Thanks to Valerie with Hachette Book Group I am thrilled to be able to offer up tp 5 copies of Life After Genius for giveaway!
Theodore Mead Fegley has always been the smartest person he knows. By age 12, he was in high school, and by 15 he was attending a top-ranking university. And now, at the tender age of 18, he’s on the verge of proving the Riemann Hypothesis, a mathematical equation that has mystified academics for almost 150 years. But only days before graduation, Mead suddenly packs his bags and flees home to rural Illinois. What has caused him to flee remains a mystery to all but Mead and a classmate whose quest for success has turned into a dangerous obession.
At home, Mead finds little solace. His past ghosts haunt him; his parents don’t understand the agony his genius has caused him, nor his desire to be a normal kid, and his dreams seem crushed forever. He embarks on a new life’s journey — learning the family business of selling furniture and embalming the dead–that disappoints and surprises all who knew him as “the young Fegley genius.”
Equal parts academic thriller and poignant coming-of-age story, LIFE AFTER GENIUS follows the remarkable journey of a young man who must discover that the heart may know what the head hasn’t yet learned.
1) Leave a comment here with what your dream job is
*Additional Entries*
2) second entry if you blog, tweet or Facebook about this giveaway. let me know on a separate comment here
3) third entry if you comment on any non giveaway post and let me know here on a separate comment
Thats it! I have up to 5 books to give away – I will give one away per 10 comments – 50 comments will let me give all 5 away! Giveaway will end on November 22. USA and Canada entrants only please.
Yup! I am so excited. I am able to bring this feature back as I had a couple more people come forward who wanted to share about their Book Clubs. Thank you! Thank you! I love hearing about all the different clubs out there and how they do their book meetings!
This morning I introduce to you Sondra and her book club The Pillars!
The Pillars
Hi Sondra! I am super excited to have you at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books today! Is there a link that will take us to your book club?
I love the layout of that page! I wish I could do something like that for our book club. How long has your group been meeting?
Sondra: Since November 2008
How often do you meet?
Sondra: Quarterly
Quarterly? Now I am really interested to know about that! When you do meet, do you have someone who leads the discussion?
Sondra: Each quarter we have a different person as the hostess and they lead the discussions.
Where do you meet?
Sondra: The hostess of the quarter decides on the location. We usually travel to different locations and make the meeting a weekend retreat centered around the book.
Ok! There it is. I am joining your group! How fun! Now I understand why you meet quarterly! A whole event around the book. That sounds so amazing! How many of you are in this book group?
Sondra: 15 Women
What is the age group represented in your book club?
Sondra: 23 to 60
Do you have any certain genres you read?
The Pillars in New Orleans
Sondra: We read a combination of genres.
That’s what we do too… books all over the board! How do you choose what you will read?
Sondra: Members bring book ideas to the meetings and we vote after reviewing a summary of the books.
I probably don’t even have to ask this next questions as your group sounds fantastic! How do you keep things fun?
Sondra: We center our meetings around the book. Eat the foods mentioned in the book, travel to the places in the book,
and play jeopardy (with prizes!) to challenge the readers about the book.
Ahhhh! You travel to places in the book! I bet that makes choosing your next read even more incredible. Does your group meet for anything else other than your book meetings?
Sondra: We meet quarterly for community service events.
Do you have a funny or “book club meeting gone bad” story to share?
Sondra: Yes, we had a boring history book that most of the members had a very hard time reading prior to the meeting. None of the members let on that they hadn’t completed the book until discussion time came around and they were not able to answer the questions.
Sondra, What advice would you give to other book clubs?
Sondra: Have fun and be open to all genres!
Sondra, thank you so much for sharing about your amazing book club today! I appreciate you opening this group up to us to read about! Yo sound like a wonderful group and I bet you have traveled to some amazing places!
*** Readers – the first Picture of The Pillars was taken at a cabin in Burnett, TX, where they held their initial book discussion. They spent the weekend getting to know each other. They planned activities around the book selection of the quarter and discussed the future of the book club.
The second picture was taken at their meeting in New Orleans, LA during their book discussion weekend for “Cane River“. They visited all the sites listed in the book that we could find starting in Natchitoches, LA, home of the Cane River Plantation, down to New Orleans, LA..
If you are part of a book club (on line or off) I would love to chat with you and feature you in this Wednesday spot. If you are interested, please email me at journey through books @ gmail.com
I am sure I have given my take on the Kindle in the past. In fact. I know I have. I like a book…. I like the feel, the shape, and the smell. I like to see them all pretty and colorful on book shelves. I scoffed at poor Jodi in my book club who had went to a Kindle. I would go down arguing pro books on this issue in a pile of beautiful hardcovers… but I would go down fighting.
Yup. That’s my take.
Then in my email…. comes the nook. What is this? It is slim…. it actually kind of of looking…. if you go for sleek, easy to pull out in a moments notice, information at your fingertips day or night…
Its like the hot looking bad boy…
of books.
While I LOVE LOVE LOVE my reading room, while I always know I will favor a “book book” over an e book….
I have to admit I am having visions of boarding planes without lugging 5 or 6 heavy books along. Visions of being stuck in traffic and able to take this little baby out of my purse and read a bit without people freaking out because I am that crazy girl behind the wheel of a car reading a book… again. I am also having visions of blow drying my hair without having to prop my book open with the squeeze bottle of hair product to hold my place….
Oh…. I think I may be crushing on the nook.
What are your thoughts on this topic? To e read or not e read…. that is the question?
How fun! Thanks to Hachette, I am able now to give five sets of these wonderful books away! I have just drawn my winners using random.org and our winners are:
(ahem…. bring on the drum roll please)
WORDLILLY
DIANE
DIANA
JACKIE LESTER
AMY STEELE
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! ENJOY THE BOOKS – WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY EMAIL
A girl and a tree… which one really has the deeper roots? Which one really is the stronger? ~ Sheila
Synopsis
A moving coming-of-age story set in the 1900’s, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the lives of 11-year-old Francie Nolan, her younger brother Neely, and their parents, Irish immigrants who have settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Johnny Nolan is as loving and fanciful as they come, but he is also often drunk and out of work, unable to find his place in the land of opportunity. His wife Katie scrubs floors to put food on the table and clothes on her childrens’ backs, instilling in them the values of being practical and planning ahead.
When Johnny dies, leaving Katie pregnant, Francie, smart, pensive and hoping for something better, cannot believe that life can carry on as before. But with her own determination, and that of her mother behind her, Francie is able to move toward the future of her dreams, completing her education and heading oft to college, always carrying the beloved Brooklyn of her childhood in her heart.
My Thoughts:
A tree grows in Brooklyn was a pleasant read for a classic. By saying that I mean that some of the classics we have read in the past have just been hard reads – hard to understand and hard to get into. This books writing was smooth and I could follow the story easily. The book is centered around Francie and her family in the back drop of World War One. Told from the perspective of Francie, I quickly was engrossed in the absolute and utter level of poverty they were.
Food is a big theme in this book and while they had very little, Francie’s mom Katie could work wonders with it. There is always stale bread and crushed pies, and bone marrow to spread on bread as a treat after the bone has been used in soups. Meat was a rare treat. This book reminded me a bit of The Book Thief as far as the poverty and making the best of what they have.
I enjoyed the theme of the book, yet found it for the most part non eventful. The book goes page by page through Francie’s life, what she sees in her parents (her dad drinks too much and her mom works hard cleaning homes to make ends meet). You see Francie is school and you learn her love for books and for learning. The book carries you through Francie’s life and through this I see comparable to the tree that grows outside their home… the tree seems to represent Francie – strong and yet with struggles, continuing to grow.
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn was published in 1943. The book sold 300,000 copies in the first six weeks after it was published. How amazing is that! I find it astonishing that I have never read this book before. This as well as most of the other greats were never required reading in our local schools.
This was our book club read for October. Each October we pick a Classic and this was the pick for 2009. We gathered at my home and we potlucked around the theme of the book. I made minestrone and strata, which is an egg bake with sautéed onion and mushroom and peppers. It was actually pretty good and it was fun to cook for the group. Some of the other book club members brought bread pudding, and desserts. We even had Klondike Bars in honor of the Klondike dance that takes place in the book.
We found Katie’s sister Sissy the most colorful character by far. She was truly a woman who was 100% true to who she was and even today you have to find those people who do not wear masks, refreshing. We discussed how Betty wrote this book to show people what Brooklyn was like in that day.
We also discussed the pride that people had then. Although they were all levels of poor, they would not be the one to raise their hand when pie was offered in class. Friends and neighbors were more – well friends and neighbors. You helped one another get through and that is not always the case today.
Overall this book rating by the Bookies came up as an above average read and that would be our highest rating we have had yet on a classic.
I just now drew (using random.org) a winner for the wonderful giveaway from Cami , author of The Sister Pact (which I really enjoyed!) This winner will receive an autographed copy of the book from the author.
And…. our winner is….
Congratulations! Remember to sign up for more giveaways happening here under the Giveaway Tab
I am on the Caribbean Island of Nevis with Meg Owen looking over her newly inherited property of an old plantation house. I am getting a sense that there is something more here… piano music playing at odd hours of the night, a diary, and the rumors of ghosts….
I have to wonder what could have happened here on this property so many, many years ago? Does it lie with the secrets of the Dall family who used to live on the property? What has caused the restlessness of the spirits and what can I help Meg do to put them to rest?
This is one of those mornings. It was pitch black outside when I woke up this morning at 7 am. Honestly I think the only think that made me move was knowing that Coffee Cup was waiting for me. 🙂 So I got up and tried to think of something witty for this mornings post. And…
Nothing.
Nada.
I am coming up empty here….
Thank goodness for book topics! I will never run out of things to talk about with books. One of my first favorite authors… Oh, let me define what favorite author means to me:
Favorite Author (as defined in DeChantal’s Dictionary): An author who’s books can not – will not, no way, no how, be missed…. having waited months for said book to come out it is quickly devoured and then mourned as it is over and now the reader is left hungry for more and chasing down tips on Google as to when the next book will be out and why oh why can they not write faster??????
Ok. That said…. one of those authors for me started in my teen years and that was Dean Koontz. The man – could write no wrong. (Until he did – but that’s another story). And today as I am picking my brain for a fun topic and at the same time knowing I am in an odd caffeine stimulated mood…. I find out Dean Koontz does have a book coming out soon, and here it is:
Isn’t it beautiful? The thing is that even though Dean Koontz was one of my first favorites… as years have gone by and my reading palate has grown to crave the taste of so many different genres, so many different authors, that now I could not choose a favorite. Of course… my hearts till skips a beat when I see a book such as Breathless and know that there is a pretty good chance that there is a spectacular story between the hard cover binding.
I looked at this book this morning and while it is not being released until November 24, it is currently marked at $9.00. WHAT???? Needless to say I have preordered to lock in that price and I keep looking at it thinking I am missing something to explain this low price…
So how about you? Do you have any favorite authors or once favorite authors that you never miss(ed) a book?
Laugh out loud… Mp Kavanaugh writes in a style that caused me to open up the book, read the first page and my legs gave out from under me as I hit the couch and did not put it down until the end. ~ Sheila
Synopsis
Family Plots is a fresh and funny autobiographical novel about a young mother trying against all odds to create a normal family life with her new husband, a criminal attorney, who—it turns out—is committing a few crimes of his own. The novel offers readers a wry, unsentimental account of a marriage barreling toward calamity. In an attempt to find romance, family, and financial stability, its struggling heroine stumbles into a world of pseudonyms, fake weddings, and hidden bank accounts. Events that land many of the players into the family cemetery plot also reveal unexpected secrets and stashes that manage, in small ways, to transform a tale of seeming tragedy into one of surprising healing and redemption.
Book Tour
My Thoughts:
So here I am again… tiptoeing into a book that makes me wonder what I am about to read. With a title like Family Plots, Love, Death, and Tax Evasion… I admit I am concerned yet intrigued. As I started reading chapter one I relaxed into what I can say is a pleasant and easy read. The words flowed off the pages and I was instantly there – with Mary – at the mailbox, studying her neighbors whose life she envisions as near perfect, and I am there as she pulls the letter out of the mailbox on page 4:
Dear Mary,
I am very sorry to hear that you still haven’t set any kind of wedding date. You surely must want to give your darling Rachel a family name, or just what is it today? Are you one of the turncoats of today? There is just no morality any more and soon the United States will be a mess, as you will probably live to see. I thought you said your college boyfriend Kevin was a wonderful man. Also you told me that he was a catholic. You are 27 years old and a mother! What on earth is wrong with you? Get yourself married and be decent. You’ll be lot happier.
Love and prayers, Grandma Hazel
I thought about showing the letter to my “college boyfriend Kevin” also known as the Impregnator-a nickname I’d invented recently, after struggling to find a proper title when asked if he were my husband.
Ok – ha ha…. I was in! When I picked up this book the plan was to to just read a few pages to get the flow of the read and then get back to it later. Instead, I found myself sinking on to the couch in the position that I was going to get back up any minute and read on later. Uhhh… yeah… about that… 2 hours later I am still onthe couch but now curled up and engrossed deeply into this delightfiul read.
M P Kavanaugh writes in a style that reached out from the pages and pulled me in. As our main character mary leaps out of one relationship into another, changes career choices and finds herself in a situation that is spinning her out of control. I laughed out loud many times (thank goodness I was usually alone while reading!) and have to say that the publishers that passed on this one made a mistake.
M P Kavanaugh says that much of this book is based on actual happenings…. well, whatever it was that made this book happen – I am all for.
The Author – Mary Patrick Kavanaugh
Mary Patrick Kavanaugh has a lively work history that includes time served in a wide range of professions, ranging from private investigator to Avon Lady. Being bossy and entrepreneurial by nature, she has spent the majority of her adult career providing executive management and strategic marketing planning for start-up businesses and organizations.
A writer since the age of eight, Mary’s award winning creative non-fiction has been published in Alligator Juniper, Room of One’s Own, San Jose Mercury News, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Her professional writing has appeared in numerous trade journals. Mary is the 2003 recipient of the nonfiction award from the Soul Making Literary Competition sponsored by the American Pen Women, and winner of a 2004 honorable mention. She was awarded writing fellowships at The David and Julia White Artist Colony, Hedgebrook: Women Authoring Change, and The Vermont Studio Center. She recently published her first book, Family Plots: Love, Death, and Tax Evasion.
Despite public displays of disappointment over the rejection of her novel, the author celebrates having one perfect daughter, one happy marriage with a loving (but now dead) husband, one well-adjusted cat that prefers to live with her aunt, a great day job, and a confusing, yet fun, personal life. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from University of San Francisco (2003), a BA in History from San Francisco State University (1988), good teeth, and an excellent credit rating. Mary currently serves as director for an educational peer networking organization at the University of California at Irvine.
Talk about your author with a great sense of humor! After her book was rejected by sixteen (16!) top NYC publishers, Mary self published her book and then had a funeral for her dreams of landing a mainstream book contract. The following video clip is this funeral.
This book was given to me for review from Pump Up Your Book Promotions
Thanks to Valerie with Hachette Book Group I am thrilled to be able to offer up tp 5 copies of Life After Genius for giveaway!
Book Journey 