Friday, September 26, 2008

The Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination

The Exact Replica of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken.
This is one of my favorite authors. I read her previous book,Giant House.
I had wondered why I have not seen her work in a few years. The memoir explains.
From the the flap of the book:

A prizewinning successful novelist in her 30's. Elizabeth McCracken was happy to be a itinerant writer and self proclaimed spinster. Then she fell in love, got married, and continued her life of writting, traveling, and teaching with her husband. Two years ago she found herself in a remote
part of France, waiting for the birth of her first child.
This book is what happens next, in the next 9 months her pregnancy, a baby is lost.
Just over a year later, a baby is born. In a profoundly moving display of humor, heart,
and unfailing generosity. McCracken tells account t her story.
It is a story of true love and unfathomable sadness. It is a story of true of couragous recovery and bittersweet moments, of steadfast memories and deep affection. It is a story of the importance of friendship. It is a story of happiness and hope.

Anyone who has ever experienced loss, or loves someone who has, will hope to go on with with the company of the remarkable book.
I am not giving you my whole review. But I will give you sentence or two.
I would not have picked up this book if it was not for the book blog tour that is being offered
by Mariam from Hatchett books
I thought I would have to force myself to read this book. But I was wrong. It drew me in from the start. She writes as though she is talking to you at the kitchen table having coffee.
This book is a memoir about her first child that was still born and, another born a year later born healthy.
Elizabeth writes about the loss of her first child. She writes why she has decided to write the book.
And now I am thinking about that Florida lady again, the one who wanted a book about the lighter side of a child's death, and I know:all she wanted was permission to remember her child with pleasure instead of grief.
The book was bitter sweet. The book was not intensely sad which I was surprised.
It was to read, almost at the same breath she talks about the loss of her firs t child and preparing for the birth, and happiness of her second child, Gus. You would expect her to be sad. But she pulls herself from the boot straps and goes on. It must have been very hard to go into labor know your child will not come out of the birth canal alive. I just can't imagine.

But this book is not just about how to deal with loss of a child, but of any loss. It made all of us, who read this book. Should we say how sorry we are, or not say anything. The author wanted her friends to acknowledge the loss of her child. One of her friends did not contact her for months. Elizabeth could not accept this. She has not spoken to her since. This made me realize no mater how hard it is, at least acknowledge the sorrow and death. We need to talk to that person no matter how hard it is. I don't know anyone that has lost a child but I can relate this to anyone that has lost someone.
Here is a review at The New York Times
To coincide with the book tour I will be having my first contest. The giveaway is The Exact Replica of a Figment of my Imagination. Just leave a comment by Monday and I will have the drawing on Tuesday at 11:59 PM. To get two chances write about this contest on your blog.
Enjoy reading a chapter excerpt HERE!
Or an audio excerpt HERE!
Get to know Elizabeth better on Facebook HERE!
Your next stop will be Allison

This is the list of sites participating in th book blogging tour

Megan of www.chikune.com/blog
Tricia of http://www.libraryqueue.blogspot.com/
Corinne of http://www.corinnesbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Antonette of http://01crazymomma.wordpress.com/
Swapna of http://www.skrishnasbooks.blogspot.com/
Luanne of http://www.luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/
Carrie of http://www.thebookgirl.net/
Allison of http://www.allisonsatticblog.blogspot.com/
Bethany of http://www.exlibrisbb.blogspot.com/
Marie of http://www.bostonbibliophile.com/
The Kool Aid Mom of http://www.thekoolaidmom.wordpress.com/
Nicole of http://www.linussblanket.com/
http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/
http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/
http://blog.literarily.com/

Thursday, September 25, 2008

My First Challenge

This is my first challenge hosted by Alphaheroes
Blog hopping.
The challenge is a off shoot from myfriendamy's BBAW
I would love to meet new bloggers that I have not met before.
Look below and you will find the challenge rules.

Starting here, find a linked blog that you’ve never been to before. It does not have to be book-related. If none of the links in my sidebar are new to you, hit the BBAW list and start there.
Go to the blog you’ve chosen and browse through the posts until you find something you find interesting. Leave a comment. Mention where you found the link. Mention of this challenge is optional.
Using the links in THAT blog, repeat. If you find yourself somewhere that does not have any new-to-you links, go back to the BBAW list. Be sure to leave a comment in each location, mentioning where you found their site linked.
Repeat until you have visited 10 new blogs.
Write a post on your blog showing your bloghopping trail. Content is up to you; you can highlight your favorites, critique the sites, or just post the list of 10. I recommend you open up a word document (or whatever you use) and list out the urls as you go. It's really REALLY easy to get distracted doing this and lose track of where you were.
I’d love it if you link back to this post.
Optional: add your favorites to your own sidebar, or temporarily put up a blogroll widget with the 10 sites you visited.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Other Queen


Today's giveaway is from bookclubgirl.com. You may have a chance to win The Other Queen, plus ten Book Club Girl mouse pads. In The Other Queen, Gregory tells the story of Mary, Queen of Scots, who trusted Queen Elizabeth's promise of sanctuary only to find herself imprisoned as the "guest" of the Earl of Shrewsbury and his indomitable wife. As the seeds of intrigue and rebellion against Elizabeth are sown far north of London, her hosts find themselves in the precarious position of potentially aiding and abetting the plot against Elizabeth while Mary is struggling for her very life. All you need to do is to leave a comment on Bookclubgirl.com , which Phillipa Gregory book is your favorite.
I hate to admit I have never read Phillippa Gregory, or any historical fiction about this time period. I thought she was a romance writer. I later found out she isn't. I have read other historical fiction( bilbical fiction) and I find that the authors write one dimensional. I judged it on that. What a terrible mistake. I was wrong after seeing the movie. Another author, Allison Weir, has tried her hand in historical fiction. Her second book is out about Queen Elizabeth.
She has written biographies on King Henry viiii, Queen Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

WHERE THE PLACE WAS THE CHARACTER


Book Club Girl is having another contest.
She is asking if you visit her blog to post a comment on
What book, made the place the character. The winners will get a mouse pad and copy of a new book called Nothing is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn by Alice Mattison.
For me, there are a few books that do that for me. I will name a few.
One Thousand Splendid Suns, really gave you the feel of the culture and the people.
How women were treated by their husbands, and all men in Afghanistan.
The other was To Kill A Mockingbird, the character was Alabama. The sense of the towns culture in the 30's, 40's, 50's, and even early 60's.

T

Monday, September 15, 2008

My Friend Amy: Welcome to Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2008!

My Friend Amy: Welcome to Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2008!

How I Started, And My Favorite Blogs

I just started blogging since June. I have two blogs one was suppose to be for my book club.
But, unfortunately none of my members were interested. I decided I wanted others from the book blogging community to communicate with. I have not gotten much response. But, I just have to keep on trying. The one blogger that has helped me alot is bookclubgirl. There are some bloggers who I have left comments and are great. There are others who ignore me.
The other blog is Every Day I Write The Book, and recently Bermuda Onion. But, the one who was my inspiration is book club girl. She has helped me. She is trying to help me promote my other blog.
if no one is aware bookblog.ning.com is another source to find other bloggers. Tricia, is the one who started it. The bloggers on bookblogning.com are the inspiration not to give up. They are all welcoming. I have a technical question, no matter how stupid. They help.
book blogning.com has really been my inspiration and told me never to give up. It is a social book blog network.
They are great. But, I have only recently started, give me a few more months and maybe I will add a few. I wish there was a contest to visit a blog you never visited before. That one would have been a great idea.

Matrimony


Here is a contest that can't be beat. Bethany at B&B exlibres is having a drawing for the book Matrimony. The drawing will be on September 22nd. This a great time for this drawing.
Because of Book Appreciation Week. He has nice things to say.
You can read what he has to say about book clubs. He has visited other blogs recently talking about book clubs.
You want to talk about dedicated you must read what his daughter and him were talking about
when it deals with book clubs. I would check it out. Then Bethany added more comments on
Matrimony. I would check that out again here. This post was written in June. This also has a nice video and lots of links to other blogger's reviews.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Up Coming Book Club


Our next book club meeting will be in October.
We will be reading Keeping the House by Ellen Baker.
This looks like a fun book by the looks of the cover.
My members will kill me because if they knew why I picked it, they will think I am crazy.
I literally judged the book by it cover. Maybe I should skip town till after all of them read the book or hide under a rock.
I will then be able to breathe a sigh of relief, especially by one of my members. I promised her this is a good book.
There are some book club members who don't like to do anything different. They just like to read and discuss the book.
I usually like to stir things up a bit. Have a conference call with the author. Lunch out with the girls have some connection with the book. Well this time I am doomed untill I hear from one of the most judgemental people in my club. Than I will feel better. I just hope the author is not reading this. This may scare her away. Our book club won a contest with the author with a conference call and she is shipping us her cookies from the book.
You can visit her website here, and you can find Ellen's recipe for the cookies here

Keeping the House

*A Booksense Notable Pick*

When Dolly Magnuson moves to Pine Rapids, Wisconsin in 1950, she discovers all too soon that making marriage work is harder than it looks in the pages of the Ladies’ Home Journal. Dolly tries to adapt to her new life—keeping the house, supporting her husband’s career, fretting about dinner menus. She even gives up her dream of flying an airplane, and instead tries to fit in at the stuffy Ladies Aid quilting circle. Soon, though, her loneliness and restless imagination are seized by the vacant house on the hill, and, as Dolly’s own life and marriage become increasingly difficult, she begins to lose herself in piecing together the shocking story of three generations of Mickelson men and women: Wilma Mickelson, who came to Pine Rapids as a new bride in 1896, and fell in love with a man who was not her husband; her oldest son, Jack, who fought as a Marine in the trenches of the First World War; and Jack’s son, JJ, a troubled veteran of World War II, who returns home to discover Dolly in his grandparents’ house. As the crisis in Dolly’s marriage escalates and she seeks answers from JJ’s stories of his family’s past, KEEPING THE HOUSE moves back and forth in time, exploring themes of wartime heroism and passionate love, of the struggles of men with fatherhood and war, of women with conformity, identity, forbidden dreams and love. Rich in period atmosphere and in 1950s detail, KEEPING THE HOUSE illuminates the courage it takes to shape and reshape a life, and the difficulty of ever knowing the truth about another person’s desires. KEEPING THE HOUSE is an unforgettable novel about small town life and big matters of the heart.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Book Contest Coming!!!





I would like to let you know about a contest I will be having soon.
Jen, from Book Club Girl has given me the heads up.
I have not been able to get any following on my other blog, Jewish Rantings. She has agreed to give me a few copies of a new novel by Diane Spechler, Who by fire. This will be in conjunction with the November book blog radio. You can visit me at Jewish Rantings.
Further details will follow. Let all your friends Jewish or not know about it.

I will give it a try

This is my firs time entering a contest. Dar, at Peeking Through The Pages is doing a book giveway for the book, Broken.
The premise of the book reminds me of " To Kill A Mockingbird". I loved the book and the movie so I will give it a try.

Blogger Appreciation Week







It is finally here. All of us that are book bloggers have been anticipating this coming week.
Blogger Appreciation Week. I did not think it would be a big deal. Over At My Friend's Amy's Blog, she started this whole project and I think she did a great job. She deserves around of applause. I will be listing all the bloggers involved with free giveaways below.
If you follow along for the festivities of BBAW at My Friend Amy, you will find many chances to win LOTS of goodies! Like what? Well have a look below. All of these things will be given away between September 15-19. There will be a huge variety of ways to win them and giveaways will be announced constantly throughout the week. So be sure to check in often!


A HUGE thank you to Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group USA, Harlequin, The B&B Media Group, Shera of SNS Blog Design, WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, Catherine Delors, Pamela Binnings Ewen, Andromeda Romano-Lax, Ceceilia Dowdy, Sormag, Book Club Girl, Savvy Verse and Wit, Cafe of Dreams, Fashionista Piranha, and Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?.

Daily Raffles:
Monday--Books and Chocolate sponsored by My Friend Amy and Hey Lady! Whatcha' Readin?
Tuesday--Books and Going Green sponsored by My Friend Amy
Wednesday--Books and Coffee sponsored by My Friend Amy
Thursday--Books and Charity sponsored by My Friend Amy and Fashionista Piranha
Friday--Books and Movies sponsored by My Friend Amy

Win a Book Club Girl Hostess Survival Kit!
Do you find it's your turn to host book club and not only do you not know what to serve but you don't know what books to offer up for the next month's selection?! Let Book Club Girl come to your rescue with the the Book Club Girl Hostess Survival Kit.

One lucky winner of the kit will receive:

* A basket of cheese, crackers, cookies and wine for up to 12 people
* 5 great book group books to vote on for your group's next pick. And Book Club Girl will then donate 12 copies whichever book is chosen for your entire group to read.
* 12 Book Club Girl mousepads to give out as party favors that night
* 12 Book Club Girl bookmarks to mark everyone's favorite passages
* 12 Book Club Girl coasters to protect your coffee table from all those wine glasses!
TWO SORMAG Goody Bags containing books and more!


A Special Pamper Me Basket from Cafe of Dreams!
From Avon Foot Works
~ Inflatable watermelon shaped foot tub
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Cooling Foot Lotion
~ 3.4 FL oz Watermelon Exfoliating Foot Scrub
~ 12 count Watermelon Effervescent Foot Tablets
~ An ARC of So Long At The Fair by Christina Schwarz
~ A variety of Hot Chocolate and Tea mixes

A pre-made blog template from SNSDesign!

A Subscription to Poetry Magazine from Savvy Verse and Wit!

BOOKS
Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors
The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen
The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax
John's Quest by Cecelia Dowdy
Confessions of a Contractor by Richard Murphy
Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley
A Tale Out of Luck by Willie Nelson with Mike Blakely
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
Exit Music by Ian Rankin
The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LaZebnikMistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors
The Moon in the Mango Tree by Pamela Binnings Ewen
The Spanish Bow by Andromeda Romano-Lax
John's Quest by Cecelia Dowdy
Confessions of a Contractor by Richard Murphy
Acedia & Me by Kathleen Norris
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley
A Tale Out of Luck by Willie Nelson with Mike Blakely
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken
Exit Music by Ian Rankin
The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LaZebnik
Gunmetal Black by Daniel Serrano
Isolation by Travis Thrasher
The Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt
Every Freaking! Day With Rachell Ray by Elizabeth Hilts
Dewey by Vicki Myron
The Shiniest Jewel by Marian Henley
Keep the Faith by Faith Evans
The Book of Calamities by Peter TrachtenbergExit Music by Ian Rankin
The Smart One and the Pretty One by Claire LaZebnik
Gunmetal Black by Daniel Serrano
Isolation by Travis Thrasher
The Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt
Every Freaking! Day With Rachell Ray by Elizabeth Hilts
Dewey by Vicki Myron
The Shiniest Jewel by Marian Henley
Keep the Faith by Faith Evans
The Book of Calamities by Peter Trachtenberg
A is for Atticus by Lorilee Craker
After the Fire by Robin Gaby Fisher
Mike's Election Guide by Michael Moore
War as They Knew It by Michael Rosenberg
Fixing Hell By Col. (ret.) Larry C. James
Wild Boy: My Life with Duran Duran by Andy Taylor
The Last Under-Cover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dangerous Dance with Evil By Bob Hamer
Border Lass by Amanda Scott
Insatiable Desire by Rita Heron
Hungry for More by Diana Holquist
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Trespassers Will Be Baptized by Elizabeth Emerson Hancock
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Trish Ryan
Never Surrender by General Jerry Boykin
Dream in Color by Congresswoman Linda Sánchez, Congresswoman Loretta Sánchez
Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton
Cobain Unseen by Charles R. Cross
Doing Business in 21st Century India by Gunjan Bagla
Branding Only Works on Cattle by Jonathan Salem Baskin
Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady, Orrin Woodward
How to Hear from God by Joyce Meyer
Knowing Right from Wrong by Thomas D. Williams
Pope John Paul II: An Intimate Life by Caroline Pigozzi
Pure by Rebecca St. James
He Loves Me! by Wayne Jacobson
So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore by Wayne Jacobson and Dave Coleman
Move On, Move Up by Paula White
The Rosary by Gary Jansen
Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
Right Livelihoods by Rick Moody
by George by Wesley Stace
The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
Trunk Music by Michael Connelly
Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh
Dead Boys by Richard Lange
The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters by Lorraine Lopez
Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn
Beyond the Night by Marlo Schalesky
With Endless Sight by Allison Pittman
Harlequin Titles: To Be Announced

Many other blogs are giving away books and prizes for BBAW as well! You can see the links to all of these giveaways here.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Book Club Meeting Today

We had our book club meeting for the first time at Barnes and Noble.
It was convenient and everyone seemed to like it there.
All of us agreed to meet here again on October 22nd at 1P.M.
We had some business, and then some more business and then it was back to
The BOOK CLUB
We decided on a few things, do you remember, how crazy last year was with us. Participating in gift wrapping?? If you do, then you would agree that it is best to skip December's meeting. We decided to read something totally different, we will be reading Exile by James North Patterson. Since the book is 600+, We will wait to discuss it in January. In February, we will be discussing, People of the Book by Geraldine March. It is similar to" Davinci Code/Jewish Slant". We are hoping that Rabbi Debbie will be available to host the book club in February. That should be very interesting.
Our next book in October is Keeping The House by Ellen Baker. The author will be joining us, with her treats that she will be sending us.
I love the book cover it drew my interest. I hope the book is as good as the cover, or I am in great trouble. Anyway, here is what everyone thought of the book, AWAY by Amy Bloom.
We felt it was very unrealistic.
The book Away, was a short book less than 300 pages. It was about a young Jewish immigrant.
She looses her husband and daughter in Europe during the pogroms in the early 1920's. She decides to leave Europe to the better life in the United States. But she finds, life is not any better here than in Europe. She is struggling to survive poverty, and the desperation she must endure. She learns that her daughter is alive from a friend. He helps her financially to help her on her way.
She leaves NYC to search for her daughter in Alaska. We learn about her hardships to get there and all the strange people she meets along the way. It would have done better with short stories. She did not know how to make the story flow. She did not know how to change the scenes subtlety. The novel would have done better with short stories.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Hurricane Hannah, Or Was It!!


Hurricane Hannah was nothing but wind and little rain. It hit Myrtle Beach, SC around 1 A.M. The lights flickered on and off a few times. The electricity was off for about 40 minutes. There wasn't anything major. What a gype.
When we heard that it may possibly hit Charleston, SC on Tuesday. I was getting nervous. I thought I better get prepared.
Thursday morning, I went to the store to get esentials like water, batteries,flashlights.
As I was about to pay I read the newspaper, they were saying we will get wind and rain
I decided forget it. I am not buying a thing.
The evening it was going to hit, you should have seen the lines at the store.
Just for a SMALL STORM, THAT WASN"T!! People panic when they hear everything is closing. Because every thing closed down.
I was not going to buy anything because all the food spoils anyway. What's the point.
They closed schools, gov't offices, and all the stores. The stores were boardiing up.
How ridicolous. You see, I have been through it before.
You want to to talk about a real hurricane. click here. I was in a catagory 5 with Hurricane Andrew in August 1991. We were living in Kendall, that is part of South Miami. It was awful. It was over 100 degees. Many of the homes were flattened. WE did not have electricity for weeks. There was not any running water. We couldn't put gas in cars because the pumps run off of electricity. We could not get money at the banks either. You want to talk about stranded. There was a curfew,people were looting.
It took the gov't a few weeks before FEMA was established. We had to wait in line waiting for water. You could only get a gallon of water. I had my two year old son then. It took him a few years not to be afraid of any storm after this.
Homes were flattened. We did get help but it took quite awhile. FEMA was established during Hurricane Andrew. The community of Miami was devasted for weeks. All of us were waiting for help from the gov't. FEMA pays for a portion to help you relocate, and helps you to refurnish your home, and welfare(if I remember), helped pay for food.
Every hurricane season it brings back memories of Hurricane Andrew. One of the things Hurricane Andrew did was to see how unimportant possessions are. I just hope when a real hurricane comes to town with real force , that we all pay attention,
and not sit back.
You cry wolf too many times, then no one is going to listen. The problem these days is the news is too sensationalized.