Friday, November 12, 2010

Audiobook Giveaway: Oogy by Larry Levin

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

Book Description:

In the bestselling tradition of Rescuing Sprite comes the story of a puppy brought back from the brink of death, and the family he adopted.

In 2002, Larry Levin and his twin sons, Dan and Noah, took their terminally ill cat to the Ardmore Animal Hospital outside Philadelphia to have the beloved pet put to sleep. What would begin as a terrible day suddenly got brighter as the ugliest dog they had ever seen--one who was missing an ear and had half his face covered in scar tissue--ran up to them and captured their hearts. The dog had been used as bait for fighting dogs when he was just a few months old. He had been thrown in a cage and left to die until the police rescued him and the staff at Ardmore Animal Hospital saved his life. The Levins, whose sons are themselves adopted, were unable to resist Oogy's charms, and decided to take him home.

Heartwarming and redemptive, OOGY is the story of the people who were determined to rescue this dog against all odds, and of the family who took him home, named him "Oogy" (an affectionate derivative of ugly), and made him one of their own.

The number of entrants to this giveaway will determine how many copies of this book I will giveaway:

1-12 entrants= 1
13-or more entrants=2
*Please note, the rules have changes for my giveaways:

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

Extra Entries:  Earn one extra entry for each of the following (please leave a separate comment for each).

Old or new follower of this blog.
Old or new follower on Twitter ().
Be my friend on Facebook (Teddy Rose).
Be my friend on Goodreads (Teddy).
+1 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).
+1 for clicking to give free books at The Literacy Site (tell me you did it).
That's 8 or more possible entries!

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, November 26th,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 12:01 PM 48 comments  

Labels:

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Green Books Campaign: {On the Proper Use of Stars by Dominique Fortier}

This review is part of the Green Books campaign.Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco- friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on "green" books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

This book is green because it was made with ancient-forest friendly paper.

The year was 1845 and Sir John Franklin and his crews on the Terror and the Erebus set sail on a mission to find the Northwest Passage.  Everyone, 129 men ultimately perished on the mission.  On the Proper Use of Stars is the fictionalized story of what happened. 

Francis Crozier was second in command and kept a journal where he wrote day to day about the mission but also about the woman of his dreams, Sophia.  Back in England Lady Jane Franklin and her niece, Sophia kept busy while waiting to hear word from Sir John Franklin.  After three years have passed Lady Jane used everything and everyone at her disposal to convince the Admiralty to send out a search party.  They refused again and again.  

I took me quite awhile to get into the story.  I found the beginning quite dull.  It wasn't until things started to happen in the story that the pace picked up for me.   This book is translated, so I'm not sure if that could be part of the problem or not.  I did find the writing quite poetic and as the story got going it was very visual.  Ultimately, I warmed up to the story and enjoyed it.

3.5/5

Thanks to The Green Books Campaign for including me and arranging to have the book sent to me.  

If you reviewed this book, please leave a link in the comments and I will post it here.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:00 AM 9 comments  

Labels: ,

Monday, November 8, 2010

An Honest Exit by Dinaw Mengestu

(Author photo courtesy of Riverhead Books)

This story is narrated by a  "Early American Literature" teacher, who teaches priveleged freshmans in high school.  He tells his students about his father's exodus from Ethiopia to Sudan, and his final escape to England and the the United States of America.

The teacher confesses to the reader that part of the story is true but part he has made up as he went along.  He tells his fathe'rs story over several days until one day, he runs into the dean in the school hallway. 


"I knew that it was only a matter of time before I was called to account for what I had been teaching my students. On a Friday, the dean caught me in the hall just as I was preparing to enter my classroom. There was nothing threatening or angry in his voice. He simply said, “Come and see me in my office when your class is over.”

When he goes to see the dean after class, the dean asks how much of the story is true.  The teacher confesses, "almost none of it."  The dean responds, “it’s good to hear them talking about important things. So much of what I hear from them is shallow, silly rumors. They can sort out what’s true for themselves later.”

I found An Honest Exit to be a mesmorizing story.  Even though it is not true, the way it was told and the circumstance rang true to me.  Things like the son's story have happened in history, even recent history. Dinaw Mengestu uses traditional storytelling for this story and I think it worked well.  I highly recomend that you read this story!  You can read it at The New Yorker, 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!

Posted by Teddy Rose at 7:27 PM 0 comments  

Labels:

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Go To See My Mom

I am on my way to visit my mom, in Golden Valley Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.  I will be away until November 15th.  

She does not have a computer but there are two in her building.  However, they are not always working.  Therefor, I may not be around the web much until I return.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 12:00 PM 5 comments  

Friday, November 5, 2010

23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival: Sara Gruen


Sara Gruen was here on Thursday November 4, 2010 as a special event of the Writers Festival.  I was so excited when it was announced and then when the day finally arrived.  I LOVED her book Water for Elephants and I enjoyed her new book, Ape House.

The event itself only lasted about 45 minutes, which was a bit disappointing to me.  However, it was very interesting and informative.  Ms. Gruen started out by telling us how she got the idea for Ape House and the research it entailed.  Then she did a short reading and then answered audience questions.

She requested a visit to the Great Ape Trust in Iowa, where some Bonobo are kept.  She had to jump through hoops to be finally get permission including loads of reading, a visit to the linguistics department, and numourous immunizations.

Just like in the book, once she receives permission from the staff, she had to gain permission from the bonobos themselves.  She researched what they liked and loaded up back packs with their favoites including a Mr. Potato Head and M&M's.  They invited her in immediately. 

Sara has visited them numerous times since then.  One time one of the bonobos invited her to tea and insisted on making the tea herself.  Three years after her first visit, one of the bonobos asked Sara for a new Mr. Potato Head the next time she was coming.  This just proved to Sara what a great memory they have.  As a gift, Sara enrolled the bonobos in the Fruit of the Month Club and they receive a box of seasonal fruit every month.

Unlike the book, the bonobos communicate using lexicons, rather than American Sign Language.  Sara used sign language because it worked into the plot better. 

I asked Sara how she came up with the idea for the reality show in Ape House.  She said that she wanted to capture the underbelly of the culture of society that will do anything to get in front of a camera.  

After the event Sara stayed to sign books and allowed me to get a photo taken of us together.

This concludes my coverage of the 23rd Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival.  It has been a great time and I look forward to next year.  I want to give a special thanks to Judith Walker of the media department.  She made it possible for me to attend and cover all of the events!

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:59 PM 3 comments  

Labels: ,

Audiobook Giveaway: The Brave by Nicholas Evans

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

Book Description:


Tom Bedford is living alone in the isolated wilds of Montana. Having distanced himself from his own troubled past, he rarely sees his ex-wife, and his son, Danny, is away in Iraq and hasn't spoken to him for years. Tom hasn't always been so removed from society. As a boy, his mother was a meteoric rising star in the glitzy, enchanted world of 1960s Hollywood. There, she fell in love with the suave Ray Montane, who played young Tom's courageous onscreen hero, Red McGraw, the fastest draw around. Tommy and his mother lived in a glamorous, Hollywood version of the Wild West. Everything was perfect, until the gold flaking on their magical life began to chip away, revealing an uglier truth beneath. Ray was not who he seemed. Tommy and his mother fell into a deadly confrontation with him, and they fled Hollywood forever, into the wilderness of the real West.

As a man, Tom has put all of that behind him--or so he thinks. Unexpectedly, his ex-wife calls, frantic: Danny has been charged with murder. In the chaos of war, his son has been caught in a violent skirmish gone bloodily awry. The Army needs someone to pay for the mistake. Tom, forced into action, is now suddenly alive again and fighting to save the son he'd let slip away. To succeed, he must confront the violence in his own past, and he finds that these two selves--the past and the present--which he'd fought so long to keep separate, are inextricably connected. As father and son struggle to understand one another, both are compelled to learn the true meaning of bravery.

Beautifully interlacing the past and present, the author of The Horse Whisperer reminds us that we are tied to the glories and mistakes of our own history. The Brave lives up to its name, as one the most courageous and full-hearted novels of our time.

The number of entrants to this giveaway will determine how many copies of this book I will giveaway:


1-12 entrants= 1
13-or more entrants=2
 
*Please note, the rules have changes for my giveaways:

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

Extra Entries:  Earn one extra entry for each of the following (please leave a separate comment for each).

Old or new follower of this blog.
Old or new follower on Twitter ().
Be my friend on Facebook (Teddy Rose).
Be my friend on Goodreads (Teddy).
+1 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).
+1 for clicking to give free books at The Literacy Site (tell me you did it).
 
That's 8 or more possible entries!

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, November 19th,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 12:02 PM 44 comments  

Labels:

Audiobook Giveaway: The Reversal by Michael Connelly

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

Book Description:

Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.

Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years.

With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.

he number of entrants to this giveaway will determine how many copies of this book I will giveaway:


1-12 entrants= 1
13-or more entrants=2
 
*Please note, the rules have changes for my giveaways:

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

Extra Entries:  Earn one extra entry for each of the following (please leave a separate comment for each).

Old or new follower of this blog.
Old or new follower on Twitter ().
Be my friend on Facebook (Teddy Rose).
Be my friend on Goodreads (Teddy).
+1 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).
+1 for clicking to give free books at The Literacy Site (tell me you did it).
 
That's 8 or more possible entries!

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, November 19th,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 12:01 PM 53 comments  

Labels:

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson

Rose Mae Lolley and Ro Grandy are the same person with two quite different personalities. No, she doesn't have a multiple personality disorder, she just uses the two to help her figure things out and survive.

Her mother ran away years ago, when Rose Mae was still young. When she was old enough Rose Mae escaped her abusive father and married Thom. Thom turned out to be even more abusive than her father and Ro ended up in the hospital many times. The same nurse saw her over and over and wanted to notify the police however, Ro always used the excuse that she was very clumsy.

One day, while in an airport, a she received a reading from a fortune teller. Ro remembered what she was told, "It was an airport gypsy who told me that I had to kill my husband. She may have been the first to say the words out loud, but she was only giving voice to a thing I'd been trying not to know for a long, long time. When she said that it was him or me, the words rang out like church bells, shuddering through my bones."

These words and Thom's abuse, made Ro realize that she had to leave him. It was Rose Mae Lolley who gave her the strength to follow through. She took to the road and went across the country, from Alabama to California, in search of her mother.

I listened to the audio version of this book which, was read by Joshilyn Jackson, herself. Being southern herself, it was really a treat listening to a true southern accent and she captured the spirit of each of in pitch perfect drawl. There were times that I felt sorry for Ro, times I wanted to scream at her, and times I wanted to cheer.

This is the first time I have "read" anything by Joshilyn Jackson but won't be the last.

4/5

Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Books For sending me this audio book.

Also reviewed by:
Luxury Reading
My Round File
She Treads Softly
Books and Quilts

If you reviewed this book and would like your link listed here, please leave the link in the comments.

Posted by Teddy Rose at 10:30 PM 11 comments  

Labels:

November 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

Bronze Level Acheived (12 ARCs):

Working Towards Silver Level:
Alyce: 23 ARCs

Heather: 23 ARCs 

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

Gold Level Acheived (25 or more ARCs):
Andrea:101  ARCs 
Beth:  32 ARCs
Caitlin: 26ARCs
Nicola: 177 ARCs
Teddy: 30 ARCs



Please post all your links in Mr. Linky for your review of books that you read in November, 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 7:52 PM 2 comments  

Labels:

November Reviews for the Books Won Challenge 2010




Here are the standings, so far:

Honorable Mentions: Read 1-3 books won:


Becky-3
J.T. Oldfield-1
Julie-2
Ninefly-2
Wanda- 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 November, 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 7:40 PM 2 comments  

Labels:

Newer Posts Older Posts Home

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)