She is Too Fond of Books – giveaways and product reviews

Winner of Anna Lefler's The CHICK-tionary

Random.org has spoken …

Congratulations to Teri B, winner of The CHICK-tionary by Anna Lefler! Teri will soon be able to converse with all the hottest lingo and catch-phrases of the day … hip to everything “From A-Line to Z-Snap, the Words Every Woman Should Know.”

Giveaway: The CHICKtionary by Anna Lefler

Did you read Anna Lefler’s recent Spotlight on Bookstores post? It was in memoriam to Dutton’s Brentwood Bookstore, which closed in 2008. While this post was a serious piece, an ode to a “gone but not forgotten” neighborhood bookstore, Anna Lefler has a funny side, too. A very funny side!

Her The CHICKtionary: From A-Line to Z-Snap, the Words Every Woman Should Know was published last month. A few sample entries:

Aberzombie: Derived from the name of the popular clothing stores, Aberzombie refers to any of the nation of plaid shirt-and-tank-top-wearing undead that can be seen staggering through the food courts of malls across America.
Bandeau: From the French word meaning “there’s no way that’s staying up,” this is a type of woman’s top that consists of a strip of fabric encircling the chest at breast level and remaining aloft through snugness and prayers.
George Glass: Originally invented by Jan on The Brady Bunch after “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” won yet another boy’s heart, “George Glass” is now the generic term for an imaginary boyfriend. It is most often invoked in an effort to hide the fact that you are single or currently sleeping with someone else’s husband.

As the mother of a 15-year-old, I’m too well acquainted with Aberzombies; as a 40-something who is way past her Victoria’s Secrets days, I wear bandeaus more like belts these days; and as a child of the 70s, I got the George Glass reference immediately (and started thinking “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!” and humming “When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange …”)

Anyhoooo ….

As part of her TLC Book Tour, the author and her publisher are offering a copy of The CHICKtionary to one lucky reader of She Is Too Fond of Books.

To enter the random drawing, simply leave a comment below. If you have a fun/funny definition you’d like to share, please do (but it’s not required). This post will be open for entrants until midnight ET on Thursday, December 22, with the winner announced on or about December 23. Giveaway is open to US/Canada mailing addresses only, no PO Boxes.

Winner of Erin Blakemore's The Heroine's Bookshelf

I’ve enlisted the aid of random.org to select the winner of Erin Blakemore’s The Heroine’s Bookshelf.

Congratulations to Kathy at Bermudaonion, lucky #1, who said:

I was trying to hold off coming over here, so I wouldn’t be #1 since we all know #1 never wins. Oh well. I’m going to go with Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird.

Ha! Well, #1 is the winner this time, Kathy! Enjoy the book, and, yes, Scout is featured prominently!

Book Giveaway: The Heroine's Bookshelf by Erin Blakemore

I’m so pleased that The Heroine’s Bookshelf is out in paperback in time for holiday giving; it’s the perfect book to share with women in a book group, your sister, mother, or best friend.

Here’s the publisher’s description:

Jo March, Scarlett O’Hara, Scout Finch—the literary canon is brimming with intelligent, feisty, never-say-die heroines and celebrated female authors. They placed a premium on personality, spirituality, career, sisterhood, and family, not unlike women of today. When they were up against the wall, authors like Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott fought back—sometimes with words, sometimes with gritty actions.

Witty, informative, and inspiring—full of beloved heroines and the remarkable writers who created them—The Heroine’s Bookshelf explores how the pluck and dignity of literary characters such as Jane Eyre and Lizzy Bennet can encourage modern women, showing them how to tap into their inner strengths and live life with intelligence and grace. From Zora Neale Hurston to Colette, Laura Ingalls Wilder to Charlotte BrontË, Harper Lee to Alice Walker, here are authors whose spirited stories and characters are more inspiring today than ever.

To enter the giveaway for The Heroine’s Bookshelf, simply leave a comment below, telling me who one of your literary heroines is. Giveaway will be open for entries until midnight ET on Thursday, December 8, with the winner selected in a random drawing and announced on December 9. Giveaway is open to US/Canada mailing addresses only.

Thanks to author Erin Blakemore for providing the book for the winner!

Winner of The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber

I used random.org to select a winner from among those who entered this giveaway.

Congratulations to lucky #2, Teri B!

Teri, please email me with your full name and address, and I’ll pass it along to TLC Book Tours.

Book Giveaway: The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber

Did you read this thoughtful post about Hole in the Wall Bookstore, in which author Ann Weisgarber praises this special indie near Mount Rushmore for not only its unique setting and theme, but also the large selection of local (western-based) books? Ann spent a lot of time in this part of the country while researching her novel, The Personal History of Rachel DuPree; here’s a synopsis:

An award-winning novel with incredible heart, about life on the prairie as it’s rarely been seen.

When Rachel, hired help in a Chicago boardinghouse, falls in love with Isaac, the boardinghouse owner’s son, he makes her a bargain: he’ll marry her, but only if she gives up her 160 acres from the Homestead Act so he can double his share. She agrees, and together they stake their claim in the forebodingly beautiful South Dakota Badlands.

Fourteen years later, in the summer of 1917, the cattle are bellowing with thirst. It hasn’t rained in months, and supplies have dwindled. Pregnant, and struggling to feed her family, Rachel is isolated by more than just geography. She is determined to give her surviving children the life they deserve, but she knows that her husband, a fiercely proud former Buffalo Soldier, will never leave his ranch: black families are rare in the West, and land means a measure of equality with the white man. Somehow Rachel must find the strength to do what is right-for herself, and for her children.

Reminiscent of The Color Purple as well as the frontier novels of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Willa Cather, The Personal History of Rachel DuPree opens a window on the little-known history of African American homesteaders and gives voice to an extraordinary heroine who embodies the spirit that built America.

Can you imagine? Those women (and men!) of the frontier really were isolated – the racial divide made life even more challenging for Rachel and her family.

As part of Ann Weisgarber’s blog tour with TLC Book Tours, the publisher is offering a copy of The Personal History of Rachel DuPree to one lucky reader of She Is Too Fond of Books; simply leave a comment below to enter. Giveaway will be open for entries until midnight on Saturday, November 26, and the winner drawn randomly and announced on Sunday, November 27. Giveaway is limited to US/Canada addresses only, no PO Boxes, please.

Winner of The Puppy That Came for Christmas

Many thanks to all who entered to win Megan Rix’s heartwarming memoir, The Puppy That Came for Christmas.

The winner, selected by random.org, is #2, Nikki, who said:

“I had a friend that had the most beautiful Siberian Husky named Sidka..love that name!”

Congratulations, Nikki, please send me your US/Canada mailing address, and the publisher will get the book right out to you.

Book Giveaway: The Puppy That Came for Christmas by Megan Rix

Now, don’t go getting all distracted by that adorable cover picture! Take a few minutes to read more about the book and giveaway, then you can go back to ogling the puppy!

The Puppy That Came for Christmas: How a Dog Brought One Family the Gift of Joy is a special memoir by Megan Rix, a British author who writes about how little Traffy forever changed the lives and outlook of her and her husband, Tim.

You see, Megan and Ian tried for years to have a baby, only to have their hopes dashed month after month. Looking for a productive diversion, they began to train golden retriever puppies for eventual employment in aiding the disabled. Though the work was very rewarding, it also brought its own disappointments, as they had to give up the puppies they had bonded with, once the training was completed.

Enter Traffy, who came into their lives on Christmas Day, amidst the chaos of contemplating fostering more puppies and perhaps children. This snippet is from when Megan and Ian first meet her:

“Do you want to hold one?” Marion said , as she reached into the box.

She reached for the smallest of the puppies. Thinner than the others, she had a yellow spot painted on her back. The puppy mewled and squeaked in protest at being picked up. Marion gave it to me.

“It’s one of the girls.”

I held the tiny warm body close and the puppy nestled into me, still making a racket. A noisy girl – just what I wanted. This puppy would bark and let us know what was going on. This puppy would never stand out in the rain in silence waiting to be let in as one of the dog walkers at the river had told me his dog did.

“Would you like to hold one too?” Marion asked Ian, and he took another of the puppies into his arms. A gentle smile of pleasure lit up his face.

“We’re going to be calling our puppy – that little one – Traffy,” Ian told a surprised Marion, who hadn’t expected us to have a name already, for this to be such a foregone conclusion.

“It’s short for Old Trafford,” I said.

Eager to read the memoir, which was an instant best-seller when published in the UK (October 2010) and has been called “a heartwarming true story of loss, love, and the real meaning of family.” ?!

Simple leave a comment below, telling me your favorite dog’s name – a dog from childhood, character in a book, fantasy dog, your neighbor’s dog – that’s all! Giveaway will be open for entrants until midnight ET on Thursday, November 17, and the winner announced here on November 18. Open to US/Canada addresses only, no PO Boxes.

And for your “awww”-ing pleasure, the covers of the UK, Portuguese, and Polish editions:

Winner of Jane Austen Made Me Do It

Congratulations to lucky #16, Cindy, who said:

“I always love to see how different authors can take the same subject matter, and come up with completely different interpretations. After reading your article about the book, I am excited to read these Austen inspired stories.”

Well, Cindy, you’ll be enjoying them soon – send me your full name and mailing address, and we’ll get the book out to you.

Thanks to Ballantine Books (publisher/sponsor), and to all who entered the giveaway!

Book Giveaway: Jane Austen Made Me Do It edited by Laurel Ann Nattress

Did we get your attention with the editor’s guest post about the Austen-inspired Gothic fiction included in the anthology?

Here’s a full description of Jane Austen Made Me Do It: Original Stories Inspired by Literature’s Most Astute Observer of the Human Heart:

Stories by: Lauren Willig • Adriana Trigiani • Jo Beverley • Alexandra Potter • Laurie Viera Rigler • Frank Delaney & Diane Meier • Syrie James • Stephanie Barron • Amanda Grange • Pamela Aidan • Elizabeth Aston • Carrie Bebris • Diana Birchall • Monica Fairview • Janet Mullany • Jane Odiwe • Beth Pattillo • Myretta Robens • Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway • Maya Slater • Margaret C. Sullivan • and Brenna Aubrey, the winner of a story contest hosted by the Republic of Pemberley

“My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” If you just heaved a contented sigh at Mr. Darcy’s heartfelt words, then you, dear reader, are in good company. Here is a delightful collection of never-before-published stories inspired by Jane Austen—her novels, her life, her wit, her world.

In Lauren Willig’s “A Night at Northanger,” a young woman who doesn’t believe in ghosts meets a familiar specter at the infamous abbey; Jane Odiwe’s “Waiting” captures the exquisite uncertainty of Persuasion’s Wentworth and Anne as they await her family’s approval of their betrothal; Adriana Trigiani’s “Love and Best Wishes, Aunt Jane” imagines a modern-day Austen giving her niece advice upon her engagement; in Diana Birchall’s “Jane Austen’s Cat,” our beloved Jane tells her nieces “cat tales” based on her novels; Laurie Viera Rigler’s “Intolerable Stupidity” finds Mr. Darcy bringing charges against all the writers of Pride and Prejudicesequels, spin-offs, and retellings; in Janet Mullany’s “Jane Austen, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!” a teacher at an all-girls school invokes the Beatles to help her students understand Sense and Sensibility; and in Jo Beverley’s “Jane and the Mistletoe Kiss,” a widow doesn’t believe she’ll have a second chance at love . . . until a Miss Austen suggests otherwise.

Regency or contemporary, romantic or fantastical, each of these marvelous stories reaffirms the incomparable influence of one of history’s most cherished authors.

Enter a chance to win one copy of Jane Austen Made Me Do It by leaving a comment by midnight ET on Thursday, November 3, stating what intrigues you about reading an Austen-inspired short story anthology. Winners to be drawn at random and announced on November 4.Shipment to US and Canadian addresses only (no PO Boxes). Good luck to all!

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