Novia $50 Gift Certificate (ends 10/31)

Recently, I was contacted by a NOVIA about doing a review and giveaway for them. NOVICA is one of the leading fair trade artisan websites. They work with National Geographic to give talented artisans around the world a place to express their artistic talents and provide access to the world market. Specifically, they offer a wide variety of unique, green, fair trade corporate gifts.  They also promote microfinance to help talented artisans grow.

Fair trade and talented artisans is a win-win combo to me, so this was a no-brainer to accept.  I have a little problem, however, that I need your help with.  I cannot decide what to review!  In short, the artists are simply too talented and I love them all! 

For instance, what about this Murano glass vase?   

Or what about this exquisite silver cuff bracelet?

Decisions, Decisions!  Their corporate gifts are amazing!

Giveaway Rules:  In a single comment go to Novica's corporate gift section and tell me what I should review.  Do not worry about the cost, but do tell me why I should review this particular item.  In addition, please leave your email in your comment. 

Also for this giveaway, you must follow Metroreader to enter.  

One entry person with a maximum of two entries per household and every entrant must be a follower.

Good news for my international followers this giveaway is probably open to you too.  Check here to see if NOVICA ships to your country.

Lastly, No PO Boxes as NOVICA is unable to ship to these addresses.

Have fun and good luck!  Giveaway ends 10/31/10.

Lost and Found

Author's Summary. After 10 years as a pastor, David was burned out and stuck in a life and marriage that lacked passion. His desire for an intimate partnership led him to leave his mistress of ‘ministry’ and run into the arms of a real-life mistress — his wife’s best friend. After moving in with one another and spending forty days together, the woman abruptly left to go back to her husband and four kids, and David’s life hit rock bottom.

This first-hand account of what led to his burnout and life implosion takes the reader on a raw and intimate journey…from illicit affair to hospitalization and ultimately to reconciliation with his wife and family. This is a powerful story of redemption that will leave the reader both challenged and inspired.

Review. Appearances are often deceiving. On the outside David Trotter had it all: loving wife and children; leader of a successful church; and countless friends/parishioners. However, on the inside, his life was imploding. Lost and Found details the author’s self destruction and eventual recovery.

After a decade as a pastor and thirteen years of marriage, Trotter’s “care bucket” was empty. All he wanted was out: out of his marriage and out of his career. And in the curse of answered prayers, the opportunity arose in the form of his wife’s best friend. On an extended trip to India with a few parishioners, Trotter becomes emotionally involved with the friend. Shortly thereafter, he leaves his wife and his flock for the “other woman.” In an unexpected twist, however, the “best friend” returns to her husband. This leads to Trotter’s hospitalization for major depression and suicidal impulses. After he is released, Trotter begins to pick up the fragments of his life. As part of his journey he seeks to reconcile with the family he abandoned. To his credit Trotter does not want to return to his old ways and patterns, but rather to connect in a new way as a full partner-spouse and an involved parent.

Lost and Found is a raw book that is written to reflect the author’s feelings at the moment being recounted. As the Trotter notes:

“Rather than sanitize my experience, I have chosen to tell it as I remember it. My desire is that you will experience the highest ‘highs’ and the lowest ‘lows’ as I search for the life that I always wanted. In my opinion, the power of my redemption is fully experienced against the backdrop of the depravity of my search.”

Reading Lost and Found I often found myself wondering what Laura (Trotter’s wife) felt at the time. While I realize that this is Trotter’s story and that the book does include an afterword by her, I missed her perspective – especially in her courageous decision to forgive and reconcile.

Nevertheless, Lost and Found is a noteworthy book about how to recover from a disastrous decision. In particular, it is a powerful testimony about how to revive a marriage left for dead due to a partner’s infidelity. Divorce is not the only option. There can be a path to healing and redemption.

Kudos to David Trotter for sharing his story in Lost and Found!


Review copy provided courtesy of the author.

God and Dog Giveaway (ends October 14th )

Publisher's Summary. GOD AND DOG is a phenomenon. First appearing on YouTube, the video of Wendy Francisco's charming animated illustrations and moving song tells of the unconditional love of both God and Dog.

With over 2 million YouTube viewings to date, Francisco's story appeals to all ages, to animal enthusiasts, to people of religious persuasions, and especially to anyone who has been loved by a dog.

Now in book format, Wendy's touching narrative will be expanded on through additional lyrics, illustrations, photographs and some of the powerful mail that is continually being sent to Francisco.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away TWO copies of this sweet book!

Entry: Comment with your email address in the body of the comment (you can list it as mary123 (at) yahoo(dot)com). If you do not list your email address your entry will not count.

Extra Entries: Sign up to follow my blog (or let me know that you are a current follower); follow me on twitter (DCMetroreader) and on Facebook (Metroreader). NOTE: These extra entries MUST be left in a separate comment or will not count.

The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.
You must be 18 years of age or older.
NO P.O. Boxes for the winner’s mailing address.

Giveaway ends October 14th. Good Luck!

Mailbox Monday -- September 27th

The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted this month by Bermudaonion's Weblog.


Below are the following advance review copies that I received this week:


1) The Power by Rhonda Byrne. Amazon Product Description. The Secret revealed the law of attraction. Now Rhonda Byrne reveals the greatest power in the universe -- The Power to have anything you want.

In this book you will come to understand that all it takes is just one thing to change your relationships, money, health, happiness, career, and your entire life.

Every discovery, invention, and human creation comes from The Power. Perfect health, incredible relationships, a career you love, a life filled with happiness, and the money you need to be, do, and have everything you want, all come from The Power.

The life of your dreams has always been closer to you than you realized, because The Power -- to have everything good in your life -- is inside you.

To create anything, to change anything, all it takes is just one thing…THE POWER.

Thanks to Atria Books!

2) Bloody Crimes by James Swanson. Publisher's Summary. On the morning of April 2, 1865, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, received a telegram from General Robert E. Lee. There is no more time—the Yankees are coming, it warned. Shortly before midnight, Davis boarded a train from Richmond and fled the capital, setting off an intense and thrilling chase in which Union cavalry hunted the Confederate president.

Two weeks later, President Lincoln was assassinated, and the nation was convinced that Davis was involved in the conspiracy that led to the crime. Lincoln's murder, autopsy, and White House funeral transfixed the nation. His final journey began when soldiers placed his corpse aboard a special train that would carry him home on the 1,600-mile trip to Springfield. Along the way, more than a million Americans looked upon their martyr's face, and several million watched the funeral train roll by. It was the largest and most magnificent funeral pageant in American history.

To the Union, Davis was no longer merely a traitor. He became a murderer, a wanted man with a $100,000 bounty on his head. Davis was hunted down and placed in captivity, the beginning of an intense and dramatic odyssey that would transform him into a martyr of the South's Lost Cause.

The saga that began with Manhunt continues with the suspenseful and electrifying Bloody Crimes. James Swanson masterfully weaves together the stories of two fallen leaders as they made their last expeditions through the bloody landscape of a wounded nation.

Thanks to Harper Collins!

3) And Then There Was One by Patricia Gussin. Publisher's Summary. One is the loneliest number.Nine years ago, Katie and Scott Monroe were blessed beyond their wildest dreams with identical triplets, Sammie, Alex, and Jackie. Three beautiful daughters and two adoring parents formed the picture-perfect party of five. But this tight-knit family unravels when the three little girls go to see a movie, but only one emerges from the darkness of the theater. How could Sammie and Alex vanish without a trace?Plunged into the abyss of a parent’s worst fear, Katie and Scott hang by a thread—waiting, worrying, not knowing, and confronting the terrifying realization that the kidnapping may not have been a random act.Who took Sammie and Alex? Why? Where are they? When will they be found? And what if they’re never found, or not found alive?When Jackie, the remaining triplet, crumbles under the weight of grief and survivor’s guilt, Katie and Scott struggle to hold out hope and hold on to what remains of their family.Until—or unless—Sammie and Alex are found safe, this picture-perfect family can’t be put back together again.

Thanks to Oceanview Publishing!

4) The World is Bigger Now by Euna Lee. Publisher's Summary. For the first time, Euna Lee—the young wife, mother, and film editor detained in North Korea—tells a harrowing, but ultimately inspiring, story of survival and faith in one of the most isolated parts of the world.

On March 17, 2009, Lee and her Current TV colleague Laura Ling were working on a documentary about the desperate lives of North Koreans fleeing their homeland for a chance at freedom when they were violently apprehended by North Korean soldiers. For nearly five months they remained detained while friends and family in the United States were given little information about their status or conditions. For Lee, detention would prove especially harrowing. Imprisoned just TK miles from where she was born and where her parents still live in Seoul, South Korea, she was branded as a betrayer of her Korean blood by her North Korean captors. After representing herself in her trial before North Korea’s highest court, she received a sentence of twelve years of hard labor in the country’s notorious prison camps, leading her to fear she might not ever see her husband and daughter again.

The World Is Bigger Now draws us deep into Euna Lee’s life before and after this experience: what led to her arrival in North Korea, her efforts to survive the agonizing months of detainment, and how she and her fellow captive, Ling, were finally released thanks to the efforts of many individuals, including Bill Clinton. Lee explains in unforgettable detail what it was like to lose, and then miraculously regain, life as she knew it.

The World Is Bigger Now is the story of faith and love and Euna Lee’s personal
conviction that God will sustain and protect us, even in our darkest hours.

Thanks to Random House!

5) The Human Bobby by Gabe Rotter. Publisher's Summary. A new baby, a loving wife, a solid career, a dream house in Beverly Hills: Dr. Bobby Flopkowski has it all. Until a complicated series of events snowball into a disaster that changes the course of his life forever.

Now, with a tent on the beach as his only home and an addiction that has cut him off from everyone he once loved, Bobby has a revelation that could put him back on track: he believes he has solved the puzzling crime that led to his downfall. But as the reality he's always known slips farther away, will he be able to convince someone—anyone—that his suspicions aren't merely the pleas of a desperate man?

Thanks to Simon and Schuster!

6) Life in the Slow Lane by Thomas Sullivan. Author's Summary. Life In The Slow Lane recounts a year the author spent teaching driver education for a cut-rate company in Portland, Oregon. The business playbook for this family-run operation was similar to that of BP -- use something until it breaks, apologize effusively, and then don't change. However, the company became the largest operator in the state primarily because the other companies were worse.

Set in a boomtown suburb being overrun by subdivisions and new Starbucks stores, this story is a microcosm of a mid-decade America shifting from business integrity to growth and profit by any means possible. It is also a darkly comic warning about the pitfalls of privatizing essential community functions in an attempt to save money. Yet, Life In The Slow Lane also reveals the humor and perseverance of kids who forge ahead while the cars they use break down and die.

Thanks to the Author!

7) God and Dog by Wendy Francisco. Publisher's Summary. GOD AND DOG is a phenomenon. First appearing on YouTube, the video of Wendy Francisco's charming animated illustrations and moving song tells of the unconditional love of both God and Dog.

With over 2 million YouTube viewings to date, Francisco's story appeals to all ages, to animal enthusiasts, to people of religious persuasions, and especially to anyone who has been loved by a dog.

Now in book format, Wendy's touching narrative will be expanded on through additional lyrics, illustrations, photographs and some of the powerful mail that is continually being sent to Francisco.

Thanks to Hachette Book Group!

Last Chance for Katie Up and Down the Hall

Today is your final opportunity to win a copy of this must read memoir, so be sure to enter here.

GoD And DoG by Wendy J Francisco

Publisher's Summary. GOD AND DOG is a phenomenon. First appearing on YouTube, the video of Wendy Francisco's charming animated illustrations and moving song tells of the unconditional love of both God and Dog.

With over 2 million YouTube viewings to date, Francisco's story appeals to all ages, to animal enthusiasts, to people of religious persuasions, and especially to anyone who has been loved by a dog.

Now in book format, Wendy's touching narrative will be expanded on through additional lyrics, illustrations, photographs and some of the powerful mail that is continually being sent to Francisco.

Review. God and Dog the book by Wendy Francisco is a sweet book based on the hit song You Tube video. The words are simple, but the message is profound: the amazing love, acceptance and forgiveness that God and our dogs show us. The illustrations are adorable too!

God and Dog would be the perfect gift for any dog lover!


Review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.

Winners!

Congrats to the winners of the Queen Pin Giveaway:

theluckyladybug
headlessfowl
lkish77123

Innocent Audiobook Giveaway (ends October 9th)

Publisher's Summary. The sequel to the genre-defining, landmark bestseller Presumed Innocent, INNOCENT continues the story of Rusty Sabich and Tommy Molto who are, once again, twenty years later, pitted against each other in a riveting psychological match after the mysterious death of Rusty's wife.


Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this exciting audiobook!

Entry: Comment with your email address in the body of the comment (you can list it as mary123 (at) yahoo(dot)com). If you do not list your email address your entry will not count.

Extra Entry: Sign up to follow my blog (or let me know that you are a current follower). NOTE: This extra entry MUST be left in a separate comment or it will not count.

The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.
You must be 18 years of age or older.
NO P.O. Boxes for the winner’s mailing address.

Giveaway ends October 9th . Good Luck!

War Audiobook Giveaway ends 10/9

Publisher's Summary. In his breakout bestseller, The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger created "a wild ride that brilliantly captures the awesome power of the raging sea and the often futile attempts of humans to withstand it" (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Now, Junger turns his brilliant and empathetic eye to the reality of combat--the fear, the honor, and the trust among men in an extreme situation whose survival depends on their absolute commitment to one another. His on-the-ground account follows a single platoon through a 15-month tour of duty in the most dangerous outpost in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this compelling audiobook!

Entry: Comment with your email address in the body of the comment (you can list it as mary123 (at) yahoo(dot)com). If you do not list your email address your entry will not count.

Extra Entry: Sign up to follow my blog (or let me know that you are a current follower). NOTE: This extra entry MUST be left in a separate comment or it will not count.

The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.
You must be 18 years of age or older.
NO P.O. Boxes for the winner’s mailing address.

Giveaway ends . Good Luck!

Mailbox Monday-- September 20th

The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted this month by Bermudaonion's Weblog. Below are the following advance review copies that I received this week:

1) Oogy by Larry Levin. Publisher's Summary. 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.

2) Dare to Take Charge by Judge Glenda Hachett. Publisher's Summary. For nearly ten years, Judge Glenda Hatchett has delighted TV audiences with a brand of justice that turns the everyday into something eminently watchable.

Her message can be distilled into the following two words: Dare Yourself. Whatever obstacles or fears one faces, Judge Hatchett's prescription implores readers to write their own story in this life. With care and conviction, Judge Hatchett uses real life stories from the courtroom and her personal life to counsel readers. Shows them how to find their true purpose and gifts, to be real about their reality and its potential outside of challenging circumstances, and to always be true to themselves.

Interactive as well as inspirational, DARE TO TAKE CHARGE challenges the reader to ask self-reflective questions that lead to moments of self-discovery and a defined pathway to healing. Daring her audience to study the positive with the same interest and intensity that they study the negative, Judge Hatchett uncovers the potential for grace and success in lives that are now punctuated with despair and unfaithfulness.

3) Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Publisher's Summary. Like many young Americans, Jonathan Safran Foer spent much of his teenage and college years oscillating between enthusiastic carnivore and occasional vegetarian. As he became a husband, and then a father, the moral dimensions of eating became increasingly important to him. Faced with the prospect of being unable to explain why we eat some animals and not others, Foer set out to explore the origins of many eating traditions and the fictions involved with creating them.

Traveling to the darkest corners of our dining habits, Foer raises the unspoken question behind every fish we eat, every chicken we fry, and every burger we grill. Part memoir and part investigative report, Eating Animals is a book that, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, places Jonathan Safran Foer "at the table with our greatest philosophers."

Thanks to Hachette Book Group!

4) Lost and Found by David Trotter. Author's Summary. After 10 years as a pastor, I was burned out and stuck in a life and marriage that lacked passion. My desire for an intimate partnership led me to leave my mistress of ‘ministry’ and run into the arms of a real-life mistress — my wife’s best friend. After moving in with one another and spending forty days together, the woman abruptly left to go back to her husband and four kids, and my life hit rock bottom.

This first-hand account of what led to my burnout and life implosion takes the reader on a raw and intimate journey…from illicit affair to hospitalization and ultimately to reconciliation with my wife and family. This is a powerful story of redemption that will leave the reader both challenged and inspired. (Warning: Although I was a Christian pastor for many years, this is not a “Christian” book per se. It is simply the telling of my raw and life-changing story which is accessible to all readers. Conservative audiences should be aware of language and the topic of sexuality.)

The reason why my wife and I are sharing our story is two-fold:

* To challenge other couples to invest in their current marriage.
* To inspire individuals who have gone through an affair that healing and/or reconciliation is possible.

Thanks to the author!

5) The Eleventh Hour Can't Last Forever by Alison Johnson. Publisher's Summary. "Two tons of silver and gold coins, hundreds of thousands of nickels, dimes, quarters, and gold pieces. They were under our beds, in the kitchen cupboards, up in the attics, in the bottom of dresser drawers, in holes in the ground. My father was obsessed with gathering up these coins and hiding them away in any likely spot in the houses and garages and store buildings he owned in our tiny town on the mid-Western prairie. Nothing could shake his belief that the total collapse of the American economy and government was just around the corner, a collapse that would bring anarchy and rioting in the streets. With this shadow of Armageddon always hanging over him, Dad believed that he could save his family from disaster only by collecting as much gold and silver as he could lay his hands on". Thus begins the saga of the Krotter family.

Alison Johnson's new book, "The Eleventh Hour Can't Last Forever," tells the story of the destructive obsession of her father, Dean Krotter, with buying and hoarding gold and silver coins and her family's problems as they dealt with living in a tiny Nebraska town that she describes as "about as far as one could get from civilization in the United States."


Thanks to Newman Communications.

The Eleventh Hour Can't Last Forever

Publisher's Summary. This highly unusual family memoir opens with these paragraphs:

Two tons of silver and gold coins, hundreds of thousands of nickels, dimes, quarters, and gold pieces. They were under our beds, in the kitchen cupboards, up in the attics, in the bottom of dresser drawers, in holes in the ground. My father was obsessed with gathering up these coins and hiding them away in any likely spot in the houses and garages and store buildings he owned in our tiny town on the mid-Western prairie. Nothing could shake his belief that the total collapse of the American economy and government was just around the corner, a collapse that would bring anarchy and rioting in the streets.

With this shadow of Armageddon always hanging over him, Dad believed that he could save his family from disaster only by collecting as much gold and silver as he could lay his hands on.

This fear of a future calamity that might leave his family penniless so dominated Dad's thoughts that he failed to see how his blind absorption in amassing wealth created family problems that would lead to his oldest son's hopeless alcoholism and his wife's mental collapse. My sister grew up so insecure that she eventually turned to the stars for answers to the frustrations of her life, immersing herself in the study of astrology. In the fairy tale, King Midas's daughter was miraculously restored to life after she had been turned to stone by her father's desire for gold, but Dad's destructive influence on his family could not be so easily reversed.

Our family home was in the small town of Palisade on the Nebraska prairie. Palisade lay in a flat river valley, and the hills that surrounded it on all sides cut off any extended view of a world beyond. Since rainfall in southwestern Nebraska was meager, the countryside yielded only a few scattered cottonwood trees clinging to the banks of the river or the tiny creeks trickling into it. The only large plants to survive on the open prairie were sunflowers and tall weeds that dried up in the autumn into prickly golden tumbleweeds that rolled restlessly over the fields, driven by the relentless winds sweeping across the plains.

When I was a child, Palisade had a population of 799. Everyone vaguely thought it should have been possible to come up with one more living soul to push us to the more impressive figure of 800, but 799 it was, and from this peak the population declined to 350 in only a few decades. Even the surrounding counties were sparsely populated. Palisade lay halfway between Denver and Lincoln, 250 miles from each–about as far as one could get from civilization in the United States. From the hills encircling the town, one could look for miles in any direction and see only an occasional farmhouse with its straggly windbreak of Russian olive trees, planted because they were one of the few trees that would survive wind and drought.

Review. Hoarding has come out of the closet and into the mainstream pop culture with the hit A&E show Hoarders and books such as Stuff (nonfiction) and Dirty Little Secrets (YA fiction). Joining this hoarding genre is The Eleventh Hour Can't Last Forever by Alison Johnson. In this sad memoir Johnson shares her family's unique hoarding story: two tons of silver and gold!

While many hoarders keep items that are of little value to anyone apart from the hoarder, Johnson's father kept silver and gold coins. Dean Krotter, Johnson's father, the son of a wealthy businessman, believed that another Great Depression was just around the corner. He also had hoarding tendencies (e.g. he once bought thirty boxes of Cross and Blackwell orange marmalade because he feared that it would be discontinued). To prepare for the impending doomsday Krotter hoarded as much silver and gold as he could acquire. Which with his wealth added up to two tons worth. Additionally, given his paranoia, Krotter did not trust his fortune to a bank vault, so he stashed his coins randomly around in the family houses, shed and back yard. Unfortunately, when the inevitable occurred -- when Krotter became feeble due to a stroke -- Johnson and her sister were left to hunt for the literally buried treasure. Further adding to the chaos was the dysfunctional family dynamics between Johnson and her siblings along with her mother's mental illness.

Johnson's family saga is a tragic, but fascinating one. Her vivid descriptions of searching for the coins are astonishing. At one point Johnson confesses:

"[E]ver since I was a child I have had recurring dreams that I am digging in the earth and discover coins. I suspect this is a fairly common dream, although Wells [the author's husband] never has such dreams and says it's in the genes. When we first found the buried coins that day, we were elated. Then as we transferred handful after handful of buried coins, becoming dirtier and dirtier with the brown dust from the earth and the black dust of the silver, an odd feeling of revulsion set in, and we started to feel bored and exhausted with whole operation. In fact, it soon became a joke among Wells, Diane [Johnson's sister] and me that one of us would go off looking somewhere and come back saying, 'Bad news, I found more coins!"

Amazing!

To paraphrase Tolstoy, Johnson's family dysfunction is unlike any this reader has ever read. If you enjoy outlandish, but true stories then The Eleventh Hour Can't Last Forever is a must read memoir!





Publisher: Cumberland Press (2008), 191 pages.
Review copy provided courtesy of the publicist.

Last Day to Win Queen Pin

Today is the last day to enter to win a copy of Queen Pin here.

What a Difference a Dog Makes

Publisher's Summary. Our dogs come into our lives as “just the family pet,” but before we know it they become drinking buddies and fuzzy shrinks, playmates and Cheerios-munching vacuum cleaners, alarm clocks and sleeping partners. And, in their mys­terious and muttish ways, our dogs become our teachers.

When Dana Jennings and his son were both seriously ill—Dana with prostate cancer and his son with liver failure—their twelve-year-old miniature poodle Bijou became even more than a pet and teacher. She became a healing presence in their lives. After all, when you’re recovering from radical surgery and your life is uncertain, there’s no better medicine than a twenty-three-pound pooch who lives by the motto that it’s always best to play, even when you’re old and creaky, even when you’re sick and frightened.

In telling Bijou’s tale in all of its funny, touching, and neurotic glory, Jennings is telling the story of every dog that has ever blessed our lives. The perfect gift for animal lovers, What a Difference a Dog Makes is a narrative ode to our canine guardian angels.

Review. Sometimes after a particularly long and tiring workday all I can think about is the greeting I will get when I arrive home: two rushing 100 pounds plus (yes, they're on a diet) of ecstatic, full frenzy, Labrador Retrievers with tails thumping and jaws loaded with gifts (usually with a rawhide or a fluffy) dancing in circles as if they haven't seen me in months. And I start to smile. I smile even if there is an accident that other dear family members have "missed" (read left for me to clean up). I smile even if my dear "puppy" (i.e. nearly four year old) Ashley has destroyed yet another pair of shoes, remote controller or other valuable. In short, my "girls" Maggie and Ashley's very presence in my life enhances it in immeasurable ways and allows me to forgive them almost any indiscretion.

Hence, it should come as no surprise that nearly any book that slaps a furry face on the cover has me from the get go. Thus, Dana Jennings's What a Difference a Dog Makes with the adorable Bijou de Minuit (Jewel of Midnight), a miniature poodle, on the cover, immediately captured my interest. Jennings wrote the book as tribute to Bijou who comforted him during his bout with cancer and during his son's liver failure. As the author confesses:

"We invite our dogs into our lives as 'just the family pet,' but often they end up being canine candles that blaze and shine, illuminating our lives. My family's furry candle is a miniature poodle named Bijou de Minuit . . . and over the years she has taught us countless lessons about life, love and healing."

I liked What a Difference a Dog Makes best when the author described how Bijou's presence aided him through his recovery from cancer. For instance, Jennings states: "As I lay on my post-op sickbed, Bijou taught me that the one best moment is the one we occupy right now . . . and now . . . and now -- and while we're here, could you scratch my ears just a bit . . . ." Unfortunately, the book is not soley about Bijou-the-nurse. The memoir also includes tales such as, Bijou's snaring a dead bird in her jaws; her penchant for socks; and her prowess at snatching baking morsels from the kitchen floor. While I have no doubt that these antics were cute when witnessed first hand, but as engaging literary fodder they miss the mark. Also, the book sometimes veers off into the author's experiences with other pets (guinea pigs, lizards and cats). Again while these stories are mildly interesting they tend to take the book off in another direction. Thus, while I enjoyed What a Difference a Dog Makes I did find my pleasure rose and fell depending on the story.

What a Difference a Dog Makes is an enjoyable, although mixed-bag, memoir that most dog lovers will enjoy.



Publisher: Doubleday (November 2, 2010), 176 pages.
Advance review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.

Guest Post: Evan Marshall and Martha Jewett

Eat Pray Write: Writing for the Pure Pleasure of It
By Evan Marshall and Martha Jewett,
Creators of The Marshall Plan ® Novel Writing Software

As literary agents, we earn our living selling books to publishers. However, we are also writers, and know the pleasure and fulfillment writing can bring, regardless of whether anyone else ever reads it. Some people paint or do handicrafts purely for pleasure. It never occurs to them to exploit their activity commercially. Why, then, has writing become a business in which you're nothing if you're not "sold"? We think it's because of media hype: There are riches there -- if you can figure out how to hit it big.

This seems a shame to us. Writing is a craft like any other, capable of bringing the same benefits as any other creative endeavor. Psychologist James W. Pennebaker conducted a study in which groups who wrote about traumatic or emotionally meaningful events, as opposed to groups who wrote about superficial topics and omitted emotions, showed improved health, immune function, hormonal activity and other biological markers of stress or disease. For those wishing to seek these same benefits, we offer the following ideas.

Memoirs

A way to bond with family and friends and leave a legacy, memoirs may take any of a number of forms. Martha has created a number of "recipe memoirs" -- brief pieces about people in her family, centering on a recipe connected to that person.

You'll find information and resources at Telling your story, a website maintained by writer, editor and personal historian Pat McNees. See also Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler's site, Women's Memoirs.

On our blog WriteYourMemoir.com you'll finds ideas for capturing your stories, from the abovementioned "recipe memoirs" to "magazine as memoir" and everything in between.

Journals and Diaries

Many diarists and journal writers find that even if they don't share their work with others, they still find they gain perspective and greater control over their lives.

Writing to Heal by the above mentioned James Pennebaker (mentioned above) is a guide to healing pain with "emotionally expressive writing." He stresses that the key to understanding and coming to terms with these experiences is storytelling.

In Writing as a Way of Healing, Louise DeSalvo recommends writing completely uncensored, recording every possible detail, which connects loss, pain and grief to an event and hastens healing.

Julia Cameron's The Right to Write maintains that "All of us have a sex drive. All of us have a drive to write." Writing, she says is a natural, joyful process that connects us to the divine.

The New Diary by Tristine Rainer goes beyond the familiar calendar-based diary to help readers clarify goals, focus inner energies, free inhibitions and release imagination.

Scrapbooking

Another method of recording memories is scrapbooking -- the making of highly creative albums containing not only writing but also memorabilia such as artwork, photographs, printed media and small objects.

The website Memory Makers Magazine provides a wealth of free tips on scrapbooking and ideas for scrapbook page layouts.

For the more technologically oriented, My Memories Suite software helps you create and share "digital scrapbooks."

Social Network Writing

The Internet makes it possible for writers to instantly share their work with readers around the world and receive their feedback. "User generated" content includes novels, poetry and stories.

Wattpad.com is an online community where writers and readers connect. Pieces may be read not only on a computer but also on mobile devices.

Textnovel.com is all about "cellphone novels." Authors and readers share novels, poetry, stories, journal entries or whatever they wish by email or text message.

Fictionpress.com is a network of over a million writers and readers sharing more than 1.2 million original works.

Fan Fiction

Fan fiction (also known as FF, fic, fanfic or fanfiction) is a term for social network fiction written by fans using characters from their favorite novels. These works are rarely published for profit and are intended to be read by other fans.

Thanks to the Internet, fans easily share stories in every genre. FanFiction.net, widely considered the largest, most popular fan fiction archive online, hosts millions of stories in dozens of languages.

Have you ever found yourself dreaming up new scenarios for characters in your favorite novels? Try fan fiction; however, bear in mind that attitudes toward FF vary among authors. Some give it their blessing while others oppose it. Still others seem to turn a "blind eye" -- not actively approving it yet not discouraging it so long as it is not published commercially.

See this helpful article by actress and journalist Racheline Maltese: How to Write Fanfiction: Tips for Writing, and Making Sure Somebody Reads Your Fanfiction.

The Internet has created new opportunities for pursuing all modes of writing for pleasure. But whether you go online or analog, the benefits of writing purely for yourself, rather than for publication, are limitless.
© 2010 Evan Marshall and Martha Jewett, creators of The Marshall Plan ® Novel Writing Software

Author Bios
Evan Marshall and Martha Jewett are the creators of The Marshall Plan® Novel Writing Software, an adaptation of the bestselling Marshall Plan® series of writing guides. Evan is an internationally recognized expert on fiction writing and author of the Hidden Manhattan and Jane Stuart and Winky mystery series. A former book editor, for 27 years he has been a leading literary agent specializing in fiction. He is the president of The Evan Marshall Agency, a leading literary management firm that represents a number of New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors. Martha is a former award-winning business book editor at McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, and HarperBusiness. She is currently a literary agent and editorial consultant specializing in business books. An avid memoirist, she blogs at www.writeyourmemoir.com.

For more information, please visit writeanovelfast.com and follow the authors on Facebook and Twitter. Ask your writing questions at The Marshall Plan® Forum.

How I Blog

For me blogging and eating go hand in hand. There is nothing like a latte and a buttery croissant to jumpstart the creative writing juices. This is why when I am blogging you will often find me tapping away on my laptop at the kitchen table.

Recently, however, I have been considering replacing my post-college Ikea table. While browsing at Dining Rooms Direct I discovered that they offer a wide selection of kitchen tables in various price ranges. For example, I found this welcoming kitchen table.



















And it retails for only $286 which is well within my budget. While I favor more casual kitchen tables Dining Rooms Direct also offers more formal dining tables too! Now if I can only find a table that is canine chew proof (as my dog Ashley sometimes gets the munchies for a good table leg)!


Disclosure: I will receive a small promotional code from CSN stores so that I may provide an unbiased review of a product (not pictured above).

Ah-Choo Giveaway (ends 10/2 )

Publisher's Summary. Some colds are like mice, timid and annoying; others like dragons, accompanied by body aches and deep misery. In AH-CHOO!, Jennifer Ackerman explains what, exactly, a cold is, how it works, and whether it's really possible to "fight one off." Scientists call this the Golden Age of the Common Cold because Americans suffer up to a billion colds each year, resulting in 40 million days of missed work and school and 100 million doctor visits. They've also learned over the past decade much more about what cold viruses are, what they do to the human body, and how symptoms can be addressed. In this ode to the odious cold, Ackerman sifts through the chatter about treatments-what works, what doesn't, and what can't hurt. She dispels myths, such as susceptibility to colds reflects a weakened immune system. And she tracks current research, including work at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, a world-renowned center of cold research studies, where the search for a cure continues.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this enlightening book!

Entry: Comment with your email address in the body of the comment (you can list it as mary123 (at) yahoo(dot)com). If you do not list your email address your entry will not count.

Extra Entry: Sign up to follow my blog (or let me know that you are a current follower). NOTE: This extra entry MUST be left in a separate comment or it will not count.

The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.
You must be 18 years of age or older.
NO P.O. Boxes for the winner’s mailing address.

Giveaway ends October 2nd. Good Luck!

Mailbox Monday -- September 13th

The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted this month by Bermudaonion's Weblog. Below are the following advance review copies that I received this week:

1) The Island by Elin Hilderbrand. Publisher's Summary. Birdie Cousins has planned a getaway with her daughter Chess on rustic, charming Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket, a chance to bond before Chess's upcoming marriage. Birdie's been through a difficult divorce herself, so she knows the big commitment that marriage entails. She's only recently dared to tiptoe back into the waters of romance.

When Chess abruptly breaks off the wedding and her fiancé shockingly dies in a rock climbing accident, it leaves Chess feeling guilty and deeply depressed. Birdie circles the wagons, convincing her younger daughter Tate, and her own sister India to join them on Tuckernuck for the month of July. Secrets and intrigue soon make their way to the surface, as Elin Hilderbrand once again weaves a masterful story of summer suspense.

2) Katie Up and Down the Hall by Glenn Plaskin. Publisher's Summary. A personal memoir by bestselling author and celebrity journalist Glenn Plaskin, KATIE is a moving story about a man who discovers the true meaning of family after adopting a cocker spaniel puppy. Through the magnetic personality of his mischievous dog, the author soon makes powerful connections with several of his down-the-hall neighbors in a high-rise located in the unique Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. First, Katie trots into the lives of Pearl and Arthur, a warm-hearted elderly couple just a few doors down from Glenn. Later, John, a single Dad, and his rambunctious young son, Ryan, also move in and are seduced by Katie's charms.

All of their lives are profoundly changed as they are transformed from neighbors to friends to family, with Pearl as matriarch. The motherless boy finds a "Granny"; his Dad inherits a mother, Glenn discovers a confidante. Set in New York City, we witness nearly sixteen years of antics and family adventures spanning Hollywood high times, bad health, accidents, blustery winters, even the terrors of 9/11. Through it all, the family clings to each other, sharing a deep bond that give each comfort, support and security.

Based upon a widely-read article in Family Circle, here is an unforgettable story about the love that makes a family-one that transcends the hard realities of time, tragedy, and inevitable loss.

Thanks to Hachette Book Group!

3) The Legacy by Kirsten Tranter. Publisher's Summary. At the center of The Legacy is the story of Julia Alpers, her friend Ralph, and the beautiful and wealthy Ingrid. As students in Sydney, the bond that ties this threesome together is complex—delicate and intense, shaped by intellect, and defined by desire. When Ingrid falls in love and marries the much older and very handsome Gil Grey, she decides to leave her friends and settle in New York City, where Gil is a major player in the art world. It is here that she becomes stepmother to Gil's teenage daughter, a former child prodigy, and begins her own work on rare, ancient texts called "curse scrolls" at Columbia University. But on the morning of September 11, 2001, she has an appointment downtown. And is never seen again.

Devastated and heartsick, Ralph sends Julia to New York to investigate Ingrid's last days. What Julia discovers plunges her more deeply into Ingrid's life than she could ever imagine. As Julia grows closer to unearthing the truth about Ingrid's death, she is forced to confront her conflicted feelings about her former friend and to make a crucial decision about her own future.

Praised by international critics as an "entertaining literary thriller that skillfully describes the almost pleasurable pain of love and life denied" (The Australian), The Legacy is an utterly addictive and beautifully written novel that introduces a brilliant new voice in fiction.

4) The Hanging Tree by Bryan Gruley. Publisher's Summary. WHEN GRACIE McBRIDE, the wild girl who had left town eighteen years earlier, is found dead in an apparent suicide shortly after her homecoming, it sends shock waves through her native Starvation Lake. Gus Carpenter, executive editor of the Pine County Pilot, sets out to solve the mystery with the help of his old flame and now girlfriend, Pine County sheriff deputy Darlene Esper. As Gus and Darlene investigate, they can't help but question if Gracie's troubled life really ended in suicide or if the suspicious crime-scene evidence adds up to murder.

But in such a small town it's impossible to be an impartial investigator—Gracie was Gus's second cousin; Darlene's best friend; and the lover of Gus's oldest pal, Soupy Campbell. Yet with all the bad blood between Gus and Gracie over the years, Gus is easily distracted by other problems. His employer is trying to push him out, the locals are annoyed that his stories have halted construction on a new hockey rink, and Darlene's estranged husband has returned to reclaim his wife.

When Gus tries to retrace Gracie's steps to discover what happened to her in the eighteen years she was away from Starvation Lake, he's forced to return to Detroit, the scene of his humiliating past. And though he's determined to find out what drove Gracie back home, Gus is unprepared for the terrible secrets he uncovers.

The second book in Bryan Gruley's irresistible Starvation Lake series, The Hanging Tree is a compelling story about family and friendship, sex and violence, and the failure of love to make everything right.

5) One Flight Up by Susan Fales-Hill. Publisher's Summary. What happens after happily-ever-after fades? Can the answer be found one flight up?

India, Abby, Esme, and Monique have all been friends since their days at Manhattan's Sibley School for Girls. From the outside, these four women—all grown up now—seem to be living ideal lives, yet each finds herself suddenly craving more.

India Chumley is a whip-smart divorce lawyer who routinely declines the marriage proposals of her charming French boyfriend, Julien. She's taking the first plunge by moving in with him, but she's keeping her own apartment—and keeping it a secret from him.

Abby Rosenfeld Adams is an irrepressibly upbeat gallery owner who married her WASP college sweet heart, a passionate but tormented sculptor. When she suspects he is cheating on her, she realizes that perhaps there's more to life than reassuring her husband of his artistic brilliance.

Esme Sarmiento Talbot is a Colombian Scarlett O'Hara, bored with her proper Connecticut life and her tame, all-American husband. In order to satisfy her sensuality, she escapes to Manhattan and distracts herself with casual encounters.

A card-carrying member of Harlem's thriving buppie-ocracy and a successful gynecologist, Monique Dawkins-Dubois is married to a powerful but dull financier who barely notices her anymore. When an attractive coworker beckons, Monique can't help but be flattered.

The most straitlaced of them all, India is dismayed by her friends' illicit activities. That is, until her ex-fiancÉ, the love of her life and the destroyer of her heart, reappears in New York— and she finds herself caught between the dependable man she thought was her future and the man she never quite let go of.

Dazzling and sexy, One Flight Up is an irresistible comedic romp through the boardrooms, bedrooms, and ballrooms of Manhattan and Paris.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster!

Consider the Gulf (or How I Spent My Summer Vacation)

Labor Day has always marked the end of summer for me. This year as I have done for many years I spent my vacation soaking up rays on the emerald sands of Panama City Beach, Florida. And while I was concerned about the potential fallout from the BP oil disaster I can honestly say that there were no tar balls or oil slicks in the water during my stay. This year more than ever I wanted to support my home away from home.

My stay, however, was not altruistic. My family had a blast enjoying both the natural and man made amenities of the area! If you have never had the pleasure of visiting you’re in for a real treat! Starting with the brand spanking new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport getting to the area has never been easier. And after you have unpacked there are nearly endless activities to partake in (besides lounging on one of the whitest and softest beaches in the world) including: browsing through the one million square feet entertainment-shopping complex Pier Park; swimming with dolphins at Gulf World Marine Park ; riding a virtual roller coaster at Wonderworks and cruising/dining on the Lady Anderson. Speaking of dining, there is no shortage of gastronomic opportunities in Panama City Beach, such as, mouthwatering ribs at Pineapple Willy's, fine dining at Boar's Head and my personal favorite for the best seafood on the Gulf Captain Anderson's.


So take it from me for your next vacation consider the Gulf. You won’t be disappointed!

Winners!

Congrats to the winners of The War Lovers Giveaway:
squeakandus
ruthiekb72
ludeluh

Dear Austin -- A Letter to My Son

Author's Summary. It comes to pass, in every parent’s life, that a child will begin preparations to leave home. Some will be off to college, some will go to the military or other national service, and many will just strike out to seek their fortunes in whatever fields have captured their imaginations.

It’s at this moment, when the preparation begins, that most parents will realize that all those heart-to-heart talks they always intended to have with their offspring somehow never took place. Or, at the very least, that many of them managed to slip through the cracks.

It was in this environment of not-quite-panic that I sat down at my computer to make up for missed opportunities. I had no idea what I was going to say to my son, but I knew I had to say something.

The eventual letter, which follows, came as something of a surprise to me. Not right away, but later, as I’ll explain. And the chance sharing of this letter with a friend, at a similar place in life, resulted in me being encouraged to share it with others. Thank you, Lia.

After installing my son in his college dorm, and leaving the letter with him, my wife and I spent a very quiet five hours driving back home. I guess we were both lost in our own thoughts about the past, the future, and the somewhat less than action-packed present.When we arrived home, I went to my office and read the letter again, to myself. Several times, I confess. This is when I had my epiphany. I’ve never had one before, but I’m pretty sure that’s what it was.

I concluded that my subconscious had tricked me into writing what I believed were things my son needed to hear; about me, about life, and about his future. And while I still hope that he may find something of value in it, I came to realize that I had actually written things that I needed to know; about him, about his life, and about our relationship. I was writing to me, as much as to him. Not all of it, of course, but just enough to reassure myself that he would be alright.

This awareness allowed me to suddenly let go of some of the sadness about his leaving, and to replace it with some of the hope and excitement that he must be feeling now. It is in this spirit, and with my son’s permission, that I share this letter with any parent who has lost, or will lose, a child to higher education, or military service, or to the most dreaded thief of all, adulthood.

David M. Perkins
April 2010

Review. Leaving home for the first time is one of life’s pivotal moments. On the eve of David Perkins’ son’s college departure the author pens a letter to him: Dear Austin - A Letter to My Son.

At 56 pages in total Dear Austin is easily digested in one sitting, but will be savored long after finishing the last page. In this slim book Perkins has managed to distill the essence of a fulfilling life:

• Although the relationship changes parents will always “be there” for their children.
• Don’t squander the opportunities presented at college.
• Follow dreams, discover passions, and find “truths”.
• Be careful making choices and accept responsibility for these decisions.
• Be open and curious.
• Keep a place for music in your life.
• Don’t be afraid to fail.
• Treat women well.
• Broken hearts heal.
• Give back to the world.
• Be a good friend.
• Be happy!

Dear Austin is one of those rare books that both parents and young adults will appreciate. The prose is sparse, but penetrating and straightforward. In fact, I re-read a few of the passages because I wanted to reflect further on them.

I wish Dear Austin had been around when my son left for college. I highly recommend it to other parents in similar transitional periods!






Publisher: CreateSpace (July 13, 2010), 56 pages.
Advance review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.

All Over the Map

Publisher's Summary. On a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, to celebrate her fortieth birthday, Laura Fraser confronts the unique trajectory of her life. Divorced and childless in her thirties, she found solace in the wanderlust that had always directed her heart—and found love and comfort in the arms of a dashing Frenchman. Their Italian affair brought her back to herself—but now she wonders if her passion for travel (and for short-lived romantic rendezvous) has deprived her of what she secretly wants most from life: a husband, a family, a home.

When her Parisian lover meets her in Oaxaca and gives her news that he’s found someone new, Laura is stunned and hurt. Now, it seems, she has nothing but her own independence for company—and, at forty, a lot more wrinkles on her face and fewer years of fertility. How is Laura going to reconcile what seem to be two opposite desires: for adventure, travel, great food, and new experiences, but also a place to call home—and a loving pair of arms to greet her there?

And so, she globe hops. What else is a travel writer to do? From Argentina to Peru, Naples to Paris, she basks in the glow of new cultures and local delicacies, always on the lookout for the “one” who might become a lifelong companion. But when a terrible incident occurs while she’s on assignment in the South Pacific, Laura suddenly finds herself more aware of her vulnerability and becomes afraid of traveling. It seems as if she might lose the very thing that has given her so much pleasure in her life, not to mention the career she has built for herself as a world traveler and chronicler of far-flung places.

Finding herself again will be both more difficult and more natural than she imagined. Ultimately, Laura realizes the most important journey she must take is an internal one. And the tale of how she reaches that place will captivate every woman who has ever yearned for a different life.

Review. Travel has always satisfied author Laura Fraser in a way that no man ever has. During her nearly four decades Fraser has accrued thousands of frequent flyer miles crammed with global adventures. However, after a lover’s rejection and a disturbing event, Fraser, single and childless, reconsiders settling down.

On the eve of her fortieth birthday Fraser is riding high in Oaxaca, Mexico waiting for her Parisian boyfriend, the Professor, to join her to celebrate. His arrival is a mixed blessing as he informs her that he is in love with another woman. True to form Fraser responds by setting out on more globe trotting. While traveling an event happens that causes Fraser to fear solo travel. During the span of years between forty and forty six, Fraser details her quest in All Over the Map to find a boyfriend to settle down with and create a home.

Part travel memoir and part personal memoir All Over the Map explores how the farthest journey is sometimes finding one’s place in the world.



Publisher: Harmony (June 1, 2010), 288 pages.
Review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.

Katie Up and Down the Hall

Publisher's Summary. A personal memoir by bestselling author and celebrity journalist Glenn Plaskin, KATIE is a moving story about a man who discovers the true meaning of family after adopting a cocker spaniel puppy. Through the magnetic personality of his mischievous dog, the author soon makes powerful connections with several of his down-the-hall neighbors in a high-rise located in the unique Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. First, Katie trots into the lives of Pearl and Arthur, a warm-hearted elderly couple just a few doors down from Glenn. Later, John, a single Dad, and his rambunctious young son, Ryan, also move in and are seduced by Katie's charms.

All of their lives are profoundly changed as they are transformed from neighbors to friends to family, with Pearl as matriarch. The motherless boy finds a "Granny"; his Dad inherits a mother, Glenn discovers a confidante. Set in New York City, we witness nearly sixteen years of antics and family adventures spanning Hollywood high times, bad health, accidents, blustery winters, even the terrors of 9/11. Through it all, the family clings to each other, sharing a deep bond that give each comfort, support and security.

Based upon a widely-read article in Family Circle, here is an unforgettable story about the love that makes a family-one that transcends the hard realities of time, tragedy, and inevitable loss.

Review. What makes a family? Shared DNA? Official legal documents? What about a shared dog? In the memoir Katie Up in Down the Hall by Glenn Plaskin a group of five neighbors form a bond through a little blonde Cocker Spaniel named Katie.

When Manhattan apartment dweller and formerly dogless Plaskin adopts Katie he is overwhelmed with questions on how to take care of her. A mutual acquaintance introduces him to neighbors Pearl and her husband Arthur, an elderly couple who live down the hall and who had recently lost their Cocker Spaniel. Pearl and Arthur quickly adopt Katie and Plaskin into their fold with shared meals and pet sitting Katie during the day while the author worked. A few years later, single father John and his young son Ryan move onto the same floor as Plaskin and company. Motherless Ryan becomes enamored with Katie and Pearl and so the triad expands to five in number. Over the next decade the gang shares triumphs and tragedies along with the flotsam and jetsam that comprise everyday living. As Plaskin later reflects, “what I had experienced was the abiding love of family – in the form that I had found it . . . .”

Katie Up and Down the Hall is much more than a dog memoir (although I would have enjoyed it even if it only operated on that level). Rather it is a moving story of how love blossoms in the most untraditional of circumstances.

Katie Up and Down the Hall is a sweet story that will warm the hearts of both canine and non-canine owners alike – just keep the Kleenex handy!



Advance review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.

Katie Up and Down the Hall Giveaway (ends 9/25)

Publisher's Summary. A personal memoir by bestselling author and celebrity journalist Glenn Plaskin, KATIE is a moving story about a man who discovers the true meaning of family after adopting a cocker spaniel puppy. Through the magnetic personality of his mischievous dog, the author soon makes powerful connections with several of his down-the-hall neighbors in a high-rise located in the unique Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. First, Katie trots into the lives of Pearl and Arthur, a warm-hearted elderly couple just a few doors down from Glenn. Later, John, a single Dad, and his rambunctious young son, Ryan, also move in and are seduced by Katie's charms.

All of their lives are profoundly changed as they are transformed from neighbors to friends to family, with Pearl as matriarch. The motherless boy finds a "Granny"; his Dad inherits a mother, Glenn discovers a confidante. Set in New York City, we witness nearly sixteen years of antics and family adventures spanning Hollywood high times, bad health, accidents, blustery winters, even the terrors of 9/11. Through it all, the family clings to each other, sharing a deep bond that give each comfort, support and security.

Based upon a widely-read article in Family Circle, here is an unforgettable story about the love that makes a family-one that transcends the hard realities of time, tragedy, and inevitable loss.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this engaging book.

Entry: Comment with your email address in the body of the comment (you can list it as mary123 (at) yahoo(dot)com). If you do not list your email address your entry will not count.

Extra Entries: Sign up to follow my blog (or let me know that you are a current follower); follow me on twitter (DCMetroreader) and on Facebook (Metroreader). NOTE: These extra entries MUST be left in a separate comment or will not count.


The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.
You must be 18 years of age or older.
NO P.O. Boxes for the winner’s mailing address.

Giveaway ends September 25th. Good Luck!

Mailbox Monday -- September 6th

The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted this month by Bermudaonion's Weblog. Below are the following advance review copies that I received this week:

1) Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruise. Publisher's Summary. Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything.
When Andie meets the two children she quickly realizes things are much worse than she feared. The place is a mess, the children, Carter and Alice, aren’t your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. What’s worse, Andie’s fiancé thinks this is all a plan by North to get Andie back, and he may be right. Andie’s dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that’s not the only haunting.

What follows is a hilarious adventure in exorcism, including a self-doubting parapsychologist, an annoyed medium, her Tarot-card reading mother, an avenging ex-mother-inlaw, and, of course, her jealous fiancé. And just when she thinks things couldn’t get more complicated, North shows up on the doorstep making her wonder if maybe this time things could be different between them.
If Andie can just get rid of all the guests and ghosts, she’s pretty sure she can save the kids, and herself, from the past. But fate might just have another thing in mind…


Thanks to Harper Collins!
2) Half Empty by David Rakoff. Publisher's Summary. Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.” The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on, as Bryson shows how each has fig­ured in the evolution of private life. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our house, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows and every item of furniture.

Bill Bryson has one of the liveliest, most inquisitive minds on the planet, and he is a master at turning the seemingly isolated or mundane fact into an occasion for the most diverting exposi­tion imaginable. His wit and sheer prose fluency make At Home one of the most entertaining books ever written about private life.


Thanks to Doubleday!
3) Dewey's Nine Lives by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter. Publisher's Summary. Dewey's Nine Lives offers nine funny, inspiring, and heartwarming stories about cats--all told from the perspective of "Dewey's Mom," librarian Vicki Myron. The amazing felines in this book include Dewey, of course, whose further never-before-told adventures are shared, and several others who Vicki found out about when their owners reached out to her. Vicki learned, through extensive interviews and story sharing, what made these cats special, and how they fit into Dewey's community of perseverance and love. From a divorced mother in Alaska who saved a drowning kitten on Christmas Eve to a troubled Vietnam veteran whose heart was opened by his long relationship with a rescued cat, these Dewey-style stories will inspire readers to laugh, cry, care, and, most importantly, believe in the magic of animals to touch individual lives.

Thanks to Penguin Group!

4) At Home by Bill Bryson. Publisher's Summary. Bill Bryson and his family live in a Victorian parsonage in a part of England where nothing of any great significance has happened since the Romans decamped. Yet one day, he began to consider how very little he knew about the ordinary things of life as he found it in that comfortable home. To remedy this, he formed the idea of journeying about his house from room to room to “write a history of the world without leaving home.” The bathroom provides the occasion for a history of hygiene; the bedroom, sex, death, and sleep; the kitchen, nutrition and the spice trade; and so on, as Bryson shows how each has fig­ured in the evolution of private life. Whatever happens in the world, he demonstrates, ends up in our house, in the paint and the pipes and the pillows and every item of furniture.

Bill Bryson has one of the liveliest, most inquisitive minds on the planet, and he is a master at turning the seemingly isolated or mundane fact into an occasion for the most diverting exposi­tion imaginable. His wit and sheer prose fluency make At Home one of the most entertaining books ever written about private life.

Thanks to Random House!

5) The Girls from the Revolutionary Cantina by M. Padilla. Publisher's Summary. nspired by their good-natured rivalry, career-oriented best friends Julia Juarez and Ime Benevides have never let anything come between them. Then enters Julia's new coworker, Ilario, who pulls both women's heartstrings, disrupts their friendship, and brings Julia's career to the brink of disaster.

Looking for support, Julia turns to her other friends: Concepción, a party-obsessed dance instructor; Nina, a timid but shrewd seamstress who's not too taken with her fiancé; and Marta, owner of the Revolutionary Cantina, who is preoccupied with the details of a Hollywood murder case. When they involve Julia in a risky scheme, she must choose between her loyalty to her friends and a chance to live the life she's worked so hard to achieve.

Boasting irreverent, edgy humor and a clear sense of Southern Californian culture, this hilarious, insightful debut novel by award-winning author M. Padilla brilliantly captures the comforts and dangers of friendship.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin!

6) Dear Austin by David Perkins. Publisher's Summary.
We’re born.
We go to school.
We grow up and become adults.

Along the way, we want to love and be loved.
We have hopes and dreams for our future.
We have ambitions to do something great with our lives.

And, sometimes things don’t go as planned.

We find ourselves in situations we never dreamed of…
Experiencing disappointment, pain, and brokenness.
Will we ever find a path toward the life we truly long for?

Maybe getting lost will lead to being truly found.

Thanks to the author!