#giveaways

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (She Reads January Book Club Pick)

It’s January- and She Reads is back in business after taking some time off for the holidays. And boy- have they picked a great book to start the 2013 year off with a POP! The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro has it all- love, lust, double-crossing, intrigue, mystery and art!

This is a book where the reader can’t take characters at face-value- with each page turned, a bit more of the story is revealed and the characters true nature is shown. It takes the reader on a wild ride, a heart pounding ride!

Thanks to Algonquin Books, She Reads is able to give 10 copies of The Art Forger away to some very lucky people!

To enter to win a copy of The Art Forger, check out She Reads. My review of The Art Forger has also been posted. For fans of Twitter, look for #srblog- She Reads Blog Network will be chattering away all month about The Art Forger!

 

Literary Friday ya’ll….

Friday- oh Friday 🙂 🙂

1. Deep South Mag’s #literaryfriday is up- and this weeks edition has the following: Goodreads’ Best Books of 2012 (Congratulations to Joshily Jackson and Emily Giffin for making the list!), Holiday Crafts to make with Books, and much more.

2. In honor of the holiday season, Deep South Mag is also having 12 Days of Giveaways. Check back daily to see what is being given away, make a comment on the post, and GOOD LUCK!

3. Other giveaway news- Meg Donohue is giving away cupcakes and her book How to Eat A Cupcake-blog, tweet, facebook about the giveaway to be entered for a chance to win. And don’t forget that December 15th is National Cupcake Day!

4. Last Saturday, I met the delightful and charming Peggy Sweeney- McDonald at Lemuria Books in Jackson, MS. Chatted with her about her book (Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde) and learned several tid-bits. Look for the blog post about meeting Peggy and a review of the book (hopefully next week!) on my blog.

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5. With Christmas only being a short time away- some people are in a frenzy of decorating, baking, etc. Have noticed several Christmas trees decorated to the nines and even some made entirely out of books! How fabulous- a Christmas tree made out of books? Someone pinch me! Last year, I made a Christmas tree out of my Janet Evanovich books with a Cupcake topper (because I’m a Team Cupcake girl). Now, it’s not a pretty tree (and nowhere near as elaborate as others I’ve seen pictures of) but here is mine:

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6. What is your #fridayreads? Mine is 50% Off Murder by Josie Belle- a pen name Jenn McKinlay uses.

7. Cozy Mystery Week is almost over! Each day, I’ve discussed a different Cozy Author I enjoy- Joanne Fluke,Ellen Byerrum,  Cleo Coyle, Jenn McKinlay, and Lucy Burdette. Jenn’s Bookshelves has been celebrating Cozy Mystery Week all week long- check her blog out for more cozy authors. Did Cozy Mystery Week help you discover a new cozy series to read?

Happy Reading and have a great weekend!

 

Confessions and Giveaways…

With so many great bloggers out in the internet world, finding and reading them can be hard. I’d been hearing for sometime about this one blogger- Jen of People I Want to Punch in the Throat- but for multiple reasons had not made it to her blog to see what the fuss was about. Even after Robin O’Bryant- the author of the humorous Ketchup is a Vegetable: And Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves– I still meant to read Jen’s blog, but just had not. Yesterday, though, Robin posts a link to Jen’s book Spending the Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat and I bought it for 2 reasons: 1. becasue it was 99 cents! and 2. Becasue I’d been meaning to check her out, and I adore people who can be real about the holidays (because let’s face it: if there isn’t at least 1 person at your holiday get together that you don’t want to punch in the throat- then you must be on some good meds or have the tolerance of a saint- I’m just saying.) So back to the book- bought it, begin reading it, loving it. The story of the McDonald’s toy was worth the 99 cents alone! Also included is the story of Elf on the Shelf that went viral and made Jen a big deal- while I don’t have the Elf on the Shelf (no kids)- I can feel the pain of the mom’s who have to deal with the Elf.

Currently, Spending Holidays with People I Want to Punch in the Throat is still 99 cents- it’s a Black Friday special- so I’ll assume that at the end of Cyber Monday, the price will go back to original. Do yourself a favor- buy this book. Have a laugh. The holidays are coming up y’know- having something funny in your life will make any holiday dysfuncion seem so much easier to handle.

For the giveaways, back to Robin O’Bryant. Her book Ketchup is a Vegetable:And Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves turns a year old this week. So Happy Birthday, Ketchup! In honor of the birthday and becasue Robin is just that kind of nice- she’s giving away 10 copies of Ketchup this week on her Facebook page- go “like” her for more details about the giveaways. Also, one day this week she plans on Ketchup being marked down to a low, low, low price- the book is hysterically funny- Robin’s got a way with words- and the stories about the girls; well they are great. Robin is the kind of person you want to be BFF with if you have kids or even are thinking of having them!

Ketchup is Vegetable: And Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves is book that mom’s to be should read, women getting married should probably be given it as well. Even single girls find it funny (I loved it!)

A quick wrap up of other thoughts:

1. Reading Tana French’s Broken Harbor– I’d been loving it, then some chapters started to drag, and back to loving it (I think)- There is a section of the storyline that if it does not get resolved in the good way or becomes very relevant to the storyline- I’m not going to be pleased. Overall, I’ve been enjoying the book, though.

2. Read Notorious Nineteen yesterday. Not bad, however, nowhere as near as good as the first several of the Stephanie Plum series. At this point- even though I’m a Cupcake fan- I don’t care who she picks. I feel that the series either needs a big shake-up or ending.

3. A Peach of a Murder by Livia J. Washburn- a gift from my brother- he picks out different cozy books for me to read as part of my birthday gifts. Usually he has good taste- he’s introduced me to Cleo Coyle and others- this one, though, is dragging. Will finish it, but can’t say that I’ll pick another in series.

 

How to Eat a Cupcake & The Mermaid Collector Giveaways!

Two new giveaways on blogs that I read that are worth mentioning:

A Novel Review is giving away a copy of Erika Marks’s 2nd book, The Mermaid Collector to a lucky reader. Ya’ll already know how much I love The Mermaid Collector– so strongly encouraging readers to enter. The book is worth it. Trust me.For more information on The Mermaid Colector, here is my previous review.

A Woman, a wife and a mom is giving away a copy of How to Eat a Cupcake by Meg Donohue. I’ve never read this book, but the description sounds interesting.

 

Young Adult Vintage Cozy Mystery Weekend November 10&11th

Nancy Drew- oh Nancy Drew- you were my first introduction to the mystery world and helped solidify an interest in mysteries. I remember my mom bringing me the yellow-back Nancy Drew mysteries from the library and reading them; but the Nancy Drew Case Files were my favorite. Nancy had a cool car, great fashion sense, and she just seemed to my 9 year old mind so grown up.

While I don’t read my Nancy Drew books like I used to- just seeing either a yellow backed Nancy Drew or a Case Files mystery is enough to make me grin and squeal like a little girl!

So I was beyond excited to see that Cozy Mystery Reviews was having an entire weekend of mystery talk, reviews and giveaways- I just knew my girl, Nancy Drew, would figure prominently in the weekend- and boy; they did not disappoint.

Here’s a round-up of things you may have missed from YA Vintage Cozy Mystery Weekend:

Introducing YA Vintage Cozy Mystery Weekend

Nancy Drew Memories

YA Vintage Cozy Mystery Weekend Giveaway Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Kindle title giveaway

Nancy Drew- from Then to Now

The Secret of the Old Clock- a review

Nancy Drew Kindle/Nook Case giveaway

 

She Reads Giveaway: Hemingway’s Girl by Erika Robuck

Today on She Reads, author Erika Robuck talks about her first literary love (The Great Gatsby!) and has given She Reads a copy of Hemingway’s Girl  to give away to a lucky person who comments on the post.

Now while I’ve not read Hemingway’s Girl– I do have a copy and I can’t wait to read it. There has been a lot of buzz about the book- and other book bloggers and reviewers have been writing positive comments about the book.

If the book sounds intriguing, go to She Reads and make a comment- maybe today will be your lucky day and you will win a copy of Hemingway’s Girl!

Best of luck!

Literary Friday, ya’ll….

Been a couple of weeks since I posted about a #literaryfriday- September flew by and my hard drive crashed last week. Fun stuff, right?

Here goes:

1. Deep South Mag and their weekly Literary Friday is HERE. Tons of Events, news, and literary items in this weekly installment; but most notably: Oprah Winfrey included the book The Cutting Season by Attica Locke on her The Best New Books of October 2012. However, Deep South Magazine had already included The Cutting Season on their Fall/Winter Reading List. The Cutting Season looks like it’s off to a good start being on 2 different reading lists. For Deep South Magazine’s full Fall/Winter List- click HERE. Grab a book, and get ready to enjoy the fall and winter seasons!

2. September 30- October 6 is Banned Book Week.  You may have seen some of the cute pictures (especially the spoof of Carly Rae Jespen’s Call Me Maybe) this week as part of the week. Deep South Magazine has an article about Banned Book Week as well as Southern Spines.

3. She Reads is giving away a copy of Erika Marks newest book, The Mermaid Collector, today. I’ve already been raving about how good this book is, heck, even posted a countdown clock about the book’s release date. To win a copy of this book, all you have to do is make a comment HERE. Enter the contest, and find out about the magic of The Mermaid Collector first-hand.

4. If you haven’t read Sarah Jio’s Blackberry Winter, I encourage you to read this book. Great storyline and characters. Also, it’s the She Reads October Book Club pick.

5. Check back here for reviews on Blackberry Winter, The Mermaid Collector, and Ghosts of Manhattan. Have read the first 2, finishing the last book.

As always, enjoy the weekend and Happy Reading!

 

 

A catch-up and preview of things to come…..

Sorry that my blogging has been so, what’s the word, oh yes…. spotty lately! Between a trip to Pensacola for my brother’s wedding AND the very next weekend a trip to Nashville (note to self: booking 2 weekend trips back to back is not advisable- I should have told my brother to move his wedding to a less busy time, right? 😉

So- today’s entry is going to be a mash-up, a catch-up, a running tally of things that I’ve been meaning to talk about but haven’t. Hold on to your hats, I’m getting on a roll!

1.  Deep South Magazine is giving away a copy of Erika Robuck’s book, Hemingway’s Girl, this Friday (Sept.28) AND is having a literary chat with Erika Robuck. If you haven’t heard of Hemingway’s Girl– it’s getting some good reviews from a few book-bloggers, so I anticipate the book being good. To enter the giveaway, click HERE. On Friday, September 28th, Deep South Magazine is hosting a Twitter chat with Erika Robuck- use Tweet Chat (it’s the best way to participate) and #southernlit. The chat will go on from 1-2pm CST.  To find out more about Erika Robuck before the chat- click HERE.

2. Speaking of Erika’s- my blog countdown clock reminds me that Erika Marks new book, The Mermaid Collector, will be released in 1 week. If you missed out on Little Gale Gumbo (Erika Marks first book) do yourself a favor and read that! I hope her second book is as good as the first one!

3. If you find yourself in Dickson, TN- there is a store called Reading Rock Books. Used and new books- I bought myself 2 used books for a fairly good deal. Nice little store- wished I had more time to spend in the place.

4. Speaking of used books- I was in Nashville this past weekend for a girl’s weekend AND the Carrie Underwood concert. We went to a place called McKay Used Books– huge warehouse-style place. Books and Movies- EVERYWHERE. I saw some paperbacks for as low as 5 cents. Definitely worth a look if you are near the area.

5. Melinda McGuire- you know who I’ve been raving about for a few weeks- 1. for her #STHRN project and 2. for her writing skills and because she’ll be at Grand Festival of Arts and Books in Fairhope, Al (October 5th and 6th!)…. BUT- here’s a whole other reason to rave about her: Melinda will have a new book released on September 28 (This Friday!). The book is called Rich Fabric– the tradition, symbolism and stories of quilting.  While the book sounds all neat and all- what makes this even more special is this: All profits from the book will be donated to Twilight Wish Foundation- a non-profit for elderly people who live below the poverty level. For more information about Rich Fabric– click HERE.

Psst- and in case you don’t get enough information from that link- Melinda McGuire will be guest-blogging here in the next few weeks. So keep checking back!

6. I’m reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls for book club. I don’t hate it, but man, it’s depressing. Disturbing, even. Anyone read it? Thoughts?

7. Has anyone read Dare Me by Megan Abbot? I’ve been hearing good things about the book, but haven’t read it.  It sounds good.

8. While it’s still a bit warm where I live- fall is approaching. And while I love reading, I love watching TV and movies, too. So any new shows out this season that are just GREAT? What about movies you anticipate seeing? My movie list is: Taken 2, Pitch Perfect, and Alex Cross. Tell me your list!

Happy Reading- and have a great week!

 

 

She Reads September Book Club Pick: The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March

September- while summer is still not completely over (living where I do, we still have a little more time for fun and sun because of the weather) but officially, summer is over. Labor Day weekend is like my last hurrah, I make sure to soak up as much fun and sun as possible over Labor Day weekend. Then slowly begin preparing for fall (pumpkins, state fair, leaves falling, etc..)

So it’s kind of fitting that She Reads picked The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March as their September book club pick. It’s like a farewell to summer in a book. I love this book- I really can’t say enough good things about this book.  It’s light, refreshing, easy reading. Great type of a book for a book club to debate and discuss because there will probably be at least 1 person in the book that members can identify with.

For a more detailed review, click HERE for my earlier review!

To see what She Reads is saying about this great book (plus to win prizes!) click HERE!