 books in 12 months will be entered in a drawing for a $25 dollar Amazon.com Gift Certificate or $25 at The Book Depository for International Participants.
  • Sign up: Start your own thread on the JUST FOR FUN GoodReads Reading Challenge 2012.
JANUARY- Whither Thou Goest, I Will Go by Naomi Dathan

FEBRUARY- Lone Survivor by Marcus Lutrell

MARCH- State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
All Her Father's Guns by James Warner

APRIL- The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
The Cove by Ron Rash
The Getaway by Lisa Brackmann
Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale
Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles
Edge of Light by Cynthia Justlin

MAY- The Passage by Justin Cronin
Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

JUNE- The Earthquake Machine by Mary Pauline Lowry

JULY- Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury

AUGUST- Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik

SEPTEMBER- On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

OCTOBER- Not Famous Anymore by Michael Loyd Gray
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
Wilderness by Lance Weller

NOVEMBER- The Names of Things by John Collman
Viewer Discretion Advised by Cindy Roesel

DECEMBER- Dog by Matt Hlinak

Santa's holding all my packages again!

It's that time of year again! I started a tradition a couple of years ago, whereby any books coming into my house up through Christmas go straight under the Christmas tree (along with any Secret Santa gifts), to be opened by me Christmas morning (or maybe Christmas eve). So Mailbox Monday will be on hiatus until January. Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Author Ann Patchett's Impromptu Speech

Author Ann Patchett makes an impassioned impromptu speech in support of the grand opening of Parnassus Books Nashville on November 19th.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (11-19-11 edition)

NOTE: A reminder that you are free to email me about any giveaways that you are having, if you want me to blog them, and I'll be happy to try to post them even if I am not entering them. Just include a link to the giveaway, what you are giving away, how many copies are being given away, and the deadline in order to assure being included. Email me at nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com.

Here is a list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld*. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:
Fresh Fiction is giving away 20 copies of Love Me to Death. Deadline is November 21.
Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Personal History of Rachel DuPree. Deadline is November 26. US/Canada only.

I am a Reader, Not a Writer is giving away Crossed. Deadline is November 28. US only.
Lila DiPasqua is giving away a collection of romance novels! Deadline is November 29. 
Madeline Hunter is giving away an ARC of The Surrender of Miss Fairbourne. Deadline is November 30.
Cathie Linz is giving away Smart Girls Think Twice. Deadline is November 30. US only.
Wendy Corsi Staub is giving away If Only in My Dreams and The Best Gift. Deadline is November 30. US only.
Fresh Fiction has tons of giveaways! Most seem to be romance:
 Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Strangers on Montagu Street. Deadline is December 3. US/Canada only.

Fantasy's Ink is giving away your choice out of fifteens books. Deadline is December 8. International!

Books Like Stars is having a massive "Debut Author" giveaway! US only.

*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Friday, November 18, 2011

I Wanna...Child Wonder by Roy Jacobsen

Child Wonder by Roy Jacobsen

Little Finn lives with his mother in an apartment in a working-class suburb of Oslo. Life is a struggle to make ends meet, but he does not mind. When his mother decides to take a lodger to help pay the bills, he watches with interest as she freshens up their small apartment with new wallpaper and a sofa paid for in installments. He befriends their new male lodger, whose television is more tempting to him than his mother would like. 

When a half sister whom he never knew joins the household, Finn takes her under his wing over an everlasting summer on Håøya Island. But he can’t understand why everyone thinks his new sister is so different from every other child. Nor can he fathom his mother’s painful secret, one that pushes them ever farther apart. As summer comes to a close, Finn must attempt to grasp the incomprehensible adult world and his place within it. 

Child Wonder is a powerful and unsentimental portrait of childhood. Roy Jacobsen, through the eyes of a child, has produced an immensely uplifting novel that shines with light and warmth.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

National Book Award Winners Announced

The 62nd National Book Awards were held last night, and here are the winners:

Young People's Literature

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

No one would believe me but at times I would choose wartime in Saigon over peacetime in Alabama. 

For all the ten years of her life, HÀ has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by . . . and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. 

But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. HÀ and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, HÀ discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.
This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next. 


Nonfiction

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt

One of the world's most celebrated scholars, Stephen Greenblatt has crafted both an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect, changed the course of human thought and made possible the world as we know it.

Nearly six hundred years ago, a short, genial, cannily alert man in his late thirties took a very old manuscript off a library shelf, saw with excitement what he had discovered, and ordered that it be copied. That book was the last surviving manuscript of an ancient Roman philosophical epic, On the Nature of Things, by Lucretius—a beautiful poem of the most dangerous ideas: that the universe functioned without the aid of gods, that religious fear was damaging to human life, and that matter was made up of very small particles in eternal motion, colliding and swerving in new directions. 

The copying and translation of this ancient book-the greatest discovery of the greatest book-hunter of his age-fueled the Renaissance, inspiring artists such as Botticelli and thinkers such as Giordano Bruno; shaped the thought of Galileo and Freud, Darwin and Einstein; and had a revolutionary influence on writers such as Montaigne and Shakespeare and even Thomas Jefferson.


Fiction

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

A hurricane is building over the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the coastal town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi, and Esch's father is growing concerned. A hard drinker, largely absent, he doesn't show concern for much else. Esch and her three brothers are stocking food, but there isn't much to save. Lately, Esch can't keep down what food she gets; she's fourteen and pregnant. Her brother Skeetah is sneaking scraps for his prized pitbull's new litter, dying one by one in the dirt. Meanwhile, brothers Randall and Junior try to stake their claim in a family long on child's play and short on parenting.

As the twelve days that make up the novel's framework yield to their dramatic conclusion, this unforgettable family-motherless children sacrificing for one another as they can, protecting and nurturing where love is scarce-pulls itself up to face another day. A big-hearted novel about familial love and community against all odds, and a wrenching look at the lonesome, brutal, and restrictive realities of rural poverty, Salvage the Bones is muscled with poetry, revelatory, and real.



Poetry

Head Off and Split by Nikky Finney

The poems in Nikky Finney's breathtaking new collection Head Off & Split sustain a sensitive and intense dialogue with emblematic figures and events in African American life: from civil rights matriarch Rosa Parks to former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, from a brazen girl strung out on lightning to a terrified woman abandoned on a rooftop during Hurricane Katrina. Finney s poetic voice is defined by an intimacy that holds a soft yet exacting eye on the erotic, on uncanny political and family events, like her mother s wedding waltz with South Carolina senator Strom Thurmond, and then again on the heartbreaking hilarity of an American president s final State of the Union address.Artful and intense, Finney's poems ask us to be mindful of what we fraction, fragment, cut off, dice, dishonor, or throw away, powerfully evoking both the lawless and the sublime.


Check out the article by Publisher's Weekly.

Live Broadcast Schedule of Miami Book Fair Author Interviews

The Miami Book Fair International has been going on for the last week (I was sooooo tempted to make the long drive there last weekend!), and there is a list of author interviews going on Saturday, November 19th and Sunday, November 20th. See their website for the schedule.

Introducing...Smonk by Tom Franklin

Introducing books through the first paragraph or so...

It was the eve of the eve of his death by murder and there was harmonica music on the air when E.O. Smonk rode the disputed mule over the railroad tracks and up the hill to the hotel where his trial would be. It was October the first of that year. It had been dry and dusty for six weeks and five days. The crops were dead. It was Saturday and hot. Ten after three o'clock on the afternoon according to the shadows of the bottles on the bottle tree.

-- Smonk by Tom Franklin

(I'm half-way through this book, and loving it so much that it could definitely become one of my favorite books ever if it keeps this up!)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

GIVEAWAY: Because of You by Cathy Maxwell

Synopsis

Is a reckless rogue worthy of the love of an innocent enchantress? 

Pretty Samantha Northrup knows it is her duty to marry—but the chaste English vicar’s daughter secretly desires to be swept off her feet by a man whose kisses leave her breathless. And when a seductive stranger arrives at her door one stormy night, Samantha’s neat and orderly life is turned upside down—especially when she finds herself in a most compromising position . . . and is forced to marry a man she barely knows! 

Samantha is unaware that her mystery bridegroom is Yale Carderock, the dashing, disinherited rakehell son of a duke, banished by his father years before. Now Lord Yale has returned—wealthier but only somewhat reformed—and he is bewitched by his lovely new bride’s awakening sensuality and innocent fire. But can this marriage of convenience be something more . . . and can a confirmed cad and society outcast truly change his ways enough to merit the lady’s tender love? 

GIVEAWAY: If you love romance, here's your shot to win a copy of Because of You by Cathy Maxwell. See my review here.

Rules (you knew there had to be some):
  • You must be 18 years or older
  • Open to US and Canada residents only
  • To enter, just comment below. Be sure to leave your email address in your comment, or have it visible in your profile.
  • For extra entries, follow my blog, follow me via Facebook and/or Networked Blogs, and/or blog about this contest. Sidebars are okay. Up to 3 extra entries.
  • Leave a separate comment for each entry.
  • That's a total of 4 possible entries!
  • Those who don't follow the rules risk being disqualified.
Deadline is November 30, 2011

Good Luck! Ready, Set, Go!

ARTICLE: "100 Best First Lines of Novels"

As stated on infoplease.com...
The editors of American Book Review selected what they consider the most memorable first lines of novels. The titles on the list span centuries and genres and include classics and contemporary novels that are certain to become classics.
 Here are a few of my favorites from the selected 100:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."


 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

 The Good Soldier by For Madox Ford

"This is the saddest story I have ever heard."

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."

Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

"I am a sick man... I am a spiteful man."

The Making of Americans by Gertrude Stein

"Once an angry man dragged his father along the ground through his own orchard. 'Stop!' cried the groaning old man at last, 'Stop! I did not drag my father beyond this tree.'”

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board."

Alphabetical Africa by Walter Abish

"Ages ago, Alex, Allen and Alva arrived at Antibes, and Alva allowing all, allowing anyone, against Alex's admonition, against Allen's angry assertion: another African amusement . . . anyhow, as all argued, an awesome African army assembled and arduously advanced against an African anthill, assiduously annihilating ant after ant, and afterward, Alex astonishingly accuses Albert as also accepting Africa's antipodal ant annexation."

The Crow Road by Iain M. Banks

"It was the day my grandmother exploded."

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974."

Tracks by Louise Erdrich

"We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continued to fall."

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

"A story has no beginning or end; arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead."

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

"Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person."

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

"You better not never tell nobody but God."

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

"'To be born again,' sang Gibreel Farishta tumbling from the heavens, 'first you have to die.'”


A Frolic of His Own by William Gaddis

"Justice?—You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law."


Middle Passage by Charles Johnson

"Of all the things that drive men to sea, the most common disaster, I've come to learn, is women."

Scaramouche by Raphael Sabatini

"He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad."


Check out the list of 100 books in its entirety. Awesome!