Book Description:
Tom Loxley, an Indian-Australian professor, is less concerned with finishing his book on Henry James than with finding his dog, who is lost in the Australian bush.
Joining his daily hunt is Nelly Zhang, an artist whose husband disappeared mysteriously years before Tom met her. Although Nelly helps him search for his beloved pet, Tom isn't sure if he should trust this new friend.
Tom has preoccupations other than his book and Nelly and his missing dog, mainly concerning his mother, who is suffering from the various indignities of old age. He is constantly drawn from the cerebral to the primitive--by his mother's infirmities, as well as by Nelly's attractions. THE LOST DOG makes brilliant use of the conventions of suspense and atmosphere while leading us to see anew the ever-present conflicts between our bodies and our minds, the present and the past, the primal and the civilized.
The number of entrants to this giveaway will determine how many copies of this book I will giveaway.
1-10 entrants= 1
11-20 entrants= 2
21-30 entrants= 3
31-40 entrants=4
41 or more entrants=5
The number of entrants to this giveaway will determine how many copies of this book I will giveaway.
1-10 entrants= 1
11-20 entrants= 2
21-30 entrants= 3
31-40 entrants=4
41 or more entrants=5
Here are the rules:
1. For one entry, leave a comment. Please be sure to include your email address (if it isn't available in your profile), so that I can contact you if you win. If I can't find your email either in the comments or your profile, you will be disqualified!
2. For two more entries, post about this giveaway on your blog and leave link to your blog post in the comments. You will also get an entry for each person who tells me that they learned about this giveaway from you.
3. For another 5 more entries: Become a Follower of my blog or subscribe to my blog through Google Reader or other subscription service. If you are already a subscriber or follower you still get the five extra entries! Please do not comment that you are a follower five times! I will give you the extra entries myself. I will delete any extra entries that you make as it will just confuse me when I go to pick the winners.
The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.
The winner’s mailing address: NO P.O. Boxes.
Only one entry per household/IP address.
This giveaway will end on Friday August 14th 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email, so remember to include your email address in the comments, if it isn't available in your profile! Winners must respond within three days or will be disqualified.
The three themes I chose were books of historical fiction, that were all written by female authors, and who were new to me.
Here are the 6 books that I read:
1.The Kingmaking by Helen Hollick
2.Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly
3.King's Fool: A Notorious King, His Six Wives, and the One Man Who Knew Their Secrets by Margaret Campbell Barnes
4.Signora da Vinci by Robin Maxwell
5.The Help By Kathryn Stockett
6.The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C.M. Mayo
Hi all, This is just to let you know that I am leaving town for a fun filled summer vacation. First were heading over to Calgary, Alberta for the Calgary Music Festival then to Edmonton for the music festival there. We saw Chris Isaak, pictured above in Edmonton last year.
I will be away until Tuesday August 11th. I won't have Internet access for most of the trip. I may have short periods of access but I'll see you all when I return.
I hope you are all having a wonderful summer.
Mexican History
I usually write my own summary of what a book is about. I am at a bit of a loss for this one. The book had so much going on with different sub-plots and character's that I have decided to use the publishers book description.
Book Description:
The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire is a sweeping historical novel of Mexico during the short, tragic, at times surreal, reign of Emperor Maximilian and his court. Even as the American Civil War raged north of the border, a clique of Mexican conservative exiles and clergy convinced Louis Napoleon to invade Mexico and install the Archduke of Austria, Maximilian von Habsburg, as Emperor. A year later, the childless Maximilian took custody of the two year old, half-American, AgustÃn de Iturbide y Green, making the toddler the Heir Presumptive. Maximilian’s reluctance to return the child to his distraught parents, even as his empire began to fall, and the Empress Carlota descended into madness, ignited an international scandal. It is based on the true story and illuminates both the cultural roots of Mexico and the political development of the Americas.
Historical fiction is my passion, however I have never read any based on Mexican history. In fact, I know very little about Mexican history so I was very excited when I got the chance to receive a review copy of this book!
C.M. Mayo is a gifted writer and kept Mexican history at the forefront of this novel, with some beautiful passages. However, I had trouble picking this book up. It's over 400 pages long and the list of characters didn't seem to end. I would just start to remember who a character was and then a new character was introduced. We never get to fully explore any one character which, made it very hard for me to maintain my interest in this book. Because of this, I think that it would have been better if Mayo would have written it as a non-fiction book.
I think that C.M. Mayo has very promising talent but needs to work on her character development and try to look at which characters are important to introduce, for a story's development.
Though this book was a difficult read for me, I am glad that I stuck with it. I did learn some Mexican history. I would recommend this book if you are interest in Mexican history. If you do decide to give it a read, here is a link to an outline of all of the characters. It helped me a bit in keeping track of who was who.
3/5
Thanks to Caitlin Hamilton Summie of Unbridled Books for an advance copy of this book!
Hi to all my wonderful readers! I will be hosting the Bookworms Carnival in September with the theme of Historical Fiction. I am looking for submissions! I hoping to include book reviews, author interviews and/or guest posts, and articles about Historical Fiction. If you have any of the above that you would like3 to submit for the Carnival, please email me. My email address is in my profile. Don't by shy, submit something today.
Be sure to check this post throughout the week for additions. Also don't forget to click on Mr. Linky, below to check for more giveaways.
My Giveaways:
My Name is Will by Jess Winfield ends July 31st, 11:59 PM.
Summer Beach Bag Books Giveaway ends August 14th 11:59PM.
Featured Giveaways:
All Things Royal... is giving away Legacy by Susan Kay. This book was published in 1985 and is hard to find. Enter by July 30th, here.
Be sure to Visit West of Mars Win a Book to find out about some of the giveaways going on!
Do you have a book or book related giveaway happening. Please list it on Mr. Linky below. Please be sure to list your name and book like this in the name spot: "Your Name (Elephants Laugh).
The story of Drood is based on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens, "The Last Dickens." It is narrated by Wilkie Collins, author and friend of Charles Dickens.
The story opened on June 9, 1865 with a train accident at Staplehurst. Charles Dickens and his mistress were on the train. Dickens helped some of the other passengers and saw some die. It is also where he first set eyes on a creepy man, Drood.
Dickens becomes obsessed with Drood and with the help of laudanum addict, Wilkie Collins, they explore the dangerous underbelly of London to find him.
Let me begin by saying that this isn't the normal genre I read. It is historical fiction, yes but it is also horror/mystery. The reason I decided to listen to it was that it was historical fiction and based on two real classic novelists. I am attracted to historical books that have real life famous people in them as characters.
I really liked being able to experience 1860's London, warts and all. Dan Simmons transported me there, where Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins lived and worked. It was worth the listen just for that! The British actor Simon Prebble was the narrator and did a fine job. He even made the female characters pop with a tone of voice change.
The horror part I could have really done without. It was quite gruesome and reminded me of an old B horror movie. Though, again, let me remind you that it is not my genre and so it is probably just me. I also found the ending anticlimactic.
If you like historical fiction with real famous people, this book is worthwhile.
3/5
Princess Elizabeth lived in a castle and was to marry Prince Ronald. He was a spoiled Prince. One day a dragon came and ruined the castle, burned all of Elizabeth's clothes, and took off with the Prince. Elizabeth makes a paper bag dress for herself to wear and goes to rescue her prince.
Visit Marcia every Monday at The Printed Page to share what arrives in your mailbox each week.
Matrimony: A Novel
Thanks to Joshua Henkin who assured me that this isn't chick lit. Thanks for setting me straight Josh. I look forward to reading it!
The Impostor's Daughter: A True Memoir
Thanks to Anna of Hachette Books!
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
I received this book throgh Shelf Awareness. Thanks to William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins.
Thanks to Valerie of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible!
The three winners are:
Budlestmom Already won
Marie
Amanda
Lynne
Congratulations! I emailed all three of you, please contact me within 3 days to claim your prize.
Thanks to Anna of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible!
The five winners are:
Carlene
Monica
Kristi
Nfmgirl
Dawn M.
Congratulations! I emailed all five of you, please contact me within 3 days to claim your prize.
Thanks to Kelly Leonard O'Keefe of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible!
The five winners are:
Clenna
Belinda
Sharon
Kittenalready won
Marie
Jake
Congratulations! I emailed all five of you, please contact me within 3 days to claim your prize.
John 
of Book Mine Set reviewed this short last week, here. After reading his wonderful review, I just had to read this myself and I am so glad I did!
Note, that I have changed the format for this feature. Due to my busy schedule, I decided to make this easier for me.
I love connecting people with books and that is why I started Giveaways Galore. I hope you enjoy it in the new format. I will still be hosting it weekly.
I will still be listing my current giveaways here every week and may feature some other giveaways that my fellow bloggers are holding. However, if you want your giveaways listed here, I have set up Mr. Linky so you can list them yourselves.
My Giveaways:
SOUL SURVIVOR: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot by Bruce and Andrea Leininger with Ken Gross ends July 10th, 11:59 PM.
Over at Historical Tapestry we are celebrating our 2nd blogiversary with a giveaway of the following books: Alexander Baricco - Silk, Eva Etzioni-Halevy - The Triumph of Deborah, Kate Grenville - The Lieutenant, and Susanna Kearsley - Sophia's Secret. Enter by July 11th, here.
Teddyree of The Eclectic Reader is giving away 3 books: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead, Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost, and The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Bastards by Philippa Jones. Enter by July 30th, here.
Dar of Peeking Between the Pages is giving away a cool Book Buddy. Enter before August 1st, here.
July 1, 2009- July 1, 2010
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