Tuesday, June 29, 2010

101 Things I Learned in Culinary School Giveaway (ends July 17th )



















Publisher's Summary. Louis Eguaras, a renowned chef at the Le Cordon Bleu Program at the California School of Culinary Arts, provides readers with a terrific overview of what is truly involved in the preparation, cooking, and presentation of meals. He also provides invaluable insights into just what is involved in making this one's chosen profession.

The book will feature a wide range of illustrated lessons, from how to properly hold a knife... to the history of food... from food preparation and presentation... to restaurant hospitality and management, and much more.

The book will be presented in the distinctive and highly-attractive packaged style of 101 THINGS I LEARNED IN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL, and will be the perfect gift for anyone who is thinking about entering culinary school, is already enrolled, or even just the casual chef.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this fantastic 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 July 17th. Good Luck!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Mailbox Monday -- June 28th











The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page. Below are the following advance review copies that I received this week:

1) Adam and Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund. Booklist Review. This outlandish stew of biblical analogy, political thriller, futuristic speculation, and old-fashioned adventure story by the best-selling author of Ahab’s Wife (1999) teases and frustrates the reader. Lucy Bergmann is, in her own words, an “ordinary wife of a revered man.” Her husband, highly regarded in the international scientific community, has discovered evidence of extraterrestrial life. Accompanied by Lucy, he takes his findings to a conference in Cairo (the time is a decade from now) and unexpectedly dies there, leaving his material in Lucy’s care. Adding to the distress of sudden widowhood and guardianship of revolutionary data, she is asked to smuggle to Europe an ancient codex offering a new version of the Book of Genesis. The plane she pilots—yes, she just happens to be a pilot!—crashes, affording her an encounter with the gorgeous Adam, an injured, delusional American soldier. They build a relationship in what they regard as Eden, but they must eventually forsake this lush garden to rejoin society; the whys and hows of their expulsion are an even match with the amazing events that have come before. For the first half of the novel, there may be reluctance to suspend disbelief in the incredible events that unfold. Eventually, however, many will find the metaphorical loftiness engaging. --Brad Hooper

Thanks to Harper Collins!

2) Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber. Publisher's Summary. My darling Michael, 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 a cafĂ© on Seattle's Blossom Street. 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.

Thanks to Bookfan Mary!

3) The Mountaon Between Us by Charles Martin. Publisher's Summary. On a stormy winter night, two strangers wait for a flight at the Salt Lake City airport. Ashley Knox is an attractive, successful writer, who is flying East for her much anticipated wedding. Dr. Ben Payne has just wrapped up a medical conference and is also eager to get back East for a slate of surgeries he has scheduled for the following day. When the last outgoing flight is cancelled due to a broken de-icer and a forthcoming storm, Ben finds a charter plane that can take him around the storm and drop him in Denver to catch a connection. And when the pilot says the single engine prop plane can fit one more, if barely, Ben offers the seat to Ashley knowing that she needs to get back just as urgently. And then the unthinkable happens. The pilot has a heart attack mid-flight and the plane crashes into the High Uintas Wilderness-- one of the largest stretches of harsh and remote land in the United States.

Ben, who has broken ribs and Ashley, who suffers a terrible leg fracture, along with the pilot's dog, are faced with an incredibly harrowing battle to survive. Fortunately, Ben is a medical professional and avid climber (and in a lucky break, has his gear from a climb earlier in the week). With little hope for rescue, he must nurse Ashley back to health and figure out how they are going to get off the mountain, where the temperature hovers in the teens. Meanwhile, Ashley soon realizes that the very private Ben has some serious emotional wounds to heal as well. He explains to Ashley that he is separated from his beloved wife, but in a long standing tradition, he faithfully records messages for her on his voice recorder reflecting on their love affair. As Ashley eavesdrops on Ben's tender words to his estranged wife she comes to fear that when it comes to her own love story, she's just settling. And what's more: she begins to realize that the man she is really attracted to, the man she may love, is Ben.

As the days on the mountains become weeks, their survival become increasingly perilous. How will they make it out of the wilderness and if they do, how will this experience change them forever?

Both a tender and page-turning read, The Mountain Between Us will reaffirm your belief in the power of love to sustain us.

Thanks to Broadway Books!

4) This Must be the Place by Kate Racculia. Publisher's Summary. A sudden death, a never-mailed postcard, and a longburied secret set the stage for a luminous and heartbreakingly real novel about lost souls finding one another

The Darby-Jones boardinghouse in Ruby Falls, New York, is home to Mona Jones and her daughter, Oneida, two loners and self-declared outcasts who have formed a perfectly insular family unit: the two of them and the three eclectic boarders living in their house. But their small, quiet life is upended when Arthur Rook shows up in the middle of a nervous breakdown, devastated by the death of his wife, carrying a pink shoe box containing all his wife's mementos and keepsakes, and holding a postcard from sixteen years ago, addressed to Mona but never sent. Slowly the contents of the box begin to fit together to tell a story—one of a powerful friendship, a lost love, and a secret that, if revealed, could change everything that Mona, Oneida, and Arthur know to be true. Or maybe the stories the box tells and the truths it brings to life will teach everyone about love—how deeply it runs, how strong it makes us, and how even when all seems lost, how tightly it brings us together. With emotional accuracy and great energy, This Must Be the Place introduces memorable, charming characters that refuse to be forgotten.

5) Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman. Publisher's Summary. Set on the coast of Maine over the course of four summers, Red Hook Road tells the story of two families, the Tetherlys and the Copakens, and of the ways in which their lives are unraveled and stitched together by misfortune, by good intentions and failure, and by love and calamity.

A marriage collapses under the strain of a daughter’s death; two bereaved siblings find comfort in one another; and an adopted young girl breathes new life into her family with her prodigious talent for the violin. As she writes with obvious affection for these unforgettable characters, Ayelet Waldman skillfully interweaves life’s finer pleasures—music and literature—with the more mundane joys of living. Within these resonant pages, a vase filled with wildflowers or a cold beer on a hot summer day serve as constant reminders that it’s often the little things that make life so precious.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Last Day to Win Two Great Books



































































Today is the last day to enter to win a copy of The Castaways here and Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter here.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Size Eight in a Size Zero World





















Amazon Product Description. Meet Lindsay Chandler-a 32 year-old New York working wife and mother with old-fashioned values who thinks she's living a fairy tale life (she's not). Then an unexpected friendship with her upstairs neighbor (he is smart, successful, sophisticated and sexy- she's not) unleashes her passion and re-ignites her sparkle. This liaison causes her to question the way she lives her life. Yearning for a storybook ending, she decides to make changes in her life, embarking on a quest for self re-invention.

Review. Years ago while on a Sex and the City tour in New York (yes they have such tours and yes I highly recommend the tour if you liked the show), our guide, a young and beautiful actress, (isn’t every beautiful young woman in Manhattan one?) confessed that she sometimes found it difficult to be a single woman in New York. It took me awhile to understand what she meant, but by the end of tour – after we had paid our respects to the Jimmy Choos store, and Patricia Fields’ boutique, as well as the Mexican restaurant where on Tuesday nights models downed tequila shots while dancing on the tables, I got it. In the city if one has neither Trump’s riches nor Heidi Klum’s physique, it is hard to stand out in the crowd.

In Size Eight in a Size Zero World, by Meredith Cagen, the heroine Lindsay Chandler is a thirtysomething wife of an attorney and mother of two who lives on New York’s Upper Eastside. By day she works at a dead end job in marketing and at night she cooks and cleans for her family. And although she isn’t fat she does enjoy eating an occasional hamburger and fries. In short, she is a fairly typical wife and mother, but in Manhattan where the other moms are pin thin socialites or trophy wives, she doesn’t fit in. One day her upstairs neighbor “the man upstairs” catches her eye and soon her world is turned upside down.

Size Eight in a Size Zero World appears to be heavily influenced by Sex and the City. For instance, “the man upstairs” is never identified by name. Also one of Lindsay’s best friends is a Samantha type who revels in her sexual escapades. Still the banter is often witty and the heroine endearing. For example, I loved this passage:

The outfit of this season for proper Chapin [the private school Lindsay’s children attend] mothers is a variation on the Burberry kilt skirt with a coordinating jacket, a string of pearls with the signature “M” knot clasp notably present, and Chanel sling-backs. I look around the room. Yup, that’s just about what all these stick-figure moms are wearing. I’m outnumbered.

Size Eight in a Size Zero World is a spot on send up of the rarefied world of New York's elite.




Publisher: iUniverse (November 23, 2009), 340 pages.
Review Copy provided Courtesy of the Author.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

H




















Amazon Product Description. After being infected with herpes, Joan Halprin, a single woman in her mid-thirties, feels untouchable. She spent her youth enjoying worldly experiences in New York and other cities, but now it’s time to start a serious career as a copywriter for a Fort Lauderdale advertising agency. Despite feeling like a pariah in her personal life, Joan is anxious to prove herself professionally.

Fort Lauderdale in the 1980s is experiencing a real estate boom. Joan’s parents have moved from Boston to a retirement community in the area, and her brother and his thrifty wife have settled nearby. But even with the presence of her family, Joan feels isolated with her “H” problem, despite knowing that one in four women, and one in five men, are similarly afflicted.

Her irascible, rotund new boss certainly isn’t helping her regain her self-esteem. But with her irrepressible humor, Joan concocts an extraordinary solution to most of what ails her. Will this creative project work?

“H”: A Novel is an amusing and original tale of office politics, sex, and one woman’s search for her true identity.

Review.
Is having an incurable sexually transmitted disease the modern day equivalent of wearing a scarlet letter on one’s chest? While reading the novella H by Barbara Dinerman, I kept making mental comparisons to Hester Prynne. Although it is true that the heroine’s condition – carrying the herpes virus -- is concealed and her social isolation voluntary, the emotional baggage seems about the same. Joan longs for a man’s love, but feels untouchable because of her diagnosis.

H is set in Fort Lauderdale in the early 80’s when the swinging 70’s were history, but AIDS was not yet on the scene. The narrator, Joan, has started a job as a copywriter in a small dysfunctional ad agency. She hopes to lay down roots, achieve some career success, and maybe just maybe find a man who will accept her outbreaks and all.

H is a well written novella which addresses a taboo subject with wit and empathy.



Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (August 16, 2007), 126 pages.
Review copy provided courtesy of the author.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
































Publisher's Summary. Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

Review.
According to author Seth Grahame-Smith, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was inspired by the most popular books in 2009: books about Lincoln (to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth) and books about vampires. Being bombarded by these diverse subjects led Grahame-Smith to wonder what would happen if they were combined? The answer is a uniquely imaginative story that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers.

History and fiction are seamlessly blended in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. In the author’s interview at the end of the audio book, Grahame-Smith notes that he took great care to be faithful to the historical facts, when used, out of respect to Lincoln and his many admirers. In fact, I could envision crafty parents playing this audio book on long car trips to slip in a bit of a history lesson for their teenagers. While the book is clearly in fun it is also an enlightening presentation of some of the key moments of the Civil War. For instance, a few of Lincoln’s famous speeches were included in the novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed the audio book version of this book. The narrator sounded exactly how one would imagine that the real Lincoln spoke. In addition, I found the author’s interview to be very informative as to the writing process behind the story.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is the perfect audio book for passing the long road trip hours!



Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (March 2, 2010),352 pages.
Review copy provided courtesy of the publisher.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

101 Things I Learned in Fashion School Giveaway (ends July 10th )




















Publisher's Summary. The world of the fashionista is brought to vivid life with 101 introductory lessons on such topics as how a designer anticipates cultural trends and "sees" the fashion consumer, the workings of the fashion calendar, the ways a designer collection is conceived, the manufacture of fabric, fashion illustration, and more.

Illustrated in the distinctly unique packaged style of the bestselling101 THINGS I LEARNED IN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL, this new book on fashion design will be a perfect book for any fashion school wannabe, a recent graduate, or even a seasoned professional.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this fantastic 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 July 10th. Good Luck!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Mailbox Monday -- June 21st








The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page. Below are the following advance review copies that I received this week:

1) Proust's Overcoat by Lorenza Foschini. Publisher's Summary. Jacques Guérin was a prominent businessman at the head of his family's successful perfume company, but his real passion was for rare books and literary manuscripts. From the time he was a young man, he frequented the antiquarian bookshops of Paris in search of lost, forgotten treasures. The ultimate prize? Anything from the hands of Marcel Proust.

Guérin identified with Proust more deeply than with any other writer, and when illness brought him by chance under the care of Marcel's brother, Dr. Robert Proust, he saw it as a remarkable opportunity. Shamed by Marcel's extravagant writings, embarrassed by his homosexuality, and offended by his disregard for bourgeois respectability, his family had begun to deliberately destroy and sell their inheritance of his notebooks, letters, manuscripts, furni-ture, and personal effects. Horrified by the destruction, and consumed with desire, Guérin ingratiated himself with Marcel's heirs, placating them with cash and kindness in exchange for the writer's priceless, rare material remains. After years of relentless persuasion, Guérin was at last rewarded with a highly personal prize, one he had never dreamed of possessing, a relic he treasured to the end of his long life: Proust's overcoat.

Proust's Overcoat introduces a cast of intriguing and unforgettable characters, each inspired and tormented by Marcel, his writing, and his orphaned objects. Together they reveal a curious and compelling tale of lost and found, of common things and uncommon desires.

Thanks to Harper Collins!

2) Oil by Tom Bower. Publisher's Summary. A groundbreaking, in-depth, and authoritative twenty-year history of the hunt and speculation for our most vital natural resource. OIL Money, Politics, and Power in the 21st Century Twenty years ago oil cost about $7 a barrel. In 2008 the price soared to $148 and then fell to below $40. In the midst of this extraordinary volatility, the major oil conglomerates still spent over a trillion dollars in an increasingly frantic search for more. The story of oil is a story of high stakes and extreme risk.

3) Wrong by David Freedman. Publisher's Summary. Our investments are devastated, obesity is epidemic, test scores are in decline, blue-chip companies circle the drain, and popular medications turn out to be ineffective and even dangerous. What happened? Didn't we listen to the scientists, economists and other experts who promised us that if we followed their advice all would be well? Actually, those experts are a big reason we're in this mess. And, according to acclaimed business and science writer David H. Freedman, such expert counsel usually turns out to be wrong--often wildly so. Wrong reveals the dangerously distorted ways experts come up with their advice, and why the most heavily flawed conclusions end up getting the most attention-all the more so in the online era. But there's hope: Wrong spells out the means by which every individual and organization can do a better job of unearthing the crucial bits of right within a vast avalanche of misleading pronouncements.

Thanks to Hachette Book Group!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Winners!














Congrats to the Street Boners Winners!

simplystacieblog
mordacious
Layersofthought

Happy reading!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Last Day to Win a Copy of Foxy




































Today is the last day to enter to win a copy of Foxy, so be sure to get your entry in here. Good Luck!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Flawless





















Publisher's Summary. On February 15, 2003, a group of thieves broke into an allegedly airtight vault in the international diamond capital of Antwerp, Belgium and made off with over $108 million dollars worth of diamonds and other valuables. They did so without tripping an alarm or injuring a single guard in the process. Although the crime was perfect, the getaway was not. The police zeroed in on a band of professional thieves fronted by Leonardo Notarbartolo, a dapper Italian who had rented an office in the Diamond Center and clandestinely cased its vault for over two years. The “who” of the crime had been answered, but the “how” remained largely a mystery.Enter Scott Andrew Selby, a Harvard Law grad and diamond expert, and Greg Campbell, author of Blood Diamonds, who undertook a global goose chase to uncover the true story behind the daring heist. Tracking the threads of the story throughout Europe—from Belgium to Italy, in seedy cafĂ©s and sleek diamond offices—the authors sorted through an array of conflicting details, divergent opinions and incongruous theories to put together the puzzle of what actually happened that Valentine’s Day weekend.This real-life Ocean’s Eleven—a combination of diamond history, journalistic reportage, and riveting true-crime story—provides a thrilling in-depth study detailing the better-than-fiction heist of the century.



Review.
Until February 15, 2003, the Antwerp Diamond Center in Brussels Belgium was considered an impenetrable fortress. And with good reason as it is located within Belgium’s version of Fort Knox: the Diamond District which is secured with vehicle barriers, 24/7 video surveillance, armed patrols, and two police stations. On February 16, 2003, however, the world learned the truth when the School of Turin carried out the greatest heist in history! Flawless by Scott Andrew Selby and Greg Campbell, reveals in exquisite detail how the thieves used cunning rather than brute force to pull off the caper.

For over 27 months, career jewelry thief, Leonardo Notarbartolo, the identified ring leader (although the true leader may still be unidentified), and his Italian cronies planned the job even the Mafia passed on. Posing as a legitimate diamond dealer, Notarbartolo rented an office in the Diamond Center so that he could observe, videotape, and analyze the minutia that would result in the most expensive theft in history. As the authors note:

The slow pace and tedium of planning a heist is something most Hollywood movies rarely depict. Heist films never show the frustration of needing to wait a month or more to get a critical piece of information from the inside man, such as confirmation on the number of security guards who work during the day. They don’t show the gnawing fear that something is being overlooked, or that their ideas might not work. And they don’t show the interminable hours staring at blueprints and watching videotapes over and over and drawing a blank.

Thanks to Flawless, however, the truth behind the headlines is exposed. With everyday items such as hairspray, Styrofoam, duct tape, combined with precise planning the thieves managed to abscond with anywhere from with a108 million to 432 million dollars in diamonds. The exact figure remains unknown because many of the victims did not disclose their losses.

Flawless is a not-to-be-missed entertaining and exciting true crime book!



Publisher: Union Square Press (February 2, 2010), 336 pages.
Review Copy Provided Courtesy of the Publisher.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The Language God Talks (ends July 3rd)































Publisher's Summary. More years ago than I care to reckon up, I met Richard Feynman." So begins THE LANGUAGE GOD TALKS, Herman Wouk's gem on navigating the divide between science and religion. In one rich, compact volume, Wouk draws on stories from his life as well as on key events from the 20th century to address the eternal questions of why we are here, what purpose faith serves, and how scientific fact fits into the picture. He relates wonderful conversations he's had with scientists such as Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Freeman Dyson, and Steven Weinberg, and brings to life such pivotal moments as the 1969 moon landing and the Challenger disaster.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this thought provoking 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 July 3rd. Good Luck!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Mailbox Monday













The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page. Below are the following advance review copies that I received this week:

1) Still the One by Robin Wells. Publisher's Summary. After Katie Charmaine's husband is killed in Iraq, all she has left is a closet full of his clothes, a few pictures, and fond memories. She not only lost her love, but her last chance to have the children she's always wanted. Until Zack Ferguson shows up in town . . . with the daughter Katie gave up for adoption nearly seventeen years ago.

Zack Ferguson has never forgotten Katie, or the one magical night they spent together. Seeing her again brings up a tidal wave of emotions: regret over the way he left her, anger at the secret she kept, and desire he hasn't felt in years. But he's in town for Gracie. Their daughter is sixteen, angry at the world, and-worst of all-pregnant. She needs the love of her two parents now more than ever. Can these three forgive the hurts of the past and open their hearts to each other?

Thanks to Hachette Book Group!

2) Amanda Memories by Dr. Joel R. Gecht. Publisher's Summary. mbitious but naive, Brian Roberts is set on a career path that will lead to a psychology degree, financial stability, and emotional fulfillment. His marriage to hometown sweetheart Nancy seems to assure a fine future.

But when beautiful green-eyed Amanda Wagner, a deeply troubled young woman, becomes his patient, the future becomes blurry. Her dependency on Brian becomes an aphrodisiac for him. The need and the obsession are mutual.

Brian goes on to become a successful Hollywood TV talk show doc, but he flounders in the pretentious and posh world of Beverly Hills, celebrity, and money. And worst of all, Brian and Nancy are drifting apart.

Then, while making her final descent, Amanda is found dead and Brian emerges as the prime suspect. Nancy sets out to vindicate Brian. Her quest, however, will lead her to the darkest corners of Amanda’s tortured past and will not only determine Brian’s fate, but will ultimately unlock the secrets trapped within Amanda’s family lineage.

Thanks to Newman Communications!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Winners!

















Congrats to the winners of This is Why You're Fat:
ssummer
bibliophilebythesea
readingthroughlife

Also, if you enter my giveways please check your spam mail as well as your inbox as sometimes a winning email from me may land in your spam box.

Congrats again to the winners!

Friday, June 11, 2010

What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life

































Publisher's Summary. Every woman's closet-no matter the size-is a room of her own. In that space hang side by side the special occasions and the everyday, the triumphs and the disasters, the memories we want to keep and those we should jettison. Gross helps us to reconsider our closet identity and discover who we want to be. She shares her personal journey and the intimate, poignant and often humorous stories of the dozens of women she interviewed across the country. Along with calming fashion advice about how to choose flattering clothes that will fit any woman's shape and style, Gross's engaging stories will help every woman evolve gracefully from wife to mother, from empty-nester to globe-trotting adventurer--whatever role she chooses--while letting her style express her inner beauty.

Review. One day former model and fashionista Kim Johnson Gross woke up to discover that she had wrinkles and a "fleshy middle." She quickly ascertained that she needed a new way of dressing for the mature, but still stylish woman she is today.

In What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life Johnson Gross shares her advice for the over forty woman. She advocates finding your "feel-good closet" (clothes that make you feel terrific no matter what age or shape you're in). In addition, Johnson Gross provides practical pointers for hiding one's less than desirable physical traits. Also helpful are the many illustrations that convey her fashion pointers.

What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life is a practical guide for a woman's second act in life!


Publisher: Springboard Press (May 3, 2010), 288 pages.
Advance review copy received courtesy of publisher.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Dogtown



















Publisher's Summary. From Marley and Me to Temple Grandin’s groundbreaking books to Cesar Millan’s television show, America’s many millions of pet owners eagerly seek new insights into animal behavior, and one of the most popular sources of compelling stories and practical advice is DogTown, the National Geographic Channel’s latest hit show.

A national rescue organization with more than 200,000 members, DogTown is the area where dogs live at the nation’s largest companion animal sanctuary run by Best Friends Animal Society. This informative, inspiring book presents representative stories of dogs considered unadoptable by other shelters. They come from many backgrounds: some were abandoned; some prowled the streets as strays; others suffer from mysterious illnesses, serious injuries, or antisocial behaviors that discourage potential adopters. But good fortune led them to Best Friends and the dedicated people devoted to helping them recover and find welcoming homes.

These compelling, winningly illustrated true stories, each uniquely moving and inspirational, draw upon the experience of veterinarians, trainers, and volunteers to probe a range of tough, touching cases that evoke both the joy and the occasional but inevitable heartbreak that accompanies this work. Each chapter follows a dog from the first day at Dogtown until he ultimately finds (or doesn’t find) a permanent new home, focusing both on the relationship between the dog and the Dogtown staff and on the latest discoveries about animal health and behavior. We learn how dogs process information, how trauma affects their behavior, and how people can help them overcome their problems. In the end, we come to see that there are no "bad dogs" and that with patience, care, and compassion, people can help dogs to heal.

Review.
Dogtown is a no kill sanctuary for abused, abandoned, and unwanted dogs. As author Stefan Betchel notes:

Many animals who come streaming into Dogtown are like a throng of mute refuges – tattered and torn, injured in both body and spirit, having survived grim hoarding houses, dog fighting rings, overcrowded shelters, or simple neglect and homelessness

Notably, Dogtown has provided a home to many of the dogs abused in Michael Vick’s now defunct dog fighting operation. But whether famous or anonymous, every dog has a story. Many of these stories are shared in this compilation book.

All of the stories are compelling. However the stories of Bruno and Mr. Bones probably best illustrate Dogtown’s unique mission of serving dogs in all stages of life. Bruno, an ailing elderly dog, was dumped at an overcrowded shelter. When a caring shelter volunteer persuaded Dogtown to take him, Bruno’s luck changed for the better. As one Dogtown employee prophetically reflected at the time, “here at the sanctuary it’s quality over quantity and Bruno is definitely a dog that has a potential to have a quality life, even if it turns out to be a short one.” While Bruno’s time at Dogtown was brief, it was packed with quality. In contrast to Bruno, Mr. Bones was a longtime resident at Dogtown. When he finally found his forever home four months before passing away, his owner confessed “if I had him only one day, it was worth it. He was something special.”

Dogs rule at Dogtown!




Review based on a borrowed public library copy.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Supercoach













Amazon Product Description.
IF SUPERMAN NEEDED A COACH,
HE’D HIRE MICHAEL NEILL!

In this fun, easy-to-read book, best-selling author and internationally renowned success coach Michael Neill shares the secrets of transforming your life and the lives of the people you care about most—your family, friends, colleagues, and clients.
Inside, you will learn:
· How to stop thinking like a victim
· The secret to financial security in any economy
· Proven techniques to produce dramatic changes in yourself and others
· Simple ways to create lasting relationships
· The key to lifelong happiness
· Strategies for increasing productivity, energy, well-being . . . and more!
Whether you want to powerfully impact the lives of the people around you or simply wish to create a deeper, more meaningful experience of being alive, this book is your essential guide to helping yourself .

Review.
The tagline for Supercoach by Michael Neill boasts: “If Superman needed a coach, he’d hired Michael Neill.” After reading and reflecting on Supercoach, I would tend to agree. Supercoach is a concise and informative framework for getting the most out of life.

Each chapter in Supercoach riffs on one of Neill’s “Top Ten Secrets.” The secrets, paraphrased, are:

• The world is what you think it is.
• Well-being is not the fruit of something you do -- it comes from within.
• There’s nowhere for you to get to – you’re just here.
• What you decide will never impact you as how you handle the consequences.
• Every emotion you experience is a direct to a thought.
• You don’t have to do anything.
• You create other people by how you listen to them.
• You can ask for anything when you make it ok for them to say no.
• Financial security comes from the ability to procure it[money] when desired.
• There is never a good reason not to hope.

While many of the secrets are neither unknown nor new, they can have a profound impact if truly comprehended. For instance, instead of being stuck in decision-making paralysis for fear of making the wrong decision, what if a decision simply becomes a choice that is almost always reversible? Looking at it from this perspective removes much of the angst associated with decision-making.

In addition, Supercoach imparts information in a fun and entertaining manner. Neill sprinkles his writing with clever anecdotes and witty suggestions. I laughed out loud at the suggestion to order a pizza at a Chinese restaurant (to learn how to make a seemingly unreasonable request). I’m sure if one can do this one has truly “gotten” the lesson’s meaning, but it leaves me in stitches visualizing the confusion such a request would cause.

Supercoach is a terrific resource for living a fuller and more meaningful life!



Publisher: Hay House (March 15, 2010), 200 pages.
Advance Review Copy Provided Courtesy of the Publisher.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Giveaway (ends June 26th )































Publisher's Summary. Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this suspenseful 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 June 26th. Good Luck!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Mailbox Monday -- June 7th







The reason why I love Mondays -- Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia at the Printed Page. Below are the following advance review copies that I received this week:

1) Mr. Toppit by Charles Elton. Amazon Product Description. When Arthur Hayman, an unsuccessful screenwriter turned children’s book author, is accidentally hit by a cement truck in London, his dying moments are spent with a passing American tourist, Laurie Clow, who is fated to bring posthumous fame to his obscure series, The Hayseed Chronicles, and the enigmatic and sinister Mr. Toppit who is at the center of the books. While Arthur doesn’t live to reap the benefits of his books’ success, his legacy falls to his widow, Martha, and their children—the fragile Rachel, and Luke, reluctantly immortalized as the fictional Luke Hayseed, hero of his father’s books. But others want their share of the Hayseed phenomenon, particularly Laurie, who has a mysterious agenda of her own that changes all of their lives as Martha, Rachel, and Luke begin to crumble under the heavy burden of their inheritance.

Spanning several decades, from the heyday of the postwar British film industry to today’s cutthroat world of show business in Los Angeles, Mr. Toppit is a riveting debut novel that captures an extraordinary family and their tragic brush with fame to wonderfully funny and painful effect.

Thanks to the Publisher!

2) Put on Your Crown by Queen Latifah. Publisher's Summary. Modeled after Maria Shriver's Just Who Will You Be, Queen Latifah's goal with Put On Your Crown is to help young women build a strong sense of self-esteem. A US Dept. of Justice survey found that females ages 16-24 are more vulnerable to partner violence than any other group, almost triple the national average. Cases like Chris Brown's assault on pop star Rihanna showed an ugly side of adolescent life. However, Queen Latifah has always been a shining example of a woman happy with herself and unwilling to compromise to fit into the "hollywood ideal" of what a confident beautiful woman should look like.

3) Innocent by Scott Turrow. 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.

4) War by Sebestian Junger. 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.

Thanks to Hachette Book Group!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Winners!



















Congrats to the confirmed winners below!

What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life:
Layers of Thought
Bibliophilebythesea
Kdurham2

This One is Mine:
rsgrandinetti
mordacious
meah56

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Last Day to Enter to Win This is Why You're Fat

































Today is the last day to enter to win a copy of this terrific book, so be sure to get your entry in here.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Castaways Giveaway ends June 26th

































Publisher's Summary. Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.

Once again, Hilderbrand masterfully weaves an intense tale of love and loyalty set against the backdrop of endless summer island life.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this perfect beach read!

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 June 26th. Good Luck!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Sex and the City 2
















This past Memorial Day while others may have been enjoying a scrumptious bbq or honoring those who gave all for freedom (and this daughter of a Vietnam Vet says a sincere thank you to all who have served!) or simply lounging by the pool, I was welcoming the unofficial start of summer in my own special way: going to Sex and the City 2. It has been two long years and I couldn't wait to couldn't wait for an update.

Sex and the City 2 starts off with a bang with the campy, sweet, and over-the-top wedding of singletons Stanford and Anthony! Despite taking snipes at each other at every opportunity through the years (Stanford once passed around a magazine that featured Anthony's call boy past), all the verbal zingers must have been covering a smoldering passion. Still Anthony is still Anthony -- he informs the guests that marriage notwithstanding he is allowed to cheat (in the 45 states where gay marriage is not legal). While Charlotte is appalled at Anthony's revelation Carrie responds that every couple is allowed to make up their own rules.

Couples and individuals making up their own rules is the theme of the movie. Big and Carrie have settled into "happily ever after," but neither is happy with the status quo. Charlotte has her 'perfect family" but it isn't perfect. Miranda has the prestige law partnership, but is miserable. And as for Samantha, she is fighting a battle with Father Time one hormone patch and cream at a time. The ladies discontent with their lives leads them to Abu Dhabi of all places (strange days indeed!).

Sex and the City 2 is strongest when it stays true to the characters in the small moments of the film. When Big picks up Carrie from her old apartment, she confesses that it is 1998 all over again and this goosbumped viewer couldn't have agreed more! In contrast, Carrie's reunion with a past love (who I won't mention here) failed to recapture the pair's previous luster. Also less desirable were the Abu Dhabi elements (apart from the comic relief of seeing Samantha try to vacation in an Islamic country which is hysterical!). In short, I think Sex and the City fans (like yours truly) will find much to enjoy, but this film will not win many new converts.

The girls of summer are back in town!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Foxy Giveaway (ends June 19th )
































Publisher's Summary. Beautiful, bold, and bad, Pam Grier burst onto the movie scene in the 1970s, setting the screen on fire and forever changing the country's view of African American actresses. With a killer attitude and body to match, Grier became the ultimate fantasy of men everywhere. But she quickly proved that she was more than just a desirable film goddess. She had the brains, courage, and tenacity to sustain a career that would span more than 30 years. In FOXY, she chronicles the good, bad, and steamy highlights in her life and career.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away THREE copies of this terrific 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 June 19th. Good Luck!