Category: Book Giveaways

Banned Book Week Day Five – 10+ Giveaways and posts

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Day five!  I hope you have been enjoying these posts and finding them informative.  I am having a blast working with all these awesome bloggers who have put forth their thoughts on banned books and many with giveaways too!  Before I list today’s participants remember at the bottom this post I am listing the four previous days participants as well and these are DNM (Do Not Miss) posts!  There has been a lot of great banned book reviews and I have entered some of the awesome giveaways as well!  😀

But first…

 

 

Ok lets see who is up today and what they have to say…

 

The AWESOME Natalie from Coffee and a Book Chick is sharing today about The Chocolate War and hosting a book giveaway! 

 

Sweet Florinda from The 3 R’s Blog  (and I as well!) will be reviewing The Chocolate War, she read it and I listened to it on audio.  Check out my post later because oh yes, there will be chocolate!

 

 

The amazing Cass from Bonjour Cass will be sharing her thoughts about banning children’s books  and she will host a book giveaway as well!

 

 

**  so I am going to break in here to share a fun fact about these 3 above bloggers.  I have all three of them in person in New York.  I had dinner with Natalie and Florinda and I have went to the broadway play, Mary Poppins with Cass. 😀

 

 

Kendal from Kinx Book Nook is sharing thoughts on The Color Of The Earth, a fantastic looking book! 

 

Shannon from I Run, Teach, Read is posting about an old favorite of mine, Little House On The Prairie.  Yup. A banned book.  Check out her post to find out why it was banned.  She is also hosting a giveaway.

 

 

Tara at Finding Wonderland is reviewing Catcher In The Rye with a book giveaway!

 

 

Johnathon Of The Rogue Scholar has taken on Brave New World along with a book giveaway.  (Oh and I am loving his style for his giveaway… just saying 😀 )

 

 

Kai from A Fiction State Of Mind is reviewing LUSH and having a gift card giveaway!

 

Michelle from The True Book Addict is sharing thoughts on The Girl With The Pearl Earring!

 

 

Tracy at Uncharted Parent is posting on The Color Of The Earth (I must get this book!)

 

Wendy at Musings Of A Bookish Kitty is going to talk about a book called Blankets.  I love the cover of this one and I want to know more about it.

 

 

Katie from Book Addict Katie is chatting up To Kill A Mockingbird and offering a book giveaway!

 

 

Stacy from A Novel Source is reviewing The Dead Zone and having a book giveaway (I never get tired of book giveaways… just saying 😀 )

 

 

And do not forget the posts earlier this week with great info and tons of active giveaways!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

 

Dont forget I am offering up a Banned Book Package with a gift card!  By commenting on any (or all) of the posts on banned books I have linked this week – including my own, you are entered… that means one entry per comment so go, learn about these great books – and have some fun!

 

SO that’s todays offerings.  😀  I am working today but an going ot the library to help with their E Book launch this morning which may be fun. 😀   I know I have a banned book ot two to pick up as well, so double duty.  😀   Out weather has turned MUCH COOLER this week which is not making me too thrilled as I have a 50 mile bike ride this coming Sunday in Mankato, MN.

What book are you reading today?

Ready For More? It’s Banned Books – Day Four! (Giveaway Links)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

Day four of banned book week already!  Are we having fun?  Have you learned anything about banned books this week?  (Hang on to that question – I am going to ask again at the end of this post. 😀

 

So… let me dig through the videos… what can we show today.  Hang on, I need to pull some footage off the top shelf….. there.  Ok, here we go:

 

 

And there are the amazing bloggers who have banned book posts and giveaways to celebrate today:

 

Gina At Book Dragon’s Lair comes today with her thoughts on The Absolute True Diary Of A Part Time Indian

 

Suey from Its All About Books is going to talk to us about Slaughterhouse Five (I haven’t read this one yet!) and a book giveaway!

 

My buddy Ryan from Reading In Taiwan wrote a great post of Fahrenheit 451 and a discussion on the ban.

 

Kristi from Kristi Loves Books is going to chat about The Lord Of The Flies (creepy title!) and a book giveaway!

 

Rachel from Resistance Is Futile is back with Blood and Chocolate.

 

April from Reading To Write is talking The Land Of The Painted Caves

 

Crys from Book Em! is discussing SPEAK or Part Time Indian and I cant wait to see which one!  AND a book giveaway!

 

Sharon from Sharon’s Garden Of Book Reviews is going to discuss Hunger Games and do a book giveaway!

 

 

Stephanie from On Page And Screen is up today for American Psycho and a gift card giveaway!

 

 

Mine, The Giver with a copy to give away (get that?  The giver?  Then I give a copy…. LOL 😛 )

 

 

And dont forget the past three days of posts and giveaways that are still going on:

 

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Also, if you are enjoying banned book week, make sure that anytime you stop and check out Bonnie’s Banned Book Blog .  Bonnie posts reviews about banned books all tear long and when I am organized (ummmm…. not currently) I post my banned book reviews there as well. 😀

 

Ok, I need to get ready for work but I will be back this afternoon to posy another banned book review and… some fun 😀

Have you learned anything about banned books this week?

The Giver by Lois Lowry (Banned Book Week with a giveaway copy!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)50 Comments

Jonas lives in a world where there is no poverty, no sickness, and no thought or dream that is left unturned by his elders.  In Jonas futuristic world, children are given privileges and assignments by age.  At 9, you earn your bike… your transportation.  At 12, which is where Jonas is at, you are assigned your life career bu the elders of the community.  While Jonas anxiously wonders what he will be – and hopes he likes what is chosen for him…

Jonas is assigned a position that was considered an honor position, he would be The Receiver Of Memories.  At first, this seems pretty cool.  Jonas is given rights that others (even the elders) have never been given.  While being trained by the elderly man “The Giver” who has maintained the position for years, Jonas is allowed to ask questions that in other places would be rude, but as the Receiver, he had privileges and rights.  He is given the right to see and posses all the memories through the history of his world and he soon learns he can go back in this new memory and see birthday parties (something he had never seen!) and scents, and families, and the word love… but he also sees war, and learns the truth about his world, a truth he does not wish to know…

and now he has to decide if he can live with knowing…

 

Reminds me a bit of the Hunger Games

 

Why did I want to read this book?  This is another book that has graced my shelves for years…. I knew this was a book that I must read, but I had not.  Now, during Banned Book Week, the title came up on the list and I knew it was time.  I chose the audio version as it is a little over 4 hours long and worked well into my schedule – I could listen while cooking and cleaning.

I admit, I am always a little nervous on older titles that deal with “futuristic” scenarios.  I never have enjoyed sci-fi, but let me stand before you.. corrected.  The Giver is dystopian before dystopia novels were cool.  Or, more accurately, before we knew dystopia novels were cool.  I picked up themes of The Hunger Games, and Divergent…. two books I really enjoyed.

And another thing.  The Giver, although the cover is a picture of this God-like old man… is indeed a YA novel.  Seriously, I am blown away.

The Giver is one of those books that I would say need to be on everyone’s book bucket list.  Filled with wisdom and thought provoking dialogue, The Giver is one that will remain on my keeper shelf. 

 

Why was The Giver Banned?

* The Giver was challenged in 1995 by a parent in Franklin County, Kansas, on the grounds that it is “concerned with murder, suicide, and the degradation of motherhood and adolescence.” The book was removed from elementary libraries but remained available for classroom use at teachers’ discretion.

* In Wrenshall, Minnesota, a school board member and two parents objected to the inclusion of The Giver on a list of books to be purchased for a high school, on the grounds of offensive language and objectionable themes. The school board approved the book but stipulated that parents would receive a list of books to be studied during the year.

* In Johnson County, Missouri, complainants charged that The Giver desensitized children to euthanasia and asked that the book “not be read in class to children under high school age.” The book remains in the high school section of the K-12 library.

* A parent in Sidney, New York, publicly objected to the novel’s “usage of mind control, selective breeding, and the elimination of the old and young alike when they are weak, feeble and of no more use…” but did not file a formal complaint.

* A review committee in Brecksville, Ohio, recommended the removal of The Giver from an elementary library. Objections referred to infanticide and adult themes in the novel. The book was removed.

* Somewhere in Oklahoma, a parent objected to the novel’s use of terms such as “clairvoyance,” “transcendent,” and “guided imagery,” because these are “all occult New Age practices the Bible tells us to avoid.” The review committee voted unanimously to retain the book but prohibited it from being read aloud in fourth grade. The committee also recommended that immature readers be discouraged from trying it, and that the librarian should make fewer copies available.

* Medford, Oregon: In the absence of a formal review policy, language arts teachers decided not to use the book in seventh grade classrooms after a parent complained of graphic descriptions of euthanasia.

* In 1994, The Giver was temporarily banned from classes by the Bonita Unified School District in LaVerne and San Dimas, California, after four parents complained that violent and sexual passages were inappropriate for children.

* The book was restricted to students with parental permission at the Columbia Falls, Mont. school system in 1995 because of its treatment of themes of infanticide and euthanasia.

I am giving away a copy of this book!

To enter this giveaway – share with me in a comment, using the book you are currently reading (banned or not) and tell me why that book should be banned.  Just make something up!  Have fun with it!  😀  Winner will be chosen on Sunday using random.org 🙂

Banned Book Week Day 3 – OH! The Giveaways!!!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments

Day three!  Are we having fun yet?  I sure am!  I hope you had a chance to check out the Day 1 posts and giveaways and the day 2 posts and giveaways.  There is a lot of great information in the posts and a lot of wonderful books and gift cards being given away.  I hope you can take some time to visit these great blogs and bloggers. 😀
Here’s a little Banned book Video to get you in the mood:

Now that you are warmed up!  Here are todays wonderful bloggers that are going to share with you some of their thoughts on banned books:

Laura from A Library Of Clean Reads is going to share with us her thoughts on The Great Gatsby with a gift card giveaway!

 

Daenel from Living Outside The Stacks is also going to chat up To Kill A  Mockingbird today and she is also giving away a gift card!  NICE!!!

 

Charity from The Bookworm Fairy returns with her trilogy watp up as she shares about Mockingjay (yes that is a mocking bird above and now we have added a mocking jay…) Charity’s giveaway of the trilogy and the movie is a do not miss!

 

Lisa from Lit and Life is going to talk banned books today – have you seen her incredible blog layout?  Go take a peek!

 

The Brunette Librariankeeps things going with The Glass Castle and a gift card giveaway!

 

And here comes Jennifer from The Relentless Reader covering an old favorite of mine, Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret.

 

Stephanie at On Page And Screen is talking about one I am really curious about, American Psycho and offering a gift card giveaway!

 

Joy from Joystory is going to discuss Judy Blume (SSSSQQQUUUEEE!) and will be having a crocheted book mark giveaway!

 

Sue from Great Books For Kids and Teens has a little Banned Book talk for you.

 

Sue also has a post at Book by Book which if her adult blog!

 

 

Suko’s Notebook talks banned books and what she is reading this week.

 

 

Jennifer from Book Den is going to discuss A Wrinkle In Time – one I have yet to read but  want to!!!

 

Wendy from Musings Of A Bookish Kitty is going to discuss The Absolute True Diary Of A Part Time Indian (LOVE this one!)

 

*Remember all comments on all posts this week that are linked here (including my own) will go into a drawing for a prize package of banned books and a gift card!

 

How is that for an amazing line up? 

 

and this great link about banned books will give you a chance to win 30 e-books!  Apparently people are backing up Banned book Week and I am loving it!

If you have missed the last two days posts and giveaways do not fear – they are active and could use a visit from you:

Banned Book posts and giveaways day 1!

Banned Book posts and giveaways day 2!

Are you reading banned books this week?  How about movies off of banned books – there are some great ones out there… Hunger Games, Harry Potter, The Lorax, Charlotte’s Web…

Banned Book Week Day 2 Posts And Giveaways!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Good morning!  I normally do not post on Mondays but instead let the Monday meme ride, but it is banned book week so if you are looking for Monday, What Are You Reading, link up here to that.

However – if you are those book readers who enjoy bad horrible filthy books… this is where you want to be.  😀 

LOL…. just kidding… but if you have followed the Banned Books lists and reviews then you know… there are some WONDERFUL and AMAZING books that have been banned and challenged through the years and honestly?  I just think it is really fun to celebrate them!

Today I have a whole other group of Banned Book reviews and giveaways and I am hoping you will take time to show them some comment love and check out what they have to say!  😀  Remember, I am running a giveaway package this week and all comments on all the banned book posts that I have shared with you during this week will be entered. 

 

 

Here are todays posts:

 

Liesel from Musings On Fantasia has a post up called:  Three Reasons Why Banning Is Not The Answer and a sweet giveaway!

 

Tracy from Pen and Paper (she cracks me up!) has a post up of Dr. Suess’s Green Eggs and Ham – see I told you the bans would surprise you!

 

Sarah from Sawcats Book Blog shares her thoughts on the book 1984 (one I have yet to read!) and a great giveaway!

 

Charity from The Bookworm Fairy continues her banned book series with Catching Fire and if you have not seen the awesome package she is giving away you really need to check it out!

 

Shannon from Giraffe Days is talking about The Color Purple (amazing book if you have not read it yet!) and another great giveaway!

 

Rachel at Resistance Is Futile has a post about The Headless Cupid (new to me) and it looks interesting!

 

Stacy from A Novel Source is posting about The Dead Zone (perfect for Halloween!!!) and she is also having a giveaway!

 

Shelly Rae at Book’d Out is sharing her thoughts on The Perks Of Being A Wallflower  ( a book I will be reviewing this week too!) 

 

 

So that is today’s list!  I have several reviews ready, not sure which way I am going today yet but know… there will be something banned going on here 😀 

In recap – all of yesterdays posts and giveaways  from Banned Book Day 1 are still going all week so please stop by and check them out as well!

Do you see any books on this list today that surprise you?

Banned Book Week Kick Off! Seven Days of Books, Reviews, and MANY Giveaways!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

It’s here!  It’s finally here! Today officially kicks off  Banned Book Week

and I am going to ask you to bookmark my blog this week and keep on stopping by because many awesome book bloggers have signed up to celebrate these books with me!  They (as well as myself) will be doing this by posting about banned and challenged books, as well as many will be having a giveaway.  Each morning I will list which blogs on participating on that day and I hope you will stop by their blogs and show them some comment love.  😀

I will be putting together a banned book package that will be given away to one of the commenters on these posts – that means that I will be counting all the posts that I link this week as well as my own banned book posts and entering those who comment in a drawing for the package.  The more posts you comment on, the more times you will be in the drawing.  The package will include several banned books as well as a gift card.  Winner will be announced at the end of the banned book event, next Sunday morning here. 

So let’s get this party started right?

Elida at My First, My Last, My Everything is posting about Bridehead Revisited and she giving away a copy of the book!

Shelena at Writer Quirk is talking about Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan and she has not one, but TWO prize packages she is giving away!

Kelly at The Well-Read Redhead is chatting up One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and offering up a giveaway copy as well.

Bex at An Armchair By The Sea is talking about banned books and offering a giveaway for a choice of a Banned Book!

Charity at The Bookworm Fairy is reviewing The Hunger Games Today as well as offering up a copy of the book giveaway!

Elisha Of Rainy Day Reviews is discussing The Adventured Of Huckleberry Finn.

Pam at Unconventional Librarian is posting about To Kill A Mockingbird and hosting a giveaway for that book as well.

Jennifer Of The Bookie Nook is talking about SPEAK today (love that one!) and giving away a copy of it as well.

Laura at Owl Tell You About It is reviewing The Perks Of Being A Wallflower and offering up a giveaway copy as well (SQQQUUUEEEE!  I don’t have that one in book format!) 

I am also participating in The Banned Book Hop – lots and lots more of banned book giveaways 😀

and I will be posting my review of Prep later today with a giveaway 😀

Some of these books I have read, some are new to me and I want to read them!  If you already own any of the books listed above, enter anyway because you can always give these great books to another reader.  😀

Are you reading any banned/challenged books this week?

Banned Book Hop!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)153 Comments

Banned Book Week is coming and if you have been around here at all you know I am hosting a Big Banned Book Week Party with giveaways and reviews of Banned Books and Banned Book topics.  This is my third year hosting a banned book event!

This time I am also participating in the Banned Book Hop as well hosted by the awesome I Am A Reader, Not A Writer!  There are so many Banned Books I love:  To Kill a Mockingbird, SPEAK, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Hunger Games, all the Harry Potter books and more!  For a list of banned/challenged books check it out here.

My giveaway is for a $15 Amazon Gift card for hopefully a Banned/Challenged Book!  To enter, simply leave a comment here letting me know which banned book you would purchase if you were to win.  For one bonus entry, subscribe to Bookjourney by email – see upper right sidebar and let me know you did in a comment.  If you already subscribe, let me know and I will count you as well. 😀

Check out all the other participants here!

Bloggiesta Mini Challenge: Bring the Hits: Building a blog audience

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)42 Comments

Happy Bloggiesta!!!  (If you have not connected yet with Bloggiesta hurry over to the starting line now!)  This is going to be fun!  I hope everyone is ready to do some fun bloggish “to do’s” this weekend!  I know I am. 

My name is Sheila and I created this little world you are seeing here called Book Journey.  I started blogging in June of 2009 with a book review and no idea what I was doing.  For my Bloggiesta mini challenge I am going to give some tips I have learned along the way to help build an audience to your posts.

1.  So you have written what you believe to be an awesome post.  You hit publish and you excitedly await for people to visit and comment and join in your thoughts.  Everyone loves comments.  They are, as my friend Amanda said once, the bread and butter of a book blogger.  So knowing this, instead of waiting for people to find us, we should also be going out and finding them.  Set yourself goals – maybe visit 5 or 10 new blogs a day that you have not checked out before.  I find many new blogs to check out on the sidebars of the blogs I enjoy reading.  Visit.  Leave a real comment that would make that blogger want to see who you are and what you are about.  You may be surprised how many of those bloggers will come and see what you are blogging about right back.

In the early days of my book blogging, I visited and visited and visited… by doing this people knew I was out there, and many of my readers today have come from those early days.  Once you have them as regular readers, you tend to pick up some of their readers as well.

2.  So….. now you have people visiting, what are you showing them?  When the visitors come to your blog, you want to have your best post us front – after all, this is company!  😀  By saying the best post, I mean write posts that are informative or fun, whatever you are writing about.  Think about a first timer to your blog, is what you have written here going to cause them to follow you, or come back and visit again?   When I write a review that has a lot of passion for a book I really enjoyed or something crazy in my life, I want people to read it – laugh with me, share their thoughts with me – even be frustrated with me. 

3.  Blog layout.  Take a moment and look at your blog with an objective eye.  Does it have curb appeal?  Are the colors easy for visitors to read.  Is it easy to find where to comment?  Is the sidebar(s) if you have them, neat and current? 

The Mini Challenge

My Challenge for you , if you choose to accept it, is to go and visit 10 blogs today that are either new to you or you have not visited in a while.  Leave a good comment that contributes to the post.  Come back here and let me know in the comments that you did this and if you discovered a cool blog that you enjoyed and will probably check out again, let me know that as well.  You can enter this mini challenge once each day of Bloggiesta – in other words, you can visit 10 blogs or more each day of Bloggiesta and let me know each time here and I will enter you for each f the three days you participate.  Yes, up to three entries per person.  After Bloggiesta I will draw a winner using random.org for a $10 gift card to Amazon that will be emailed to you.  If the comments reach over 75, I will add a second winner of a $10 gift card. 

Throughout this weekend by doing the mini challenges you will find all sorts of awesome tips from some amazing bloggers!  Your blog can come out the other side of this weekend all shiny and new and tweaked to awesomeness!  Have fun! 

The Bel Canto Party Is Here!!! Come One, Come All!!!

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Welcome!  Welcome!  Come on in, the door is open wide and you are invited to come in.  May I take your coat?  The champagne is to the left and waiters are about with tasty hor duerves.  Be sure to head into the main lounge before too long as the party is about to begin.

I am very excited about chatting up Bel Canto with all of you.  If you read it for the read a long (YAY!) or you read it some time ago, you are welcome to join in the fun and conversation that is happening here today.

Bel Canto comes from a term meaning “beautiful singing” and is an opera term.  Bel Canto has won many awards including The Orange Prize for fiction, Faulkner Award and Amazons Best Books Of The Year Award in 2001.

Here are some questions to ponder for the discussion…

1.  What makes Bel Canto Work?  What is it about this book that draws you in and makes you imagine what if… and what would you do.

 

2.  If Ann Patchett’s book feasible – could this really ever happen.  Why or why not?

 

3.  What do you think is the authors motive for writing this story?

 

4.  What does Roxanne Cross bring to the book?  Why is her character so central?

 

5.  Was anyone to blame for what happened when the party was taken over and everyone became hostages?  What precautions were missing?

 

6.  Did you like the way the story was told, a narration of someone looking back and telling of past events.  Would it have been better told from a present perspective – why or why not?

 

7.  Would you recommend Bel Canto to others?  Why or why not.

 

 

Feel free to respond to any or all of the above questions and add your own thoughts and questions as well.   A linky has been set up for those who have also reviewed the book so please add your review to the link provided.  Those who link their reviews of this book will receive an entry for a couple of Bel Canto party giveaways – relevant comments on this post that add to the discussion will receive one entry per relevant comment.  I will announce winner on Tuesday morning.

The giveaways for this post are as follows:

 

Prima Bel Canto Fabric Flowers (set of 6)

 

 

A new copy of Ann Patchett’s book RUN

 

Link your reviews here:

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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

BBAW: ANd so… the time has come…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments

 

Wow did that week go by fast or what?  I am sitting here with COFFEE CUP looking at the books I was giving away this week – I still have one more – and well… wow.  This is it.

Todays questions was what did we get out of the week.  This was the first week, yesterday actually – where I was able to actually just sit down and enjoy blogs and blogging.  Usually I am squeezing in a few minutes here, half a post there, drafting when I can..but yesterday I had my first lay low day in a long time and I took full advantage of hanging out with Laptop and pounding out a couple posts and a lot of visits, and you know what?

It felt good.

Today will be a bit the same.  The crew is finally coming today to start my book shelves and I am going to take laptop and the dogs downstairs and do a little reading and writing and stay out of the construction.  (Unless I sneak up to get a picture or two….)

Have a great rest of BBAW everyone.  Be sure to check out the BBAW site and see the giveaways and the posts – and maybe meet a new blogger or two along the way. 😀

My last giveaway is Night Road by Kristin Hannah.  I have two copies of this book.  I have not read it yet but have heard good things.  Leave me a comment today sharing with me what you enjoy most about book blogs. 😀  I will choose a winner and announce tomorrow winner along with my other giveaways going on this blog this week.

 

Happy Friday! 😀