Enter To Win One of 1000 Advanced Reader Editions of Tina Seskis' ONE STEP TOO FAR

William Morrow is giving away 1000 Advanced Reader Editions of Tina Seskis' upcoming novel One Step Too Far. If you like to read books before the publication date (and who doesn't?), this is a terrific opportunity to be part of the buzz before everyone else knows about it. Enter through October 27th.
You can enter by following the link to the Facebook page here:
https://a.pgtb.me/4Qd3Bm

It looks like a terrific read- Emily is happily married, with a beautiful family and a lovely home until the day she walks away and starts life over as Cat, working at a hip London ad agency. Why did Emily do that and will she be found out?

Fans of Gone Girl, Before I Go To Sleep and The Silent Wife will love this intriguing story. Enter to win and let all your friends know about the contest. Good luck!

And the winners are...

Congratulations to the two winners of the Gone Girl movie tie-in book-
Erin Morrissey and Sharon Thomas. Look for your copies in the mail, courtesy of 20th Century Fox movies. (Winners chosen by random number generator.)

Thanks to all who entered and don't forget to see Gone Girl with Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike- it's fantastic!

Win A Copy of Gillian Flynn's GONE GIRL Movie Tie-In Book

One of the most highly anticipated movies of the fall season is an adaptation of one of the most popular books of the past few years- Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl. Everyone has been talking about this movie, (which reportedly has a different ending than the book) and with director David Fincher (The Social Network, Zodiac) at the helm and Ben Affleck getting rave reviews for his role as Nick, the husband suspected in the disappearance of his wife, it is sure to be a hit.

Ben Affleck as Nick in Gone Girl

I'm looking forward to this movie, it has a cast- Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens and Neil Patrick Harris- that I am intrigued by.

Thanks to 20th Century Fox, I have two copies of the movie tie-in edition of the Gone Girl book to giveaway to my readers. Winners must be in the United States, and to enter just fill in the form below. I will choose two winners on October 3rd, the day of the movie opening.


Fans of Gone Girl can follow Amy Dunne's Pinterest page, where maybe she has left behind some clues as to what happened to her. Click here.

Watch the movie trailer here:

The Winner of Our Love Could Light The World

 by Anne Leigh Parrish is JoAnn! Congratulations JoAnn, I hope you enjoy the book.
Thanks for reading bookchickdi.

Our Love Could Light the World by Anne Leigh Parrish

Our Love Could Light the World by Anne Leigh Parrish
Published by She Writes Press ISBN 978-1-938314-44-5
Trade paperback, $15.95, 192 pages

When I received an email asking me if I was interested in reviewing a book of linked short stories about a family with five children set in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, I jumped at the opportunity. I grew up in the Finger Lakes region and I am one of five siblings. The description intrigued me.

That is where most of the similarity ends, although many of these characters seemed like people we all have known. After introducing the five children- chunky teenage Angie, who "ruled her siblings with a steady stream of insults", Timothy, close knit twins Marta and Maggie, and Foster the youngest, a happy child born with a twisted leg, this wonderfully sums up their relationship:

"All in all, the five children didn't particularly care for one another, and they didn't dislike each other, either. One thing they knew was that they stood as a pack against the rest of the world."

Mrs. Dugan worked and Mr. Dugan didn't due to an injury. She worked long hours and came home only to have to do most of the housework that husband Potter wouldn't do because he wanted to spend the day drinking. When she gets the opportunity to attend a three-day work conference out-of-town, she jumps at it and it becomes a turning point for the family.

The title story takes place as Lavinia is off at the conference. Angie has to take charge when Potter won't; she does the laundry, and sends her siblings to the store to get detergent and other necessities. They return with an elderly confused man, but without the needed items.

It is here that we see Angie's compassion and kindness, something she seems to hide behind her gruff, green-haired, nose-ring wearing exterior. This trait comes into play in later stories as well, when she bonds with a child who has Down's Syndrome (and a mean grandmother), and in her choice of career.

Angie was my favorite character, I liked the arc of her growth; it felt authentic. She occupies many of the stories, and I had a real empathy for her. I loved Parrish's honest portraits of this family that you feel could have been your neighbors.

Lavinia is also in many of the stories, and I felt badly that she couldn't really be happy. Even when she got what she thought she wanted, it still didn't fulfill her. A character like her could be shrill and unsympathetic, but Parrish writes her so beautifully that we care about her, even if we can't relate.

The men in this novel- Potter, and his sister Patty's boyfriend Murph- don't fare as well. They are willing to live off the labors of the women they live with, and don't seem to want to contribute or better themselves. While they could have been one-note, Parrish gives you a reason to root for them as they try to grow.

The Dugan family are a group of flawed people, yet we care about them even as we want to throttle them. They have ties that bind them as shown in this passage.

"Angie knew that Potter couldn't stand Brett. She also knew that he'd never say so. They had always been like that, she thought. Aware of each other's truths without needing to say much."

That really gets to the essence of this family, and probably many other families as well. They might not say it aloud, but they know each other's truths. Maybe that is the definition of a family.

I found that this book and these characters wormed their way into my heart. This collection of linked stories deserves its place right up there with Elizabeth Stout's Olive Kitteridge.

rating 5 of 5

The publisher has provided a copy of Our Love Could Light the World as a giveaway. To enter, leave your name and email in the comments section. One winner will be chosen on June 26th. US/Canada entries only, please.

Thanks to TLC Tours for providing me with the opportunity to be on this tour. Other tour stops are:

Monday, June 3rd:  Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Wednesday, June 5th:  What She Read

Thursday, June 6th:  The Relentless Reader

Monday, June 10th:  Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, June 11th:  Seaside Book Nook

Wednesday, June 12th:  Conceptual Reception

Thursday, June 13th:  Books Speak Volumes

Monday, June 17th:  The Best Books Ever

Tuesday, June 18th:  No More Grumpy Bookseller

Tuesday, June 18th:  BookChickDi

Wednesday, June 19th:  Camilla Stein Review

Monday, June 24th:  BookNAround

Anne Leigh Parrish's website is here.
You can buy Our Love Could Light The World  here.

The Winner of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena Is...

techeditor! Congratulations, you've won a copy of Anthony Marra's amazing novel, A Constellation of  Vital Phenomena from the publisher, Hogarth.

My review of the book is here.

Keep reading for more upcoming contests, and Happy Memorial Day.

Winner of the Non-fiction Blog Hop

And the winner of the Non-fiction Blog Hop book (The Digest Diet Cookbook) is....
Karen Arrowood!

Congratulations to Karen, and thanks to all who entered. Thanks to Rikki's Teledidoscope for hosting.

Non-fiction Book Giveaway Blog Hop

Rikki's Teledidoscope is hosting a non-fiction book giveaway blog hop, where you can sign-up to enter to win a free non-fiction book from nine different blogs.

I am giving away a copy of Reader's Digest Diet Cookbook, which is filled with fantastic recipes and helpful tips for those who want to lose weight and eat healthier. My review of the book is here.

The contest runs from April 26-29, and the winner will be drawn on April 30th. (USA entries only please.) To enter, leave your name and email in the comments section below.

Other blogs participating in the blog hop are:

Rikki’s Teleidoscope (Int’l)

The Book Garden (Int’l)

Curiosity killed the bookworm (Int’l)

Ex urbanis (Int’l)

Snow Feathers (Int’l)

Buku-Buku Didi (Int’l)

Doing Dewey (US)

Saving in seconds (US)


Good luck to all!

The winner of THE CHAPERONE

The winner of the signed personalized copy of Laura Moriarty's novel The Chaperone is (drumroll, please)....... Anne Mlod! (winner drawn via Random.org)

Congratulations to Anne, your copy will be arriving soon via Riverhead Books.

Thanks to all who entered, and if you want to read more about this fantastic book, one of the best I've read this year, go to Laura Moriarty's fanpage here or Riverhead Books fanpage here. Thanks too to Riverhead Books for providing the prize.

My review of The Chaperone is here.

Win a copy of Laura Moriarty's THE CHAPERONE

I was lucky enough to read an early copy of Laura Moriarty's new novel, The Chaperone, about a woman who accompanies a teenage Louise Brooks, before she became a silent film star, to New York City one summer. I fell in love with the book, it is one of my favorites of the year, and my review is here.

The publishers of the book, Riverhead, is offering a personalized signed copy of the book to one of my readers. To enter, leave a comment in the comments section (US and Canada only, please). You can get an extra entry in the contest by signing up to be a follower of my blog.

The winner will be drawn on May 31st.


Read more about The Chaperone at Laura's Facebook fanpage

Win a Copy of The Heroine's Bookshelf!

The Heroine's Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore
Published by Harper Perennial ISBN 978-0-08-195877-9
Trade paperback, $13.99

When I was a young girl, I would get lost in books. (OK, so I still get lost in books.) I would identify with the heroine of the story, wondering what it would be like to be her; would I make the same decisions she did?

I fell in love with Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series when I was in third grade, devouring each book. I lived in a very cold, snowy climate, and I identified with Laura and her family being trapped in their home in an horrific snowstorm as the snow piled up in my yard.

So it was with great joy that I read Erin Blakemore's Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Blakemore writes of the important things she learned from great heroines in literature. Each chapter focuses on a different heroine, and Blakemore discusses not only the heroine herself, but the life of the fabulous female writer who created such memorable characters.

She starts with Lizzy Bennet from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, in which she examines the concept of "Self" through Jane Austen and Lizzy. Lizzy turning down both Darcy and Mr. Collins' proposals mirror Jane's decision to not marry, but Jane never married as Lizzy eventually did, believing that to be true to herself meant not marrying someone she didn't love just to conform to society's norms.

My all-time favorite heroine, Scarlett O'Hara from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize winning Gone With The Wind, epitomizes "Fight". I recently re-read the novel along with The Heroine's Bookshelf readalong, and found so many things that both bothered me (the racism) and reinforced my belief that Scarlett is the most fascinating, but seriously flawed, character in literature.

I enjoyed Blakemore's insights into Mitchell's life and her quest to write this book. Struggling to make it as journalist and married to a drunken, violent man, Mitchell had to fight to get her story written and sold. I also liked her analysis of why Melanie will never be as popular as Scarlett, though she is a much better person. I love that Scarlett will fight with everything she has to save herself and those she loves.

At the end of each chapter, Blakemore includes the best time to read (or reread) these books (In Gone With the Wind, one of the reasons is "when the mortgage is due"), as well as "Literary Sisters" to the heroine (Lily Bart from The House of Mirth is one of Scarlett's sisters).

From books that I have read, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, to books I'm ashamed to say I haven't read (but will now!), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Their Eyes Were Watching God, this is a book that will reconnect you with old friends and encourage you to make new ones.

My favorite line in the book is in the introduction:

"A moment with a book is basic self-care, the kind of skill you pass along to your children as you would a security blanket or a churchgoing habit."

I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment!

The Heroine's Bookshelf has given me a new perspective on these interesting characters and authors, and reading it I almost felt like I wanted to go to Facebook and 'friend' these authors and their creations. I felt like they were "my friends", and I want to know more about them.

This is a wonderful book to give as a Christmas gift to a woman or teenage girl in your life for whom reading is akin to breathing. I can't recommend it highly enough!

Erin Blakemore and Harper Perennial are generously giving me a copy to giveaway to readers of this blog. Leave a comment in the 'comments section' below, telling me who your favorite literary heroine is. A bonus entry for anyone who becomes a follower of this blog (or already is) and another bonus entry if you tweet this post! The winner will be chosen on December 21 at 5pm. 

rating 5 of 5

Enter to Win Jennifer Weiner's FLY AWAY HOME

So Many Books, So Little Time is giving a copy of Jennifer Weiner's new book,  Fly Away Home.

Contest details here.

Win a copy of THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS

Stephanie of thewrittenword.wordpress.com has a great giveaway of THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS as part of her The Everything Austen Challenge.
Read her review and enter the giveaway here:
http://thewrittenword.wordpress.com/2009/08/02/the-plight-of-the-darcy-brothers-a-giveaway/

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER

Jennifer Weiner hits all the right notes in her latest New York Times #1 best selling novel, Best Friends Forever. Anyone who has ever had a best friend will relate to the story of Addie Downs and Val Adler, who became fast friends the day that nine-year-old Val moved in across the street from Addie.

The book opens with Val at their fifteen year high school reunion. She has an altercation with a man from high school who hurt her and tormented Addie in their senior year. Val fears that she has accidentally killed the man, and runs to Addie, whom she hasn't seen in fifteen years, for help.

Addie decides to help Val find out if the man is dead, and the (mis)adventure is on. Weiner has stated that the thought "what would happen if Thelma and Louis survived?" started her on the path to this novel, and their comical journey provides much humor for the novel.

However, it is the poignancy of the story that most appealed to me. We meet Addie and Val as girls, and follow their friendship through high school. Addie came from a loving family. Dad served in Vietnam, and suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome. He loved his wife, a greeting card writer and terrific cook, who suffered from obesity. Older brother Jon was a popular jock who became increasingly embarrassed by his family. Val lived with her mom, who seemed incapable of caring for her daughter.

Addie and Val drifted apart in high school, after an incident in their senior year ended their friendship. Addie looked forward to a new start away at college, but family tragedies put an end to that. She came home, took care of family business and never left again. She became an obese loner, rarely leaving her home.

Weiner creates empathy for Addie and Val. She drives home the point that people tend to think everyone else's life is easier that his or her own, and that people are generally surprised to discover that other people envy them. High school can be a difficult time for most people, and Weiner expertly brings that time back to the reader.

Addie Downs quickly became a favorite literary character of mine. While most people don't have her particular story, I related to her life. I felt like I knew Addie, her story was so authentic. Best Friends Forever will appeal to anyone who survived high school, and it may encourage you to reconnect with an old friend. Just hope that she doesn't turn up late at night on your doorstep in a bloody coat!

Rating 4 of 5 stars

THE CASTAWAYS Giveaway from drey's library

Enter to win a good summer read from drey's library here:
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/2009/07/tour-giveaway-109-castaways-by-elin.html

Enter to win Julie & Julia

A Sea of Books is giving away a copy of JULIE & JULIA by Julie Powell. Copy the link to enter.

http://aseaofbooks.blogspot.com/2009/06/giveaway-julie-julia-by-julie-powell.html

Can't wait to see the movie with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams!

A Great Giveaway from bookingmama

This book looks like a fun summer read. Copy the link below to get the details to win LOOKING FOR SALVATION AT THE DAIRY QUEEN by Susan Gregg Gilmore.

http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/2009/06/guest-blogger-susan-gregg-gilmore.html

Enter to win JULIE & JULIA from Readaholic

You can win a copy of JULIE & JULIA by Julie Powell, courtesy of Readaholic. Enter here:
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/2009/06/giveaway-julie-and-julia-by-julie.html

Win THE MATING RITUALS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WASP

You can win a great new book here, courtesy of The Burton Review. Marie asks a terrific question of the author too.

http://burtonreview.blogspot.com/2009/05/book-reviewmating-rituals-of-north.html

Enter to win THE CHOSEN ONE

This is a YA book, but it looks like a fantastic read for adults too. Heylady has a great review of it, and an opportunity to win it here.

http://heylady.net/2009/06/02/review-giveaway-the-chosen-one-by-carol-lynch-williams/

Good luck!