4 Teasers with Book Giveaway

Gerard's:

With both hands, he shoved me so hard I staggered and nearly fell.  "GET BACK FROM THE BUILDING!" he screamed, throwing up his arms with a flap of his rain slicker.  "NOW!"  He wasn't even looking at me; his small, bearish eyes were riveted on something going on over my head, up the street, and the expression on his face terrified me.

From page 49 of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.

Shy tightens his grip.  Grits his teeth and tries pulling the man up.  But it's impossible.  He's not strong enough.  Their positioning is too awkward.

From page 6 of The Living by Matt De La Pena.  My review went up yesterday.

Karen's:

Tony ran to his spot next to the Lion's sideline still thinking about Ash's disappearance.  His mind was churning through all the possible reasons for Ash not coming to the game and how Felicity could be involved, when he realized the "THUD" he heard was Tim Crossman's opening kickoff.

From 37%, Location 900 on Kindle of Touchdown Tony Crowne and the Mystery of the Missing Cheerleader by Peter Guy George. (My review will be up tomorrow.)

Paul's secret of contentment emerges from a universal principle of human nature.  It is to trust God regardless of the circumstances and not to expect too much perfection in this life.

Giveaway Book--leave comment if you would like this with an email to contact you for address.

From page 177 of Holding on to your faith even . . . WHEN GOD DOESN'T MAKE SENSE by Dr. James Dobson.

There are a few highlighted passages in this book so I cannot list it on Paperback Swap but thought I would offer to our blog readers first before releasing it into the wild.  If you would like to have this book, please let us know in a comment.  We will keep it available until the end of this week.  If more than one person is interested, we will randomly choose a winner on Saturday, 1/11/14.  If no one expresses an interest by then, I will release it into the wild.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

 Happy Reading!

In Honor of Father's Day, "My Funny Dad, Harry" Giveaway

In honor of Father's Day, I am giving away an autographed copy of the book I wrote in memory of my dad, My Funny Dad, Harry.  It's has 21 positive reviews on Amazon and is filled with emotions written from the heart.

The short funny stories in this book about my dad, his family, his cats and the strange things he did are all true.  Many of us deal with aging parents so can relate to a lot of things in this book.  You will smile, chuckle and may even laugh out loud but also will find parts very touching that may bring a tear to your eye.  Get ready for a quick, easy, emotional read and learn to cherish the people in your day-to-day life.

This giveaway is for U.S. residents.  Just be the first to leave a comment expressing your interest in receiving it with an email address so we can contact you.  (Check out our other giveaways listed under our blog header--just be the first to comment that you'd like it.)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Bunker Hill--A City, A Siege, A Revolution" by Nathaniel Philbrick

Leave comment to enter the Giveaway

Bunker Hill--A City, A Siege, A Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick brought me up to speed on my limited knowledge about Bunker Hill and Benedict Arnold. I always enjoy books that I can learn more about historical events and this was no exception. Now I feel like I know the full story! The first hundred pages were a bit dry reading; however, once it got closer to the battle of Bunker Hill, things really picked up. The story about the battle was eye-opening and riveting! I you are a fan of historical reading, you will love this book!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

We received a free copy of this book for review but was not compensated. This in no way influenced my review of this book.


Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"It Takes Two To Strangle" by Stephen Kaminski (Giveaway)

I received a complimentary copy of It Takes Two To Strangle (a Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective Mystery) by Stephen Kaminski for review. Here is the blurb from the back cover that made me want to read it:

When the owner of a traveling carnival is strangled—not once but twice—on opening night of the summer fair in Hollydale, the police surmise he was not well liked. As the head of Hollydale's citizens association and local liaison with the carnival, Damon Lassard feels obligated to help his dear friend, Detective Gerry Sloman, solve the crime. Damon is determined to bring the killer to justice, to the fascination of his mother, best gal pal Rebecca, and lovely local weather girl, Bethany Krims. To unravel the threads underpinning this peculiar murder, Damon will travel far from Hollydale as his quest to find a murderer leads to the discovery of long hidden and horrific crimes.

It Takes Two to Strangle introduces Hollydale’s lovable neighborhood leader, Damon Lassard, and twists the dabbling detective through an intricate maze of greed, deception, and murder.

This is a cozy mystery without any "wow" factor.  The action, what little there is, moved too slow for me.  If you are a fan of cozy mysteries and would like this book, be the first to indicate that in the comments with an email address so we can get your address and send it to you.
(Gerard's review, rating 3 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We Have Our Giveaway Winner! By Default (Updated 7/11/12)

Congratulations Heather, LUCKY LADY, Meow!

UPDATED 7/11/12: Well, it's been over two weeks since we contacted Heather for her address and we have not heard back after trying three times so will award the book to the next commenter who wanted it--Lucky Lady over at Country Pictures. Hope you enjoy the book!

I threw all 5 entries on the floor by Manny and the first one he touched was Heather so she is our winner.  Congratulations Heather, hope you enjoy Gone by Cathi Hanauer as much as we did!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during June and July to The Wounded Warrior Project which helps wounded warriors and their families returning from current conflicts.

Audio Book Giveaway: "The Leftovers": by Tom Perrotta

We have an audio book of "The Leftovers" by Tom Perrotta to giveaway to someone who leaves a comment on this post saying they would like it.  This is a fiction book on 8 CDs including a bonus interview with the author.  Here is the summary of what it is about:

WHAT IF--WHOOSH, RIGHT NOW, with no explanation--a number of us simply vanished?  Would we think it was the Rapture?  Would others of us go on, one foot in front of the other, as we did before the world turned upside down?

That's what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, who lost many of their neighbors, friends, and lovers in the event known as the Sudden Departure, have to figure out.  Because nothing has been the same since it happened.

Kevin Garvey, Mapleton's new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized community.  Kevin's own family has fallen apart in the wake of the disaster:  His wife, Laurie, has left to join the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence.  His son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet named Holy Wayne.  Only Kevin's teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she's definitely not the sweet A-student she used to be.  Kevin wants to help her, but he's distracted by his growing relationship with Nora Durst, a woman who lost her entire family on October 14th and is still reeling from the tragedy, even as she struggles to move beyond it and make a new start.

TO ENTER:  If you live in the U.S. and want to enter this giveaway, just leave a comment with your email address so we can contact you if you are the winner.  The winner will be randomly chosen on October 30.

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Manny Picks The Winner of our Audio Book Giveaway

Congratulations to our blogging buddies at Beaded Tail who won our audio book giveaway for IRON HOUSE by John Hart.  To enter the giveaway, all you had to do was comment on any of our blogs between Aug. 20 and Aug. 30.  I actually did an elimination round first by rolling dice to choose 16 finalists.  I counted the comments back starting with Aug. 20 and wrote down the commenter's name on a piece of paper according to the roll of the dice.  Obviously, the more you commented, the better your chances.  After I got through all 90 some comments, I threw them on the floor and let my cat, Manny pick one.  As you can see in the video, he was very contemplative but clearly had his paw on just one of them.  Both Gerard and I liked Iron House by John Hart very much and hope the gang at Beaded Tail enjoys the audio book!

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

GIVEAWAY: Audio book of IRON HOUSE by John Hart

Audio Book Giveaway of Iron House (12 CDs $39.99 value)

Iron House by John Hart is a great read and we are excited to have the audio book containing 12 CDS to give away including a bonus interview with the author. Who wants it? Both Gerard and I read this and it was his favorite book for July and so far is my favorite for August. It is a thriller about Michael who is trying to leave the mobsters who were like family to him and start a normal life with a woman he loves. However, he also has a younger mentally ill brother who he feels obligated to protect and in the process, makes some surprising discoveries. It all goes back to when they were orphans living at the Iron House orphanage.  Here is the link to our review of Iron House by John Hart.

We will choose a winner by random draw from all who leave comments on any of our blogs from now until August 30 (our 14th wedding anniversary) and announce the winner on August 31. Please leave an email so we have a way to contact you if you win and mention specifically that you would like to win this giveaway for an extra entry. The more you comment, the better your chances. We hope this will motivate you to visit our other blogs as well: Right Where We Belong, My Funny Dad, Harry and Always Looking Up! Feel free to comment on old posts too! (Note: Nasty or spam comments will disqualify you, just sayin’)!

Thanks to Macmillan audio for providing this audio book for this giveaway.

You will also help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Congratulations to Brandi--Winner Of Our Easter Giveaway

Brandi over at Searching For Serenity won I'm Outnumbered--One Mom's Lessons In The Lively Art Of Raising Boys with this comment:

I would actually love to win this for myself! {And share it with a friend expecting her first boy toward the end of the year.} I have two young boys, and while I grew up the only girl among boys, I still don't know much about raising them! Is it really that bad to paint your 3-year-old boy's toenails because Mommy and Sister were doing it!?

Hope you enjoy this book and find it helpful!  Thanks for entering!  We really wanted to give this to someone who had young boys.  Visit her blog and I think you'll agree she deserves to win!

We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.  For May it is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Easter Book Giveaway For Moms: "I'm Outnumbered!" by Laura Lee Groves

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!  We will giveaway this book to a commenter who makes the best case as to why they should get it.  Also, please include your email so we can contact you for your address if you are the winner. 

 

We will announce the winner on Sunday, May 1 so they can get it in time for Mother’s Day.  Maybe you do not need it but know a mother who might appreciate it.  Feel free to share why you would like to give it to them in your comment.

I’m Out numbered!:  One Mom’s Lessons in the Lively Art of Raising Boys by Laura Lee Groves is a good little handbook for moms (and dads) of boys.  I got this because I teach 5^th grade boys in Sunday School and thought it may be helpful.  She kept the chapters short because she knows moms are very busy so it is a quick read.  She addresses many issues including expectations, laying a foundation for reading, sibling rivalry, teaching respect, organizing, media, teaching responsibility, and communication.  Also included is a special chapter for dads, for single moms, and one from the boys themselves!  Laura Groves also includes an extensive list of recommended books that deal with related topics that she wrote about in this book.

I think this book would be helpful to any parent of boys especially. It is sprinkled with some humor and scripture which makes it a very enjoyable and interesting read. I liked it and am not even a parent but this book makes parenting sound like lots of fun! As I was reading, I kept thinking of different mothers I know who may benefit from reading this. Some general advice from I’m outnumbered! is to let boys be creative, don’t let them hurt each other, don’t play favorites, give them all a chance to be leaders and promote teamwork, treat them as individuals, love them no matter what they do or don’t do, teach them manners by challenging them to be honorable like knights.

 

I am not a mother but still enjoyed reading this humorous but practical book.  I think it contains some good advice and great ideas for raising boys (and girls too).   It would make a nice gift!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Love My Bookplates From Susan Faye!

My Book Stickers That I Won!

I happened to see a giveaway for some cute "This Book Belong To" stickers when visiting 365 Cat Ladies and Friends so decided to enter and won!  I just got these a couple days ago and today chose which books to put them into.  I picked books that I felt I may lend out sometime or that I am sure I will keep and not sell or give away.  Here are the books I put them into:

You can visit Susan Faye's Etsy shop and get some for your books too for just $5.00 or a number of other cool things too!

Spunky Chose The Winner Of "My Funny Dad Harry" Giveaway

Spunky Doodle chose the winner of our Fabulous Followers Giveaway.  The winner will receive an autographed copy of my book, "My Funny Dad, Harry" and a DVD with clips of him in action!  Thanks to all who expressed an interest.  The book is available on Amazon and Barnes Noble.

Happy Jogging on Blog Jog Day!

UPDATED 11/26/10 AT 4:20 P.M.:

Congratulations to Judy, Hayley, Stephanie and Sharon, our winners of You Already Know How To Be Great and Jennifer, the winner of the set of The Planet Of The Dogs children's books.

Here is a list of the books we will give away:  (1) a non-fiction practical "how-to" book and (2) a series of children's fiction books about dogs. Click on the titles to read our reviews and learn more about these books.  Just tell us which book(s) you would like and leave us your email in the comments so we can contact you if you are a winner of the giveaway.  For an additional two entries, add this blog to your blogroll and let us know you did in your comment.

You Already Know How To Be Great by Alan Fine

We are able to offer FIVE autographed copies that will be sent from the author.  You Already Know How To Be Great by Alan Fine is a very practical book with models for bringing out your best performance and helping others do the same.  Any leader could gain helpful insight from this book.  The principles of reducing interference to increase performance, using G.R.O.W. to make quicker decisions, and increasing your faith, fire and focus can be applied to business, sports, parenting and coaching.





 

Planet of the Dog Series  by Robert McCarty

including all three of these children's books:  

 Planet Of The Dogs, Castle In The Mist, and Snow Valley Heroes--A Christmas Tale

Thank you for stopping by my Blog! Please explore all this Blog has to offer, then jog on over to Alsea Pacific Beach House” http://www.alseapacificbeachhouse.com . If you would like to visit a different Blog in the jog, go to http://blogjogday.blogspot.com.”

Gratitude Giveaway For Our Fabulous Followers:

Fabulous Followers Gratitude Giveaway

Nov. 17-Nov. 28 For My Funny Dad, Harry

I have read quite a few books about dysfunctional families so thought it was time for one that is heartwarming and uplifting.  The short funny stories in this book about my dad, our family, his cats and the strange things he did are all true.  Many of us deal with aging parents so can relate to me as I try to help and care for my dad.  If you are an elderly parent, you will probably identify with my dad.  I suspect you will smile, chuckle and may even laugh out loud but also will find parts very touching that may bring a tear to your eye.  This is an emotional read that will hopefully inspire you to cherish the people in your day-to-day life and may even get some useful tips.  
 

In appreciation to my followers of this blog, I am giving away an autographed copy of my book, My Funny Dad, Harry and DVD with some movie clips of my dad and me to a follower who leaves a comment stating they would like to have it along with their email or blog URL so I can let them know if they win.  All those who express a desire to have it by noon E.S.T. on November 28 will be eligible.  I will let my cat Spunky Doodle choose the winner since I got Spunky from my dad’s yard.  If I do not hear from the winner with their address by December 1, another winner will be selected.  (This giveaway is limited to our followers.)

I am doing this over at My Funny Dad, Harry too so you could also enter there if you follow that blog too.  Here is the Foreword.  I sure hope someone would like to have my book!  Just leave me a comment.

Check out our other two giveaways that are open to anyone: Hard Cache by Charles Neff (Suspense/mystery) and You Already Know How To Be Great (Self-help) by Alan Fine.

"Hard Cache" by Charles B. Neff (Suspense)--Giveaway

It’s all here in this story:  love, decency and old, bone-crunching evil.  Neff weaves them all together brilliantly in a memorable page-turner.” –Roger Wilkins (Pulitzer Prize Winner) (quote from the back cover)

Hard Cache by Charles B. Neff is a short romantic thriller involving a murder, the Russian mob, the Black Market and four men who fought together in the Russian-Afghan war but whose lives are still intertwined years later.  One of the things that makes this book stand out from other suspense mysteries is the cross cultural facet of the book. 

Mangus Torval, a former Swedish detective, discovers a dead body while fishing alone while visiting Washington.  The investigation leads to an exciting confrontation in the mountains at a cabin where Greg Takarchuk and Mangus realize their love for the women in their lives, Olga and Mariela and secrets all come to light. 

There are a lot of different characters that I had a bit of trouble keeping straight so found myself often referring to the list of characters at the beginning of the book.  This was very helpful.  The story itself was a bit complicated to me but I liked the suspense during the confrontation at the cabin.  The killer of Dmitri, the antique store owner and Greg’s father, was revealed fairly early on but I never did understand exactly why the murder was committed. 

I didn’t think the ending was very believable—can you really expect seven people (two of which were women, one Pastor, one ex-journalist, one a police officer, an FBI agent and a former detective) to all agree to a fabricated story to cover up what really happened at the cabin?  With short chapters and an interesting story line, Hard Cache is a quick read. 

(We received a free copy of Hard Cache by Charles B. Neff to review so will gave it away in a drawing on Sat., November 20 limited to the U.S.  The winner was Carol in Texas who said "You had me at the Russian mob! I love suspense mysteries. If there are a lot of characters, I make a list that includes some note about the character to help me remember.")

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

Announcing Winners Our Stephen King Spooktacular Giveaway

Congratulations to our winners.  I printed out the emails of all our entries and those getting more than one entry I printed more times.  I shuffled the stacks and spread the entries out on the floor upside down for each of our pets to choose a winner for a book.  Here are the results:

Manny chose April X of Princess Reviews to win 

Four Past Midnight.

Abby chose Arceli (Half broke college student) to win  

The Tommyknockers.

Spunky Doodle chose Christine of Christine Senter's Blog to win The Dark Half.

We hope you all enjoy these books which I hope to get in the mail to you this week and everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!

Watch for our next Gratitude Giveaway for our fabulous followers November 17-27.  All you will need do to enter is be a follower and leave a comment.  We will also be running a giveaway for our fabulous followers over at "My Funny Dad, Harry."  Hope you will visit that blog too.

Stephen King Spooktacular Book Blog Giveaway (This is Over)

Winners Announced here!

We are so excited because this is our first “Grab A Book From Our Stack” giveaway! It being Halloween and all and Stephen King being a favorite in our author poll in our side bar, Gerard is graciously giving away the following three Stephen King books:

The Tommyknockers

  Excerpt from the dust cover (558 pages):

Late last night and the night before,
Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers,
knocking at the door.
I want to go out, don't know if I can,
'cause I'm so afraid
of the Tommyknocker man.

It begins with nothing more frightening than a nursery rhyme; yet in Stephen King's hands it becomes an unforgettable parable of dread, a threat from an unimaginable darkness that drags the practical inhabitants of a New England village into a hell worse than their own most horrible nightmares...and yours.

It begins with Bobbi's discovery of the ship in the earth, a ship buried for millions of years, but still vibrating faintly, still humming with some sort of life...faint...weak...but still better left alone.

The townspeople of Haven are "becoming"--being welded into one organic, homicidal, and fearsomely brilliant entity in fatal thrall to the Tommyknockers.

In this riveting, nightmarish story, Stephen King has given us his tautest, most terrifying novel to date.  And the next time someone raps at your door, you may want to keep the chain on.  It just might be the Tommyknocker Man.

Four Past Midnight

(actually this is a collection of four chilling novellas):  Excerpt from the dust cover (763 pages):

One Past Midnight:  "The Langoliers" takes a red-eye flight from L.A. to Boston into a most unfriendly sky.  Only eleven passengers survive, but landing in an eerily empty world makes them wish they hadn't.


Two Past Midnight:  "Secret Window, Secret Garden" enters the suddenly strange life of writer Mort Rainey, recently divorced, depressed, and alone on the shore of Tashmore Lake.  Alone, that is, until a figure named John Shooter arrives, pointing an accusing finger.

Three Past Midnight:  "The Library Policeman" is set in Junction City, Iowa, an unlikely place for evil to be hiding.  But for small businessman Sam Peebles, who thinks he may be losing his mind, another enemy is hiding there as well--the truth.  If he can find it in time, he might stand a chance.

Four Past Midnight:  The flat surface of a Polaroid photograph becomes for fifteen-year-old Kevin Delevan an invitation to the supernatural.  

The Dark Half

  Excerpt from dust cover (431 pages)

Thad Beaumont is a writer, and for a dozen years he secretly published novels under the name of "George Stark" because he was no longer able to write under his own name.  He even invented a slightly sinister author biography to satisfy the many fans of Stark's violent bestsellers.  But Thad is a healthier and happier man now, the father of infant twins, and starting to write as himself again.  He no longer needs George Stark, and in fact has a good reason to lay Stark to rest.  

When Homer's pick-up truck truck is found, the bloody fingerprints of the perpetrator are all over it.  They match Thad Beaumont's exactly.  Armed with hard evidence, Pangborn [the sheriff] pays the Beaumonts a visit, and suddenly he too is thrust into a dream so bizarre that neither criminal science nor his own sharp mind can make sense of it.

At the center of the nightmare is the devastating figure of George Stark, Thad Beaumont's dark half--impossibly alive and relentlessly on the loose--a killing machine that destroys everyone on the path that leads to the man who created him.

Here is the The Dark Half, a tale of terror so real and fascinating that Stephen King's growing legion of fans will find themselves squirming in the master's heart-stopping, blood-curdling grip--and loving every minute of it.

Anyone in the United States Can Enter! This is open to anyone in the U.S., not just our followers or other bloggers! (We will be having a Follower Appreciation giveaway in November just for our followers as well as another open giveaway on Book Blog Jog Days.)

Easy To Enter:

(1) Just leave a comment here letting us know which book(s) you would like with a way of contacting you should you win (blog URL or email) or send an email to spunkydoodle[at]sbcglobal[dot]net with “Spooktacular Giveaway” in the subject line.

3 Optional Easy Ways To For Additional Entries:

(1) Leave us a comment on any of our other posts on this blog, mentioning the book(s) you would like to win. After all, we would like you to look around our blog a little bit.

(2) Add Grab A Book From Our Stack (www.ourstack.blogspot.com) to your blog roll—let us know you did it in your comment or email.

(3) Twitter (including #bblog in your tweet if you remember) or blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post or your Twitter ID in your comment or email.

Winners will be announced here Sunday Night, October 31. We will do our best to contact the winners personally on Halloween and give them until November 3rd to email us their address so we can send the book(s). If we do not have an address for them by then, another winner will be chosen instead.

Entries close at 12:30 p.m. EST on Oct. 31. There will be separate drawings for each book on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. EST. Since the Browns have a bye week, this will give me something fun to do! We wish everyone a fun week and a happy and safe Halloween!

I included this post in the Saturday Sampling over at Half Past Kissin' time where you can link the best posts of the week.

"Justice In June" Book Giveaway

Crazy For Books is giving away this one!   Justice in June by Barbara Levenson is a new book, just published June 1, 2010 about a defense attorney handling three big cases at once.

It's raining, it's pouring, but the life of criminal defense attorney Mary Magruder Katz is anything but boring - especially when she gets caught up in a whirlwind of three different cases.

Go ahead and enter the giveaway!