Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Giveaway and Exciting New Website Announcement

Goose Lane Editions is Canada's oldest independent publisher and they put out quality books.  They have just launched their new website and would love it if you would stop by and take a look.  Just click on this link, Goose Lane Editions.  They are offering daily discounts on their books all week long!

As a thank you for checking them out, they are offering the chance to win one copy of one of their books, YOU comma Idiot by Doug Harris to one of my Canadian or U.S. readers. 

Book Description:

Marginalized and alienated, perennial fuck-up Lee Goodstone is a resounding zero: a small-time hash-dealing slacker with no ambition about where his life isn’t going. One morning, Honey, his best friend’s girlfriend, inexplicably jumps into bed with him. Then another friend, Henry, is accused of kidnapping a teenaged girl no one knew he was seeing. Lee gets embroiled in the mêlée, finds himself making flip remarks to the media, and his mediocre existence officially spirals out of control.

Told in the second person, YOU comma Idiot is a cringeworthy, laugh-out-loud flight on the wings of the protagonist. The roller-coaster ride of a plot leads at breakneck speed to places even Lee can’t anticipate.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Posted by Teddy Rose at 3:47 PM 2 comments  

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Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away by Christie Watson

I read a few glowing reviews of this book and after I saw the description, I knew I had to read it for myself.  Luckily, the eBook was still available on Net Galley  to request for review.  Sorry to Net Galley and Other Press for the lateness of this review.

12 year old Blessing and her brother Ezikiel knew they had it good, living with their father and mother, Mama, who both had jobs.  They lived in a nice home in Lagos, Nigeria and attended a well regarded private school. 

All that came crumbling down when Mama  found their father with another woman.  He left the family and wouldn't send any money their way.  Mama was fired from her job at the hotel because only married women were allowed to work there.  Mama saw no alternative other than moving back to her parents house, in the village of Niger Delta.
Ezikiel said, “Warri is not safe. And those villages outside are even worse! Swamp villages! I googled Warri at the Internet café. Oil bunkering, hostage taking, illness, guns, and poverty. What about my asthma? They burn poisonous chemicals straight into the air! It’s not a safe place to live.”

Mama said that she grew up there and that it was safe.  When they arrived, they were greeted warmly by their Grandma and Grandfather, named Alhaji.  They were better off than many families in the region but that wasn't say much.  Blessing and Ezikiel were in for a shock.  There was no was no running water nor electricity.  As irony, there was an electric fan in one of the bedrooms.  The outhouse just had a floor with a hole cut out of it and boy did it smell.

Alhaji had an engineering degree but there were no jobs for locals anymore.  They were all given to white men, shipped in to work.  Eventually Mama got a job at one of the restaurants in the oil company's compound, she made a bit of money to help the family. 

There was barely enough for Ezikiel to go to school but not Blessing.  Grandma took Blessing under her wing and started training her to become a midwife.  Blessing loved babies, so it was a good fit but the hours were unpredictable and they often only got paid with fish rather than money.  The job was also dangerous because they had to leave their compound and go to other villages.  In fact Blessing barely escaped being raped by a local policeman because he wanted a bigger bribe from Granma.     

Later, Ezikiel was shot by one of the local rebel boy's group but recovered in the hospital.  However, the hospital would not release him until the family could pay for his treatment.  He missed so much school that he didn't pass his exams and was expelled.  It was heart breaking because he had been so determined to become a doctor.  However, after that he completely changed and refused to go back to school even if Grandfather could have arranged it.

This is an inspiring and heartbreaking story of the struggles of an Nigerian family.  It was much more powerful than the description of it implied.  It was political, with the western oil company taking away all of the jobs, which was the reason for all the different violent rebel groups in the region.  They not only kidnapped white workers for ransom but raped and killed many innocent village people.

This novel is so well written and is a must read for anyone who loves family sagas or wants to get a sense of what it is like to be born Nigerian.

4/5

Also reviewed by:

Reading Adventures
She is Too Fond of Books

Did you review this book?  Please leave your link in the comments.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:01 AM 8 comments  

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Monday, January 30, 2012

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday has it's very own blog, Mailbox Monday. For January, it is being hosted at At Home with Books.

Here's what I received:

This book came unsolicited but a pleasant suprise.








Posted by Teddy Rose at 7:57 PM 6 comments  

Sunday, January 29, 2012

This is All the Orientation You Are Gonna Get by John Jodzio


Back in October, Kinna Reads reviewed this interesting titled short.  The title itself, grabbed my attention, which is unusual for me. 
The title is an apt description of what the short story is, a job orientation.  However, we find out right away it is for a new employee of a nail salon.  The new person is told to be sure to tell the customers that they have pretty hands, even if they don't.  There are some funny parts in the orientation too.

"Good breath means good tips. If you get sad, go into the break room and stick your head in the pickle bucket filled with the Mexican nail polish and you’ll get happy real quick."  When a customer tells you a story about her dead husband that reminds you of your dead husband, use the bucket. When a customer asks you to add a decal of a bomb on her middle finger to compliment her road rage, use the bucket. When the diabetic with the missing toes comes in for a pedicure say “Back in one sec,” and bury your head in the bucket."
There is actually an entire list of things that are explained that you would expect to get for an orientation to a new job as well.  We also learn that the new person has suffered a loss in her life.  It is implied that the other workers have had problems as well.
I could tell from reading the story that the boss, Charles, can be an ass.  This 500 word story is so well written.  It had me laughing out loud and feel for the new employee.  I just wish it would have been longer to get some of the other back stories of the other employees in the salon.  I will be seeking out more by John Jodzio.  This is short fiction at its finest and freshest!  You can read it here.

John Jodzio is a winner of the Loft-McKnight Fellowship. His stories have appeared in One Story, Barrelhouse, Opium, and various other places in print and online. A collection of his short stories, “If You Lived Here You’d Already Be Home” is available from Replacement Press. His collection, Get In If You Want To Live is forthcoming. More details can be found here: http://www.paperdarts.org/independent-book-publisher/. He lives in Minneapolis. Find out more atwww.johnjodzio.net.


Short Story Monday is hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:30 PM 1 comments  

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Giveaway Winners Galore

Thanks to everyone who entered the following giveaways! Winners, please reply to the email I sent you today within 2 days to claim your books. After 2 days you will be disqualified and a new winner will be picked. I pick all winners using Random.org.

Thanks again to Brianne Beers of Forever Romance for making this giveaway possible!

The Winners are:
Traveler
Winnie
Julia

Thanks again to Nicole Langan of Tribute Books and the author,  Larry Peterson for making this giveaway possible!

The winner is:
Nicola













Thanks to Kathleen Adey, assistant to author, Christie Craig for making this giveaway possible!

The Winner is:
Julia

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:03 PM 2 comments  

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Giveaway: Home Front by Kristin Hannah

Thanks to Emily LaBeaume of Wunderkind PR, I am giving away one copy of Home Front.

Book Description:

In HOME FRONT Hannah tells the story of Michael and Jolene, a married couple working and raising their children.  From a distance, Michael and Joleen Zarkades seem to have it all: a solid marriage, two exciting careers, and children they adore.  But after twelve years together, the couple has lost their way; they are unhappy and edging toward divorce.  Then the Iraq war starts. 

An unexpected deployment sends Jolene, a helicopter pilot in the Army National Guard, deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, struggling to care for their children.  The months Jolene is away take their toll on her family and changes her marriage in surprising ways.  When an unexpected tragedy hits, each family member must face their worst fears and accept that change is inevitable, life isn’t always cheerful and love is not indispensable.

About Kristin Hannah:

Kristin Hannah is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels.  After working in a trendy advertising agency, Kristin decided to go to law school. "But you're going to be a writer" are the prophetic words she would never forget from her mother. Kristin was in her third-and final-year of law school and her mom was in the hospital, facing the end of her long battle with cancer. Kristin was shocked to discover that her mother believed she would become a writer. For the next few months, they collaborated on the worst, most clichéd historical romance ever written.

After her mom's death, she packed up all those bits and pieces of paper they'd collected and put them in a box in the back of her closet. Kristin got married and continued practicing law.

Then Kristin found out she was pregnant and was on bed rest for five months. By the time she'd read every book in the house and started asking her husband for cereal boxes to read, she knew she was a goner. That's when her husband reminded her of the book she'd started with her mom. Kristin pulled out the boxes of research material, dusted them off and began writing. By the time their son was born, she'd finished a first draft and found an obsession.

To Enter:
Leave a comment with your email address, so I can contact you if you win.

Extra Entries:  (please leave a separate comment for each, for instance you you are a follower, leave 3 comments that you are a follower).

+10 Join Superpoints (Click to read instructions, here)
+3 Follow me on Networked Blogs 
+3 Add me to your Google + circles
+3 Old or new follower of this blog.
+3 Old or new follower on Twitter (@teddyrose1).
+2 Tweet about this Giveaway (Up to 1 time per day) 
+3 Be my friend on Facebook (Teddy Rose).
+3 "Like" the post about this giveaway on Facebook
+3 Be my friend on Goodreads (Teddy).
+3 for Joining my Books Won Reading Challenge (be sure to follow the rules and then let me know you joined here.)
+ 3 for following my Premier Virtual Author Book Tours(click on the follow bottom for Networked Blogs on the side bar.)
+4 for filling out the  Tour Host Interest Form (please do this if you have a book blog and you are serious about wanting to be a tour host)
+ 5 if you have been a tour host for Premier Virtual Author Book Tours (please specify which tour)
+2 for each comment on a book review I have done. (Be sure to tell me which ones).
+1 for clicking to give free food at The Animal Rescue Site (tell me you did it).( Up to 1 time per day)
+1 for clicking to give free books at The Literacy Site (tell me you did it). ( Up to 1 time per day)

That's 52 or more possible entries! Sorry, this giveaway is only open to U.S and Canada.

Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests, you will receive only one copy of the book.

This giveaway will end on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email. Winners must respond within TWO days or will be disqualified.




Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:02 AM 180 comments  

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Giveaway: Sasha, Extraordinary Dachshund by CJ Adams

Thanks to Michelle Carpenter of MediaGuests, I am giving away one copy of  Sasha, Extraordinary Dachshund.

Book Description:

CJ Adams pens a warm and entertaining tale of life with an exceptional dachshund. A friendship that endured paralysis and a cure through acupuncture and holistic medicine. You will enjoy every page of this heart warming journey through the lives of the very precocious Sasha; the devoted, but not too smart Miniature Pinscher/Chihuahua mix, Squirt; the enduring pack-leader and CJ’s husband, Mel; and CJ, the woman who loves them all with every fiber of her being. 

All animal lovers understand that each pet that comes into our lives is special but that sometimes you are blessed with an extraordinary animal. For CJ that was Sasha. This memoir is about a cycle of life involving family, friends, paralysis, other pets, aging and loss. When faced with the possibility of euthanizing a 4-year-old Sasha, a desperate CJ turns to holistic veterinary medicine and acupuncture to save her Extraordinary Dachshund and learns how to use this “alternative medicine” to complement traditional veterinary medicine. Be prepared to laugh out loud, wonder and learn something new.

About CJ Adams:

CJ Adams wrote this memoir to let all animal guardians know there are many healing options available for your treasured pets.  In the process she began to heal from the loss of Sasha and now will begin a search for her next little friend.

To Enter:
Leave a comment with your email address, so I can contact you if you win.

Extra Entries:  (please leave a separate comment for each, for instance you you are a follower, leave 3 comments that you are a follower).

+10 Join Superpoints (Click to read instructions, here)
+3 Follow me on Networked Blogs 
+3 Add me to your Google + circles
 +3 Old or new follower of this blog.
+3 Old or new follower on Twitter (@teddyrose1).
+2 Tweet about this Giveaway (Up to 1 time per day) 
+3 Be my friend on Facebook (Teddy Rose).
+3 "Like" the post about this giveaway on Facebook
+3 Be my friend on Goodreads (Teddy).
+3 for Joining my Books Won Reading Challenge (be sure to follow the rules and then let me know you joined here.)
+ 3 for following my Premier Virtual Author Book Tours(click on the follow bottom for Networked Blogs on the side bar.)
+4 for filling out the  Tour Host Interest Form (please do this if you have a book blog and you are serious about wanting to be a tour host)
+ 5 if you have been a tour host for Premier Virtual Author Book Tours (please specify which tour)
+2 for each comment on a book review I have done. (Be sure to tell me which ones).
+1 for clicking to give free food at The Animal Rescue Site (tell me you did it).( Up to 1 time per day)
+1 for clicking to give free books at The Literacy Site (tell me you did it). ( Up to 1 time per day)

That's 52 or more possible entries!  This giveaway is open to the U.S.
The winner's mailing address: No P.O. Boxes
Only one entry per household/IP address

Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests, you will receive only one copy of the book.

This giveaway will end on Friday, February 10th, 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email. Winners must respond within TWO days or will be disqualified.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 9:01 AM 75 comments  

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

There is a Season by Patrick Lane

I have been meaning to read this books for years now.  I really have no excuse.  The Vancouver Public Library gave away several copies, after their One Book, One Vancouver was over and I snagged a copy.

Then, at the beginning of this month, John over at The Book Mine Set, who hosts The Canadian Book Challenge, gave us an extra challenge.  He presented us with a list of Canadian authors who no one has read for the challenge so far this year.  Patrick Lane is one of the authors on the list.  Thanks John, for the extra push  I needed to finally read There is a Season.

There is a season is the memoir of Victoria, British Columbia author, Patrick Lane.  It is not only a tell all memoir of his life but a garden meditation as well.  Mr. Lane has been writing since 1961 and has published 20 books of poetry.  He has been an alcoholic pretty much all of his adult life but finally became clean and sober and decided to write this book.

He is famous for his garden at his home in Victoria, in fact it was on a television show about the greatest gardens.  Lane wrote of his garden in such a way that I thought of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.  He went through the seasons of his garden while include stories of his childhood, adulthood and his addiction.  Sometimes he found bottles of alcohol hidden in various hiding places in his garden after he became sober.  They were so well hidden that he didn't remember where they were.

He grew up in more rural areas in British Columbia.  His father left the family to go off and fight in WWII.

The family didn't have much money and at times Patrick would beg for some money from soldiers passing through but he also let them fondle his privates for more.  Like the man who gave him a couple of quarters and bought him an ice cream sundae.    Patrick also saw much that a boy shouldn't have to witness such as murders and rapes.  He lived in a town where such things weren't talked about and he never told he parents for fear of getting whipped for sneaking off at night.

His mother had been sexually abused several times as a child and Lane wrote that she carried on the tradition but did not elaborate on how or to whom, except for one scene in the book where she saw him pleasuring himself.

As a teenager he had gotten a girl pregnant and he went to his father for help.  The reply was the standard reply back in those days, "you made your own bed."  There was a shot gun wedding.  Him and his young wife and child lived in cramped conditions in a mining village, where he worked but at night he wrote poetry.  He wasn't educated beyond high school but he read all of the greats, including Dante.

His two brother both had the same shot gun weddings before him and they didn't fare much better.  Lane got divorced after a few years and went to another remote mining town where he worked and wrote.  He remarried but later, divorced again.
Patrick Lane currently lives with his wife Lorna.  He had lived with her a number of years but they eventually married when he was writing There is a Season.  He has travelled all over the world. He won the Governor General's Award for this moving and beautifully written memoir.
4.5/5

Did you review this book?  Please leave your link in the comments.



Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:59 PM 6 comments  

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday has it's very own blog, Mailbox Monday.  For January, it is being hosted at At Home with Books.

Here's what I received:

I requested and received this book from Net Galley and Bloomsbury.
I requested and received this book from Net Galley and Doubleday.  Iook for my giveaway of this book, coming soon.
 I requested and received this book from Net Galley and T.S. Poetry Press.
 I received this and the following 2 books from Harper Collins, unsolicited.  They are not to my taste but I will find a good home for them.

I received this book from Meryl L. Moss. It is not to my taste but I know a good home for it.  Look for my upcoming feature and giveaway of this book, coming soon.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 2:19 PM 12 comments  

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne



When I was in high school I read Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gable.  As in both of those novels, the Puritan religions plays a crucial role.

Young Goodman Brown's wife Faith did not want him to leave her at home alone that night.  She was frightened of something, though could not say of what.  He left her anyway for some "important business."  

"Poor little Faith!" thought he, for his heart smote him. "What a wretch am I to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought as she spoke there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done tonight. But no, no; 't would kill her to think it."

He meets up with a strange man and together they proceed to walk through the forest on their "devil's errand".  As they get near to their destination, they meet up with other's from the town, including Goodman Browns wife, Faith.  

What Brown witnessed at this meeting is really hard to say, except that it's was a statement on Puritan religion and sin.  It was written as a dream like sequence and Brown isn't sure himself, if it was real or a dream.

I think Hawthorne, in all of his literature that I have read is trying to say that nothing is cut and dried and to be judged too harshly.  Those who practiced the puritan religion, like other organized religions judge others harshly.  Is it sin to believe in something different?  You can read the story here.

Also reviewed by:
Read Handed

Short Story Monday is hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 11:16 PM 5 comments  

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