by Nan Rossiter (read my review, here). It's the perfect summer read where you'll be swept away to the beaches of Cape Cod. It's definitely at the top of the list of my favorite books that I've read this summer. I'm thrilled to be able to share an excerpt from the book and a giveaway for a chance to win your own copy of The Gin & Chowder Club. To Asa’s surprise, the days passed quickly...and even though each day seemed to blend into all the rest, there was one daily occurrence that gave him something to look forward to: the delivery of mail. Taking two granite steps at a time into the school post office, Asa would quickly scan the rows of mail slots with small combination locks on their doors. With a tightening in his chest, he would peer through the tiny glass window to see if there were any envelopes leaning up against the inside wall. Noelle had proven true to her word and, after her first letter, Asa had forgiven her for not meeting him that last night. She wrote often...two or three times a week. Asa would slip her envelope into a book and find a seat on the grass under the reaching boughs of an old oak tree or at a worn secluded table by the window in the library. There, with the sun casting light across the pages, he would slowly read...running his fingers over the pale stationary and thinking of the slender hands that had touched it last...the hands that had touched him...and given him such pleasure.
Noelle’s letters were warm and funny and spoke of life at home and at work. She wrote about the changing weather and the ocean and the stars. She wrote about Nate finding a bottle of champagne by the pool... where in the world had that come from??? And she always closed with thoughts of him...she missed him...every part of him...her thoughts stirred his fire and kept the embers burning. Asa clung to her words and they sustained him...more than food or drink or air...he lived for these...elegant lines linked together to give him hope...
(compliments of the author Nan Rossiter)to give away to one lucky reader.
by Barbara Dee. Please read my review, here. I wanted to share more information about the book with a video from the author and I have a great giveaway, so please read on.
I know this letter will come as a shock to you…
On the anniversary of his beloved wife’s death, Dr. Michael Everett receives a letter Hannah had written him.
In it she reminds him of her love and makes one final request. An impossible request. I want you to marry again. She tells him he shouldn’t spend the years he has left grieving her. And to that end she’s chosen three women she asks him to consider.
First on Hannah’s list is her cousin, Winter Adams, a trained chef who owns Blossom Street’s French Café. The second is Leanne Lancaster, Hannah’s oncology nurse. Michael knows them both. But the third name is one he’s not familiar with—Macy Roth.
Each of these three women has her own heartache, her own private grief. More than a year earlier, Winter broke off her relationship with another chef. Leanne is divorced from a man who defrauded the hospital for which she works. And Macy lacks family of her own, the family she craves, but she’s a rescuer of strays, human and animal. Macy is energetic, artistic, eccentric—and couldn’t be more different from Michael.
During the months that follow, he spends time with Winter, Leanne and Macy, learning more about each of them…and about himself. Learning what Hannah already knew. He’s a man who needs the completeness only love can offer. And Hannah’s list leads him to the woman who can help him find it.
As millions of readers know, Debbie Macomber understands what’s in a woman’s heart.
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Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy includes over 120 beautiful photographs of Mrs. O and describes the back story related to her clothes and accessories. The photographs are stunning and bold and I enjoyed looking through them and reading about details related to the fashions she chose to wear. You get a true sense of her personal style. There are also interviews with her favorite designers which include Isabel Toledo, Jason Wu, Michael Kors, Maria Pinto and Isaac Mizrahi. The book opens with Michelle Obama's earlier years and even includes rare photos from behind-the-scenes of the presidential primary trail , the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the events of election night, the inauguration and early life in the White House. There are even drawings and opinions at the end of the book from Mrs. O's fans which was fun to read.
I found this video from Mrs-O.org that describes the book and you can see actual photos and details from the book. Check it out:
*Thanks to Hachette for providing a copy of this book for review. I am an Amazon associate.
**GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED**
~GIVEAWAY DETAILS~
Thanks to Anna at Hachette I have ONE copy of Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy by Mary Tomer,to give away to one lucky reader!
1. Leave a comment and PLEASE, make sure to leave an email address in your comment so that I can contact you. I will have to draw another winner if I have no way to contact you. ~1 entry
2. Blog about this giveaway (Posting the giveaway on your sidebar is acceptable). Leave a separate comment with a link to your post. ~1 entry
3. Subscribe to my rss feed, follow me on blogger or subscribe via email (If you are already a follower or subscriber that applies as well, just let me know). Leave a separate comment for this. ~1 entry for one option not all, let me know if you are a subscriber or follower.
4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave me a separate comment with your twitter user name.~1 entry
This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada, only. No P.O. Boxes Please.
The deadline to enter is November 30th at Midnight, EST
How did you first get the idea for Crossing Washington
Square?
The idea for this book evolved over a few years. As someone who has lived the
academic life (I have a PhD in literature and now I’m married to a professor at
NYU), I’ve always loved books about the university – books like Kingsley Amis’
Lucky Jim and Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys. But what I noticed about such campus fiction was the lack of female professors in leading roles. Even the female
authors like Francine Prose and Zadie Smith, who’ve written campus novels, they
too focus on male professors. Furthermore, most of these male professors are
disillusioned drunks who quite often sleep with their students! I wanted to
write a novel with women professors taking the lead and I wanted these women to
be strong and smart and interesting – instead of drunk, disillusioned, and
preoccupied with questionable romantic liaisons!
What was the most fun scene in your book to write?
Crossing Washington Square is a story of two very different women and their very
different love of books. Rachel Grey and Diana Monroe are both literature
professors in the old boys club of Manhattan University. While this should
create a kinship between them, they are very much at odds. Rachel is young,
emotional, and impulsive. She wrote a book about women’s book groups which got
her a slot on Oprah and she uses “chick lit” in her classes. Diana is aloof,
icy, and controlled. She’s also a scholar of Sylvia Plath who thinks “beach”
fiction is an easy ride for students. But as is often the case, it’s a man that
truly divides the two women. Smooth-talking Carson McEvoy, a visiting Harvard
professor, has his sights on both Rachel and Diana and gets sparks truly
flying!
If your book were to become a movie, who would you cast?
Crossing Washington Square loosely echoes Austen’s Sense and Sensibilty –
with one professor being led by her sense, the other by her sensibility. I love
the Ang Lee adaptation of Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate
Winslet playing the two very different Dashwood sisters. Therefore I’d love Emma
and Kate to play my professors!
Who’s your favorite character and why?
That’s a tough one! My knee jerk response is to say Professor Rachel Grey
because, out of the two female leads, I identify most with her. Rachel teaches
chick lit in her classes and has to defend her work and the genre to her stuffy
colleagues who think only the classics and literary fiction should be studied.
As a grad student, I would be reading classical literature and poetry by day,
but then secretly read popular women’s fiction at night (Bridget Jones’ Diary, I
have to say, is one of my all time favorite books!). Rachel is also flawed
and emotional, yet good and honest and brave. I like that about her.
Every time I revisit the book, however, I like Professor Diana Monroe
more too. She’s super smart and has great poise and grace as a teacher. She’s
the kind of uber-professor that every academic secretly wants to be. She’s also
pretty darn scary in her austerity and brilliance. But she has a vulnerability
too and her life started out pretty tough and therefore, every time I revisit
the book, I like her more.
Have you had a "rock star" moment regarding your writing career? If so,
what was it?
My first novel was The Professors’ Wives’ Club. A couple of months after its
release, a woman contacted me and said she’d read and enjoyed the book. She told
me she was a professor’s wife and after a few emails, she revealed that she was
the wife of a very distinguished professor of cultural studies whose work I’d
read, who I’d seen giving keynotes talks at conferences, and whose work greatly
influenced the writing of Crossing Washington Square. Not really a “rock star”
moment, but still exciting to know the wives of influential professors
(professors I really dig!) read my book.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I have a six year old son who is homeschooled, so that’s what I’m mostly doing
when I’m not writing. Although, “homeschool” is somewhat a misnomer as we spend
a relatively small amount of time schooling at “home.” We live in New York so
are lucky enough to have an amazing array of fun and educational places on our
doorstep. Benny and I, together with his homeschooled friends, are always out on
trips to the Met, the Natural History Museum, aquariums, zoos, galleries,
libraries, and parks. When we’re not out and about, Benny and I love to read –
either together or separately. I’m so thankful he loves books like I do!
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on final edits for my third novel which was bought by Penguin last
fall. The novel tells the story of a woman who thinks she might be related to
the nineteenth century writer, Mary Shelley. On her journey to seek the truth
and to discover if there really is a link between her own family and the creator
of Frankenstein, Clara unearths surprising facts about people much closer to
home – including some shocking secrets about the ambitious scientist she is
engaged to. The book is told in alternating points of view between Clara and the
young Mary Shelley who is preparing to write Frankenstein.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
For each entry, please leave a seperate comment, this will make it easier to draw a winner as I won't be able to go back and count each entry. Also, make sure that you include your email or that your email is in your blog profile. If I have no way of contacting you by email, your entry will automatically be withdrawn.
This giveaway is ONLY open to US and Canada, (No PO Boxes Please)
I'll use random.org to draw a winner and the contest will end on September 2nd , 2009 at Midnight EST. Good Luck!!
GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED
For each entry, please leave a seperate comment, this will make it easier to draw a winner as I won't be able to go back and count each entry. Also, make sure that you include your email or that your email is in your blog profile. If I have no way of contacting you by email, your entry will automatically be withdrawn.
Nikki, the main character, is 14 years old and an eighth-grader at a "new" private school and she is the "new" girl in town. That is always so hard and many girls will relate to this. I moved in the middle of first grade and I know how hard that was. I can only imagine what being the new girl in middle school would be like. Nikki desperately wants an i-phone so that she can be "cool" and accepted by the other girls. She does some hilarious things along the way in trying to be cool. Her mother tries to understand and gives her a diary to help her adjust to her new school. This is definitely now what Nikki thinks is cool but she ends up filling it with her writings and drawings. The story is told in Nikki's voice through daily diary entries complete with wonderful whimsical drawings, sketches, doodles and comic strips all drawn by Nikki. These drawings are illustrated by the author Rachel Renee Russell, she's a very talented lady. (You must check out Rachel's guest post that she wrote yesterday along with a very special drawing, you can find it here)
I laughed along with Nikki and felt her pain and awkward moments as well. We all go through those growing up and Ms. Russell honed in on typical challenges that girls of middle school would face such as peer pressure, being popular and accepted, finding your identity and who your "true" friends are and even dealing with your first crush. Nikki got herself into some sticky situations and was able to figure her way out with her wits and talents as well as her friends support. She has to face down the popular girl who humilites her and not be intimidated and that takes a lot of strength for a young girl.
Nikki seems like a typical teenager and although she feels like a dork, in reality she is not. The author did a wonderful job in having Nikki be a relatable character. I think that many young girls will relate to her. As an adult reading this book, it brought back memories of my own teen years. I liked that Nikki has a normal family with typical issues to deal with such as annoying siblings, and being embarressed of your parents and a relationship with her grandma who gives her advice and is someone that she can turn to. In the end, I think that Nikki realizes that her parents have her best interest at heart and Nikki realizes how important family is.
Check out Dork Diaries Blog, here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NIKKI'S PURSE GIVEAWAY:
(GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED)
Giveaway Details:
For each entry, please leave a seperate comment, this will make it easier to draw a winner as I won't be able to go back and count each entry. Also, make sure that you include your email or that your email is in your blog profile. If I have no way of contacting you by email, your entry will automatically be withdrawn.
Check out my husband Greg's review HERE.
To Enter: Please leave a ccomment here on the review of The Survivors Club which you can find just below this post or through this link.
Rules of the Giveaway:
~REMINDER~
To Enter: Please comment on the review of Outliers which you can find just below this post or through this link.
Rules of the Giveaway:
***GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED!!***
To Enter:
Please make sure that I have a way to contact you by email as I would hate for you to lose out on the opportunity to win a copy of this book. If there is not an email in your post or through your blog profile, I will not be able to add your name to the drawing. I will use random.org to randomly choose the winners. The contest will end January 11th, 2009 at Midnight, EST.
***GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED!!***
By Karen Page, Andrew Dornenburg
Hachette Books has graciously offered to allow me to host two wonderful Cookbook Giveaways. This is Giveaway #1 and you will have a chance to win one of 3 Copies of The Flavor Bible!! This contest has some restrictions, only residents of the U.S. (No P.O. Boxes) or Canada are eligible to win. To Enter:
Please make sure that I have a way to contact you by email as I would hate for you to lose out on the opportunity to win a copy of this book. If there is not an email in your post or through your blog profile, I will not be able to add your name to the drawing. I will use random.org to randomly choose the winners. The contest will end January 11th, 2009 at Midnight, EST.
**You can view a trailer for the game at The Game Factory .
*This game can be purchased at Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, Gamespot and most other game retailers.
Ebay Celebrity Auction of celebrity-built Build-A-Bear Workshop bears!!
Ebay is auctioning off celebrity-built Build-A-Bear Workshop bears, along with autographed copies of the Build-A-Bear Wii game. These bears and signed games will be on eBay's Giving Works to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California. These one-of-a-kind bears were built by celebrities like Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott, the Jonas Brothers, James Gandolfini, Melissa Joan Hart, Bonnie Hunt, Mitchel Musso, Meaghan Jette Martin and more.
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*This bear was made by Allie Grant (Isabelle Hodes from Weeds) and comes with an autographed copy of the new Build-A-Bear Wii game.
*******
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
One Lucky winner will receive one Build-A-Bear Nintendo Wii Game from The Game Factory. To Enter:
**This giveaway will end December 6th at Midnight Eastern Time. I will use Random.org to pick a winner. This giveaway is open to US and Canada only. Game Factory will send out the game directly to the winner, hopefully in time for the Holidays.
Thanks To:
