Giveaway – Page 29 – Book Journey

I recently entered a really cool 30 day challenge with about 1,800 women around the world and part of that challenge was to read a chapter a day out of this book. (See more about the challenge details at my blog Straight On Through.)

What really amazed me is that although I have read this book before, breaking it down a chapter a day made a ton of difference. I would read my chapter in the morning while I prepped for my day and do the prayer for my husband that followed each chapter. By going through this book this way, it really gave me time to let that days chapter sink in and as I thought about the chapter throughout my day I would again bring it before God in prayer.

Stormie O Martian is an incredible author who has written many books on prayer that I would highly recommend. I have also gone through her book Power of a Praying Parent which is also a great read for women with children of any age.

Power of a Praying Wife is a book that you can go through again and again and get something different and profound out of it every time. This book is filled with situations that women have gone through and have had remarkable results with the power of Prayer.

I have a new copy of this book that I would like to offer for giveaway. You have until July 27th to sign up for this one. As always, please addresses within the US only.

To sign up:

For one entry – leave a comment here (be sure I have a way to email you if you are the winner)

For an additional entry – post about this review with giveaway and leave a message here with the link to that post

That’s it.

Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

Published on June 28, 2009July 16, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)3 Comments

When the body of a local teenager is found in a community garden, detective Gus Ramone relives intense memories of a twenty-year old case. Back when he was a rookie, Ramone and his partner “Doc” Holiday assisted legendary detective T.C. Cook in the investigation of a series of murders involving young victims. The killer, dubbed the “Night Gardener”, was never caught.

The fierce sense of anger, regret, and purpose that once burned among these three men comes rushing back as they race to vanquish the monster who has stalked their dreams. For Cook, now retired, it means solving one of the few cases that eluded him. For Holiday, whose career as a cop was derailed, it’s one last chance to redeem himself. For Ramone, catching the killer means not only doing his job but knowing that his own teenage son, who is a friend of the dead boy, won’t be the next victim.

This was my first Pelecanos book and I really found that he knows how to create characters. Not only were the characters vivid, life like people who you could picture living in your neighborhood, but Pelecanos created great backgrounds for them as well – so you didn’t just know them as they were today – but how they used to be as well as their families. As each important character unfolded, I felt I really had a clear picture of who they were, well, as clean as you can have in a murder mystery…. (just when you think you know someone…)

The story line revolves around a 20 year old murder case and the three cops who were involved. This book brings the three back to together on a current murder case that seems to have the same feel as the one from all those years ago that never was solved. While the story line was great – I found it took a long time for the three police to get together. Almost two thirds of the way through the book.

I enjoyed Gus Ramone’s character and family. As a central character he made the book for me. I enjoyed his scenes with his family and his dealings with his children and the troubles at school.

The ending – without giving anything away. Is well done and I applaud Pelecanos for this writing. I was pleased to find that the book ended with a great closing that sometimes, often times, is missed in many good reads.

A great book for the fans of crime and action stories.

*Note – strong language in some parts of the book

Don’t forget there is a giveway offer for 5 copies of this book! Contest is listed here: Giveaway for The Night Gardener. This giveaway ends the 30th of June so sign up today! 🙂

Giveaway! Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

Published on June 27, 2009July 16, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)40 Comments

Now this one looks like fun! Thank you to Anna Balasi and Hachette Book Group for the opportunity to review this book as well as offer 5 copies for giveaway!

Julie & Julia, the bestselling memoir that’s “irresistible….A kind of Bridget Jones meets The French Chef” (Philadelphia Inquirer), is now a major motion picture. Julie Powell, nearing thirty and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, resolves to reclaim her life by cooking in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves’ livers and aspic, but a new life-lived with gusto. The film version is written and directed by Nora Ephron and stars Amy Adams as Julie and Meryl Streep as Julia.

1. Post here with a comment of what the worst job you ever had was.

2. For a second chance to win, please post this contest to your blog and post a link to it for me to see.

3. For a third chance to win post this contest on twitter or to your blog with a comment back here to the link

Contest will run through July 15th. The winners are chosen by using random.com. I will post the 5 winners here as well as email you for your mailing information. The books will come from the publisher. Please US entries only and no po boxes.

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Giveaway: The Imposter’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell

Published on June 27, 2009July 20, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)19 Comments

Thank you to Anna Balasi and Hachette Book Group for a review copy of this book and 5 to give away!

Laurie Sandell grew up in awe (and sometimes in terror) of her larger-than-life father, who told jaw-dropping tales of a privileged childhood in Buenos Aires, academic triumphs, heroism during Vietnam, friendships with Kissinger and the Pope. As a young woman, Laurie unconsciously mirrors her dad, trying on several outsized personalities . Later, she lucks into the perfect job–interviewing celebrities for a top women’s magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father has given Laurie a knack for relating to the stars. But while researching an article on her dad’s life, she makes an astonishing discovery: he’s not the man he says he is–not even close. Now, Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from them–herself.

This book is not yet released and is not available in stores until July 29. Author Laurie Sandell is a contributing editor at Glamour, where she writes cover stories, features, and personal essays. She has also written for Esquire, GQ, New York and In Style, among others. In her twenties, she spent four years traveling around the world, having unsavory experiences she later justified as “material.”

To enter to win one of these books:

1. Post here with a comment of what your dad was like when you were growing up.

2. For a second chance to win, please post this contest to your blog and post a link to it for me to see.

3. For a third chance to win post this contest on twitter or to your blog with a comment back here to the link

Contest will run through July 15 th. The winners are chosen by using random.com. I will post the 5 winners here as well as email you for your mailing information. The books will come from the publisher. Please US entries only and no po boxes.

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Audio Book Giveaway: How Successful People Think by John C Maxwell

Published on June 27, 2009July 16, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

Thank you to Anna Balasi and Hachette Audio Books for allowing me to review this audio book as well as to offer chances for a giveaway of this to three lucky winners!

The perfect, compact listen for today’s fast-paced world, How Successful People Think (derived from Maxwell’s previous book, Thinking for a Change) will teach listeners the 11 secrets successful people know. Arranged in an easy-to-follow format, America’s leadership expert, John C. Maxwell, will teach listeners how to expand their thinking and achieve their dreams.

Here is how to receive chances to win this audio book:

1. Post here with a comment of what you would call good advice.

2. For a second chance to win, please post this contest to your blog and post a link to it for me to see.

3. For a third chance to win, Follow me on Twitter!

Contest will run through July 13th. The winners are chosen by using random.com. I will post the 5 winners here as well as email you for your mailing information. The books will come from the publisher. Please US entries only and no po boxes.

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Listen to an excerpt.

Audio Book Giveaway: The Juror by George Dawes Green

Published on June 26, 2009July 16, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Thank you to Anna Balsi and Hachette Audo Books for offering yet another great audio book for me to review as well as offering you a chance to win one of three that I will be giving away. This looks incredible and I am excited for it to hit my mail box so I can start listening!

Here is how to receive chances to win one of these “The Juror” audio books:

1. Post here with the name of an author who writes great trial books… (Be sure you leave me a way to connect with you in the event you are one of the winners!)

2. For a second chance to win, please post this contest to your blog and post a link to it for me to see.

3. For a third chance to win, Follow me on Twitter!

Thanks as always for stopping by! 🙂

Listen to an excerpt.

Audio Book Giveaway: The Swimsuit by James Patterson

Published on June 26, 2009July 16, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Thanks to Hachette Audio Books, I am able to offer 3 of this audio book for giveaway!

Syd, a breathtakingly beautiful supermodel on a photo shoot in Hawaii, disappears. Fearing the worst, her parents travel to Hawaii to investigate for themselves, never expecting the horror that awaits them.

Here is what you can do to receive chances to win this audio book:

1. Post here with your favorite James Patterson book title. If you haven’t read Patterson, share your favorite mystery/suspense author. (Be sure you leave me a way to connect with you in the event you are one of the winners!)

2. For a second chance to win, please post this contest to your blog and post a link to it for me to see.

3. For a third chance to win, Follow me on Twitter!

Visit James Patterson’s website at www.jamespatterson.com

Giveaway: Off Season by Anne Rivers Siddons

Published on June 26, 2009July 16, 2009 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

I am delighted to not only be receiving this book from Hachette Book Group and Valerie Russo, but also to be able to offer 5 copies of this book to lucky readers of this blog!

Acclaimed novelist Anne Rivers Siddons’s new novel is a stunning tale of love and loss.

For as long as she can remember, they were Cam and Lilly–happily married, totally in love with each other, parents of a beautiful family, and partners in life. Then, after decades of marriage, it ended as every great love story does…in loss. After Cam’s death, Lilly takes a lone road trip to her and Cam’s favorite spot on the remote coast of Maine, the place where they fell in love over and over again, where their ghosts still dance. There, she looks hard to her past–to a first love that ended in tragedy; to falling in love with Cam; to a marriage filled with exuberance, sheer life, and safety– to try to figure out her future.

It is a journey begun with tender memories and culminating in a revelation that will make Lilly re-evaluate everything she thought was true about her husband and her marriage.

Here is what you can do to receive chances to win this book:

1. Post here with your favorite “road trip” destination. (Be sure you leave me a way to connect with you in the event you are one of the winners!)

2. For a second chance to win, please post this contest to your blog and post a link to it for me to see.

3. For a third chance to win, Follow me on Twitter!

Anne Rivers Siddons website

Interview with Anne Rivers Siddons