Saturday, July 31, 2010

Winner: ROBERT LUDLUM’S™ THE BOURNE OBJECTIVE by Eric Van Lustbader

Thanks again to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible.

The Winner is:


Debbie

Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Winners: THE IMPOSTOR'S DAUGHTER by Laurie Sandell

Thanks again to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible.


The Winners are:

Cait (No Response)
Tanu 
Chantel

Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

A Place for Delta by Melissa Walker

Written for children between the ages 0f 9-14, A Place for Delta is the story of Joseph, an 11 year old boy who is asked by his aunt Kate Morse to come to Barrow, Alaska to help care for an orphaned polar bear cub, Delta. Off course, he jumps at the chance and with his parents permission, he spent the entire summer in a scientific research centre, really a shack, in the Arctic.


This story in not just a cute animal story for kids. It has several layers that has appeal for adults as well. It is a multi-generational story of the Morse family and weaves together a plot of mystery, global warming, politics, love, and friendship.

While in Barrow, Joseph becomes friends with Ada and together they investigate how Delta became orphaned. They finally bring the information they gather to the adults and get help. It becomes clear that the oil companies are somehow involved. 

 by Richard Walker in A Place for Delta (c) 2010

Winner of the 2010 International Book Award for best Children's Fiction, A Place for Delta is destined to become a classic, with rich illustrations by Richard Walker of drawing and wood cuts and simple yet elegant writing by Melissa Walker. Walker uses a well developed story and plot without the more modern devices such as witches and vampires. It is the kind of book that I read and loved as a child. Now, as an adult, I loved this story and it will stay with me for a long time.

Melissa Walker has been a Professor of English at the University of New Orleans and Mercer University and a Fellow in Women’s Studies at Emory University. She’s a vocal advocate for civil rights and for wilderness. Her previous books include Reading the Environment (W.W.Norton, 1994) and Living on Wilderness Time: 200 Days Alone in America’s Wild Places (Univ. of Va. Press, 2002). She lives with her husband Jerome in Atlanta and spends much of the summer in Alaska.

5/5

Thanks to Lisa Roe, Online Publicist for this book.

Also reviewed by:

Beth Fish Reads
Reading Vacations

Have you reviewed this book? Be sure to leave a link in the comments so I can add it here.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Restitution by Kathy Kacer

Restitution is the true story of one families' struggle to escape Czechoslovakia right after Hitler's invasion. Marie Reeser, the matriarch of the family enlists the aid of her husband, Victor's non-Jewish business associate, Alois Jirak to help her hideaway the families' valuables to claim back later. He is also given power of attorney. A big part of the belongings were four paintings which, she adored. She then arranges for her two children, Karl and Hana and herself to meet up with her husband, Victor in France. From there, they escaped to Toronto, Ontario Canada.


Soon after the war ends, Marie and Victor return to Czechoslovakia, in part to reclaim the family's belongings, including paintings that Marie loves so much. The Communist party has taken over the family home and there is no way to re-claim it. However, Alois Jirak is still there but does not want to give up the paintings and with the Communist party taking over the country, Marie and Victor are forced to flee again, without the beloved paintings.

50 years later, well after Victor and Marie's death, their son Karl receives a letter from Alois Jirak's grandson. He says that he inherited four painting but found out that they are rightfully owned by the Reeser family and would like to return them if possible.

What follows is the story of how Karl finally gets the paintings back. It is a story of friendship, betrayal, an "honest" smuggler, and restitution. Told seamlessly in part memoir and part fiction by ghost writer, Kathy Kacer Ms. Kacer writes a suspenseful story that reads like a novel.

I highly recommend it!

4.5/5

Thanks to Annie Paikeday, Marketing/Editorial Intern for Second Story Press for this book.

Have you reviewed this book? Please leave a link in the comments for me to post here.


Monday, July 26, 2010

Winners: THE BROOM OF THE SYSTEM by David Foster Wallace- Unabridged Audiobook

Thanks again to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible.

The Winners are:
Just Mom
Nfmgirl (already won)
MJ

Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Winners: HITCH 22 by Christopher Hitchens- Unabridged Audipbook

Thanks again to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible.

The Winners are:
MJ
Robynl (No Response)
Denny Alaska

Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Mailbox Monday

Visit Marcia every Monday at The Printed Page to share what arrives in your mailbox each week.


Here's what I received in my mailbox this week: 


 Thanks to Shelf Awareness and to Jennifer Robbins of Broadway Books.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Charles by Shirley Jackson


Back in June, Margot of Joyfully Retired reviewed the short story, Charles by Shirley Jackson.  I had never read anything by this author, so I thought, so decided to read this story.


It was Laurie's first day of kindergarten and when he arrived back home he couldn't wait to tell his parents about his day.  He told them about a boy named Charles and how badly he behaved.  


Everyday, Laurie came home from school and told his parents about Charles and what bad things he did.  

"Today Charles hit the teacher."  "Charles threw chalk." "He kicked the teacher's friend." "Charles had to stay after school and everyone stayed with him."

As the school year progress Charles started to behave better.  Finally, Lauries mother was able to go to a PTA meeting and she couldn't wait to ask the teacher about Charles.  Can you guess what happened?

As I was reading this story, it became very familiar to me and I realized that I had read it when I was a child.  It is a cute little story but very predictable.  It was featured at The Library of America's short story of the week and you can read it here.

If you would like to participate in Short Story Mondays or just find out about some great short stories, go to John of The Book Mine Set. He has a short story review every Monday and a place for you to link your short story reviews. Come join in the fun!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Free Download: The Choir Boats by Daniel A. Rabuzzi

I just received news that this book is available in ebook format for free for the month of July only.  This is not a contest, just click to download this ebook.

The Choir Boats explores issues of race, gender, sin, and salvation, and includes a mysterious letter, knuckledogs, carkodrillos, smilax root, goat stew, and one very fierce golden cat.  It's categorized as historical fiction/ fantasy.

Giveaway: THE LINK By Colin Tudge, Josh Young

Thanks toAnna Balasi of Hachette Books, I am giving away up to three copies of this book.


Book Description (from publisher):


For more than a century, scientists have raced to unravel the human family tree and have grappled with its complications. Now, with an astonishing new discovery, everything we thought we knew about primate origins could change. Lying inside a high-security vault, deep within the heart of one of the world's leading natural history museums, is the scientific find of a lifetime - a perfectly fossilized early primate, older than the previously most famous primate fossil, Lucy, by forty-four million years.

Visit
RevealingtheLink.com.

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 or more entrants= 3

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.

Sorry, the giveaway is only open US and Canadian 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 6th, 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 TWO days or will be disqualified.

Giveaway: FIT FOR LIFE By Harvey Diamond, Marilyn Diamond

Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books, I am giving away up to 3 copies of this book. 

Book Description (from the publisher):

It's the program that shatters all the myths: FIT FOR LIFE the international bestseller that explains how to change both your figure and your life. Nutritional specialist Harvey and Marilyn Diamond explain how you can eat more kinds of food than you ever ate before without counting calories...and still lose weight! The natural body cycles, permanent weight-loss plan that proves it's not only what you eat, but also when and how, FIT FOR LIFE is the perfect solution for those who want to look and feel their best. Join the millions of Americans who are FIT FOR LIFE and begin your transformation with:
* The vital principles that bring you permanent weight loss and high energy
* The FIT FOR LIFE secrets of timing and food combining that work with your natural body cycles
* A 4-week meal plan, menus, shopping tips, and exercise
* Delicious recipes and more.


Read an excerpt.

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 or more entrants= 3

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.

Sorry, the giveaway is only open US and Canadian 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 6, 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 TWO days or will be disqualified.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Giveaway: New Tricks By David Rosenfelt

Thanks to Valerie Russo of Hachette Book Group, I am giving away up to 3 copies of this book.

Book Description (from publisher):

Attorney Andy Carpenter is about to represent an adorable Bernese mountain dog puppy, whose owner was brutally murdered, in a custody fight. Few can rival Andy's affection for dogs, and he's determined to keep Waggy from falling into the wrong hands. But this playful pup possesses a valuable secret that some people will resort to violence to obtain. It will take more than Andy's usual courtroom theatrics to save Waggy, including help from the lawyer's golden retriever, Tara. Andy soon discovers that everyone around him is in danger, including his longtime girlfriend, Laurie--and only some high-risk new tricks will save those he cherishes most.

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 or more entrants= 3

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.

Sorry, the giveaway is only open US and Canadian residents only.

The winner’s mailing address: NO P.O. Boxes.

Only one entry per household/IP address.

This giveaway will end on Monday, August 9, 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 TWO days or will be disqualified.

Winners: THE DISAPPEARING SPOON By Sam Kean

Thanks again to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible.


The Winners are:

Stacie
Martha
Sandra

Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Winners: QUEEN PIN By Jemeker Thompson-Hairston, David Ritz, Geoff Martin

Thanks again to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible.


The Winners are:

Chantel
Meredith


Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Winners: BACKSEAT SAINTS by Joshilyn Jackson

Thanks again to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible.


The Winners are:

DarcieO (already won)
Heather
Erika Lynn
Just Mom 

Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Winners: Heart of Lies by M.L. Malcolm

Thanks again to Nicole Bruce of The Book Report Network  for making this giveaway possible.

The two winners are:

Cindy
Stacie

Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Mailbox Monday

Visit Marcia every Monday at The Printed Page to share what arrives in your mailbox each week.
Here's what I received in my mailbox this week: 

Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books. I did a giveaway for this book but did not actually request it for myself. However, it does sound good.






Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books. I did a giveaway for this book but did not actually request it for myself. However, it also sounds good.





 I won this book by filling out a survey Thanks to Tracey Turriff of Random House of Canada for sending me this book.















Thanks to Lissa Rennerof Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Foster by Claire Keegan

I found this story at The New Yorker website.

The setting is rural Ireland and the narrator is an unnamed girl in her preteens.  She is dropped off by her father to her "mother's people" to stay with them for undetermined amount of town.  I think it is her Aunt and Uncle but can't be sure. Her family is very poor and her mother is pregnant yet again and about to give birth.

She doesn't have any belonging or clothes with her except for what she is wearing at the time and she is filthy and has lice.

The aunt and uncle treat the girl like one of their own children and she blossoms under their care.  They have a secret about why the posses boy's clothing which, the girl discovers in time.

If I tell you much more, I will give out spoilers.  However, trust me, this is an excellent story. It is well written with great character development, especially for a short story. It had me crying in the end. Go read it here.  Winner of the Davy Byrnes Memorial Prize.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Giveaway: ROBERT LUDLUM’S™ THE BOURNE OBJECTIVE by Eric Van Lustbader- Abridged & Unabridged Audiobook

Thanks toAnna Balasi of Hachette Books, I am giving away up to three copies of this audiobook.

Product Description:

After Bourne is ambushed and nearly killed while in Indonesia, he fakes his death to take on a new identity and mission- to find out who is trying to assassinate him. In the process, Bourne begins to question who he really is and what he would become if he no longer carried the Bourne identity. Across the globe, an American passenger airliner is shot down over Egypt-apparently by an Iranian missile-leaving the world wondering if it was an accident or an act of aggression. A massive global team lead by Soraya Moore is assembled to investigate the attack before the situation escalates. 
 
When Bourne's search for his would-be assassin intersects with Soraya's search for the group behind the airplane bombing, Bourne is thrust into a race to prevent a new world war. But it may already be too late. 


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 or more entrants= 3

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.

Sorry, the giveaway is only open US and Canadian residents only.

The winner’s mailing address: NO P.O. Boxes.

Only one entry per household/IP address.

This giveaway will end on Friday, July 30th, 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 TWO days or will be disqualified.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

The Flat on Malabar Hill by Chitra Kallay

Told in multiple view points, The Flat on Malabar Hill is about a multigenerational, middle class Indian family. Shanti and Vinod have lived in the flat on Malabar Hill in India for a very long time and are rooted in tradition. 


Their two grown sons are as different as night and day. Kishore is an overachiever who went to the U.S.A. to university. While there he meets a fellow student, Anjali and falls in love. Dev on the other hand, is in a low caste band and is addicted to drugs. He wants to marry a low caste night club singer, to the strong disapproval to his family.

Anjal was raised in the U. S. and experiences culture shock when her and Kishore move to Malabar and get married. They have a child and Shanti wants to spend a lot of time with him and Anjal. With time Anjal does develop a deep respect and fondness for Shanti. 

In later years Kishore must choose between his highly successful job in the U.S., a good education for his children, and his ailing parents. He decides to move his family back to Malabar to take care of his parents. Vinod had a heart attack and had bypass surgery and Shanti was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. 

Vinod and Shanti sign over their house to Kishore and Anjal doesn't waste time in decorating it to her taste despite the fact that Vinod and Shanti still live there as well. As Shanti's mind and memory begins to diminish more and more, Vinod feels helpless in helping his wife. One day he makes a fateful decision that will affect the entire family.

Chitra Kallay sure knows how to write a good story. She uses strong character development, which drives this story. I cared deeply for the characters and what happened to them. I felt like I was a welcome part of the family and their culture.

4/5

Thanks to Paula Krapf of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. for this book.

If you have reviewed this book, please leave a link in the comments.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Winners: The Lion by Nelson DeMille- Audiobook

Thanks again to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible.


The Winners are:


Jewelknitts (Already won)
Steve

Throuthehaze
Debs Desk

Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Winners: PRIVATE by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro- Unabridged Audiobook

Thanks again to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible.

The Winners are:

Linda K.
Linda L.
 Luvdaylilies

Congratulations!  I emailed all three of you.  Please respond with your shipping address within 3 days to claim your prize.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Giveaway: THE IMPOSTOR'S DAUGHTER by Laurie Sandell

Thanks toAnna Balasi of Hachette Books, I am giving away up to five copies of this paperback book.

Product Description:

Laurie Sandell grew up in awe (and sometimes in terror) of her larger-than-life father, who told jaw-dropping tales of a privileged childhood in Buenos Aires, academic triumphs, heroism during Vietnam, friendships with Kissinger and the Pope. As a young woman, Laurie unconsciously mirrors her dad, trying on several outsized personalities (Tokyo stripper, lesbian seductress, Ambien addict). Later, she lucks into the perfect job--interviewing celebrities for a top women's magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father has given Laurie a knack for relating to the stars. But while researching an article on her dad's life, she makes an astonishing discovery: he's not the man he says he is--not even close. Now, Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from them--herself.

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.

Sorry, the giveaway is only open US and Canadian residents only.

The winner’s mailing address: NO P.O. Boxes.

Only one entry per household/IP address.

This giveaway will end on Friday, July 30th, 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 TWO days or will be disqualified.

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