Sunday, August 31, 2008

MICHELLE MORAN BOOK GIVEAWAY!!

Lezlie at Books 'N Border Collies is hosting this amazing book give-a-way.

Here is Lezlie's introduction and the rules:

We've waited and waited, and on Sept. 16, THE HERETIC QUEEN by Michelle Moran, sequel to the amazing novel NEFERTITI, will finally be released. Many of us will be racing off to the bookstore, but you, my friends, have an opportunity to WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY!!! But that's not all! There are three chances to win in this giveaway and here are the prizes:

GRAND PRIZE:

The Grand Prize Winner will receive not only a brand-spankin' new copy of THE HERETIC QUEEN autographed personally by Michelle Moran, but this lucky person will ALSO receive a HARDCOVER COPY OF NEFERTITI with an autographed bookplate. That's TWO autographed hardcovers for our Grand Prize Winner!!

SECOND PRIZE:Second Prize is a new paperback copy of NEFERTITI with an autographed bookplate!

THIRD PRIZE:Our Third Prize winner will receive a new paperback copy of NEFERTITI.

And how do you win these fabulous prizes? There are three ways to get your name in Peter's Tommy Bahama Panama hat:

1) Leave a comment on this post that you would like to enter the Michelle Moran giveaway and you'll get your name entered once.

2) Let me know you've posted about this giveaway on your blog, and you'll get your name put in a second time.

3) For every person who visits Books 'N Border Collies and lets me know they heard about it from you, I'll put your name in again!

Three ways to win three great prizes!!

The winners will be announced on the release date for THE HERETIC QUEEN, Tues., Sept. 16.

So, what are you waiting for? Go visit MICHELLE MORAN BOOK GIVEAWAY!! Please juste be sure to say that Teddy sent you, as per #3. Thanks!

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:27 PM 8 comments  

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Thank You, Thank You Very Much!


Wendy at Books 'N Border Collies and gautami tripathy at Reading Room have both nominated me with this cool award. Thank you both so very much, it's an honour!

There is only one rule for this award and it is to pass it on to seven other bloggers. Only seven huh? That's tough.. I'll give it a try:

Wendy at Caribousmom
John at The Book Mine Set
Marg at ReadingAdventures
Jen at Devourer of Books
Nicola at Back to Books
Jan at Jottings from Jan
Kailana at The Written World

Congratulations to all of you! It was ver difficult to pick just seven! Thanks to all of you bloggers who make a effort to comment. Every little comment I give to other bloggers and receive brings me a ray of sunshine.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 3:41 PM 9 comments  

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See How Anne Announced the Sweetsmoke Winner, Me

Anne at Reading, Writing, and Ranting hada contest to give away an autographed copy of this wonderful sounding book. To read the first chapter, go here. To find out more about the book and the author, please click on the book, which will bring you to David Fuller's website.

From Amazon:
"Cassius, a secretly literate slave on a Civil War–era Virginia tobacco plantation, is determined to track down whoever killed his mentor and surrogate mother, Emoline Justice, a free black woman."

This is how Anne announced that I was the winner, so much fun!!



Posted by Teddy Rose at 2:53 PM 4 comments  

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje







A Story within a Story





In Northern California teenage sisters Claire and Anna live with their father and work the family farm together with Coop, a boy who is brought into the family from a neighboring farm. Very quickly this family shatters. To say why, would be to give away a spoiler. So, sorry dear readers my lips are sealed!

I will say that we do follow all three characters into their adult lives. Anna becomes a writer of biographies, which brings us to the second half of the book. She writes about the life of turn-of-the-century French poet named Lucien Segura. There was also another story within the story.

This book is about the past, loss, and passion.

To be quite honest, at times I had trouble following along. I wasn’t always sure what family I was reading about until I read further. Then I would catch up and follow smoothly along until it happened again.

I didn’t dislike this book, but I do think it would have been better written as three short stories. I just didn’t see the connection. That said, Ondaatje’s descriptions of both landscape and characters were amazing.

3/5

Also reviewed by:

The Bluestocking Society

Note to my fellow bloggers who also reviewed this book: If you would like me to link your review at the bottom of my review, please leave a comment with the link to your review.



Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:38 PM 13 comments  

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Teaser Tuesdays


Hosted by Jenn at Should Be Reading

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly event which asks readers to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

Visit Jenn's blog each Tuesday and leave a link to your Teaser Tuesday post.

Here's my Tuesday teaser:

From The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

"There was an old copper tub in the upstairs washroom, and we'd put the pans of hot water on the dumbwaiter and pull them up to fill the tub. But in the summer May sent us down to the saltwater pond with a cake of Ivory soap and some puffy shaving cream to wash our hair."


Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:23 PM 2 comments  

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Monday, August 25, 2008

An Ex-Mas Feast by Uwen Akpan









Brutal Reality in Modern Day Africa



This is one short story in Uwen Akpan’s short fiction collection titled Say Your One of Them

Jigana, an eight-year-old boy whose family lives in a makeshift shack in the outskirts of Nairobi, narrates the story. They are dirt poor and send their 12-year-old daughter out on the street to sell her body to feed the family. They also want to send Jigana, as their eldest son, to school. Short on food, the mother gives her children kabire (glue) to sniff to curb their appetite. "She and Baba hardly ever took kabire. Kabire is for children only."

It is not an easy story to read and does make the reader feel really uncomfortable. However, it tells a story that must be told. It is well written and gets the point across.

5/5

Also reviewed by:

caribousmom

Note to my fellow bloggers who also reviewed this book: If you would like me to link your review at the bottom of my review, please leave a comment with the link to your review.


Posted by Teddy Rose at 2:24 PM 21 comments  

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Dear John by Norma L. Betz



Enjoyable Debut Novel

Susanna Smith’s last living relative has recently died and she goes to Weymouth, Massachusetts to settle her aunt’s estate. Susanna’s faithful companion, a Weimaraner, goes along.

This is no usual estate. Both Susanna and her Aunt Susanna are both descendents of Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams. The house is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places and has many heirlooms in it including letters from Abigail to John, the future president of the United States.

Susanna is not sure what to do with the house and she consults with a Realtor who also hooks her up with an antiques dealer. The antiques dealer has a shady past, to say the least, and the adventure begins.

The letters from Abigail Adams are authentic and the highlight of the book. I really enjoyed reading them. The book itself had a little of everything, romance, mystery, adventure, danger, with emphasis on little. It was enjoyable but maybe a bit too rushed. I think I would have liked it more if we had gotten to know the characters more and had more plot development. It was hard to believe that a romance could bloom in a couple short meetings, etc. I loved the historical bits and pieces but could have taken or leaven the rest. I think this book, as written may be better suited for young adults.

3/5

Thanks to AuthorHouse for sending an advance reading copy of this book!

Note to my fellow bloggers who also reviewed this book: If you would like me to link your review at the bottom of my review, please leave a comment with the link to your review.


Posted by Teddy Rose at 2:04 PM 2 comments  

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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Book Blogger Appreciation Week September 15-19


Amy from My Friend Amy has come up with this wonderful idea!

Here's how she explains it:

Book Bloggers: You work hard. You read books, you write reviews, you maintain relationships with your readers, publicists, and authors. You are constantly running to the post office to mail your giveaways and participating in carnivals to help boost traffic. You sometimes want to faint when you see the size of your TBR pile, but faithfully you read. And you do it because you love it. Book blogging is for most a hobby. But it's a hobby that takes a lot of work and time. It's a labor of love.

I've been blogging for three years but only really got into book blogging in the last year. I have found, without a doubt, that book bloggers are the kindest, most open minded, and supportive group of bloggers on the internet. With book blogging, it's about community and a love for the written word.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Acknowledging the hard work of book bloggers and their growing impact on book marketing and their essential contribution to book buzz in general, I am excited to announce the first Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Think of it as a retreat for book bloggers and a chance for us to totally nerd out over books together. And of course, shower each other with love and appreciation.

Register:
In order to experience the maximum impact of the week, I invite you to register your participation (just like a retreat)!To register, just send an email to bookbloggerappreciationweekATgmailDOTcom with your blog url and what you consider your niche...i.e, general book blog, classics blog, personal blog with a healthy dose of books, YA books blog, etc. Then, add one of the two buttons at the bottom of this post to your sidebar. If you are a reader (no blog) just send an email announcing your plans to follow along.

Why bother? If you register, you will be added to a book blog directory which will exist long after this week is over. Additionally, you will receive one raffle entry into the daily giveaways during BBAW here at My Friend Amy.

Awards: Oh yes, there will be awards. The Oscars of Book Blogging. :) Nominations start next week.

Spread the Word: If you are excited about this idea like I am and the other book bloggers who are helping, please consider writing a post on your blog announcing this event and inviting other book bloggers and readers to join.

Help Wanted: If you have a talent for designing buttons (like those below) and would like to donate some of your time and skill to me, please email me personally at mypalamyATgmailDOTcom

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:24 PM 3 comments  

The ARC Reading Challenge Update

Just to recap, this is the Challenge:

The challenge will run from June 21, 2008-September 21, 2008.

It will be to help those of us with ARC's to get in gear and read and review them.

Here are the rules:

1. Make a list of all of the ARC's that you currently have and/or are on their way to you.

2. If you have:1-3 ARC's then pick at least one to read and review for this challenge.

4-6 ARC's then pick at least two to read and review for this challenge.

7-9 ARC's then pick at least three to read and review for this challenge.

10 or more Arc's then pick at least 4 to read and review for this challenge.

Here is our progress:

Jen- Total read: 3 Status: Completed

1. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

2. The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin

3. My Father’s Paradise by Ariel Sabar

4. Songs for the Missing by Stewart O’Nan

5. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

6. Among the Cannibals: Adventures on the Trail of Man’s Darkest Ritual by Paul Raffaele

7. The White Mary by Kira Salak

8. The Dracula Dossier by James Reese

9. Superdove by Courtney Humphries

10. Stealing Athena by Karen Essex

11. One More Year: Stories by Sana Krasikov

12. First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader

13. Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi

14. Sweetsmoke by David Fuller

15. American Savior by Roland Merullo

16. Creepers by Joanne Dahme

17. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

18. The Dangerous Joy of Dr. Sex by Pagan Kennedy

Wendy -Total Read: 9 Status: Completed

1. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

2. The House at Midnight, by Lucie Whitehouse

3. The Island of Eternal Love, by Daina Chaviano

4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Societyby Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

5. Leftovers, by Laura Weiss

6. The Map Thief, by Heather Terrell

7. The 19th Wife, by David Ebershoff

8. Rules for Saying Goodbye, by Katherine Taylor

9. The White Mary, by Kira Salak

Lori -Total Read: 7 Status: Completed

1. Cold Hearted by Beverly Barton

2. The Brass Verdict: A Novel by Michael Connelly

3. Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain

4. Die, Decorator, Die: A Novel of Murder, Greed and Interior Design by Franklin H Levy

5. Night Kills by John Lutz

6. The Mercedes Coffin: A Decker and Lazarus Book (Peter Decker & Rina Lazarus Novels) by Faye Kellerman

7. Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay

Kathleen - Total Read: 5 Status: Completed

1. The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine

2. The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy

3. Aberrations by Penelope Przekop

4. The White Mary by Kira Salak

5. One More Year by Sana Krasikov

Chris- Total read:4 Status: Completed

1. The Other by David Guterson

2. Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

3. False Colours by Georgette Heyer

4. Loyalists and Layabouts, The Rapid Rise and Faster Fall of Shelburne, Nova Scotia by Stephen Kimber

Teddy- Total read: 4 Status: Completed

1. The Horseman's Graves by Jacqueline Baker

2. Ringside 1925: Views From the Scopes Trial by Jen Bryant

3. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

4. Dear John by Norma L. Betz

Alessandra- Total read: 2 Status: Completed

1. Aberrations by Penelope Przekop

2. Admit One: A Journey into Film by Emmett James

Katknit- Total read:2 Status: Completed

1. Songs for the Missing, by Stewart O’Nan

2. Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America’s First Spy by M. William Phelps

Megan- Total read: 3 Status: 1 more to read

1. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

2. Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block by Judith Matloff

3. Farworld: Water Keep by J. Scott Savage

Jill- Total read: 3 Status: Completed

1. Resistance by Owen Sheers

2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

3. So Long At The Fair by Christina Schwartz

Literary Feline- Total read: 3 Status: 1 more to read

1. Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake

2. The Servants by Michael Marshall Smith

3. Far World, Book 1: Water Keep by J. Scott Savage

Josette- Total read: 3 Status: 1 more to read

1. Crazy Fool Kills Five by Gwen Freeman

2. The Poem I Turn To edited by Jason Shinder

3. Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer

Mizb Total read: 3 Status: 1 more to read

1. A Well-Behaved Woman’s Life by Susan McGeown

2. Merciless (Dominion Trilogy, book 3) by Robin Parrish

3. Beyond Me: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World by Kathi Macias

Other participants who have signed up but who have not yet started:

CCDPiper

Amy

3M

Tracy

Janie

Susan

Kristen

Callista

Bonnie

Congratulations to Jen, Wendy, Lori, Kathleen, Chris, Alessandra, Catknit (Linda), and Jill for completing the challenge already!

For the rest of you, hang in there you can do it! Some of you are very close to the finish!



Posted by Teddy Rose at 3:51 PM 10 comments  

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

It's Time for This Month's Bookworms Carnival


Bookworms Carnival for August is up! The host for this month is Florinda over at 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting and Randomness.

This month's theme is You're Never Too Old and it's based on children's and young adult literature. There arelots of links from bookbloggers as well as guest bloggers to choose from! You don't have to be a child to read and enjoy many of these books. So go visit Florinda!

Posted by Teddy Rose at 11:27 PM 0 comments  

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Teaser Tuesdays

Hosted by Jenn at Should Be Reading
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly event which asks readers to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

Visit Jenn's blog each Tuesday and leave a link to your Teaser Tuesday post.

Here's my Tuesday teaser:

From Dear John by Norma L. Betz:

"At the time of Abigail's birth, he was a minister in the town of Weymouth. Her mother also came from a wealthy, well-educated family of prominent New Englanders."

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:44 PM 0 comments  

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Saturday, August 16, 2008

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson





Powerful!


The Gargoyle is a difficult book to review and summarize. The plot crosses many genre lines and deals with many issues. That said, here is my attempt.

The novel begins with the narrator getting in a car accident after bingeing on liquor and cocaine. He has a bottle of bourbon between his legs at the time and him and his car go up in flames. He is burned over most of his body and is in a hospital burn unit for a very long time.

Marianne Engel, a famous sculptress of gargoyles, shows up on his unit one day and tells him that they were lovers in medieval Germany. She claims that he was a mercenary and that she was a scribe. He doesn’t really much faith in this claim, but is mesmerized by Marianne.

When he was ready to be released from the hospital he was still going to need continuous care. Normally he would have been sent to a rehab centre, however Marianne volunteers to take him into her home. She has the resources for him to get the care he needs.

This book is richly layered with many themes and symbolism. It is not a book to be read quickly, but rather slowly and contemplatively. One of the major themes is of redemption and there are many references to Dante’s Inferno in it.

This book is not for the faint of heart. The burns that the nameless narrator goes through and many other aspects are vividly outlined. Though I don’t normally like a book with much gore, it is needed in this book. It’s not there to purposely shock the reader, but to inform.

I really liked this book. It has a lot to keep the reader interested and is well researched and written. The stories that Marianne tells are very engaging and were my favorite part of the book.

I only have one complaint. Throughout the book the author refers to Marianne by her full name, Marianne Engel. Her entire name appears several times on the same page. Though this doesn’t ruin the book, it is a distraction, at least for me. I have no idea if this was intentional, though for what purpose I can’t fathom or if is was in need of better editing. That said, I did read an advance reading copy, so maybe in the final version published this was fixed. I sure hope so.

I highly recommend The Gargoyle and look forward to reading more from Andrew Davidson.

4/5

Thanks to Doubleday for sending an advance reading copy of this book!
Also reviewed by:


Note to my fellow bloggers who also reviewed this book: If you would like me to link your review at the bottom of my review, please leave a comment with the link to your review.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:52 PM 24 comments  

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Highlights of My Canadian Summer Vacation

Royal Terrell Museum in Drumheller Alberta

Badlands, Alberta


Edmonton Folk Music Festival Highlights

Martyn Joseph

Ron Sexsmith

Dancing Frogs on Stilts


Eliza Gilkyson

Dancing Devils on Stilts



Talking With Chris Isaak and Getting His Autograph

Chris Isaak

Chris Isaak

Chris Isaak

The best part of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is that we get to go again next year! Bill bought 3 raffle tickets and won the early bird prize! It includes 2 passes to next year's Festival, 2 Passes to next year's Calgary Folk Music Festival and a Private box for Bill and 11 of his friends to see the Edmonton Oilers vs. the Calgary Flames, including food and beer. Wow was he stoked! I lost my voice from screaming when they called his name!

As much fun as we had, the old saying is so true, "there's no place like home." It's nice to be sleeping in our own bed.

Stay tuned for my book review of The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson, coming soon.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 4:11 PM 14 comments  

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Sunday, August 3, 2008

Gone on Vacation, Be Back in About One Week.

Photo taken July 2007 of a bus stop in downtown Calgary, Alberta Canada.

See you all when I return!




Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:51 PM 8 comments  

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