First Chapter -- First Paragraph -- Tuesday Intros!

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros. This week's intro is from Lovesick by Spencer Seidel:

Patrolman Jimmy Preece would tell the story for the rest of his life. On his first night out as a rookie cop on the streets of Portland, Maine, he and his partner, a ten-year veteran of Portland PD, discovered a grisly killing on the Eastern Promenade, next to the 295 overpass. It was a murder that would make headlines throughout the Northeast, especially after what happened to that shrink in the weeks afterward.

Mailbox Monday--January 31st!

Welcome to Mailbox Monday which is hosted this month by At Home with Books. Here is what I received last week:

1) Got a Right to be Wrong by K.L. Brady. Amazon Summary. The sequel to the award-winning book club favorite The Bum Magnet features the return of the smart, quick witted, loveable real estate agent who also has a short fuse and an affinity for Grey Goose vodka.Sassy and successful real estate agent Charisse Tyson is about to tie the knot with sexy undercover agent and man of her dreams, Kevin, but the wedding has everyone, including Charisse, under a lot of pressure. As Charisse and Kevin march toward matrimony, Kevin’s hidden past is revealed, Charisse’s deadbeat father resurfaces, and things heat up with Charisse’s best guy friend. Suddenly Charisse is faced with many new questions regarding her life decisions, and she must figure out just how right or wrong she was all along.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster!

First Chapter -- First Paragraph -- Tuesday Intros!

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros. This week's intro is from Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman:

When I was little, I was so girlie and ambitious, I was practically a drag queen. I wanted to be everything at once: a prima ballerina, an actress, a model, a famous artist, a nurse, an Ice Capades dancer, and Batgirl. I spent inordinate amounts of time waltzing around living room with a doily on my head, imagining in great detail my promenade down the runway as the new Miss America, during which time I would also happen to receive a Nobel Prize for coloring.

The one thing I did not want to be was a hippie.

"For Chrissake, you're not a hippie," said my mother, fanning incense around our living room with the sleeves of her dashiki. "You're four years old. You run around in a tutu. You eat TV dinners and complain when the food doesn't look exactly like it does on the packages. Hippies don't do that," she said. "Hippies don't make a big production out of eating their Tater Tots."

Mailbox Monday--January 23rd!

Welcome to Mailbox Monday which is hosted this month by At Home with Books. Here is what I received last week:

1) Girl Land by Caitlin Flanagan. Publisher's Summary. Caitlin Flanagan's essays about marriage, sex, and families have sparked national debates. Now she turns her attention to girls: the biological and cultural milestones for girls today, and how they shape a girl's sense of herself.

The transition from girl to woman is an experience that has changed radically over the generations: everything from how a girl learns about her period to how she expects to be treated by boys and men. Girls today observe these passages very differently, and yet the landmarks themselves have remained remarkably constant-proof, Flanagan believes, of their significance. In a world where protections of girls' privacy and personal freedom seem to disappear every day, the ultimate challenge modern parents face is finding a way to defend both.

Thanks to Hachette Book Group!

She Can Run Giveaway Ends Today!

Be sure to get your entry in here

Giveaway: American Dervish (ends 2/4)

Publisher's Summary. Hayat Shah is a young American in love for the first time. His normal life of school, baseball, and video games had previously been distinguished only by his Pakistani heritage and by the frequent chill between his parents, who fight over things he is too young to understand. Then Mina arrives, and everything changes.

Mina is Hayat's mother's oldest friend from Pakistan. She is independent, beautiful and intelligent, and arrives on the Shah's doorstep when her disastrous marriage in Pakistan disintegrates. Even Hayat's skeptical father can't deny the liveliness and happiness that accompanies Mina into their home. Her deep spirituality brings the family's Muslim faith to life in a way that resonates with Hayat as nothing has before. Studying the Quran by Mina's side and basking in the glow of her attention, he feels an entirely new purpose mingled with a growing infatuation for his teacher.

When Mina meets and begins dating a man, Hayat is confused by his feelings of betrayal. His growing passions, both spiritual and romantic, force him to question all that he has come to believe is true. Just as Mina finds happiness, Hayat is compelled to act -- with devastating consequences for all those he loves most.

American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life. Ayad Akhtar was raised in the Midwest himself, and through Hayat Shah he shows readers vividly the powerful forces at work on young men and women growing up Muslim in America. This is an intimate, personal first novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.

Giveaway Rules: Today I am giving away TWO copies of this gripping 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 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.
Limit one winner per household regardless of the site won from.

Giveaway ends February 4th. Good Luck!

First Chapter -- First Paragraph -- Tuesday Intros!

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros. This week's intro is from Late, Late at Night by Rick Springfield:

I tell the small, clear voice in my head to please shut the f**k up. I've heard its haranguing tone before. This voice is what has gotten me into this predicament I now find myself: almost fifteen years into a life in the music business with nothing to show for it but a handful of unrecorded songs, a few guitar licks, two albums that went nowhere, and as much groupie sex as my road-worn penis could handle. That last one being the biggest benefit so far, in my humble opinion. But I am driven. Compelled by a force that still refuses to take no for an answer. I have always had a deep, restless desire to push myself to have a successful music career in music -- to have it be my life; it already is my love. Ever since I first touched a guitar and it touched me at the tender age of eleven, I have wanted this. Wanted to be part of music, the world of the musician, and everything it heralds and promises. But making a living at it has been like trying to suck pregnant goats through a garden hose. Difficult to say the least.

Mailbox Monday--January 16th

Happy Martin Luther King Day and welcome to Mailbox Monday which is hosted this month by At Home with Books. Below are the books I received this week:

1) Half Past Midnight by Jeff Brackett. Publisher's Summary. Half Past Midnight is the story of Leeland Dawcett and his family in the first days and years after the Doomsday War. It’s the story of how one man learns that survival sometimes just isn’t enough. It’s a story of friends who help each other through thick and thin, and the enemies who make life after Doomsday a living hell.

Thanks to the author!

2) Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman. Publisher's Summary. From the author of "Kiss My Tiara" comes a funny and poignant collection of true stories about women coming of age that for once isn't about finding a date.

Thanks to Papberback Swap!

Winners!

Congrats to the winners of the following giveaways:

Brothers Krimm:
twoofakind12
traceyj40

Rick and Jane Learn to Listen and Talk:
slb3334

Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers with Pasta:
CharlieGurl57

Novica Giftcard:
daveshir2005

Spontaneous Happiness (ends 1/31)

Publisher's Summary. SPONTANEOUS HAPPINESS is Dr. Weil's paradigm-shifting guide to peak emotional wellness. In the book, he redefines the notion of happiness and demonstrates the limitations of the biochemical model of mental health. He presents a vast, scientifically proven array of integrative treatment strategies for low mood and depression, drawing on techniques from Ayurveda, Buddhism, acupuncture, psychotherapy, mindfulness training, and much more. Dr. Weil offers advice on lifestyle, behavior, and dietary changes, and helps readers assess their own emotional wellness and build personalized step-by-step plans to manage their moods. Whether suffering from mild to moderate depression, or simply seeking greater contentment, Dr. Weil's science-based integrative approach will help readers achieve their goals. With fascinating case studies and a comprehensive program, this guide breaks new ground in the field of happiness.

Giveaway Rules: Today I am giving away THREE copies of this informative 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.
Limit one winner per household regardless of the site won from.

Giveaway ends January 31st. Good Luck!

First Chapter -- First Paragraph -- Tuesday Intros

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros. This week's intro is from Carry the One by Carol Anshaw:

So Carmen was married, just. She sat under a huge butter moon, on a windless night in the summer of 1983, at a table, in front of the remains of some chicken cordon bleu. She looked toward the improvised dance floor where her very new husband was doing the Mexican hat dance with several other large men, three of them his brothers, other Sloans. Matt was a plodding hat- dancer, his kicks threw the others off the beat. In spite of this lack of aptitude, he was waving her over, beckoning for her to join in. She waved back as though she thought he was just saying hi. She was hoping to sit out this early phase of her marriage, the mortifying dances segment.

Mailbox Monday -- January 9th

Welcome to Mailbox Monday which is hosted this month by At Home with Books. Below are the books I received this week:

1) The Possibility of You by Pamela Redmond. Publisher's Summary. 1916. It was the one thing Bridget was supposed to never let happen. But no matter how many times she replayed the steps in her head, she couldn’t reanimate the small pale boy who lay limp in her arms.

1976. Billie felt as if she’d been wrenched in half more surely than when the baby had been cut from her body. But she felt something else too: happy to think only of her own needs, her own tears. So light she could float away, somewhere no one would ever find her.

The present. Even if Cait never found her birth mother, even if she decided not to have this baby, to leave her lover and kiss her parents good-bye, she was surrounded by so much emotion, so many questions, that she felt as if she might never be free again.

Can we ever atone for the sins of the past? Or does each generation of women invent itself anew? In a complex and beautifully told masterpiece set against key moments for women in the last century, New York Times bestselling author Pamela Redmond intertwines the heartrending stories of Bridget, Billie, and Cait, and explores the ways in which one woman’s choices can affect her loved ones forever. As these three women search for identity and belonging, each faces a very personal decision that will reverberate across generations, tearing apart families, real and imaginary, perfect and flawed, but ultimately bringing them together again.

2) Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich. Publisher's Summary. Hannah Levi is renowned throughout Venice for her gift at coaxing reluctant babies from their mothers—a gift aided by the secret “birthing spoons” she designed. But when a count implores her to attend to his wife, who has been laboring for days to give birth to their firstborn son, Hannah is torn. A Papal edict forbids Jews from rendering medical treatment to Christians, but the payment he offers is enough to ransom her beloved husband, Isaac, who has been captured at sea. Can Hannah refuse her duty to a suffering woman? Hannah’s choice entangles her in a treacherous family rivalry that endangers the baby and threatens her voyage to Malta, where Isaac, believing her dead in the plague, is preparing to buy his passage to a new life. Not since The Red Tent or People of the Book has a novel transported readers so intimately into the complex lives of women centuries ago or so richly into a story of intrigue that transcends the boundaries of history.

Both thanks to Simon & Schuster!

SUVs Suck in Combat Giveaway Ends Today!

Start the new year off with a great new book by making an entry at the giveaway post.

She Can Run Giveaway (ends 1/21)

Publisher's Summary. Ten months ago, Elizabeth Baker uncovered a dangerous secret about her politician husband—a secret that nearly got her killed. Now she and her children are running for their lives. When Beth is hired as the caretaker of a remote Pennsylvania estate, she dares to hope she has found a corner of the world where Congressman Richard Baker can’t find them. But when her new boss dies suddenly and his nephew inherits the estate, Beth is faced with outwitting a former homicide detective who is very smart, very suspicious—and very attractive.

Giveaway Rules. Today I am giving away TWO Review (uncorrected proofs) COPIES of this exciting book!

Entry: For this giveaway, you must be a follower of Metroreader. 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.


Giveaway ends January 21st. Good Luck!

First Chapter -- First Paragraph -- Tuesday Intros!

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros. This week's intro is from Hungry Girl by Lisa Lillien:

Who /What is Hungry Girl?

If you're holding this book in your hands, there's a good chance you already know the answer to this question. But for those of you who don't know, Hungry Girl is a free daily email about guilt-free eating. Our news, food finds, recipes, and survival strategies are read by hundreds of thousands of people every day.

Is Hungry Girl a real person? And is she a doctor?

Yes I am a real person. I'm Lisa Lillien, and I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor. I'm just hungry, and a bit obsessed with foods that taste great, but don't pack on the pounds. I'm the nut who watches you shop at the supermarket, comments on your choice of low-fat ice cream, and tells you which brand to buy (FYI: Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned is the way to go).

Mailbox Monday -- January 2nd 2012!

Welcome to the first edition of Mailbox Monday for 2012 hosted this month by At Home with Books. A belated Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone! The past two weeks have been superbusy for me with the holiday prepartions (including making 13 different kinds of cookies!) and company.

But I'm back now and ready to read/blog. After all the Mayan calendar ends this year so I'm trying to cram a lot of reading in because you never know (LOL). By the way if you haven't caught it yet the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a must see (just be prepared for a few graphic scenes).

Below is the book that I received this week:

1) Hungry Girl by Lisa Lillien. Publisher's Summary.
Do you want to eat burgers, chocolate cake, frozen margaritas, fudge, and French fries—and still fit into your pants? Is life not worth living without brownies and onion rings? Do you want a surefire way to tame your cravings? From breakfast ideas and chopped salads to guilt-free junk food and cocktails, Hungry Girl recipes taste great but are low in fat and calories. Check it out!

• Eggs Bene-Chick: 183 calories
• Bring on the Breakfast Pizza: 127 calories
• Ooey Gooey Chili Cheese Nachos: 216 calories
• Big Bopper Burger Stopper: 202 calories
• Dreamy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge: 65 calories
• Lord of the Onion Rings: 153 calories
• Rockin’ Tuna Melt: 212 calories
• 7-Layer Burrito Blitz: 277 calories
• I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweet Potato Pie: 113 calories
• Cookie-rific Ice Cream Freeze: 160 calories
• With easy instructions, simple steps, and hilariously fun facts and figures, Hungry Girl recipes are as fun to read as they are to make!

And when you’re not in your kitchen, check out HG’s 10 mini survival guides, plus tips ’n tricks that’ll help you make smarter food choices anywhere, anytime!


Thanks to Paperback Swap!