Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Winners of My Blogiversary Giveaway!

Let's give it up for the winners of my 2 year Blogiversary Contest!

The winner of the $20 Amazon gift card is:

The $10 Amazon gift card goes to:

And the 3rd place winner who will be able to choose between four books is:

Congratulations to all of the winners!  I will be emailing you shortly with your gift card information or to get your mailing address.  Thanks to everyone for making this blogging community a great place to be a part of! 

Monday, November 29, 2010

Mailbox Monday-Dec. 29

Thanks to Marcia of The Printed Page for starting the Mailbox Monday Meme that has us list the books that we received last week. Although Marcia isn't going to be hosting Mailbox Monday any longer, she set it up so different bloggers have the opportunity to host this meme for a month at a time.  This month the host is Knitting and Sundries so head on over to her blog to see what everyone else got or to play along!


Only one book again this week but that is just fine with me!  Here is what I got:
Night Road by Kristin Hannah

So did you get anything exciting in your mailbox last week?

Friday, November 26, 2010

Audiobook Giveaway: The Brave by Nicholas Evans

Thanks to Anna from Hachette I am able to give away up to 2 copies of this book!  Here is a summary of The Brave from the Hachette website:

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.


Now for the giveaway:
I will be giving away one book for every 10 entries with a maximum of two audiobooks to give away.

Winners will be subject to the one copy per household, which means if you win the same title on another blog you will receive only one copy of the title.

To enter this contest you must be at least 18 and live in the U.S. or Canada. No PO Boxes please.

For one entry leave me a comment including your email address below.

For two additional entries, blog about this contest or add the link to your sidebar.

Please include your email so I will have a way to contact you if you win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as myemail.address AT gmail DOT com or myemail.address [at] gmail [dot] com.

You will have until December 12th to enter and I will draw for winners on or after December 13th.

**This giveaway is closed.**

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Audiobook Review: Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

Here is a summary of Four to Score from Janet Evanovich's website:

Working for her bail bondsman cousin, Vinnie, Stephanie is hot on the trail of revenge-seeking waitress Maxine Nowicki, whose crimes include bail jumping, theft, and extortion. Someone is terrifying Maxine's friends, and those who have seen her are turning up dead. Also on the hunt for Maxine is Joyce Barnhardt, Stephanie's archenemy and rival bounty hunter. Stephanie's attitude never wavers - even when aided by Grandma Mazur, ex-hooker and wannabe bounty hunter Lula, and transvestite rock musician Sally Sweet - and even when Stephanie makes an enemy whose deadly tactics escalate from threatening messages to firebombs. All of this pales in comparison, though, with an even greater danger Stephanie faces, when, homeless and broke, she and her hamster Rex move in with vice cop Joe Morelli.

My Review:
Four to Score was another entertaining installment to the Stephanie Plum series that was read by C.J. Critt.  As Stephanie finds herself on a quest to find Maxine Nowicki, we are reunited with returning characters that include Grandma Mazur, Lula, and even that hot and sexy Joe Morelli.  A couple of transvestites are introduced into this novel and I will be curious to see if they return in the future.

As Stephanie searches for Maxine there is never a dull moment.  Stephanie seems to be prone to having her car blown up and in this novel not only does her car get blown to bits, but Lula's car also falls victim!  When the perp realizes that Stephanie wasn't in the car at the time of the explosion, he (or she) decides to pull a similar ploy on her apartment.  Danger is following Stephanie in every direction and not wanting to endanger any of her close friends and family she finds herself looking to Joe Morelli for a place to stay until her apartment is refurbished.

As Stephanie gets closer to finding Maxine she crosses pathes with her greatest enemy Joyce Barnhardt.  Who would ever think that Joyce of all people would end up becoming a bounty hunter too?  This was a very interesting mystery that uncovers the true reason for Maxine's disappearance and all of those involved.  I just can't wait to see how the relationship between Morelli and Stephanie progresses in future segments.  I try not to read many series but I am really enjoying this one on audio and I am looking forward to the next one.

My Rating:  4/5

Disclosure:  I borrowed this audiobook from the library to listen for my own entertainment.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Teaser Tuesday-Nov. 23

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading.  TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

This week my teaser is from The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith:
Ever since he had joined the staff of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency-even in his ill-defined adjunct role-he had been waiting for something like this.  Murder was what detectives were meant to investigate, was it not, and now at last they were embarked on such an enquiry.

pg. 45

This is another heartfelt installment in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.  Smith's books are always such a refreshing change from my normal reading genre.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Current Giveaways!!!

Here are a few giveaways that are going on right now!  Please feel free to link your giveaway in the comment section below if I didn't include it in this post.

Red Headed Book Child is giving away The Dressmaker by Posie Graeme-Evens--Contest ends 11/23.

Reviews From the Heart is giving away Outside the Ordinary World by Dori Ostermiller--Contest ends 11/24.

Lost in Books is giving away the audioversion of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold--Contest ends 11/25.

Knitting and Sundries is giving away Lipstick in Afganistan by Roberta Gately--Contest ends 11/25.

Don't forget to check out my giveaways on the sidebar and good luck everyone.  I usually don't post about other giveaways on a Monday, but you guessed it...I didn't have ANY books in mailbox last week!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Winner of Scorpions!

I am pleased to announce that the winner of Scorpions by Noah Feldman is.....

Congratulations Cheryl!  I will be emailing you shortly to get your mailing information to forward to the publisher.  I want to give a special thank you once again to Brianne from Hachette for making this giveaway possible on my blog.

Friday, November 19, 2010

CSN Review Coming Soon!

CSN Stores has so much to offer and with the Holiday season quickly approaching I would definitely suggest that you browse their site for all that is available.  I have done a couple of product reviews for this company and they continue to impress me with the quality products that they offer at very reasonable prices! 

Whether you are looking for sound systems, kitchen products, furniture, shoes, or even bathroom cabinets for a home improvement project, you can probably find it on their website!

Since I live in Northern Wisconsin I think that I am going to review a pair of winter boots, so stay tuned for that product review before the end of November.  We have already had some snow here so I should be able to give you a good review for this product soon.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Review: How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway

Here is a summary of How to be an American Housewife from the Penguin website:

A lively and surprising novel about a Japanese woman with a closely guarded secret, the American daughter who strives to live up to her mother's standards, and the rejuvenating power of forgiveness.

How to Be an American Housewife is a novel about mothers and daughters, and the pull of tradition. It tells the story of Shoko, a Japanese woman who married an American GI, and her grown daughter, Sue, a divorced mother whose life as an American housewife hasn't been what she'd expected. When illness prevents Shoko from traveling to Japan, she asks Sue to go in her place. The trip reveals family secrets that change their lives in dramatic and unforeseen ways. Offering an entertaining glimpse into American and Japanese family lives and their potent aspirations, this is a warm and engaging novel full of unexpected insight.


My Review:
Well it isn't a secret that I love books that give a glimpse into another culture and since this book had a way of blending the Japanese and American culture together, I think I loved it that much more.  We are introduced to Shoko in the beginning of the book, who is a Japanese woman that lived her adult life in the United States.  Now Shoko is elderly and has a bad heart but we learn about her life journey from Japan to America through her memories and her daughter Sue's adventure.

One of Shoko's first childhood memories that she recalls is being shot at by an American fighter plane while walking home from school with her brother and sister.  I can't imagine what it would have been like to run for the woods for protection from the fighter planes.  As Shoko grows up and finishes high school, the war comes to an end but there are Americans everywhere because of the military bases that are spread all over Japan.  Knowing that Japan would not offer much for Shoko as a woman, her father suggests that she becomes friendly with these American G.I.'s so she can marry one and head over to the United States for a life full of abundance and happiness.  How was Shoko to know that marrying a GI would cause a rift between her and her brother Taro for her entire adult life?

As an old woman, after Shoko realizes that her sister has just passed away she decides that it is time to confront her brother Taro by making ammends.  With her heart failing it is obvious she cannot make a trip to Japan to confront Taro, so she enlists her daughter Sue to take the journey for her.  When Sue travels to Japan and meets her Japanese family members for the first time, she finds herself revelling in everything about the country.  She not only finds a deeper appreciation for her heritage, but also for the life that her mother has led.  Although this trip was a favor for her mother to mend her family relationships, Sue stumbles upon a new path for her life.

I really enjoyed this novel as it plunged into the mother/daughter relationships that are not comprised of the average people.  It also contained historical elements that were new to me, such as the bombing of Nakasaki, which is one of the final acts of WWII in Japan.  With themes of ancestry, family bonds, love, and forgiveness this book would make a great book club selection and I am definitely planning on suggesting this one to the ladies in my group.

My Rating:  4/5

Disclosure:  This book was provided to me by LibraryThing in exchange for an honest review.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Wondrous Words Wednesday-Nov. 17

Bermudaonion asks you to share new words that you have learned during your reading adventures in the last week. Feel free to join in the fun!

Here are a few words that I learned while reading Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani:

Primogeniture: the state or fact of being the firstborn of children of the same parents.

Here is how primogeniture was used on page 37:
He is also the eldest and only son in our family, which gives him the advantage thanks to the ancient Roman law of primogeniture.

Dyspepsia: deranged or impaired digestion; indigestion.

Here is how dyspepsia was used on page 50:
Only in the land of Valentine Maria Alfreda Noncalli would pent-up sexual energy translate into a case of dyspepsia.

Dramaturg: one who acts as a consultant to a theater company, advising them on possible repertory.

Here is how dramaturg was used on page 122:
He tried to write to me when we were young, but I needed a dramaturg to deconstruct his sentiments.

I am really enjoying this book and you can stop back on December 2nd for my review as part of a blog tour.  I may even have a special surprise for you at that time!

So those are the new words that I came across this week.  How about you...did you have to pull out your dictionary during your reading adventures?

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Teaser Tuesday-Nov. 16

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading.  TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

This week my teaser is from Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani:
I imagine turbulence, a horrible flight, the plane is struck by lightning, a belly landing because the wings have snapped off, and once I'm on the ground, having slid down the emergency chute, Roberta meets me and hates me on sight.  I develop a rash over my entire body and cannot walk.

pg. 170

I'm really enjoying this book and already looking forward to the final installment!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Mailbox Monday-Nov. 15


Thanks to Marcia of The Printed Page for starting the Mailbox Monday Meme that has us list the books that we received last week. Although Marcia isn't going to be hosting Mailbox Monday any longer, she set it up so different bloggers have the opportunity to host this meme for a month at a time.  This month the host is Knitting and Sundries so head on over to her blog to see what everyone else got or to play along!

Here is what was in my mailbox:
Oogy by Larry Levin (audiobook


The Brave by Nicholas Evans (audiobook)

Well that is all that was in my mailbox!  I really am trying to limit the books that I request lately as I would like to read more on my Kindle.  So was there anything exciting in your mailbox last week?

Saturday, November 13, 2010

It's Time for the Book Blogger Holiday Swap!

My goodness, I just can't believe how Christmas is sneaking up on me this year!  Thanksgiving is less than a couple of weeks away and then before you know it...BAM...it's Christmas!  I've participated in the Book Blogger Holiday Swap for the last couple of years and it has been a blast.  You might get introduced to a new blogger and maybe you will get paired up with someone you are already familiar with...you just never know!

So what are you waiting for?  Hurry up and head over to the sign-up page before November 14th if you want to join in the Holiday fun!  Since it's snowing here today this will really help to get me in the Holiday spirit!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Audiobook Giveaway: Oogy by Larry Levin

Thanks to Anna from Hachette I am able to give away up to 2 copies of this audiobook!  Here is a summary of Oogy from the Hachette website:

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.


Now for the giveaway!
I will be giving away one book for every 10 entries with a maximum of two audiobooks to give away.

Winners will be subject to the one copy per household, which means if you win the same title on another blog you will receive only one copy of the title.

To enter this contest you must be at least 18 and live in the U.S. or Canada. No PO Boxes please.

For one entry leave me a comment including your email address below.  Use a spam-thwarting format such as myemail.address AT gmail DOT com or myemail.address [at] gmail [dot] com.

For two additional entries, blog about this contest or add the link to your sidebar.

You will have until November 30th to enter and I will draw for winners on or after December 1st.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Current Giveaways!!!

Well it has been a busy week for sure, but I still found a couple of giveaways that you may find interesting also:

Cerebral Girl is giving away Falling Home by Karen White--Contest ends 11/14.

A Sea of Books is giving away the audiobook of Don't Blink by James Patterson and Howard Roughan--Contest ends 11/19.

A Bookworm's World is giving away the audiobook of Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks--Contest ends 11/27.

Good luck everyone!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Review: Things I've Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi


Here is a summary of Things I've Been Silent About from the Random House website:

Azar Nafisi, author of the beloved international bestseller Reading Lolita in Tehran, now gives us a stunning personal story of growing up in Iran, memories of her life lived in thrall to a powerful and complex mother, against the background of a country’s political revolution. A girl’s pain over family secrets; a young woman’s discovery of the power of sensuality in literature; the price a family pays for freedom in a country beset by political upheaval–these and other threads are woven together in this beautiful memoir, as a gifted storyteller once again transforms the way we see the world and “reminds us of why we read in the first place” (Newsday).

Nafisi’s intelligent and complicated mother, disappointed in her dreams of leading an important and romantic life, created mesmerizing fictions about herself, her family, and her past. But her daughter soon learned that these narratives of triumph hid as much as they revealed. Nafisi’s father escaped into narratives of another kind, enchanting his children with the classic tales like the Shahnamah, the Persian Book of Kings. When her father started seeing other women, young Azar began to keep his secrets from her mother. Nafisi’s complicity in these childhood dramas ultimately led her to resist remaining silent about other personal, as well as political, cultural, and social, injustices.

Reaching back in time to reflect on other generations in the Nafisi family, Things I’ve Been Silent About is also a powerful historical portrait of a family that spans many periods of change leading up to the Islamic Revolution of 1978-79, which turned Azar Nafisi’s beloved Iran into a religious dictatorship. Writing of her mother’s historic term in Parliament, even while her father, once mayor of Tehran, was in jail, Nafisi explores the remarkable “coffee hours” her mother presided over, where at first women came together to gossip, to tell fortunes, and to give silent acknowledgment of things never spoken about, and which then evolved into gatherings where men and women would meet to openly discuss the unfolding revolution.

Things I’ve Been Silent About is, finally, a deeply personal reflection on women’s choices, and on how Azar Nafisi found the inspiration for a different kind of life. This unforgettable portrait of a woman, a family, and a troubled homeland is a stunning book that readers will embrace, a new triumph from an author who is a modern master of the memoir.

My Review:
This was a fascinating reflection on Nafisi's life that seemed to me to be more of a lack of the mother/daughter relationship that she missed out on.   I think it's even safe for me to say that as I started this book I found myself disliking the author because she only seemed to complain about her mother.  I decided to stick it out and after about 100 pages I found myself enjoying the book and by the time I turned the last page I loved it.

Azar had a good relationship with her father and even pitied him in a sense.  She knew her mother did not appreciate her father as a wife looks to a husband because she was always reminding her family about her missed opportunity with her first husband, Saifi.  After their marriage she learned of Saifi's illness so her mother spent her marriage with Saifi taking care of him until he passed away.  They obviously did not spend much quality time together as a married couple, but she seemed to believe in her mind that Saifi was the perfect spouse that she should have been able to spend her entire life with.

We learn of much turmoil between Azar and her mother.  Besides complaining to all, about the loss of her first husband, she also expresses her frustrations about not having been able to realize her fullest potential as an independent woman.  She considers herself a woman wasted because she decided to take care of her husband and children rather than going on to finish medical school.  It seems that she finally is able to gain some satisfaction in life when she is elected into Parliament.

Azar's father was a very interesting individual, but always seemed to have a sadness upon him, which seemed to be from having to live in Saifi's shadow.  To Azar's mother, he would never be as good of a person, or have as much to offer as Saifi did.  I think that when he found himself put in jail for reasons he would never fully understand he was able to reflect on his life and find what may be missing.  He found himself writing poetry and short stories during his incarceration to help pass the time.

We learn a lot about Iranian politics during the time period of this book, which I think may have explained why Azar's mother acted the way she did.  As her mother was growing up she slowly was given more rights as a woman, only to have those rights taken away later in life.  So let me tell you that if you can muddle through the beginning of this book, you will appreciate the life you have once you finish it.

I read this book with my book club and it turned out that I was the only one to actually finish it.  It was difficult to read, but I wonder if part of the reason that I found enjoyment from the pages was the difficult relationship that Azar had with her mother.  Personally, I did not have a good mother/daughter relationship with my mom until after I left home, and then she passed away about a year later.  I think this helped me to connect with the author in a way that the other gals in my group could not.  With themes of family obligations, civil rights, and independence I think this book has a lot to offer and makes a great discussion if everyone in your group can handle reading it.

My Rating: 4/5

Disclosure:  This book is from my personal collection and I read it as a book club selection.

You can check out more great book reviews over at Cym Lowell's Book Review Party Wednesday!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Teaser Tuesday: Nov. 9

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading.  TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

This week my teaser is from How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway:
She had a mental list of who had wronged her: the kid up the street who stole a rose from her garden, the neighbor who put his bags of grass clippings on our side of the property line, me for any number of things.  I always chalked it up to her life spent trapped peering out onto the street from behind the living room curtains.

pg. 202
***Please note that this is from an Advanced Reading Copy so the final printing may change.

I've really been enjoying this book and found myself laying in bed the other night, wanting to get up and read some more!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Giveaway: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova


Thanks to Valerie from Hachette I am able to give away up to 3 copies of this book!  This book would make a great selection for your book group and there are even some discussion questions to help get your discussion started.   Here is a summary of The Swan Thieves from the Hachette website:

Andrew Marlow, a psychiatrist, has a perfectly ordered life--solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when the renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes Marlow's patient.

When Oliver refuses to talk or cooperate, Marlow finds himself going beyond his own legal and ethical boundaries to understand the secret that torments this silent genius, a journey that will lead him into the lives of the women closest to Robert Oliver and toward a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism.

Moving from American museums to the coast of Normandy, from the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth, from young love to last love, THE SWAN THIEVES is a story of obsession, the losses of history, and the power of art to preserve human hope.

If you are a lover of art I really think you will appreciate the artistic content of this novel.  I reviewed the audioversion of this book and you can still read my review here.

I will be giving away one book for every 10 entries with a maximum of three books to give away.

Winners will be subject to the one copy per household, which means if you win the same title on another blog you will receive only one copy of the title.

To enter this contest you must be at least 18 and live in the U.S. or Canada. No PO Boxes please.

For one entry leave me a comment including your email address below.

For two additional entries, blog about this contest or add the link to your sidebar.

Please include your email so I will have a way to contact you if you win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as myemail.address AT gmail DOT com or myemail.address [at] gmail [dot] com.

You will have until November 26th to enter and I will draw for winners on or after November 27th.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Java With Jo

This has been one of those weeks that has me dragging this Friday morning.  So needless to say, tomorrow morning will have me lolling around my home in my bathrobe and cup of coffee and not even thinking of what to do next!  I participate in a lot of fun activities but it seems like they all come at the same time.

One of my activities this week was my monthly book club meeting on Wednesday night.  We had a great night together as we discussed The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent.  This was an amazing story that left us all feeling fortunate for the world that we live in today.  This novel also left me looking forward to Kent's next book, The Wolves of Andover.  I should be receiving a review copy of this novel any day!  After a great night of book discussion, fellowship, and wonderful dessert (hence our name Sweet Connections), we left each other anticipating our November pick, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith.

The weather here in Northern Wisconsin is looking to get pretty chilly over the next few days, so I am ready to snuggle up in my recliner for a couple of days with a warm blanket, a glass of wine or cup of tea (depending on my mood at the time) and get some ME-time in with a good book.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

New Author Challenge 2010 Completed!

I was very excited to join this challenge again this year as it is one that I was able to complete last year, and luckily I did it again!  Thanks to Literary Escapism  for hosting this challenge once again.  I actually signed up to read 25 new authors, but so far I've surpassed that goal and read over 30!  I do plan to keep adding new authors that I read to this list for the remainder of the year.  If I have reviewed the book you should be able to click on the title to read my review if you are interested.  Here are the New authors I have read so far:

1. Gary Stelzer-The Cost of Dreams--Completed 1/10/2010
2. Beth Hoffman-Saving CeeCee Honeycutt--Completed 1/16/2010
3. Joshua Henkin-Matrimony--Completed 1/27/2010
4. Maureen Lindley-The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel--Completed 2/5/2010
5. Denise Austin-Denise's Daily Dozen--Completed 2/22/2010
6. Anita Amirrezvani-The Blood of Flowers--Completed 3/2/2010
7. Joshua Ferris-The Unnamed--Completed 3/14/2010
8. Todd Johnson-The Sweet By and By--Completed 3/28/2010
9. Jennifer Chiaverini-The Quilter's Apprentice--Completed 3/31/2010
10. Jennifer Weiner-Goodnight Nobody--Completed 4/13/2010
11. BJ Hoff-Where Grace Abides--Completed 4/20/2010
12. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge-Worst Case--Completed 4/27/2010
13. Elizabeth Kostova-The Swan Thieves--Completed 5/17/2010
14. Dan Simmons-Black Hills--Completed 5/17/2010
15. Laleh Khadivi-The Age of Orphans--Completed 5/28/2010
16. Seth Grahame-Smith-Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter--Completed 6/2/2010
17. Brian Cohen-The Life O'Reilly--Completed 6/13/2010
18. Richard Morais-The Hundred-Foot Journey--Completed 6/30/2010
19. David Baldacci-Absolute Power--Completed 7/20/2010
20. Ellen Horan-31 Bond Street--Completed 7/22/2010
21. Joyce Maynard-Labor Day--Completed 7/26/2010
22. Katie Crouch-Men and Dogs--Completed 8/9/2010
23. Sherryl Woods-Home in Carolina--Completed 8/30/2010
24. Justin Kramon-Finny--Completed 9/13/2010
25. Justin Cronin-The Passage--Completed 9/19/2010
26. Margaret Atwood-The Handmaid's Tale--Completed 9/21/2010
27. Joshilyn  Jackson-Backseat Saints--Completed 9/24/2010
28. Azar Nafisi-Things I've Been Silent About--Completed 10/5/2010
29. Maria Angels Anglada-The Auschwitz Violin--Completed 10/12/2010
30. Elin Hilderbrand-The Island--Completed 10/28/2010
31. Kathleen Kent-The Heretic's Daughter--Completed 11/1/2010
32. Margaret Dilloway-How to be an American Housewife--Completed 11/8/2010
33. Larry Levin-Oogy--Completed 12/9/2010
34. Jessica Anya Blau-Drinking Closer to Home--Completed 12/11/2010
35. Holly LeCraw--The Swimming Pool--Completed 12/27/2010
36. Kristin Hannah--Comfort and Joy--Completed 12/28/2010

So those are the new authors that I discovered this year and I can't wait to join this challenge again in 2011!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Audiobook Review: Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson

Here is a summary of Backseat Saints from the Hachette website:

Rose Mae Lolley is a fierce and dirty girl, long-suppressed under flowery skirts and bow-trimmed ballet flats. As "Mrs. Ro Grandee" she's trapped in a marriage that's thick with love and sick with abuse. Her true self has been bound in the chains of marital bliss in rural Texas, letting "Ro" make eggs, iron shirts, and take her punches. She seems doomed to spend the rest of her life battered outside by her husband and inside by her former self, until fate throws her in the path of an airport gypsy---one who shares her past and knows her future. The tarot cards foretell that Rose's beautiful, abusive husband is going to kill her. Unless she kills him first.

Hot-blooded Rose Mae escapes from under Ro's perky compliance and emerges with a gun and a plan to beat the hand she's been dealt. Following messages that her long-missing mother has left hidden for her in graffiti and behind paintings, Rose and her dog Gretel set out from Amarillo, TX back to her hometown of Fruiton, AL, and then on to California, unearthing a host of family secrets as she goes. Running for her life, she realizes that she must face her past in order to overcome her fate---death by marriage---and become a girl who is strong enough to save herself from the one who loves her best.

BACKSEAT SAINTS will dazzle listeners with a fresh and heartwrenching portrayal of the lengths a mother will go to right the wrongs she's created, and how far a daughter will go to escape the demands of forgiveness. With the seed of a minor character from her popular best-seller, GODS IN ALABAMA, Jackson has built a whole new story full of her trademark sly wit, endearingly off-kilter characters, and utterly riveting plot twists.


My Review:
I loved listening to this story that was read by the author, Joshilyn Jackson, herself!  I think I could have listened to her voice all day and found when I popped the first disc in I was so engrossed in her voice that I found myself driving only 45 mph on the way home one evening.  Jackson did a great job of delivering such a serious storyline by managing to insert both humor and jaw-dropping fear within the same book.

We are introduced to Ro Grandee as an abused housewife whose life takes a drastic change after consulting with a gypsy in an airport one afternoon.  Ro realizes that she must kill her husband before he kills her.  When all goes wrong with the assassination attempt life at home changes as her husband seems to magically turn into the man that she fell in love with.  After being abused for so long, how long can this change of attitude last?

Ro finds herself on the road, first to flee from her abusive husband, then to find her mother that abandoned her years ago, but in the end it turns out to be a search for her true self.  As she battles demons from her past she learns a lot about herself and can finally reconcile with the cards that have been dealt to her in the game of life. 

I really enjoyed this audiobook and definitely plan on reading more of Jackson's work in the future.  With themes of emotional and physical abuse, forgiveness, and survival this book has a lot to offer and  I think it would also make a great book club selection.  As you can tell I really enjoyed this book so I definitely recommend it.

My Rating:  4/5

Disclosure:  This book was provided to me by Hachette in exchange for an honest review.

You can check out more great book reviews at Cym Lowell's Book Review Party Wednesday!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

My Blogiversary Giveaway!

I can't believe that my 2 year Blogiversary snuck up on me the way that it did!  I really don't think that my blog has changed that much over the first couple of years, but I am trying to personalize my entries more now to give you all a chance to get to know me better.  When I posted my very first entry I really had no idea what I was doing but everything just sort of fell into place with the help of all of you great fellow blogger that are out there!  So thank you everyone for making this such a creative and inviting community for us to share our bookish thoughts with each other.  I really look forward to getting to know so many more of you in the future.

Early in October I was trying to think of a giveaway I could have for this momentous event but nothing much was coming to mind.  Well thanks to my husband, I now have a giveaway in mind for you all!

1st place will be a $20 Amazaon gift card.
2nd place will be a $10 Amazon gift card.
And the 3rd place winner will have the option of choosing one of the following books from my gently read collection:

The Tudor Rose by Margaret Campbell Barnes










Lone Star Legend by Gwendolyn Zepeda












April and Oliver  by Tess Callahan












The Life O'Reilly by Brian Cohen











Now for the giveaway!

To enter this contest you must be at least 18 and live in the U.S. or Canada.

For one entry leave me a comment including your email address below.

For two additional entries, blog about this contest or add the link to your sidebar.

Please include your email so I will have a way to contact you if you win.  Use a spam-thwarting format such as myemail.address AT gmail DOT com or myemail.address [at] gmail [dot] com.

You will have until November 19th to enter and I will draw for winners on or after November 20th.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Mailbox Monday-Nov. 1

Thanks to Marcia of The Printed Page for starting the Mailbox Monday Meme that has us list the books that we received last week. Although Marcia isn't going to be hosting Mailbox Monday any longer, she set it up so different bloggers have the opportunity to host this meme for a month at a time.  This month the host is Knitting and Sundries so head on over to her blog to see what everyone else got or to play along!

Once again I only received one book in my mailbox and it was:

And remember that book sale that I went to a few weeks ago?  Here is what I picked up from there:
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

So those are the new books that came into my home recently.  Belong to Me was a funny acquisition because when I found that in the box at the sale I recalled many great reviews of this book.  I thought I already had this book so I showed it to my friend indicating that this would probably be a good one.  So Donna took the book and was looking at it while this lady was hovering behind us, salivating as we were pondering the purchase of the book.  The hoverer finally asked Donna if she could have the book instead and I could see that Donna felt a bit awkward about the situation so finally I said "Since I found it I will buy it because I don't know if I have this one at home."  I also told Donna that if I don't have the book at home she can just have it, but guess what--I didn't have it at home so now it's mine!  Don't worry, because I will still share with my friends!