Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Winners: EATING ANIMALS By Jonathan Safran Foer

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

The Winners are:
Sandy Jay
Leslie
Sarahem

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

Posted by Teddy Rose at 1:08 PM 0 comments  

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Ape House by Sara Gruen


Back in 2008 I wrote a five star review for Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants. I could hardly wait until she wrote her next novel. The wait is now over, Ape House was released in September. 

Sara Gruen will be appearing as a special event of the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival, at 7:30 PM on November 4th.  Look for my post, covering the event, in November.

Ape House is really has three main intersecting story lines:

Isabel Duncan is a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab. Her "family" are the bonobos that she works with. She also has some major boyfriend trouble. There's the story of John Thigpen, a married reporter who interviews Isabel and the apes. His career is threatened and his marriage is in jeopardy. Then of course, there are the bonobos themselves, Sam, Bonzi, Lola, Mbongo, Jelani, and Malkena. They are the center of the story and communicate with Isabel with American Sign Language.

An explosion happens at the lab and the bonobous escape, while Isabel is wounded and rushed to the hospital. All of a sudden a reality television show comes on the air featuring the bonobous. Isabel is determined to recover from her injuries and be united with her "family".

I found Ape House to be a fun and engaging read. It seems a bit more like "main stream" fiction than Water for Elephants but still has literary merit. I usually like quirky characters however, Nathan and Cecelia were a bit over the top for me and I really wanted interested in John's marital issues and Isabel's boyfriend issues.

The best part of the book was about the bonobous themselves. Gruen's research seems to be bang on and she captured my heart for the wonderful creatures that have so much in common with us, humans. I think the story would have been better if Guren would have focused more on the bonobous and less on the John and Isabel's personal issues.

3.5

Thanks so much to Julie Forrest of Random House Canada for this book.

Also reviewed by:

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

To find out about real life bonobous visit the Bonobo Conservation Initiative.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 12:01 AM 6 comments  

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Monday, October 11, 2010

Paul Farenbacher’s Yard Sale by Sarah Selecky

This is the first in a series of short story reviews of authors I will be seeing at the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival.  The event I will see them at is #64 Short Stories, Varied Voices.

This short story by Sarah Selecky appeared in The Walrus.  You can read it here.

The story starts with Meredith, the narrator saying, "Paul Farenbacher always told me, Never call yourself a salesperson. What you do isn’t sales, he’d say. You aren’t in sales. What you are doing is providing people with an opportunity." 

Paul was not only her mentor but also her neighbor where she grew up.  He gave her, her very first job.  

When Paul died, his wife, Margaret had a yard sale because she has sold the house, to move in with her boyfriend Bruce.  Bruce attended Paul's funeral with Margaret just two months before the yard sale.  Meredith, Bruce, and Margaret's son Trevor are helping with the sale.  t is apparent that Trevor isn't too keen on the sale.

The story takes place mostly at the yard sale but the story focus on the characters relationship with Paul.  It was a bit quirky but also quite touching.  This is a story that I highly recommend.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 12:01 AM 2 comments  

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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Audiobook Giveaway: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Presents Earth by Jon Stewart

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

Book Description:

The eagerly awaited new book from the Emmy-winning, Oscar-hosting, Daily Show-anchoring Jon Stewart--the man behind the megaseller America (The Book).

Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we here? These questions have puzzled us since the dawn of time, but when it became apparent to Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show that the world was about to end, they embarked on a massive mission to write a book that summed up the human race: What we looked like; what we accomplished; our achievements in society, government, religion, science and culture -- all in a tome of approximately 304 pages with lots of color photos, graphs and charts.

After two weeks of hard work, they had their book. EARTH (The Book) is the definitive guide to our species. With their trademark wit, irreverence, and intelligence, Stewart and his team will posthumously answer all of life's most hard-hitting questions, completely unburdened by objectivity, journalistic integrity, or even accuracy.


*Please note, the rules have changes for my giveaways:

You must now do both of the following:
1. Comment below in the comments.
2. Fill out this form. 

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 

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, October 22nd,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 10:20 PM 19 comments  

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Audiobook Giveaway: Room by Emma Donoghue

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

Book Description:

 In many ways, Jack is a typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way--he has lived his entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his mother and an unnerving nighttime visitor known as Old Nick. For Jack, Room is the only world he knows, but for Ma, it is a prison in which she has tried to craft a normal life for her son. When their insular world suddenly expands beyond the confines of their four walls, the consequences are piercing and extraordinary. Despite its profoundly disturbing premise, Emma Donoghue's Room is rife with moments of hope and beauty, and the dogged determination to live, even in the most desolate circumstances. A stunning and original novel of survival in captivity, readers who enter Room will leave staggered, as though, like Jack, they are seeing the world for the very first time. --Lynette Mong


*Please note, the rules have changes for my giveaways:

You must now do both of the following:
1. Comment below in the comments.
2. Fill out this form. 

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 

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, October 22nd,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 9:48 PM 23 comments  

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October Reviews for the ARC Reading Challenge 2010

The Standings so far:
Working Toward Bronze Level:
Diane: 11 ARCs
Kool-aid Mom: 4 ARCs
Michelle: 9  ARCs
Tina: 10 ARCs
Wanda: 2 ARCs

Bronze Level Acheived (12 ARCs):

Working Towards Silver Level:
Alyce: 23 ARCs
Heather: 21 ARCs 

Silver Level Achieved (24 ARCs):
Caribousmom: 24 ARCs

Gold Level Acheived (25 or more ARCs):
Andrea: 93 ARCs 
Beth:  29 ARCs
Caitlin: 26ARCs
Nicola: 160 ARCs
Teddy: 28 ARCs



Please post all your links in Mr. Linky for your review of books that you read in October, 2010 for this challenge. I hope everyone is enjoying their ARC's this month! *Note: if you missed posting your links last month, please always post "late" links in the current month's Mr. Linky.  For example, if you forgot to post a link in February, please post it on this Mr. Linky in this post.

Please enter your name and the name of the book in this format: Name: (Your Name, Book Title and Author's Name) for example: (Teddy, Obsessive Reading by Helen Reader).

Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:29 PM 0 comments  

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October Reviews for the Books Won Challenge

Here are the standings, so far:

Honorable Mentions: Read 1-3 books won:
Becky-3
J.T. Oldfield-1
Julie-2
Ninefly-2
Bronzes': Read 4-6 books won:
 
Jo-Jo-6
Melydia-6
Tina-4 
Wanda-6

Silver: Read 7-9 books won:

Kathy-7

Please post all your links in Mr. Linky for your review of books that you read in October, 2010 for this challenge. *Note: if you missed posting your links last month, please always post "late" links in the current month's Mr. Linky.  For example, if you forgot to post a link in February, please post it on this Mr. Linky in this post.

I hope everyone is enjoying their reading this month!

Please enter your name and the name of the book in this format: Name: (Your Name, Book Title and Author's Name) for example: (Teddy, Obsessive Reading by Helen Reader).

Posted by Teddy Rose at 6:18 PM 0 comments  

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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival October 19-24, 2010

I attend this festival every year but this year is different.  Thanks to the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival media department, I will be covering 5 events here, at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time.  I am so excited!  

This is goingt to be one of the best author line ups ever.  If you can at all make it to Vancouver, DO IT!  Just be sure to get your tickets in advances, as some of the events have already sold out.

These are the events I will be attending/ covering:

Tuesday Oct. 19:
#7 Three Views of Vietnam:

Hosted by Jerry Wasserman,  the authors that will be participating are Camilla Gibb, Karl Marantes, and Adam Lewis Schroder.

Wednesday Oct. 20:
#20 Suffer the Little Children:

Participating authors are Emma Donogue, Pascale Quiviger, Robert J. Wiersma, and Kathleen Winter.

Saturday Oct 23:
#53 Japaning:

Participating authors are Katherine Govier and David Mitchell.

Sunday Oct. 24:
#62 The Sunday Brunch:

Hosted by Sheryl Macay, the authors participating are John Gould, Genni Gunn, David Mitchell, Wells Tower, Jane Urquhart, and Kathleen Winter.

#64 Short Stories, Varied Voices

Authors participating are Ivan E. Coyote, Billie Livingston, Sarah Selecky, and Terence young.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 12:01 AM 7 comments  

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Monday, October 4, 2010

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia of The Printed Page and is now on tour.   Avis of  She Reads and Reads is hosting for the month of October.

Last week, I received:

Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books.

Isn't Oogy adorable?  








Thanks to Ashley Dunn of McClelland & Stewart.











Thanks to Brad Parsons of  Hachette Books.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 12:02 PM 8 comments  

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The Vagrants of the Barren by Charles G.D. Roberts

Back in May, John of The Book Mine Set reviewed this story.  His review made me curious to read the story which, I put on the back burner until now.

Pete Noel was asleep in his cabin in the middle of the woods but was awoke by a fire. 

"As he leaped out in desperate flight, he had snatched with him not only blankets, but his rifle and cartridge-belt, and also his larrigans and great blanket coat.  He had been sleeping, according to custom, almost fully clothed."

He was not able to get his shoes or anything else.  However, he was determined to beat this round of  "man versus nature."  Read the story and see if he did, here.

This is an fast paced story but not quite the usual for a survival story.  Pete was able to stay completely calm , while most of us would panic.  Mr. Roberts writing is very fresh and descriptive, it flowed oh, so smoothly.  This is much more than a story of a man's survival.

About Charles G.D. Roberts: January 10, 1860 – November 26, 1943.  Born in New Brunswick, Canada.  Canadian author, known as the "father of Canadian Poetry."

Posted by Teddy Rose at 12:01 AM 3 comments  

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