Armchair BEA Giveaway!

In celebration of the 2012 Armchair BEA I have decided to have a giveaway that allows the winner to choose between the three books shown below.  These are gently used copies from my personal collection.





Here are the books the winner can choose from:

 Night Road by Kristin Hannah

 Next to Love by Ellen Feldman

Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos

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.

This is going to be a short contest as it will end on Saturday, June 9th.  I will draw a winner on or after June 10th.

Good luck everyone!

Armchari BEA: A Few Things About Me!

I really wanted to head to the BEA in New York City this year, but with my son getting married at the end of June, I knew it would not be a possibility.  So it looks like this is as close as I will get!  That's ok, because now I can start planning for next year.


Design Credit: Emily
of Emily's Reading Room

Armchair BEA was created for us book lovers who are not able to actually attend the event, but still have a good time celebrating our love of books together.

So here are a few things about me:

1.  Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?

A. Well, my name is actually Joanne and I live in Northern Wisconsin.   My four year blogiversary will be in October-Wow, time flies fast!  I basically started blogging as a creative outlet for me to share some of the books I read.  I also belong to a wonderful book club, but I wanted something beyond that.

2.  What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2012?

A.  My favorite book so far this year would have to be The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran.  My favorite audiobook so far is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  These books are obviously on opposite sides of the genre spectrum, but they are sure awesome!

3.  Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.

A.  Did anyone say Doritos?  I have to admit that I have an unhealthy love for these cheesy tortilla chips!  If there is an open bag near me, it won't be there for long!

4.   Where do you see your blog in five years?

A.  My blog has already changed so much!  I went from posting every day to maybe posting as little as twice a week.  Since I've been trying to do some writing myself, I may try to implement some of my work into my blog.  We will just have to wait and see where it takes me!

5.  If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why?

A. I would love to sit down for tea with Mma Ramotswe, the lead character from The Number One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith!  She is depicted as such a loving and genuinely delightful woman that I would love the opportunity to share bits of her wisdom with me.

 Thanks for stopping by today to find out a little more about me!   Don't forget to stop over at some other blogs to see what they had to share!

Audiobook Review: Come Home by Lisa Scottoline

Title:  Come Home

Author:  Lisa Scottoline

Narrator:  Maggi-Meg Reed

Unabridged Length:  12 hrs, 29 mn


Here is a summary of the book from the Macmillan website:

Lisa Scottoline has delivered taut thrillers with a powerful emotional wallop in her New York Times bestsellers Save Me, Think Twice, and Look Again. Now, with her new novel, Come Home, she ratchets up the suspense with the riveting story of a mother who sacrifices her future for a child from her past.

Jill Farrow is a typical suburban mom who has finally gotten her and her daughter's lives back on track after a divorce. She is about to remarry, her job as a pediatrician fulfills her---though it is stressful---and her daughter, Megan, is a happily over-scheduled thirteen-year-old juggling homework and the swim team. 

But Jill’s life is turned upside down when her ex-stepdaughter, Abby, shows up on her doorstep late one night and delivers shocking news: Jill’s ex-husband is dead. Abby insists that he was murdered and pleads with Jill to help find his killer. Jill reluctantly agrees to make a few inquiries and discovers that things don’t add up. As she digs deeper, her actions threaten to rip apart her new family, destroy their hard-earned happiness, and even endanger her own life. Yet Jill can’t turn her back on a child she loves and once called her own.

Come Home reads with the breakneck pacing of a thriller while also exploring the definition of motherhood, asking the questions: Do you ever stop being a mother? Can you ever have an ex-child? What are the limits to love of family?  
 

My Review:
This was a great audiobook to listen to, as it was filled with action, suspense, and emotional struggles.  Reed did a wonderful job narrating this audiobook by embracing her characters as we follow her along a journey that has her struggling with her parental responibilities, loyalties, and obligations.  Jill's life appears to be on the right track, as she is getting ready to marry a wonderful man, her daughter Megan is excelling in school, and her career as a pediatrician is back on track.

Jill cannot foresee how her life will take a drastic change when her stepdaughter from her previous marriage unexpectedly shows up on her doorstop one evening.  Abby informs her that her father is dead and she suspects that he has been murdered.  Jill thinks that Abby is hysterical from grief so takes the girl under her wing, hoping to alleviate her suspicions.

As Jill spends more time with Abby she is reminded of the love that she developed for both her and her sister.  She was their mother at one time and she can't help but allow the motherly feelings to resurface.  Jill does not expect the renewed relationship with her stepdaughters to create a rift with her husband-to-be, but she cannot ignore her parental longings.

As Jill takes a closer look at Abby's allegations surrounding her ex-husband's death, she notices some things that don't add up.  As she continues her quest for the truth, Jill could end up in the middle of a scheme that not only puts her life in danger, but also everyone that she loves.

This was a very engaging audiobook, with my only complaint being the crying that happened early on in the book.  I found these parts downright annoying, but maybe that comes from raising a daughter.  Otherwise, this was a great book to listen to and with themes of parental obligations, love, and truth, I think it would also make a great book club selection.  I don't hesitate in recommending this book for your listening pleasure.

My Rating:  4/5

Disclosure:  This book was provided to me by the publisher from Audiobook Jukebox in exchange  for an honest review.


 

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a great meme that has us list the books that we receive.  Different bloggers now have the opportunity to host this meme for a month at a time.  This month you can see what everyone received over at Martha's Bookshelf.

Here is what I found in my mailbox:

 Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (audiobook)

And then from the Half-Price Books:

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

I have had a busy couple of weeks lately!  My son graduated from law school a couple of weeks ago, and then I had to go pick my daughter up from college last week.  I don't think I've driven through so much rain in my life!  With my son getting married next month I don't think life is going to get any easier in my household! 

Winner of The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O'Melveny

I'm very excited to announce that the winner of The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O'Melveny is...............

Harvee

Congratulations Harvee!  I will be emailing you shortly to get your mailing information to send to the publisher.  I also want to thank Anna from Hachette for allowing me to host this giveaway on my blog!

Review: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Here is a summary of the book from the Goodreads website:

Set in the harsh Puritan community of seventeenth-century Boston, this tale of an adulterous entanglement that results in an illegitimate birth reveals Nathaniel Hawthorne's concerns with the tension between the public and the private selves. Publicly disgraced and ostracized, Hester Prynne draws on her inner strength and certainty of spirit to emerge as the first true heroine of American fiction. Arthur Dimmesdale, trapped by the rules of society, stands as a classic study of a self divided.

My Review:
I know it may seem hard to believe, but I did not read The Scarlet Letter before reading it as a book club selection last month.  I think this may be one of the hardest books I have ever read, as I tried to understand the story with it's old world language.  It seems that Hawthorne used all of his characters to symbolize various characteristics and sins.

Hester is the strong-willed heroine of this story who makes a moral error in judgement.  She is persecuted for he wrong-doing, but accepts the punishment from her peers.  The punishment will stamp a wound on Hester's heart and taint her mind and soul for the rest of her days. 

Hester's conviction turned out to be a lifelong persecution, from the entire township.  It was interesting to watch the attitudes of the townspeople, as sometimes they would treat her with respect and friendship, while other times treating her like a thief.  She often found it easier to live in solitude to avoid accusing stares that she was sure to find.

This book seemed to have a bit of flavor that reminded me of the Salem Witch Trials.   I'm not sure if this book takes place before or after that period, but witchcraft is briefly mentioned in the story.  With themes of symbolism, love, and truth, this book made an interesting book club discussion.  With that being said I think I also need to tell you that out of our group of nine ladies, only three of us actually finished the book.  It was definitely not one of our favorites and not one that I would recommend for leisure reading.  I am, however, glad that I finally read this classic.

My Rating:  3/5

Disclosure:  This book was from my personal collection and I read it for my own entertainment and as a book club selection. 

Teaser Tuesday-May 22

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 Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin:
"For another, they're not homemade.  And they don't look like homemade... Do you have any idea what the other mothers would say behind my back if I handed out Oreo's?"

pg. 45