September 2009 – Page 5

BBAW – yes! Another Giveaway!

Published on September 18, 2009September 18, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)27 Comments

Ok…I wont even try to shoot for one correct answer here as I am sure there are many…. so what I am looking for this time is a link to what you find to be the Worlds largest Book….. again – I am not putting in guidelines…. put a great link in the comments to what you believe to be the worlds largest book and you will be one of my winners!

One of the winners? Yup – in this final day of BBAW I am going to look for 3 winners this time…. you can not however use the same link to the same book as another winner has. I need three separate books here. (There is no right or wrong answer – I am just looking for three links to 3 EXTREMELY large books) A different winner per book – the same person on this one can not win the 2nd or third spot as well)

I thought this would be kind of cool to see what links come in to see what are considered to be the Worlds Largest Books! Winners will be announced on here and will get a chance to pick out of the gift box!

Ready? Set? And Go!!!

(*Please remember these giveaways are open to US entrants only and can not be delivered to PO box numbers) ** Note that the comment giveaway at the end of BBAW where you can win an Amazon gift card is open worldwide – so while the individual giveaways are USA only – the overall comment giveaway is worldwide!

Morning Meanderings!

Published on September 18, 2009September 18, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Coffee Cup and I are out and about at 8:30 this morning. I have delivered Chance to school… stopped by the Holiday Gas for coffee…. yes the same coffee place I mentioned earlier this week in that odd morning meandering post….LOL

What can I say? They have really good coffee!

And here I am now looking at a half day in the office and trying to plan out something to do with a 14 year old this weekend that he would like to do. Never Ever dull that’s for sure. 🙂

I think this morning I just want to tip my Cup to everyone who made the BBAW possible as well as all of those bloggers out there that participated with great posts, fun giveaways, and more. I have met many new bloggers this week and hope throughout today to meet even more!

So this morning…. my funny bone is apparently kicked into high gear and I have written this song to the tune of Wind Beneath my Wings. (Be sure to hit the play tab at the bottom of the post so you can have the music to go with the words…) 🙂

Wind Beneath My Posts

(Or… the book without a review)

It must have been cold there on my TBR shelf
To never have been a Book Reviewed
You were content to let me read, other books

You always waited on the shelf.

So I was the one with too many projects
While you were the one that had to wait.
A beautiful Book without a review, for so long
A beautiful book longing to be read.

Did you ever know that you’re my passion
And everything I would like to read
If I can write that new review of you
You are the wind beneath my posts

You might have appeared to go unnoticed
But I’ve got it all here in my notes
I want you to know I know the books
Of course I know it
I would be nothing with out you

Read, Read, Read today
Your words take me so high
Oh, read, read
So much there is to read
So many on the TBR shelf
Thank you, thank you, thank God for you
The wind beneath my posts

LOL…. Later!

Thanks For Introducing Me To This Book!

Published on September 17, 2009September 17, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

So it is day 4 of BBAW and no – I cant believe it. When I first heard about BBAW I was so excited. I was already having such a wonderful time with all the books and bloggers I was connecting with that BBAW was icing on the cake! The plan was (as I carefully highlighted the dates in my agenda) that I would be sure that I did nothing more than necessary this week. No evening appointments, no dinners with friends…no commitments other than hanging out with all of you and absorbing all that there is to BBAW.

Like a mini vacation….

at a carnival….

all expenses paid!

And then…. life comes in. I biked the 150 this past weekend and came home on Sunday, exhausted and in no shape to create all the witty posts I had planned on prepping. And on Monday I found myself picking up our kinship partner Chance to come and live with us for awhile… so we moved him in. And Monday evening I had a Missions Team meeting for our Honduras trip that I had to reschedule from last Monday as that was a holiday. Tuesday is kickball. Wednesday in my Group Power Class and Biking with the Brainerd Trailblazers. And yes, here we are at Thursday already…. day 4 of BBAW and tonight is the Women’s Walk About that I was invited to in downtown Brainerd…..

and I kinda want to go…

ANYWAY – ANYWAY….. that is life as each of you could also share what your week has been like – and even with my own personal craziness… I am loving BBAW and having a blast with each days topic….. the giveaways… the new relationships (did I mention I have had record breaking visitor numbers this week?)

So today (yes, I am getting to the point….. LOL) I get to talk about a book or two that hit my radar because of my Book Blog Friends…. and here goes!

The book I want to talk about is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I first heard about this book on August 4th when I posted the request to know with six months gone… what was the best read on 2009 so far? I had many wonderful book titles come flowing in and I was excited to read about them.

Then it started with Laura’s Reviews when she recommended the book called The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and I thought, “Wow, that sounds good.”

Then Alyce from At Home with Books also shared The Help by Kathyryn Stockett to be one of the best reads of 2009. And finally while browsing through one of my favorite review blogs over at Eve’s Between The Bookends…. I seen it again.

So – in honor BBAW and as a little treat to myself – I purchased this book and it arrived yesterday. I am so excited to read it and I have an idea brewing that I am going to sit on for a couple days…. and then probably share it on Saturday with all of you…. it is an idea that has come out of the posts and contests I have worked on throughout this week.

Finally – I just want to say thank you to all you wonderful book bloggers out there who read the books and review the books. I know a lot of time can go into reading and writing and developing interesting posts…. and I thank you again for the books you recommend – the ones I have never heard of but found by reading a book blog.

BBAW – Quickie Giveaway!!!

Published on September 17, 2009September 17, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

Its time again for a quickie giveaway in honor of BBAW….

First correct answer to this question can pick out of the Gift Box!

In the Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene, what is the name of Nancy’s boyfriend?

North or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson with a Double Giveaway!

Published on September 17, 2009October 10, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments

I found myself entangled in the pages of a Narnia like world… captured by the adventure that can only come from a well written read… ~ Sheila

This giveaway is now closed

Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby thought they were normal children with normal lives and a normal past. But now they know they’re really the Lost Jewels of Anniera, heirs to a legendary kingdom across the sea, and suddenly everyone wants to kill them.

Their escape brings readers to the very brink of Fingap Falls, over the Stony Mountains, and across the Ice Prairies, while villains galore try to stop the Igibys permanently. Fearsome toothy cows and horned hounds return, along with new dangers: a mad man running a fork factory, a den of rockroaches, and majestic talking sea dragons.

Andrew Peterson’s lovable characters create what FantasyBookCritic.com says made Book One “one of the best fantasy novels in a very long time,” and Book Two contains even more thrills, exploring “themes universal in nature, ranging from the classic good versus evil, to the importance of family, and burdens of responsibility.”

Author Bio:

Andrew Peterson is the author of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats . He’s also the critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter and recording artist of ten albums, including Resurrection Letters II. He and his wife, Jamie, live with their two sons and one daughter in The Warren near Nashville, Tennessee. Visit Andrew’s websites: www.andrew-peterson.com and www.rabbitroom.com.

My Thoughts: It took me a ways into the book to finally capture the flow of this read. I wonder if part of that is due to the fact that I had not read book one – On The Edge Of The Dark Of Darkness. I did not even know this was a sequal until after I had begun reading….

Once the book grabbed hold of me – I flew through the pages picking up elements that I loved about Narnia. This book is well written with elements that could keep me guessing. I have to admit this was not as easy a read as I found the Narnia books to be. I struggled in points keeping track of all the action and what and the where… I think young 8 – 13 year olds may enjoy this very much…. I get the impression it would really be their thing.

On this particular book I goofed and wound up on two different blog tours with it. Due to this I have two books to giveaway. (Remember Christmas is coming – this would make a wonderful gift!)

TO Enter:

Leave a comment of what you would do with a copy of this book

receive a addition entry by blogging or tweeting this giveaway

Follow this blog and receive a third entry!

Regular Giveaway Policy applies

** Giveaway ends on October 5

Thank you to both Kelly and Staci for offering me a chance to review this book.

I received my review copies from Kelly Blewett, Publicist
KBK Public Relations and Staci Carmichael
Publicity Assistant
WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House

BBAW – Quickie Giveaway!!!

Published on September 17, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)17 Comments

Its time again for a quickie giveaway in honor of BBAW….

First correct answer to this question can pick out of the Gift Box!

Which book begins, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”?

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Published on September 17, 2009January 19, 2010 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

Since when did YA reads hit my radar? Since books like this – with a hint of mystery, fantasy, and the adrenaline of youth all rolled into one…

~ Sheila

—Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble—

What would you do if your nightmare turned out to be more than

just a dream—and the only way to stop it was to believe the impossible?

Anastasia Romanov knows she should be dead; she watched her family fall in a hail of gunfire. Instead, something, or someone, saved her. Trapped and scared in a magical hut with a witch who may be friend or foe, she begins to come to grips with the truth about her situation: that some fates are WORSE than death.

In her dreams, sixteen year old Anne Michaelson is somewhere else. She is someone else. The dreams feel as real as her waking life and they terrify her. This is not good for her social life! Aside from that, Anne thinks her life is pretty ordinary – until she runs into handsome, mysterious, and (okay) annoying Ethan on her way to chemistry class. Now Anne has powers she doesn’t understand, a history-altering mission she doesn’t want, and a growing attraction to a blue-eyed stranger that seems to be stalking her! And when Ethan realizes that Anne is the girl he’s been searching for, things start to get a little surreal! Despite her skepticism and reluctance, Anne quickly realizes that you don’t need to be imprisoned to be trapped! Stir in the doomed Duchess Anastasia, who is not quite as dead as the history books say, and the Baba Yaga, a legendary witch from Russian folklore, and you’ve got Dreaming Anastasia by debut novelist Joy Preble.

Joy Preble’s experience with Russian legends developed through her crazy maternal grandmother, who had been one of TWENTY children! The story goes that her grandmother’s family didn’t even notice when she ran off to America at sixteen, married badly, raised four children on her own and was the least grandmotherly of grandmothers a girl could ever hope for (despite her amusing and insane tales of the Bolsheviks and tsars). No warm and fuzzies there, only admonitions for Joy to eat her vegetables so she would be strong enough to survive the impending pogroms!

My Thoughts: This book was a wonderful mix for me – not only as a YA read – but to me it dabbled in so much more. There is history to this book with Baba Yaga and Anastasia Romanov. There is the taste of fantasy and the essence of mystery…. basically it had a lot of my favorite genre’s all roled up into one neat little binding.

I have to say I loved the story line based around Baba Yaga (I love folklore!)

Baba Yaga is a witch-like character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant mortar, kidnaps (and presumably eats) small children,and lives in a house which stands on chicken feet. In most Slavic folk tales, she is portrayed as an antagonist; however, some characters in other mythological folk stories have been known to seek her out for her wisdom, and she has been known on occasion to offer guidance to lost souls, although this is seen as rare.

Strong characters, I found I really enjoyed the connections between Ethan and Anne. Tess was great comic relief and reminded me a lot of my own best friend when I was that age….

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I started it last weekend during the big 150 mile bike ride and read it during breaks and at night. For me this was a book I could not, and didn’t want to, put down.

This book was sent to me from Sourcebooks

I would rate this a PG13 rating for some language and sexual content

My Amazon Review

Morning Meanderings…

Published on September 17, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

Coffee Cup and I are on the road again… it is already time to take Chance to school and I am feeling behind before my day has even started.

What is with that? 🙂

Anyway – today I have wandered over to Author Joy Preble’s blog called Joy’s Novel Idea. This author by the way… ROCKS! She is the author of Dreaming Anastasia and this is the book review that I am putting up today! (I see on her site she has me set for yesterday and I thought I was today…. I am sure that is my error.)

Reading her post this morning about Rocking The House at Barnes and Noble (see? I told you she rocks) was incredible. I was excited for her and for this book…. so read the article…. and in an hour or so come back and see what I have to say about Joy and her book, Dreaming Anastasia.

Me and My Reading Habits…

Published on September 17, 2009September 17, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

Here is the question : Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I really hate to write in my books. I love to keep them in wonderful condition and cringe when I find ink or highlighter marks in books. I am a post it note Queen – and use them for all keeping track of discussion topics for book club, notes for reviews, etc…

Oddly, the one exception to this rule is I write in my Bible. I like to capture words in sermons that I find meaningful to the scripture. I used to keep a separate notebook for these notes but found it much more likely that I wuld put it to use if it was actually in the Bible. I love to now open up my Bible after years of doing this and see notes that I made on scriptures.

BBAW – Appreciation Comes From Sourcebooks

Published on September 17, 2009September 26, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)7 Comments

This giveaway is now closed – congratulations Alexa!

I came home this evening to find this email sent from Paul Samuelson of Sourcebooks:

Dear Blogger,

Pardon the group email, but I just heard some fantastic news and since it is Book Blogger Appreciation Week, I wanted to share. I am happy to report that Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse, by debut middle grade novelist Kaleb Nation, has debuted on the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association bestsellers list in the #10 spot for Children’s Interest!

For those of you unfamiliar with the list, this indie group is one of the largest in the country, and includes stores such as BookPeople & Blue Willow (TX), Tattered Cover (CO), Changing Hands(AZ) and King’s English (UT), among many others. These are some of the biggest and best indies in the country.

What does this have to do with your blog? Because the focus of publicity efforts for this title have been primarily online—it is YOU we have to thank for this phenomenal success. For a 20 year old first time author to debut on this list, before he has even begun his cross-country tour, can only mean that word-of-mouth generated by all of you in the book blogging community (and masters of the twitterverse) has had a significant impact on the sales of this book.

As you all know, there are many types of book bloggers—teen fan blogs, vlogs, kidlitosphere blogs, homeschool blogs, mommy blogs and the established book blogs we all know and love—and it has been remarkable to bear witness to how so many different types of readers have all come together to discuss and review Bran Hambric in an ever-growing online reading community.

A sincere “thank you” from Sourcebooks for helping us bring a little bit of magic, fantasy and adventure into the lives of readers everywhere. We’d like to show our appreciation by offering autographed posters of Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse (cover art by Brandon Dorman!) to use as a giveaway.

Sincerely,

Paul Samuelson

Sourcebooks, Publicity

There it is! I for one would love an autographed poster for my reading room to remind me of this wonderful moment of how Book Bloggers were able to assist in bringing a wonderful book to the attention of the public in a short amount of time.

Thanks to Paul and Sourcebook, I would like to offer you a chance to win an autographed poster of Bran Hambric as well.

This one will be easy! Leave a comment here of what you would do with the poster if you won. That’s it. Open to USA only – no PO box numbers please.

This giveaway will close late afternoon on Sunday September 20th.

Happy BBAW!!!!

See my review of Bran Hambric here