BBAW Day Two - Interview Swap

I had the pleasure of interviewing The Little Red Reviewer, also known as Andrea, for the BBAW interview swap! You can read Andrea's interview with me on her page (permalink to come). You review a lot of science fiction and fantasy, but started as a sci fi reader. What elements of each genre are you drawn to? What was the spur for you to start reading fantasy?

I think I'm most drawn to the impossibleness of it all, or at least the seemingly impossibleness. I read a lot of space opera, that takes place in colonies around our solar system, or on far flung planets that we've colonized or terraformed. Maybe in 50 or a hundred generations that could be possible, but it won't be happening in my lifetime, so to me, it's impossible. Fantasy too - dragons and magic are completely impossible, but I find that fascinating!

It took forever for me to start reading fantasy because I thought all fantasy was Lord of the Rings style fantasy, with quests and dwarves and princesses and evil sorcerers. I didn't want to read anything labeled fantasy because the traditional quest based high fantasy just didn't interested me. But wait, I like fairy tale and mythology retellings, didn I? I liked Neil Gaiman, didn't I? isn't that stuff closer to fantasy than science fiction? My husband convinced me to read some Michael Moorcock and some Steven Brust, two masters of darker fantasy starring antiheroes. It was love at first read.

since sci fi/fantasy was embraced by mainstream culture, it seems there's a popular monster of the moment: the almost endless fascination with vampires, the zombie obsession. Do you have a favorite? Love or hate the popular incarnations?

I haven't really gotten into the zombie craze, and other than enjoying a few seasons of True Blood I haven't really gotten into much of the pop culture urban fantasy stuff. I prefer my monsters, zombies and vampires, to be just that: monsters. Horrific creatures to be run from, not towards, creatures we should biologically be fearful of. Some recent Vampire books that I've enjoyed are Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, and Twelve by Jasper Kent, and both are quite scary. Jim Hines's recent Libriomancer pokes fun at some of the newer popular incarnations, but I haven't read enough of the pop culture stuff to get a lot of his jokes!

Using the T-word for a moment here, Twilight brought vampires to a larger audience and knock-off titles abound. Now we see zombies everywhere. What are your thoughts on sci fi/fantasy in popular culture? Bringing it to a wider audience, watering it down and making it insipid, or both?

There is an infinite amount of flavors of science fiction and fantasy. some of it is literary, so of it is dark and creepy, some of it is humorous or satirical, and some of it is on the lighter side. Everyone is going to enjoy different things, so I'm just happy there is such a huge variety of titles and genres and subgenres available. There was nothing like this kind of variety when I was younger. And hey, if someone is reading Twilight today, maybe next year they'll be interested in some Kim Newman, right?

What's your favorite recent read?

I really enjoyed Phil and Kaja Foglio's most recent Girl Genius novel Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess. Their Girl Genius series started out as a webcomic, which then became a printed comic, and now the authors are doing novelizations. A novelization of a comic book? that sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn't it? But they do it brilliantly. It's a gaslight romance adventure story, about mad scientists and crazy inventions. In the comic, there is a lot of physical humor and visual gags. in the novels (they've written two so far), there is a ton more world building and characterization, and it's funny and a little tragic and a little scary and quite romantic. if you're a fan of steampunk, I can't recommend Girl Genius enough!

I'm stealing your e-reader question: love 'em or hate 'em?

ehhhh. . . . I'm not a fan. I'm one of those super old fashioned people who has a fetish for physical books. The feel, the weight, the feel of the paper, the rise of ink, the quality of the binding, the different cover art on different printings, even the typos. I could really go on and on. And packing an entire suitcase of books for a 2 week vacation? that's not an extra suitcase, it's a badge of honor! Books don't need batteries, aren't affected by sun glare, don't need me to give my credit card information or my e-mail address. They can be passed around, lent out, traded in, borrowed, autographed, thrown across the room if they suck, sometimes dropped in the bathtub. Physical books live their own life, bear their own scars. Sometimes, in the darkened, dusty corners of a used bookstore, you can hear them tell you their stories.

BBAW Day One: Favorite Book Blogs

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is here! What? You didn't know that was a thing? My Friend Amy started this annual celebration of book blogging a few years ago, and I'm participating this year. That means BBAW-related posts all week, including giveaways, an interview swap, and more fun. In addition to the official BBAW posts, I'll also (I hope) be posting at least one review per day this week (something I'd like to make a permanent habit, actually). To see the full list of participants in this year's BBAW (as well as the giveaways), visit the official BBAW page.

The first day's topic is: Appreciation! There are no awards this year, but it can still be hard to navigate the huge universe of book blogging. Share with your readers some of the blogs you enjoy reading daily and why.

Lesa's Book Critiques: Lesa reviews everything, but especially mysteries, which hold a dear place in my heart. She hosts fabulous giveaways for mysteries I want to read, and she always seems to know what's going on in the publishing world.

Presenting Lenore: Lenore Appelhans has been reviewing YA well for ages, and she's my go-to blogger (and now, author, with a novel coming out in January) for all things YA. Her Dystopian August event fascinates even me, and I only reluctantly read dystopian novels.

Jen Robinson's Book Page: Jen reviews children's books and is also a great source for news and commentary related to children's books.

I use LibraryThing and GoodReads as a source for book reviews, and I've actually been out of the book blogging loop a bit. This event is a great way for me to become reacquainted with favorite book blogs and introduced to new ones.

STRANGER IN THE ROOM - review and giveaway!

STRANGER IN THE ROOM by Amanda Kyle Williams: The second novel in a series is critical; after all, a good first novel could be a fluke. The more I like the first in a series, the more I hope the second lives up to its potential, and I am pleased to say that Amanda Kyle Williams more than delivers with her second Keye Street thriller, STRANGER IN THE ROOM. If you missed THE STRANGER YOU SEEK, Keye is a disgraced FBI profiler-turned-P.I., her brilliant career derailed by alcoholism, who gets pulled in as an APD consultant when a serial killer terrorizes Atlanta. Keye is funny but competent, deeply flawed, and self-aware. She's as funny as early Stephanie Plum, but in more intense thrillers (think Karin Slaughter, early Patricia Cornwell). It's an addictive combination. Thrillers are often relentless (which is the point, of course -- to keep the reader turning pages) in gore, action, and suspense, but in a twist on the usual thriller formula, Williams has used her heroine's abundant flaws to inject substantial humor into her books. The suspense is still intense; humor simply provides another layer of enjoyment.

Atlanta is practically a character in STRANGER IN THE ROOM. Having made it through a scorching summer, lines like "Atlanta's smoldering summer had dropped down around us like a burning building" really resonate with me. Keye observes of her private investigation business, "Missing persons, surveillance, bond enforcement, and process serving keeps the cash flowing when business slows to a crawl over the winter holidays. But when Atlanta starts to heat up and the glaring southern sun sets our bloodstreams ablaze, when the clothes get skimpy and overworked servers stagger out with trays of frosty pitchers at packed pavement cafes, my phone gets busy." Details of locations and mouth-watering descriptions of restaurant offerings (more on this later) add to the authenticity. Keye struggles with sobriety, and Williams treats alcoholism with great sensitivity and understanding, even as Keye cracks jokes about it.

STRANGER IN THE ROOM starts out with Keye's troubled cousin, Miki, asking for help; she's being stalked. Keye isn't sure how much of Miki's account to believe, but when a body turns up in Miki's house, Keye is convinced. Miki is possibly more screwed-up than Keye. "'Are you all right?' she asked, then went on without giving me time to answer. 'Oh, right. The alcohol thing. What's the big deal, anyway? I won't let you get wasted. Just order a fucking drink.' 'That's the worst idea I've heard all day.' She reached into her bag and withdrew a tiny glass vial with a black cap. 'I've got some coke. Would a line help?' That's my Miki, always thinking of others." Meanwhile, APD Lieutenant Rauser has asked for Keye's insight in a serial killer case. These two mysteries make up the main plot, with Keye's private investigation business providing the subplots. One is a bail bonds case that provides quality comic relief (and by "comic relief," I mean, "uncontrollable laughter"), and the other takes Keye up to rural Big Knob, where she investigates odd happenings at a crematorium. The Big Knob case introduces one of my favorite characters in any book in any genre: the politely racist Mrs. Stargell. In a less nuanced novel, Mrs. Stargell would have been a one-dimensional character to hate, but Williams rounds her out nicely, and she steals every scene she's in. I kind of hope future cases take Keye back to Big Knob.

Keye's supporting cast is fantastic. Williams is skilled at crafting complex characters, no matter how few words they have in the book. Keye's relationship with Rauser continues to develop in interesting and unexpected ways. He's a great cop: "'Listen to me, people,' Rauser snapped. 'All that DNA shit, it's gonna be great in court. But it's good old-fashioned police work that closes cases. Don't ever forget that.'" But he has a goofy side, too: "Rauser's hand went to his weapon, then slid away when we saw the gray tabby from next door pulling himself up and over the fence. He balanced on top for a couple of seconds, then jumped to the ground and sauntered over to the patch of neglected garden. He dug around, sniffed, turned a few circles, sniffed, dug, then laid back his ears and did his business. 'Little bastard,' Rauser growled, watching the cat with Wile E. Coyote eyes. 'Fucker's looking right at us.' I had to bite my lip and look away. Rauser had unintentionally built a giant cat box in his yard." Her coworker, stoner savant Neil, is hilarious and strangely competent. He and Keye exchange great childish banter that brings out Keye's silly side. "Neil had his electronic devices out, and he was balancing a hotel coffee mug. 'This is going to be one of those three-hour tour things, isn't it? Big Knob's the Minnow and you're Ginger and I'm the professor and we're never getting off the island.' 'You see me as Ginger? Really?' I glanced at myself in the rearview."

I'm tempted to quote all the passages I marked that made me laugh out loud (and, in one case, literally slap my knee), but I don't want to spoil the joy for new readers. I'm also tempted to quote all the passages about food (seriously, don't read Williams on an empty stomach!), but I'll just give one example: "She grew poblano peppers in her own garden and stuffed them with cheese and cubed acorn squash she'd sauteed in garlic. She skewered fresh peaches on cinnamon sticks and bathed them in bourbon and honey on the grill until their meat was sweet and smoky. She filled tiny pastry cups with goat cheese and homemade lime curd and glass pitchers with sweet iced tea and fresh thyme. Southern cooking gets a bad rap. But when it's done right, it's a beautiful thing." Besides their other attributes, I think Williams's books could be the foundation for a spectacular cookbook.

STRANGER IN THE ROOM stands well on its own, but I can't possibly recommend skipping THE STRANGER YOU SEEK. Do yourself a favor and read both. Quoting extensively in a review is the highest compliment for me: it means the writing is so good, it's best to let it speak for itself.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher and purchased my own hardcover edition.

Giveaway: Oh, look! I purchased an extra copy of STRANGER IN THE ROOM in honor of Book Blogger Appreciation Week! Want to win? Leave a comment on this post with some way to contact you, and I'll draw a winner next Monday, September 17. Contest open worldwide. For extra entries (one per action - leave a comment with a link): post a link to this contest on your blog, tweet it, otherwise publicly share it.

My review of THE STRANGER YOU SEEK

BBAW Contest Wrap-up: The Winners!!

Thank you to EVERYONE for checking out our blog during BBAW! It was so fun to hear from so many of you and explore some new blogs as well!

Here are the winners for our daily contests:

Day #1: Fearless Fourteen
Wanda (Manitoba, Canada)

Day #1: Mating Rituals of the Northern America WASP/The Chocolate Lover's Club Brenda in Michigan

Day #2: Evil at Heart
holdenj (Minnesota--actually practically down the road from me! What a coincidence)

Day#2: Simon Bloom books GBK Gwyneth (This cracks me up because Gwyneth is my neighbor!)

Day #4: Testimony (2 winners)
Pippirose (Ontario, Canada)
Cheryl (Ontario, Canada)

Day #5: The Associate
Belinda M (Winnipeg, Canada)

Day #5: If Your Kid Eats This Book.../Smart Mama's Green Guide Holdenj (another one for you!)

Stay tuned! I'm going to have a fun Autumn Giveaway starting November 1st!

BBAW Day #5 - Last giveaway!

My last giveaway for Book Blogger Appreciation Week is for two books (one winner receives both), courtesy of Hachette Group. Both are geared toward parents and have really, really long titles.

If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to Know If Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency by Lara Zibners: This is the book to reach for when your child collides with the coffee table and is bleeding from the scalp or has a fever at 3:00 in the morning. Zibners is an emergency room pediatrician (and also has an excellent sense of humor), so she knows when your child needs a trip to the emergency room. She covers all body parts and emphasizes prevention (while making it easy to determine whether symptoms are ER-worthy in the middle of the night. This is not a cover-to-cover book, but a handy, reassuring reference for parents (especially first-time parents).

Smart Mama's Green Guide: Simple Steps to Reduce Your Child's Toxic Chemical Exposure by Jennifer Taggert: This book empowers the parent looking to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals with practical advice on everything from selecting flooring to deciding what's for dinner. Recipes for nontoxic cleaning supplies are also included. If the tone is sometimes a bit on the alarmist side and the statistics and side effects make the reader's eyes start to glaze over, there are still excellent tips here. The sheer volume of toxic chemicals in the average household is overwhelming; readers will want to focus their energies on implementing small changes.

The Rules:

To enter:
+1 just by leaving a comment on this post AND sharing a parenting tip or a green living tip
+2 if you subscribe to our blog through a feed
+3 if you already subscribe to our blog
+4 if you blog about this giveaway and link to us.

--Please leave ALL entries in ONE comment, not separate comments!
--Be sure to leave your email address in the comment. Entries without email addresses will be discarded.
--Open to only US/Canada residents
--Giveaway ends Friday, September 30th at midnight EDT, winner will be emailed directly.

BBAW Day#5: Giveaway

Today, I'm giving away one hardcover copy of The Associate (Like NEW! Read only once).

Our generic giveaway rules apply. I'll leave this one open until September 30th at midnight.

The Rules:

To enter:
+1 just by leaving a comment on this post
+2 if you subscribe to our blog through a feed
+3 if you already subscribe to our blog
+4 if you blog about this giveaway and link to us.

--Please leave ALL entries in ONE comment, not separate comments!
--Be sure to leave your email address in the comment. Entries without email addresses will be discarded.
--Open to only US/Canada residents
--Giveaway ends Friday, September 30th, winner will be emailed directly.

BBAW Day#5: Blog Goals

Today's topic is: Setting Goals!
Write in 50 words or less…what do you like best about your blog right now and where would you like your blog to be a year from now?

(HA! 5o words or less...I have trouble with brevity)

Hmmm....Wonder what Allison will say compared to me? ;-) I have to say, the blog has grown immensely in the last year and I'm very happy with where we are at. I made a concerted effort to seek out review copies of upcoming books. I wanted to start reviewing more up and coming books, and not just books that have been out for awhile or already endlessly reviewed.

I also thought it would be fun to have our subscriber list grow, which it has by leaps and bounds! I think we started the year off with about 20 regular readers and now we have over a 150 subscriber/followers.

I really like our semi-weekly features of Mystery Monday, Picture Book Thursday and YA Weekend (hopefully, we can get those back on track soon--especially Picture Book Thursday).

There's not much more I can ask of our little book blog. As for setting future goals, I just hope to continue the level of activity I've had this year, keeping reviewing the books I read, and keep having fun with book blogging as a hobby. That's all I can ask for really.

This has been a fun week! Great to visit some new book blogs and giveaway some books that have been hanging around for awhile. Thanks to My Friend Amy for organizing a fantastic blog event!!

By the way, there's a really great guest post on the BBAW site this morning from an author discussing the importance of book bloggers to the publishing world!

BBAW Day #4 - Giveaway!

Holly and I each have a copy of Testimony by Anita Shreve hanging around that we'd love to give away!

I'm plagiarizing the rules Holly came up with for her last giveaway, because it's more fun than just having you leave a comment. This drawing is open internationally!

For this one, you will be able to enter as many times as you like!! All you have to do is visit our blog and leave meaningful comments on our blog posts. The more comments you leave, the more entries you get!

Simply leave a comment, include your email address (if no email address, your entry will NOT be included in the drawing). Open worldwide. Contest closes September 27th at midnight.

I just thought this might be fun! I know we have lots of subscribers out there (over 100!), but for some reason, we rarely get commenters! We love to hear your comments, so please be encouraged to leave comments on our posts, EVEN WHEN WE AREN'T HOSTING A GIVEAWAY!! Any ol' day of the week, we love to hear your thoughts!!! Leaving new comments on older posts counts for this giveaway!!! Please go back and explore our older posts, especially if you're new to our blog! Also, any meaningful comments on new posts will count! Can you tell, I'm trying to drum up comments here? :-)

BBAW Day #4 - Daily Topic

Today we encourage you to blog about a book you read only because you discovered it on another book blog. Preferably, this will be a book you loved! You might also write a bit about the blog you discovered it on!

At first, I was overwhelmed by this topic...how can I possibly remember? Which led me to an idea...when I post a review, I ought to credit the blogger who introduced it to me! A few notable books that stand out in my mind:

I have found many books at the delightful Presenting Lenore. But The Joy of Spooking: Fiendish Deeds, the first in a trilogy by P. J. Bracegirdle, stands out. I actually won a copy, but loved the book so much that I bought a copy for Holly (I had promised to send it along once I finished, but found I couldn't part with it!). Book Two will be out next year, and I can hardly wait.

Lesa's Book Critiques is another favorite spot of mine, and I've found many a cozy mystery there. One Bad Apple, the first in the orchard series by Sheila Connelly is one of of them. Granford is a nice town to visit on a rainy day, and Meg, the protagonist, is charming. The orchard information is icing on the cake. Lesa's Book Critiques is also where I found that the second book, Rotten to the Core, was available. I believe I also found the G. M. Malliet series (beginning with Death of a Cozy Writer), which I love.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was *everywhere* in the book blogging world before I finally got around to reading it. I can't remember where I saw it first, and it took me several glowing reviews before I picked it up, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There are many, many more, but I can't recall off the top of my head. I shall certainly make a point of crediting bloggers who introduce me to books in the future.

BBAW Day #4--Daily Topic

Today's BBAW topic: Today we encourage you to blog about a book you read only because you discovered it on another book blog. Preferably, this will be a book you loved! You might also write a bit about the blog you discovered it on!

The first one that really jumps out at me is Hunger Games. I am not a Dystopian Fiction kind of reader so the book jacket description of this one did not intrigue me at first. But after seeing positive, if not glowing, reviews pop up on blog after blog after blog, I finally decided I needed to read this one. And I really REALLY liked it. The fact that I liked this much-hyped book says ALOT because I typically am very disappointed in much-hyped books.


The Percy Jackson series is another that comes to mind. I never would have known about this series. But I remember reading about it on Jen Robinson's blog and her (fan) love for Rick Riordan and I had to run out and see what the books were all about. LOVED them! And a nice fix after the end of Harry Potter.


I'm not sure I would have ever read Jodi Picoult without the constant reviews I saw on various books of hers. Reviews throughout the blogosphere. Though, I can't say she's a favorite author of mine. Mostly because after reading multiple books of hers, the formulaic nature bothers me a bit. But I never feel I've wasted my time with her books.

But overall, I've found so many books through book bloggers, the number of books I read has jumped in the last few years just because I can't wait to get to them all. Not to mention my TBR pile growing, my book shelves expanding, and my wallet shrinking. :-) It's always so fun to read someone's enthusiastic review about a great book! And I'm so happy I've found the book blogging community to share my love of reading with!

BBAW Day#3 Meme--Just a bit late

After getting caught up in my Google Reader this morning, I thought I would quick do the Reading Meme from yesterday. :-)

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
Usually something warm to drink.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?
Not since college.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
Laying the book flat open?
Bookmark, sometimes dog-ear to remember something.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Both, but mostly fiction.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Hard copy. (audiobooks are hard for me to focus on).

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you
able to put a book down at any point?
Almost always end of chapter. (Unless parental duties cause me to immediately put the book down for some reason)

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
Nope, I use context.

What are you currently reading?
The Hanging Hill by Chris Grabenstein

What is the last book you bought?
Catching Fire, The Hanging Hill, and That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time?
Only one at a time.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
Afternoon is my favorite. But really anytime, anywhere that I can get away with it.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
Both.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
My Sister's Keeper, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Poisonwood Bible, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
By Genre, author, then title.

BBAW Day #3 - Meme

Today's BBAW event is a meme about reading habits. We're supposed to answer in five words or less...a challenge for us wordy book bloggers!

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
Yes. Usually chocolate.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?
Horrifies me.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
Laying the book flat open?
Bookmark.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Both, but mostly fiction.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Hard copy unless it's something I've read before.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you
able to put a book down at any point?
Depends on the book.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
Of course!

What are you currently reading?
Re-reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

What is the last book you bought?
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can
you read more than one at a time?
One at a time.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
Anywhere, anytime.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
Both.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
Jasper Fforde.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)
Autobiographically.

BBAW #2: Evil at Heart Giveaway

Oh man, we've had a busy day around here today!! Sorry for getting this posted so late.

I have an ARC of Chelsea Cain's third book in the Archie Sheridan/Gretchen Lowell series. And I'm giving it away!!!

Here is my review of Evil at Heart which also contains links to my reviews of the first two books.

I'm doing this giveaway a little bit different than others we've hosted. For this one, you will be able to enter as many times as you like!! All you have to do is visit our blog and leave meaningful comments on our blog posts. The more comments you leave, the more entries you get!

Simply leave a comment, include your email address (if no email address, your entry will NOT be included in the drawing). Open to US/Canada only. Contest closes September 27th at midnight.

I just thought this might be fun! I know we have lots of subscribers out there (over 100!), but for some reason, we rarely get commenters! We love to hear your comments, so please be encouraged to leave comments on our posts, EVEN WHEN WE AREN'T HOSTING A GIVEAWAY!! Any ol' day of the week, we love to hear your thoughts!!!

(Edited to add: Leaving new comments on older posts counts for this giveaway!!! Please go back and explore our older posts, especially if you're new to our blog! Also, any meaningful comments on new posts will count! Can you tell, I'm trying to drum up comments here? :-)

BBAW Day #2 - Giveaway

This giveaway is for Simon Bloom: The Gravity Keeper and Simon Bloom: The Octopus Effect by Michael Reisman. This is a clever series that blends science, humor, and suspense. In The Gravity Keeper, sixth-grader Simon Bloom finds a book that allows him to manipulate the laws of the universe. Naturally (this is middle-grade fantasy, after all), he must use his newfound powers to thwart a villain's attempt at world domination. This has gotten good reviews, but I couldn't get into it. I think it's more of a hit with its intended audience (the 9-12 crowd) and not a solid crossover for adult reading.

The Rules:

To enter:
+1 just by leaving a comment on this post
+2 if you subscribe to our blog through a feed
+3 if you already subscribe to our blog
+4 if you blog about this giveaway and link to us.

--Please leave ALL entries in ONE comment, not separate comments!
--Be sure to leave your email address in the comment. Entries without email addresses will be discarded.
--Open to only US/Canada residents
--Giveaway ends Friday, September 16th, winner will be emailed directly.

BBAW Day #1 - Another Giveaway!

This giveaway is for brand-new trade paperback copies of The Chocolate Lovers' Club by Carole Matthews and Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton. Two books, one winner.

I'm using Holly's excellent rules to promote consistency:
To enter:
+1 just by leaving a comment on this post
+2 if you subscribe to our blog through a feed
+3 if you already subscribe to our blog
+4 if you blog about this giveaway and link to us.

--Please leave ALL entries in ONE comment, not separate comments!
--Be sure to leave your email address in the comment. Entries without email addresses will be discarded.
--Open to only US/Canada residents
--Giveaway ends Friday, September 16th, winner will be emailed directly.

BBAW Day #1 Giveaway: Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich

I have an extra copy of Evanovich's 14th installment of the Stephanie Plum series. So I figure what better book to announce a giveaway on the FOURTEENTH of September than Fearless Fourteen!

This is a very gently used (looks brand new!) hardcover edition of Fearless Fourteen.

To enter:
+1 just by leaving a comment on this post
+2 if you subscribe to our blog through a feed
+3 if you already subscribe to our blog
+4 if you blog about this giveaway and link to us.

--Please leave ALL entries in ONE comment, not separate comments!
--Be sure to leave your email address in the comment. Entries without email addresses will be discarded.
--Open to only US/Canada residents
--Giveaway ends Friday, September 16th, winner will be emailed directly.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

Welcome to Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2009! This year's theme is Celebrating Books, which I actually think Holly and I both do all the time :) But this is a fun week during which we discover new, fun book blogs to keep our Google Readers full AND get to give away books...to make room for more books. Seriously, books are threatening to take over my whole house. I found one in the pantry the other day. Holly and I will both be hosting giveaways all week, so stay tuned.

You're all winners!

Actually, that's not true in the sense of winning the remaining BBAW giveaways, though I'm sure you all have your good qualities. I had a lot of fun with BBAW, and I appreciate everyone who came by to visit. Thank you for entering!

The winner of the Chelsea Cain giveaway is Wendy!

Only three of you bothered to do the treasure hunt, which was sort of disappointing, since I thought it was kind of fun. The winner of the treasure hunt is Lauren, who will soon receive a box of goodies, plus America America. I decided to name the other two entrants runners-up since they did all the work, too. Gwendolyn will receive the mystery books and Carol will receive Lookin' Back, Texas.

The guess-how-many-books-in-my-piles was disturbing, as it made me actually do a count. I lost count a couple of times, and thought I was done prematurely, when I would suddenly remember that small pile in, say, the guest room closet. Anyway, the number is 96. I know! Isn't that ridiculous? A chunk of that is made up of mysteries; for example, I have all 18 or whatever Pennyfoot Hotel mysteries and haven't read them yet. Not sure if that makes the pile number seem better or not. Darby, who guessed 94, is the winner and will receive Wife in the North.

Thank you to everyone for entering! My postage budget for the month is pretty shot, but I think you can count on future giveaways here. We had a lot of fun doing this.

BBAW wrap-up!

Today is the last day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week! We will, however, continue to appreciate you after today, so do come back to see what we're up to.

I had decided that yesterday's post would be the last giveaway of the week (unless Holly thought of something) but instead, I'm going to do one more, just for fun. The winner will get the book(s) not claimed by the Treasure Hunt prize winner.

One question: How many books do I have in my TBR piles? (Yes, that's "piles"--plural.) The person to get closest to the real number wins! Post your comment with your guess no later than Monday, September 22 at 11:59 p.m., EDT.

And some more appreciation!

Today's theme for Book Blogger's Appreciation Week is Brag on Yourself. We're supposed to pick favorite past posts and link to them. Then you go back through our archives and get to know us a little better. I thought of something a teensy bit different that still gets to the same end result. (Holly, are you up for linking to your favorite reviews later today?) I'm going to send you on a little treasure hunt through the archives. I've decided to let you choose your favorite book: an ARE of America, America by Ethan Canin, Lookin' Back, Texas by Leanna Ellis, Wife in the North by Judith O'Reilly, or a Mystery Combo: May Day by Jess Lourey AND Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss. And since I'm making you do so much work to enter, I'll throw in a few goodies: homemade jam, scones, and tea to enjoy with your new read (note: poor wording aside, the tea will NOT be homemade). Use the tags or my LibraryThing link to help you out.

If that's too involved for you, don't forget our Chelsea Cain contest (ending tomorrow night) and our Sundays at Tiffanys contest.

1. Which blog-based memoir did I prefer, Queen of the Road or Wife in the North?
2. True or false: I am a Jane Austen addict.
3. Which of these is NOT one of my favorite mystery authors
a. Joan Hess
b. Joanne Fluke
c. Kate Kingsbury
d. Donna Andrews
e. I'm a mystery junkie and I love them all
4. Find one book I said I couldn't finish reading.
5. Find a juvenile fantasy series I've reviewed and name one thing I like about it.

E-mail your answers to hollybooknotes AT gmail DOT com (we don't want anyone cheating off your answers, now, do we?) no later than Monday, September 22 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Include your first and second choices for prizes (if there's room in the flat rate box, I'll chuck in your second choice, too). All entries with five correct answers will go into a random drawing with five entries (one per answer). For an extra THREE entries, blog about this contest and tell me that you did. I'm going to open this one up to anyone, anywhere, but if someone without a US mailing address wins, I'll split the prize--the international winner gets their first choice of book, and I'll choose a second winner to receive their choice of the remaining two books, plus the goodies. Have fun!