Literary Giveaway Blog Hop: The Winner is...

.... Laurie C. at Bay State Reader's Advisory.

Congratulations, Laurie! 

Please send me your address via email and I will mail the package right away.

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop: Celebrating Audiobooks

Welcome to the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop hosted by Judith at Leeswammes' Blog. Between now and Wednesday June 26, you can hop to over 40 different book blogs, all offering one or more giveaways of books or bookish items. All books will be literary fiction, nonfiction, or close to it. Follow the links at the bottom of this post to find the other participating blogs.




My Giveaway

Since June is Audiobook Month, my giveaway is an audiobook package consisting of two recently released literary fiction titles:

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Narrated by Khaled Hosseini, Navid Negahban, Shohreh Aghdashloo
(my review)

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
Narrated by Gretchen Mol
(review coming soon)

Both are review copies sent to me by Penguin Audio which I have listened to once.

If you are interested in entering my giveaway (US only), please let me know in a comment by 6PM EDT Wednesday, June 26.  Be sure to include your email address.

For more giveaways check out these blogs... let the blog hopping begin!

Linky List:

Leeswammes Ciska's Book Chest The Book Garden Sam Still Reading Ephemeral Digest Curiosity Killed the Bookworm Rikki's Teleidoscope The Things You Can Read (US) Seaside Book Nook The Relentless Reader (US) Under a Gray Sky Blog Exurbanis Candle Beam Book Blog Booklover Book Reviews Books in the Burbs (US) Babyboomerwrites River City Reading (US) Lakeside Musing (US) Read Lately (US) The Book Diva's Reads A Place That Does Not Exist Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book (US) A corner of the library Roof Beam Reader The Misfortune of Knowing Girl Vs Bookshelf

heavenali Love at First Book The Little Reader Library The Siren's Tale Musings and Ramblings The Readers Realm (US) Lost Generation Reader Readerbuzz Literary Meanderings Book Clutter Bay State Reader's Advisory Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity Nose in a book Audios & More Laurie Here Mythical Books Books in the City

And the Winner is...

.... Rhonda! 

Please send me your address via email and I'll mail it right out to you.

 Congratulations!

Wrapping Up Pym Reading Week with a Giveaway

It's been a wonderful week for Barbara Pym fans! I've decided to end Barbara Pym Reading Week by giving away my gently read copy of Some Tame Gazelle.

Please leave a comment by 12 noon EDT Wednesday June 12 if you'd like to enter. Be sure to include an email address. I will ship anywhere.

We Have a Winner!

Congratulations to Emma from Words and Peace! You won the giveaway of The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout. Please send me your address and I'll mail the book to you on Monday.

GIVEAWAY: The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

Yesterday I posted my review. Today, it's time for a giveaway.

If you would like the new hardcover copy of The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout I received from Random House, please let me know in the comments.

• drawing at 12 PM (EDT) Friday May 31
• US and Canada only
• include your email address
• winner to be contacted 5/31
• if a mailing address is not provided by 6/4, an alternate winner will be selelcted

Good luck!

And the winner is...

Emma @ Words and Peace

Congratulations, Emma! 

TLC Book Tour: As Always, Jack by Emma Sweeney

As Always, Jack
by Emma Sweeney
Axios Press, June 2012
180 pages

Book description:
Near the end of WWII, a Navy pilot meets and falls in love with a beautiful California girl. They have a brief two weeks together before he is shipped off to the South Pacific. This is an engaging collection of his letters, compiled by the daughter he never got to meet. Full of poignant detail—a chronicle of the passions and fears of wartime—the book is the ultimate love story of America's “greatest generation.”

My thoughts:

I love correspondence, from writing and receiving letters to reading epistolary novels, so accepting As Alway, Jack for review was a no-brainer. This book, however, is not a novel. It represents one woman's opportunity to meet the father she never knew through his letters to her mother written shortly after the two first met.

We read of Jack's falling in love, gradually discover his sense of humor, and even learn of his growing uncertainty as the reunion with Beebe nears. He share bits about his life in the South Pacific and brings the time/place alive for the reader.

This beautiful edition was a quick read and very touching, but I wish Beebe's letters had been included, too.

A few favorite passages:

Dearest Beebe,
I'm certainly glad I figured out that I was in love with you. It explains a lot of queer things that have been puzzling me - for instance, why I write you so many letters, why I think about you most of the day and dream about you most of the night, and why I'm so eager to get back to the states. With your female intuition (which doesn't work so good on horses) you probably knew it all along, though. I know I'll never forget anything about those twelve days between Dec. 29 and Jan. 9... (page 39) 

"... The only picture I have of you is in my memory, but I don't think it'll wear off. Seriously, Cotton, I miss you more all the time. I thought possibly when I first left you, way back there in January, that the reason I thought of nothing but you was that it was the most recent happening in my life; but the longer I'm away, the better perspective I seem to get and the more I realize that you're the most wonderful girl I've known."  (page 70) 

"Which brings up a little point I should like to discuss briefly with you, Beebe. You know we really only knew each other for two weeks, although I'm sure we came to know each other better in those two  weeks than any other couples could. It's been five months since those two weeks came off, and all you've had in that time were my picture (and pictures like that are nearly always flattering) and my letters, in which I also try to flatter myself. In these five months you're bound to have gradually exaggerated my good features in your mind and more or less forgotten the bad ones (honest, I do have one or two bad ones - but there I go again). Probably you realize all this, honey, as I've suspected from the first you are not such a girl as would overlook such commonsense thing. The reason I'm being so serious about it is that just in case you do feel some sense of disappointment when the highly-advertised Sweeney steps off his train (or plane), just be sure to remember that the main thing is what we'relike inside and what we feel about things, etc. I'm sure you know what I'm trying to get across even if I'm not expressing it too clearly." (page 139-140)

My rating:

Giveaway:
The publisher has provided an additional copy of As Always, Jack for one of my readers (sorry, US and Canada only). If you would like to be entered in the giveaway, please let me know in your comment. I will draw a winner on Monday July 23.

About the Author:
Emma Sweeney is the author of several gardening books as well as a literary agent based in New York.  She formed her own agency in 2006 and has had five New York Times bestsellers, including the #1 New York Times best seller, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  She is a member of the Association of Authors’ Representatives and the Women’s Media Group, where she served as its president in 2003. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a BA in English Literature.  She divides her time between New York City and Rhinebeck, New York.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for sending me a review copy. The complete tour schedule for As Always, Jack is here.

We have a winner...

Congratulations, Staci! Send me your address and I'll mail out a copy of Jitters: A Quirky Little Audio Book next week.

TSS: Home, At Last

Finally, we are at home for an entire weekend. The past four have involved two college Family Weekends, a couple of days with Twin A, and a weekend getaway for my husband's birthday. While the weekends themselves have been fun (and good for my backlog of audiobooks), it has been a little exhausting too. Many 'winterizing' chores have been postponed and it already feels like I'm playing catch-up with the holidays. Oh well, it will all get done eventually.

November has already been a fantastic reading month, thanks mostly to increased audiobook time. I'm slowly working my way through the pending reviews.

Reviews posted this week:
The Language of Baklava by Diana Abu-Jaber
Jitters: A Quirky Little Audiobook by Adele Park
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

Giveaway:
I have a giveaway going on for Jitters, but fear a blogger comment snafu has lost some of your entries. This was a very entertaining audio and won an Audie Award in the Multi-Voiced Performance category. There is still time to stop by and let me know if you're interested. The winner will be announced on Friday.

I'm currently reading The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka and listening to State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. I've read all of Patchett's books and loved them (with the exception of Bel Canto), but this is my first time listening. State of Wonder captivated me instantly. I didn't want to stop listening and may need to locate a print copy to read at home. Either way, I'm looking forward the a three and a half hour drive on Tuesday to pick up Twin A for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanksgiving plans are falling into place. All three girls will be home and we're hosting Thanksgiving dinner for 22, or possibly 25, on Thursday. Friday is our annual leftover feast (no Black Friday shopping for me), followed by a family Christmas party (complete with Yankee Auction) with all of my cousins on Saturday. Sunday we hope to cut down the perfect Christmas tree before Daughter #1 returns to college. I'll drive Twin A back early Monday morning.

Finally, in this spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to say how thankful I am for all of my blogging friends. In the confusion of the last month, I missed Lakeside Musing's third anniversary, so will take this opportunity to say thank you to all my readers and regular commenters. It's been an amazing three years!

Jitters: A Quirky Little Audio Book by Adele Park

Jitters: A Quirky Little Audio Book
by Adele Park
Narrated by: Adele Park, Susan Paige Lane, and 7 others
Straight to Audio Productions, 2010
6 hours 31 minutes

Publisher's Summary:
Nancy Neptune loves to stir up trouble – it makes for awesome radio. But even the Queen of Obscene is amazed by all the twisted things that go down in the polygamist community of Zion Flats.

For Sandy Wyman, a one-armed reporter, sharing a house with Nancy Neptune is like living in a dorm room on steroids. Seeking refuge from the chaos that comes from being within 20 feet of a person like Nancy Neptune, Sandy befriends a polygamist with a host of sketchy habits.

Nadine Mackleprang, a nosy neighbor, is trying to eat everything that isn't nailed down so she won't have to think about why her husband has left her for another man. When she learns that Sandy's polygamist pal is in danger, Nadine waddles to the rescue.

Join Nancy Neptune and her eccentric gaggle of girlfriends for an unforgettable tour through polygamist country in Jitters - A Quirky Little Audio Book.

Jitters is a full-length audiobook told in first-person narratives. Each chapter begins with a newscast on KNVL, the radio station headed by the notorious Nancy Neptune. Listen as a cast of 15 characters react to the events of the day.

My thoughts:

Most of you know how much I love lists, especially those related to awards. Jitters came to my attention when it appeared on this year's list of Audie Award Winners in the Multi-Voiced Performance category. It was up against some pretty stiff competition, including Room by Emma Donoghue. When I mentioned on dog eared copy's blog that I thought Room was a shoe-in, the author offered to send me a copy of Jitters. How could I refuse?

The story consists of a series of first-person narratives relayed by a full cast of extremely colorful, quirky characters. Each chapter opens with a KNVL radio news broadcast. The news always concludes with the latest Utah Jazz NBA scores, serving to ground the events in reality. One character's interpretation of the events follows. Let me tell you, the combination of shock radio and polygamy can lead to some very funny situations. Characters are basically stereotypes, further exaggerated by the narrator's voice (Nancy Neptune's over-the-top Jersey accent, for example). However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. These characters are far better suited to audio than text, and narrators make full use of their opportunities.

That said, Jitters was not what I expected.  I listen to audiobooks to fit more books into my life - while I drive, clean, cook, and walk the dog. Jitters was never actually a book, but a performance designed specifically for audio. Even so, it still made for a very entertaining six and a half hours!

Check out the trailer:

My rating:

Bottom line:
Jitters was not exactly what I was expecting, but still a lot of fun.

Giveaway:

The author generously included an extra copy to give away. If you would like a chance to win Jitters: A Quirky Little Audio Book, please let me know in the comments. The giveaway is open to US residents. I'll draw a winner on November 25th. Please include your email.

The Sunday Salon: Another Week of Richard Yates

It's been another week of reading Richard Yates here at Lakeside Musing.  I finished A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates by Blake Bailey last Sunday. It is, without doubt, the best literary biography I have ever read and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Thank you again, Rachel, for bringing this book to my attention. My review should be ready soon.

Monday found me searching Barnes & Noble for more Yates novels. I bought two and started Disturbing the Peace that evening. The first paragraphs immediately drew me in and established the Yatesian tone I have come to expect. You can read them for yourself in my Tuesday Intro post.

The rest of the week was pretty much a blur of activities, but I managed to squeeze in a little reading time each evening.  I will finish Disturbing the Peace today and plan to forge ahead with another Yates novel, Cold Spring Harbor.

It may be quieter than usual around here this week, but not because of BEA or Book Blogger Convention. Instead, I'll be helping Daughter #1 prepare for her summer internships in New York City. We move her in next weekend, just as all the book bloggers leave town.

Finally, congratulations to Frances of Nonsuch Book. She is the winner of Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym.

What are you reading this week?

Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym

Frustration following the Great Blogger Debacle has subsided, but  I'm not up to recreating the vanished review of Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym. Still, it should not go unmentioned.

Jane and Prudence are unlikely friends. Jane is ten years older, unfashionable, incompetent in her role as vicar's wife, and totally inept at homemaking. Prudence, a single, very fashionable, working woman living in the city, is famous for her string of unsuitable boyfriends. When Jane's husband accepts a position in a rural parish, she sets out to find the perfect mate for her friend. As you may guess, Jane's matchmaking skills are not quite up to par either.

The novel, centered around domestic/parish life, steeped in English culture and values of the time, and featuring plenty of tea drinking, was exactly what I have come to expect from Barbara Pym. This cozy, relaxing read provided the perfect beginning for my recent Florida vacation. I only wished I'd packed Some Tame Gazelle, too.

Giveaway reminder: 
Pym's novels can be difficult to find here in the United States. I'm giving away my gently read copy of Jane and Prudence on Sunday. If you're interested, leave me a comment here.

TSS: The Great Blogger Debacle and a Giveaway

Good morning! It's been a frustrating week for those of us on Blogger. We experienced radio silence much of Thursday and Friday as Blogger entered 'read only' mode. Evidently Wednesday night's scheduled maintenance uncovered some data corruption, so all posts and comments published Thursday were removed. Unaware this was happening, I spent Thursday afternoon working on a review of Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym, saved it as a draft, and planned to hit the publish button Friday morning.

Thursday evening, realizing how eerily quiet things were, I became aware of the problem. Every Blogger post I'd read and commented on that morning was gone. We joked about it on facebook and twitter, then used the time to catch up on non-blogging obligations. Friday morning, I tried to publish the review. Not only was Blogger still down, but the draft I'd written on Thursday was gone! I'm frustrated, have no time to rewrite the review, and am wondering if Blogger has plans to restore drafts once they finish with comments.

The Giveaway:
 Jane and Prudence was every bit as enjoyable as my first two Barbara Pym novels. It was the perfect beginning for our recent Florida vacation. Pym's novels are difficult to find in the United States, so I'd like to share the love by giving away my gently read copy.

If you are in the US and would like to read Jane and Prudence, let me know in the comments. I'll choose a winner next Sunday morning. If my draft reappears (or if I have time for a rewrite) the complete review will appear later this week. Grrrr, Blogger!

Today's reading:
After attending a Confirmation Brunch for my cousin's son, I hope to finish A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates by Blake Bailey. There are just over 100 pages to go (it's a 600+ page book), but this is the best literary biography I've ever read. A trip to the bookstore for more Yates novels is definitely on my agenda this week.

What are your plans for today? Did the Great Blogger Debacle have an impact on your week?

And the winner is...

...Sandy from You've GOTTA read this!

I’ll email you for your address so the publisher can get the book mailed out to you soon. Congratulations!

A Snow Day Give Away

It's a snow day give away! We have been buried under another 2 feet of snow and it will be months before my garden needs weeding, so I decided to tackle the shelves instead. In order to make room for new acquisitions, and inspired by Frances' generous example, these books are looking for a new home:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

All are paperbacks and in good (Speak) to very good condition. I'll ship them anywhere. Let me know if one interests you.

All the books have found a new home! Please send me your addresses and I'll send them out.

And the winner is...

Staci from Life in the Thumb

Congratulations, Staci! My husband just pulled your name from the hat. Send me your address and Two Guys Read Jane Austen will be on its way. Thanks to all who entered my first giveaway.

My first giveaway: Two Guys Read Jane Austen

I've decided to host a giveaway! My gently-read copy of Two Guys Read Jane Austen by Steve Chandler and Terrence N. Hill is the prize. This was an enjoyable book, and the 'two guys' offered an interesting perspective on our beloved Jane. My review is here.

Leave me a comment with your e-mail address if you're interested. I'll draw a winner on September 1 and will ship anywhere. Good luck!

TSS - Two Guys Read Jane Austen

Two Guys Read Jane Austen

by Steve Chandler and Terrence N. Hill

Robert D. Reed Publishers, 2008

126 pages

As Matt said recently, the book blogging community seems to be on a Jane Austen binge. I think he's right... and Stephanie, our host of the Everything Austen Challenge, is the one behind it all!

My personal challenge continues with Two Guys Read Jane Austen. Two sixty-ish guys, friends since childhood, decide to read a couple of Jane's novels. This book consists of letters exchanged as they make their way through Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park. The format that has worked well for these two guys, as they have previously tackled both Moby Dick and the obituaries.

Steve is reading Austen for the first time, while Terry is a veteran. The two share insights and observations, but the conversation also veers (entertainingly) into the personal, political, and even athletic realms.

Terry tells us:

Truman Capote once said, "All literature is gossip." ... To my mind the great gossip novel had already been published 150 years before Truman started his. And we're reading it with delight right now... But I do draw a big distinction between Capote's and Austen's gossip. When Capote's characters gossip, the reader is meant to be following the stories of those being gossiped about. The gossipers are merely a delivery system. Whereas in Austen, the gossip scenes are deigned to reveal as much about the feelings and character of the gossiper as they are about the subjects of the gossiper. (page 26 - 27)

Steve (the Austen virgin) notes:

It was great seeing you in New York last week and actually seeing the two different versions of Pride and Prejudice you are reading from (one annotated, one not.) You inspired me to get a new second version not annotated and my reading is much swifter and happier now. Amazing how notations cause you to lose the whole rhythm of Jane Austen's wit. (page 33)

Steve - on Fanny's late blooming in Mansfield Park:

Turning to Fanny's new Babe status, I must say from a purely personal viewpoint that I am glad Fanny has just come to bloom at the age of 18. I find I almost never like a woman who was beautiful when she was a girl. For if they are beautiful in their early teens, they are almost invariably ruined for life. They develop the attitude of the Beauty and it stays with them for the rest of their lives. (page 103)

Steve - on Jane's heroines:

Jane Austen allows male readers a secret look into the minds of brilliant, creative, virtuous women. One heroine (Elizabeth Bennet) outgoing, another (Fanny) introspective. But Austen's heroines are each true to themselves and win in the end. Classy women who combine high intelligence with inner strength and virtue. (page 123)

There are countless more passages worth quoting (Terry is very Pro-Charlotte...even Jane herself may not like her as much as he does), but I'll stop here. Reading this book has made me want to revisit Mansfield Park, my least favorite Austen. Steve and Terry's letters make me think I may have missed some of the finer points. The Annotated Pride and Prejudice is also on my challenge reading list.

Two Guys Read Jane Austen was both off-beat fun and informative. It was like eavesdropping on a private book club meeting... and I enjoyed every minute. This book wouldn't be nearly as entertaining if you were not familiar with Austen's novels. But then, why read it if you weren't?

I'll end this just as the book ends. Terry, pointing to Lydia's continued use of the word 'fun' and noting it was very much a slang word at the time, never used by ladies of quality asks:

But here's my question, how many other period-specific clues like this lie in the text never to be discovered by us simply because we're reading her 200 years after the fact?

So the stunning though is this: as much as we've admired Jane's brilliance as a writer - how much are we missing? The point is Jane is an even more brilliant writer than we can realize. And that, I think, should be the final word. (page 126)

*** Note: I've decided to give away my gently read copy. Go here to enter.***

Oh, Happy Day!

The sun is shining, a long weekend is beginning, and I'm off to the farmer's market.

Adding to today's happiness....


I won a book! Testimony by Anita Shreve is coming from Nise' at Under the Boardwalk (via Hachette). This is a book I've been coveting for quite some time. Now I can no longer claim to "never win anything". Thanks so much, Nise'!







...and an award! Molly at My Cozy Book Nook has given me The Friendly Blogger award. This is an award that can easily be passed on to everyone that has ever commented on this blog, and to nearly every blog I've visited. Book bloggers are the friendliest people! If you don't know Molly (but doesn't everyone?) stop by and say hello.

Now, it's off to the market...