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Hello and welcome to my book blog. This blog is dedicated to books everywhere and the people who write and read them. Thank you for stopping by.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Giveaway - The Postcard Killers, by James Patterson and Liza Marklund

THE POSTCARD KILLERS
(Unabridged)
by James Patterson and Liza Marklund
Read by Katherine Kellgren, Eric Singer and Reg Rogersy

Paris is stunning in the summer. NYPD detective Jacob Kanon is on a tour of Europe's most gorgeous cities. But the sights aren't what draw him—he sees each museum, each cathedral, and each cafe through the eyes of his daughter's killer.  The killing is simply marvelous. Kanon's daughter, Kimmy, and her boyfriend were murdered while on vacation in Rome. Since then, young couples in Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Stockholm have been found dead. Little connects the murders, other than a
postcard to the local newspaper that precedes each new victim.

"Wish you were here. "

Now Kanon teams up with the Swedish reporter, Dessie Larsson, who has just received a postcard in Stockholm—and they think they know where the next victims will be. With relentless logic and unstoppable action, THE POSTCARD KILLERS may be James Patterson's most vivid and compelling thriller yet.



Giveaway Details / Rules
US & Canada Only
NO P.O. Boxes
Enter by September 15th, 2010
You are not eligible to win this title if you or someone in your house has won in another giveaway. (one per household)

To enter:
Simple leave a comment with your email address.  If you are a follower you get a double entry.

Special Thanks to Anna from Hachette Book Group.

Good Luck!!
Have a great weekend.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Envy - Audio Book by Sandra Brown - A Review

My book club picked this book to read this summer.  I was hesitant.  Don't get me wrong, I read a lot of Sandra Brown, but I haven't read them since the sizzling summer days of the 1990's.  I enjoyed that "sort" of thing back then.

The book takes us from The Florida Keys, to New York to St. Anne's Island, Georgia.  The author does a pretty good job of including scenic, historic and pop culture events into the story.   The characters are well developed and interesting. We go from the past to the future and bounce from location to location.  Saundra Brown does that well.

The book is a about authors and publishers, love, hate, money and ENVY.  Of course.   It was a good read.   I will post a summary below as I don't want to spoil. There are some twists and turns in the plot.  I believe most are predictable, but that isn't always bad.  Everything doesn't have to be a big ole surprise right?

If you like her novels for the gratuitous sex, then you won't be disappointed.  I think it went a bit too far, but that is just me.  I wasn't offended, (those who know me will know that isn't it).  I just found it unrealistic.  I won't expound, as I think my blog is still pretty "G" rated last time I checked.  I will say when I say unrealistic , I mean maybe very awkward, and near impossible, like I would cock my head to the side and try to get a mental image, and say...'naw...not happening.."   The over use of the "F" bomb is a problem.  Again, I am not a prude but it lost its effectiveness.  And there was an abundance of metaphors that drove me crazy.  Just a few too many. 

It was a good summer read.  Sandra Brown can put together a good plot.  I just got annoyed with some of the ingredients. I would recommend this book.  Summer read, airport read, vacation read..you name it.  I could see it as a movie, or mini series.  

The best part of the book for me is the book within a book. I gotta love that, and that part was really well done.   It makes it all worth while.

I listened to the audio.  I think I give the audio production and A-/B+.   Sometimes I  thought the Parker character sounded like a dumb oakie and the Southern drawl was off.  That could just be me.  I would recommend  it nonetheless.  I heard some of it in the car and I know passersby were looking at me as I cupped my hand over my mouth for a number of reasons.  (wink)


Click here to read a summary.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

She's Gone Country - Jane Porter Giveaway

Hey Everyone!

I thought it would be nice to host a giveaway!

Thanks to Hachette Book Group, I have three copies of Jane Porter's, She's Gone Country.  I am going to review this book later on my blog but I thought it would be great to host a giveaway and get back in the giveaway groove a little.  This book is available on August 23rd!!
 
A bit about the book:
Jane Porter has returned with the type of bestselling novel that she writes best, featuring an almost-forty protagonist finding a second chance in life. SHE’S GONE COUNTRY is an entertaining tale of a modern-day woman, Shey, who has led a charmed life in New York City, gracing the covers of Vogue, and is now forced to reinvent herself by moving back to her hometown in Texas after her marriage falls apart. Shey soon realizes that in order to reinvent herself, she must let go of an uncertain future and a broken past, and allow for the possibility of new love in the present.

A bit about the author:
Jane Porter lives in Seattle, Washington, with her two children. You can find out more about her at www.janeporter.com.

Audio and Video

Giveaway details:
  • Leave a comment on this blog by September 1, 2010 and you will be entered into the drawing.
  • If you are a follower of the blog, you get an extra entry.  Make sure you let me know. One post or two, it makes no difference.  I need your email address to notify you that you have won.  If it is on your profile that is fine by me.
  • US and Canada Only
  • No P.O. Boxes
  • Hachette Books (Thank you very much) will send your book to you.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Mailbox Monday - August 16th

It has been awhile since I participated in Mailbox Monday.   It is hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page. Okay...last time I participated it was. But now it is on Tour.  Not sure what that means?  Me, neither but I am catching up and it appears that the August Tour is at Chick Loves Lit.

I haven't been accepting books, but I wanted to get my butt reading so I have accepted a few over the last 4 weeks, and some came by surprise.  

First off:  The Queen's Pawn from Christy English.  I intend to read it soon with pleasure!! It sounds great!  Thank you Christy.


A bit about the Book: (From Amazon)
A historical novel of the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine and the one person she loved more than power-her rival for the throne.

At only nine, Princess Alais of France is sent to live in England until she is of age to wed Prince Richard, son of King Henry II and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Alais is an innocent pawn on the chessboard of dynastic marriage, her betrothal intended to broker an uneasy truce between the nations.

Estranged from her husband, Eleanor sees a kindred spirit in this determined young girl. She embraces Alais as a daughter, teaching the princess what it takes to be a woman of power in a world of men. But as Alais grows to maturity and develops ambitions of her own, Eleanor begins to see her as a threat-and their love for each other becomes overshadowed by their bitter rivalry, dark betrayals, conflicting passions, and a battle for revenge over the throne of England itself.


From Algonquin:   A Curable Romantic by Joseph Skibell (Thank you algonquin)

A bit about the book: (from Algonquin)

As far as romance goes, Dr. Jakob Sammelsohn is fairly incurable. Twice married, once divorced, once widowed—all by the tender age of twelve— he finally flees his small village and his pious, vengeful father. A lovelorn candide, young Dr. Sammelsohn wanders optimistically through history—pursued by the amorous ghost of his dead wife.

Arriving in Vienna in 1890, a chance encounter with Sigmund Freud leads our hero into the arms of Emma Eckstein, one of Freud’s most famous patients. Later he romances the beautiful and wealthy LoĆ« Bernfeld, who carries him into the world of Esperanto and the universal language movement. Finally, Dr. Sammelsohn finds himself in the Warsaw ghetto in 1940, only to become a pawn in a battle over the path to heaven.

A Curable Romantic is a novel of personal and historical exile that could spring only from the literary imagination of a virtuoso. Often fantastical yet always grounded in tradition and history, it is that rare literary feat —a truly incomparable tale, ingenuously told, peopled with characters who live on in the memory.


Thirdly:
Deep Nights, by Steven Sloan


A bit about the book:
Summary
A policeman, haunted by memories of past failures and faced with opposition from loved ones, finds himself under pressure to protect the citizens of his community. In Duncan Switch, most deep night shifts are usually quiet, but tonight’s converging events threaten to smother his efforts and test his ability. Protecting a fellow officer, a hostage situation and working the night shift short-handed tests the officers of Duncan Switch, Texas. One of them finds the biggest challenge of the night, still ahead.  Thank You Kim from AtlasBooks.

And lastly.
Salvation City, by Sigrid Nunez from Lydia with Riverhead Books.

Salvation City, a novel  (from the author's Website)
(Riverhead Books, Coming September 2010)
After losing both parents to a flu pandemic that seriously threatens his own life as well, thirteen-year-old Cole Vining is sent to live with an evangelical pastor and his wife in Salvation City, a small town in southern Indiana. There, Cole feels sheltered and loved but never as if he truly belongs. Everything about his new home is vastly different from the secular world in which he was raised. As he tries to adjust, he struggles also with memories of the past, a struggle made more difficult by the fact that he had lost his parents at a time when family relations were at their most fraught and unhappy. How is he to remember them now? Are they still his parents if they are no longer there? Must he accept what those around him believe, that because his parents did not know Jesus they are condemned to hell? During this time, Cole finds solace in drawing comics, for which he has a remarkable gift, and in fantasies about being a superhero.
Salvation City is a story of love, betrayal, and forgiveness. It is about spiritual and moral growth, and the consolation of art. It is about belief—belief in God and belief in self. As others around him grow increasingly fixed on the hope of salvation and a new life to come through an imminent rapture, Cole imagines a different future, one in which his own dreams of happiness and heroism begin to seem within reach.


Saturday, August 14, 2010

Easy Peasy Blue Cheesy.....

I actually do have some bookish things to post coming up this week.  I am going low carb on Monday so this afternoon it is about a nice lunch of blue cheese bread.


And we are talking easy..

Bread: (rustic baguette).


Fresh Pressed Garlic and Butter..use less than a cube and if anyone asks if they are fattening you say..."I used less than a cube on the whole loaf..."  BRWAhhhhhha ha ha
(note....I do know bettter, olive oil works just fine too!!)


Spoon the melted, sauteed butter onto the thin sliced baguette. It is good to let is spill over, it helps for a buttery sizzling bottom.   Sprinkle with basil and blue cheese.  Not a blue cheese fan? Use Jack or cheedar, it turns out divine.

I put in the oven for 6 minutes on 400 hundred, then  turn to broil for three minutes.
 mmm... hate to be an enabler...but I saw Eat Love Pray yesterday and this was my hearts desire for lunch today.