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Category Archives: Books

Love to Read Books…Check out PaperBackSwap!

13 Aug

Do you love to read books (you know the old fashion kind, the real ones physically have to turn the pages =D) like I do? Don’t get me wrong, I love my tablet/kindle too, but nothing replaces a good ole’ book…

I want to share a hidden great find online that I came across a few years ago… this awesome site PaperBackSwap. PaperBackSwap is an an internet site dedicated to posting and trading your books amongst it members!

How does it work?  Well, it a credit system.  You post the books you are willing to trade, and for every book you send out, you get a credit.  That credit is worth one book you can get from someone else.  How awesome is that?!?  You just post your books, and search for the ones you want to have.  That’s what makes PaperBackSwap an incredible site, in my opinion anyway.  You save tons of money from having to purchase books, books are being read and traded all the time, and the only thing your are responsible for is the minimum shipping cost of the books you send out (which typically is only $250 – $3.00 a book).  But keep in mind when you RECEIVE a book, you don’t pay a thing!

I just used two of my credits and requested two books.  I look forward to seeing them in the mail in next week or so.

I invite you to join me a PaperBackSwap and start sharing your books!

 

 
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Posted by on August 13, 2012 in Books

 

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Win the Book ‘Michael Douglas’ by Marc Eliot by Read It Forward

12 Aug

 

 

The Read It Forward Giveaway Book this week is ‘Michael Douglas,’ a biography written by Marc Eliot.

In Michael Douglas, Marc Eliot brings into sharp fo­cus this incredible career, complicated personal life, and legendary Hollywood family. Eliot’s fascinating portrait of the lows and remarkable highs in Michael’s life – including the thorny yet influential relationship with his father – breaks boundaries in understanding the life and work of a true American film star.

Enter to Win by going to Read It Forward’s website, filling out the form, and crossing your fingers!

Good Luck and Happy Reading!

 
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Posted by on August 12, 2012 in Books, Giveaway

 

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Win ‘The Headmaster’s Wager’ from Read it Forward

26 Jul

Remember a few days ago I introduced you to that spectacular website Read It Forward?  Guess what?!? I was one of the lucky winners of The Shadow Queen by Rebecca Dean!  I can expect my book to come in the mail in about thirty days, and after I read it, be prepared for my review! =) YaY!  If you also won a copy, please let me know!

This Week’s Read it First Giveaway is Vincent Lam’s debut novel ‘The Headmaster’s Wager.’   

Hear it from Lam himself “‘Everything written in this book is true.’ I say that, from time to time. ‘Everything that happens to my characters is fiction.’ I say that, too. Sometimes, I say both things on the same occasions, for instance at a public event, or in an interview. Both of these comments are true.
I’ve written a novel, The Headmaster’s Wager. The protagonist, Percival Chen, has a few things in common with my late grandfather.
Both Percival and my late grandfather were headmasters of English schools in Vietnam, which became highly profitable during the era of American influence in that country. Both my grandfather and Percival were compulsive mahjong gamblers. Both made little effort resisting women who appealed to them, and both were able to spend money more quickly than they earned it. Both might have earned mixed reviews from their children with regards to parenting.
All of these similarities are specific, identifiable, and this being the case, it comes as no surprise to me when I am asked ‘How much of Percival is actually your grandfather?’
I’ve worked out an answer. It goes like this: ‘Percival and his story are inspired by my grandfather.” Then I continue. I say, ‘I am careful to say that Percival is inspired by my grandfather. I do not say he is based upon my grandfather.’ Beware of answers that come pre-packaged with caveats. They will require further caveats, or explanation.
The book I’ve written takes place in a time and place of my family’s history. Like my novel, my family’s story played out in a place called Cholon, which was once a Chinese sister city to Saigon. The main part of my novel occurs in this corner of Vietnam during the war with America.
There, my family’s story unfolded, some might say unraveled, strung itself out into long diverse strands, until over the course of several years and various upheavals it was woven into something totally different. I grew up in Canada, where ‘what happened’ in Vietnam was told to me as my family legend. It was as foreign to me in some ways as a creation myth, and equally intimate.
When it came time to write a novel anchored in this past, I tried at first to write the things I had heard as a child. It went a bit like this in early drafts, ‘He said, she said, he did, she did.’ The writing of these accounts seemed rich with my own emotions, but often fell flat on the page.
I knew what certain gestures meant and certain omissions implied, but once dutifully transcribed, this deep layer of meaning became indecipherable to the reader. I knew the psychic truths of all these events. I discovered that I could not convey them with emotional fidelity by using the actual facts of what had happened. In order to be true to how certain things felt, it was far preferable to use inventions.
From time to time, Percival encounters some temptations that my grandfather must have encountered. Meanwhile, other plot twists spring from occurences attributed to other members of my family, from my extrapolations of history, or from my own imagination. Percival sometimes does things that are more or less what I think my grandfather would have done.
At other times, he is his own man. I wasn’t there, and can’t be sure what my grandfather would have done on a particular night on the town. However, it doesn’t matter, because I know what Percival does. Hence, I calim that Percival is inspired by, not based upon my grandfather.
There are a few scenes in my novel that bear no factual resemblance to anything that happened in my family. Yet I also know that the emotional resonance of certain fictions will likely remind people in my family of things that actually happened. The facts are floating above the page. Or, they are underpinning the fiction, as you like.
What can I say of the way these narratives interact? There is the real and the imagined, blending one into the another. There is that which shaped the course of my actual life, and that which is in the realm of ‘what could have been?’. (But don’t we always wonder – as part of our real lives – what could have been?)
I could say that fiction and fact are like two shadowboxers jousting in my novel, or like dreams that transform one into another. And back again! I could say that the only way I could express the way I truly feel about my family’s journey through the Vietnam War, was to make up stories.
Or, I could say that everything that happens to my characters is fiction. Also, that everything written in this book is true, and then go from there.”
 

I hope this perks your interest in The Headmaster’s Wager and to head on over to Read it Forward and enter to win a copy!  Next time it could be you!

 

Happy Reading!

 
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Posted by on July 26, 2012 in Books, Giveaway, Giveaway Winner

 

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Win ‘The Shadow Queen’ from Read It Forward

22 Jul

Read it Forward?  What is that you ask?  Well, its a fabulous site a came across a year or two ago that gives little sneak peaks at great reads, provides behind-the-scene insights from authors, lively provocative reader’s guides, and of course…awesome giveaways for free books!

This Week’s Read it First Giveaway is for all you historical fiction fans out there…the novel The Shadow Queen by Rebecca Dean.

It’s the story of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, a woman who defied the rules of high society and made her own way in the world.  Author Rebecca Dean captures both Wallis Simpson’s rebellious character and the controversy that surrounded her. Oh, and Prince Edward gave up his throne for her?

…Intrigued enough to enter to win The Shadow Queen by Rebecca Dean? I sure hope so!

Just follow this link HERE and fill out your information.  That’s it!  You are entered to win!

While you are at Read It Forward’s website, subscribe to them and never miss another RIF Giveaway!  You can also check RIF on Facebook and Twitter.

I like the sound of this novel, so I entered to win, why don’t you too?!?

And if you are a lucky winner, PLEASE come back and let us know! =)

 

 
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Posted by on July 22, 2012 in Books, Giveaway

 

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FREE Book for Kids at Barnes and Noble

11 Jul

At Barnes and Noble, children in grades 1 through 6, can earn a FREE Book!

Your child will need to read any eight books and record them in the Reading Journal, then take the completed Reading Journal to your local Barnes and Noble store.  Then you and your child can select a FREE book from the selection from the Reading Journal List at the Barnes and Noble store.

Some Barnes and Noble locations also have a regularly scheduled story time your child can participate in.

This program started back on May 22nd, and will end September 4th.

 
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Posted by on July 11, 2012 in Books, Summmer

 

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Ladies Home Journal Giveaway from Purex

31 May

Purex has teamed up with Ladies Home Journal, bringing a fabulous giveaway of bunches of One-Year subscriptions to Ladies Home Journal!  Ladies Home Journal brings readers articles on health, beauty, relationships, and lots of other enticing topics.

ENTER HERE for your chance to win!

Promotion ends June 22nd.

 
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Posted by on May 31, 2012 in Books, Giveaway, Purex Insider

 

Read It First Giveaway: Jasmine and Fire by Salma Abdelnour‏

30 May

This week’s Read it First Giveaway is Jasmine and Fire, by Salma Abdelnour.

RIFers! In her poignant and humorous memoir, Salma Abdelnour takes you on her remarkable journey to resettle in Beirut after growing up in the U.S. and building a thriving career as a food and travel writer in New York City. You’ll love being her companion along the way, learning about Lebanon’s enduring traditions, particularly its extraordinary food culture.

“Salma Abdelnour captures the flavors of Beirut – the familiar mixed with the exotic – in her year-long search to rediscover her culture, with recipes that will let you experience the sublime flavors of Lebanese cooking…no matter where you are.” –David Lebovitz, author of The Sweet Life in Paris

Want to win this book? Head on over Read It Forward’s webpage HERE, enter in your information, and you will be entered into this week’s giveaway!

 
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Posted by on May 30, 2012 in Books, Giveaway

 
 
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