It is time for another giveaway that is attached to a blog hop. The blog hop is courtesy of I'm A Reader Not a Writer. Be sure and go to the blog to see a list of all the participating blogs and enter to win. The contest will run from today until November 27, with the winner be chosen on November 28.
I am giving away a $10 gift card to Amazon. I never know what book to offer and think a gift card is the best way so you can pick what you want. This contest is simple to enter, just make sure you are a follower and leave a comment letting me know that with an email address so I can contact you if you win. The giveaway is open to everyone, it doesn't matter where you live. Good Luck!
Reading level: Ages 13 and up
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Living Ink Books (October 14, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0899578659
ISBN-13: 978-0899578651
Synopsis:
He was once the greatest champion in the land. Then he disappeared. With Nemesia's defeat, the Barlows have helped turn the tide in the Hidden Lands. But the victory is short-lived. An even greater evil stirs in the north with a fierce new army bent on destruction. As the twins, Gabe and Garret, discover their own special powers, a thin thread of hope emerges: long ago, a fabled king was rescued from death on our world and hidden on Karac Tor. Who is he? Each brother has their part to play. Hadyn must travel north to warn the land rulers, which leaves Ewan with a bitter choice. Will he sacrifice what is most precious to discover whether Corus lives? Even more important, if Corus is alive, can he wake the Sleeping King of legend...before it's too late?
About the Author:
D. Barkley Briggs is an author with a background in radio, public relations, product development, and-for eleven years-pastoring. He and his wife Jeanie, both previously widowed, live in the Midwest along with their eight children. (Yes, we are regularly amazed, too. Learn more at hiddenlands.net
My review:
I must say that I am a huge fan of Robert Jordan and I compare most to his writing. Therefore, it takes a great deal from a fantasy/science fiction writer to get my interest and make me a fan. In saying that, Briggs has made me a fan of his series. The book is great for young adults and adults and has a strong Christian influence in the story. The story weaves between the known world and a hidden world and allows the reader to dream and escape reality, if even for the length of the book. I think this is a great book to bridge the young reader into young adult books, they can transition easily into longer prose and a world that grows with their imagination.
Make sure you go to the author's site and check out a fantastic giveaway, you can click on the right side box labeled as Readers Dream Contest. Good Luck! www.deanbriggs.com
I am contemplating applying for the MFA Program in creative writing with an emphasis in Fiction/Creative Non-Fiction and have been diligently researching the program at Spalding University in Louisville, KY. I am on the search for anyone that has gone through this program and can tell me what they liked, didn't like, etc. Any info that anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Title: Amazing Adventures of a Nobody
Author: Leon Logothetis
Genre: Travel Memoir
Publication Date: October 15, 2011
Pages: 290
Price: $14.95
ISBN 13: 978-0-9843081-3-2
Publisher: Bettie Youngs Books
I received a free copy of this book for my honest review.
In a time of economic anxiety, global terror, and shaken confidence, the Star of the National Geographic Channel’s Amazing Adventures of a Nobody, Leon Logothetis, shows us what is good about mankind: the simple calling people have to connect to others.
Tired of his disconnected life and uninspiring job, Leon Logothetis leaves it all behind: job, money, home, even his cell phone and hits the road with nothing but the clothes on his back and $5 in his pocket, relying on the kindness of strangers and the serendipity of the open road for his daily keep.
Along the way, Leon offers up the intriguing and charming tales gathered along his one-of-a-kind journey riding in trains and buses and big rigs and classic cars; sleeping on streets and couches and firehouses; meeting pimps and preachers, astronauts and single moms, celebrities and homeless families, veterans and communists. Each day of his journey, we catch sight of the invisible spiritual underpinning of society in these stories of companionship and sheer adventure that prove that the kind, good soul of mankind has not been lost.
About the author: Leon Logothetis was born and raised in London, UK. He has a great passion for adventure, travel and interacting with people. Following his passion he created the reality travel show “Amazing Adventures of a Nobody,” where he traveled from Time Square, New York, to the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles with $5 a day and relying on the kindness of strangers. The show was licensed to National Geographic International and aired in over 100 countries worldwide. Learn more at http://www.leonlogothetis.com/
What they're saying about Amazing Adventures of a Nobody:
“A gem of a book; endearing, engaging and inspiring.”
~ Catherine Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel Editor
My review:
Leon is a British man that has become disillusioned with his path in life and is on the search to have more meaning and try to find out what he is really supposed to be doing. As he searches for an answer, he decides to fly to America to try to find his path. As he starts in New York City and makes his way to the Hollywood sign, the book is stocked full adventure.
Not only does the search to find his path, yet he relies on $5 a day and the kindness of strangers to get him from start to finish. The strangers that he met along the way provided food, transportation, and housing. He finds himself getting lucky as Americans are in love with his accent and want to help out a stranger in the country to reach their goal. However, he runs into trouble at times as he is accosted by others that prove to be unsettling characters.
I really enjoyed this book and loved the concept of the author stepping completely out of his comfort zone and engaging with people and life in a way that he would have never encountered in his current life in England. At times the book was a little slow and I found myself wanting more details in some of the situations he encountered but overall, I am glad that I read the book.
FYI: Leon is now traveling the country in a Kindness Cab to raise money for books for schools. http://www.kindnesscab.com/
After you read the book and you want the adventure to continue, you can check out the television series based on the book.
I have two copies of this book to giveaway. The contest is open to US and Canadian residents only and no PO boxes. Please leave a comment below or email me to enter. Don't forget to leave a way for me to contact you. The winners will be chosen on November 18.
Synopsis:
Alexander Popper can't stop remembering. Four years old when his father tossed him into Lake Michigan, he was told, Sink or swim, kid. In his mind, he's still bobbing in that frigid water. The rest of this novel's vivid cast of characters also struggle to remain afloat: Popper's mother, stymied by an unhappy marriage, seeks solace in the relentless energy of Chicago; his brother, Leo, shadow boss of the family, retreats into books; paternal grandparents, Seymour and Bernice, once high fliers, now mourn for long lost days; his father, a lawyer and would-be politician obsessed with his own success, fails to see that the family is falling apart; and his college girlfriend, the fiercely independent Kat, wrestles with impossible choices.
Covering four generations of the Popper family, Peter Orner illuminates the countless ways that love both makes us whole and completely unravels us. A comic and sorrowful tapestry of memory of connection and disconnection, Love and Shame and Love explores the universals with stunning originality and wisdom.
I have two other blogs that I try to post on from time to time and am going to start doing much better with them. I wanted to tell all of the book people about them, just in case they have other interests like I do. I am trying to get many new followers on the other two blogs, as I will be able to offer giveaways on those if I do.
It is a dream of mine to attend this conference and I am planning on going in 2012. I have been perusing the site to find out prices of registration and it isn't up yet. However, I don't see where ordinary people can go. Does anyone know if I have to be a part of a publishing company, bookstore, or media? And does a blog count as media?
I want to go to the Bloggers conference that will be held on that Monday and haven't been able to find any information about the price to attend or registration.
Is there anyone that has attended these that can give me more information about them? If you are going, I would love to know so we can meet up!
Title: Any Minute
Author: Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: FaithWords; 1 edition (June 30, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446582530
ASIN: B003WUYRRW
About the Authors:
Joyce Meyer is one of the world's leading practical Bible teachers. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, she has written more than eighty inspirational books, including The Secret to True Happiness, 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life, the entire Battlefield of the Mind family of books, her first venture into fiction with The Penny,and many others. She has also released thousands of audio teachings, as well as a complete video library. Joyce's Enjoying Everyday LifeÒ radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences. Joyce and her husband, Dave, are the parents of four grown children and make their home in St. Louis, Missouri.
Deborah Bedford is a career fiction writer who began her professional life as a journalist in a Colorado mountain town. Deborah and her husband, Jack, have two children and live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
My review:
Sarah Harper is a wife, mother, and employee. Yet she seems to only see herself as the employee, as she only garners fulfillment in her life by what she accomplishes at her job. As she runs around in the rat race of life, her priorities are skewed and her life is beginning to spin out of control. Sarah doesn't see a problem with her life and how she leads it until she is in a terrifying accident.
The accident takes her on a journey that she isn't quite prepared to see. A journey that explores her past, present, and future in an effort to make her realize the changes that need to be made. Will this journey be enough to send her back to her family or will her choices keep her from being revived?
The book has a Christian based theme to it but it isn't so prevalent as to scare off readers that are not interested in that genre. The story was well written and shows the power of our everyday decisions and how faith and belief can make everything return to the correct path. I enjoyed this book and read it within a few hours over two nights of reading. I hope you will check this one out.
If anyone would like to purchase my copy (hardback), I am only asking for $6 to cover the cost of the envelope and shipping. The first one to leave a comment or email will be the new owner.
Bio:
Born in North Dakota, as the pioneers were dying off; reared in Iowa, where progress gobbled up farms and education was venerated. Dropped out of college and moved to North Carolina, where I found true love, real life, finished college and grad school, and became the librarian I was always meant to be. Now living in Kentucky, about which I read incessantly when I was growing up in Iowa, and loving it. Avid reader; appreciator of people, film, music, the glories of nature and the role of religion in life. Oh, I should also say my daughter calls me Pollyanna.
Thoughts on Books:
I had a story-telling grandmother, who was an avid reader and who encouraged my mom to read to her children. Living with our grandparents for some time, I benefitted from young uncles who enjoyed sharing the comics with us. The Katzenjammer Kids had us all rolling on the floor and Popeye the Sailor Man actually got us to eat (very unwillingly) spinach. All of us piled around Mom and quietly listened as she read nursery rhymes, fairy tales, legends and poems from the 1953 edition of Childcraft, the best Christmas gift she ever gave us. Despite all this enrichment, I didn't actually begin to read until 1st grade, but once started, I could not stop! I adored phonics lessons: “B says buh, buh, buh”. We were not supposed to take our reading primers home, but I could not leave Dick, Jane and Sally in my desk overnight. I took them home, reading as I walked and finishing the book before bedtime.
As soon as I understood how words were formed, I began reading the newspaper on my own. What power! And, to my mom's delight, I enjoyed reading the comics and Uncle Wiggily installments to my little brothers and sisters. She was able to cook supper in next to no time, with the youngsters gathered around the table, reading. On the flip side, I read things I didn’t understand and that made her very nervous. “What does r-a-p-e mean, Mommy?” I asked after reading a Dear Abby column. I can still see her biting her lip and mulling over how to explain it to 7 year old me.
I asked Marie to answer a few questions so we could get to know a little more about her:
Favorite Book? Pippi Longstocking -- the bravest girl in the world, who opened my eyes to what I could do and be
Favorite Author? Dr. Seuss; Pauli Murray; Kathleen Norris (1947-); Thor Heyerdahl
Describe yourself using only three words. Open-minded; Affectionate; Appreciative
You are on a deserted island, name one person and one book you would take with you.
Mother Teresa
How Does a Poem Mean? ed. by John Ciardi -- thousands of words to celebrate
Favorite tv show? Soap
Favorite food? Bread
Anything you haven’t done in your life that you want to do? Travel to the moon; Skydive; Visit New York City
