Spotlight and Book Giveaway: INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH by Luis Alberto Urrea

Thanks to the generous folks at
Hachette Book Group,

I have been authorized to
 give away three (3) copies of

INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH
by Luis Alberto Urrea.

Rules for entering this giveaway are at the bottom of this post.

INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH

by Luis Alberto Urrea

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Category: Fiction

Format: Trade Paperback

Publish Date: 6/16/2010

Price: $14.99/$17.99

ISBN: 9780316025263

Pages: 368

Size: 5-1/2" x 8-1/4"

Description (from the publisher):
Nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who journeyed to the US when she was young. Recently, it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact, there are almost no men in the village--they've all gone north. While watching The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men--her own "Siete Magníficos"--to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over.

Filled with unforgettable characters and prose as radiant as the Sinaloan sun, Into the Beautiful North is the story of an irresistible young woman's quest to find herself on both sides of the fence.

Click here to visit the author's website.

About the author (from the publisher):
Luis Alberto Urrea is the author of The Devil's Highway, The Hummingbird's Daughter, and Across the Wire. Winner of a Lannan Literary Award, and the Christopher Award, he is also the recipient of an American Book Award, a Western States Book Award, and a Colorado Book Award. In 2001, Luis was inducted into the Latino Literary Hall of Fame.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

• You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. Hachette is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, July 14, 2010.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

Thank you to Valerie
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Spotlight and Audiobook Giveaway: INNOCENT by Scott Turow; read by Edward Herrmann

Thanks to the generous folks at
Hachette Book Group,

I have been authorized to
 give away three (3) audiobook copies of

INNOCENT
by Scott Turow.

Rules for entering this giveaway are at the bottom of this post.

INNOCENT

by Scott Turow

read by Edward Herrmann

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Category: Fiction

Format: Audio Book

Subformat: CD (Audio)

Edition: Unabridged

Publish Date: 5/4/2010

Price: $39.98/$49.98

ISBN: 9781600249211

Pages: 0

Description (from the publisher):

The sequel to the genre-defining, landmark bestseller Presumed Innocent, INNOCENT continues the story of Rusty Sabich and Tommy Molto who are, once again, twenty years later, pitted against each other in a riveting psychological match after the mysterious death of Rusty's wife.

Click here to listen to an excerpt.

Click here to visit the author's website.

About the author (from the publisher):

Scott Turow is a writer and attorney. He is the author of seven best-selling novels: Presumed Innocent (1987), The Burden of Proof (1990), Pleading Guilty (1993), The Laws of Our Fathers (1996), Personal Injuries (1999), Reversible Errors (2002) and Ordinary Heroes (2005). A novella, Limitations, was published as a paperback original in November 2006 by Picador following its serialization in The New York Times Magazine. His works of non-fiction include One L (1977) about his experience as a law student, and Ultimate Punishment (2003), a reflection on the death penalty.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

• You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. Hachette is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, July 14, 2010.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

Thank you to Anna
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Waiting on Wednesday: THE WOLVES OF ANDOVER by Kathleen Kent

"WAITING ON WEDNESDAY"

is hosted by Jill from

Breaking the Spine.

Join in and tell us . . .

What are you waiting for?

My pick for this week is . . .

THE WOLVES OF ANDOVER

by Kathleen Kent

Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books

Category: Fiction

Format: Hardcover Book

Publish Date: 11/8/2010

Price:$24.99/$29.99

ISBN: 9780316068628
Pages: 304

Size: 6" x 9-1/4"


A prequel to Kent's bestseller
THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER.
It'll be hard waiting for this one.
I'll be haunted by the cover all summer long!

Teaser Tuesdays: FREE TO A GOOD HOME by Eve Marie Mont

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B. of Should Be Reading.





Want to play along? Here's what to do:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• 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 teasers!

My teaser:

"I cannot believe this is the same guy who stumbled over all drunk and desperate sounding, telling me he wanted to leave his wife and kids.  And now he's heading out the door father of the year."

Page 213

FREE TO A GOOD HOME
by Eve Marie Mont

Pub. Date: July 06, 2010
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Format: Paperback, 304pp
ISBN-13: 9780425234785
ISBN: 0425234789

Spotlight and Book Giveaway: THE CASTAWAYS by Elin Hilderbrand

Last summer I read and enjoyed

 THE CASTAWAYS by Elin Hilderbrand

for a blog tour.

I rated it 4 out of 5 stars.

Click here to read my review.

 This summer, thanks to the generous folks at

Hachette Book Group,

I'm pleased to host a giveaway
for three (3) copies of

THE CASTAWAYS
by Elin Hilderbrand.

Rules for entering this giveaway are at the bottom of this post.

THE CASTAWAYS

by Elin Hilderbrand

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Category: Fiction

Format: Trade Paperback

Publish Date: 6/8/2010

Price: $14.99/$17.99

ISBN: 9780316043908

Pages: 400

Size:5-1/2" x 8-1/4"

Description (from the publisher):

Greg and Tess MacAvoy are one of four prominent Nantucket couples who count each other as best friends. As pillars of their close-knit community, the MacAvoys, Kapenashes, Drakes, and Wheelers are important to their friends and neighbors, and especially to each other. But just before the beginning of another idyllic summer, Greg and Tess are killed when their boat capsizes during an anniversary sail. As the warm weather approaches and the island mourns their loss, nothing can prepare the MacAvoy's closest friends for what will be revealed.

Once again, Hilderbrand masterfully weaves an intense tale of love and loyalty set against the backdrop of endless summer island life.

Click here to visit the author's website.

About the author (from the publisher):

Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her five previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

• You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. Hachette is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 9, 2010.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

Thank you to Valerie
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Spotlight and Audiobook Giveaway: FEVER DREAM by Preston & Child; read by Rene Auberjonois

Thanks to the generous folks at
Hachette Book Group,

I have been authorized to
 give away three (3) audiobook copies of

FEVER DREAM
by Preston & Child
read by Rene Auberjonois.

Rules for entering this giveaway are at the bottom of this post.

FEVER DREAM

by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

read by Rene Auberjonois

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Category: Fiction, Suspense & Thrillers

Format: Audio Book

Subformat: CD (Audio)

Edition: Unabridged

Publish Date: 5/11/2010

Price: $44.98/$54.00

ISBN: 9781607881940

Pages: 0

Description (from the publisher):
First of a new 3-book arc featuring Agent Pendergast. With the help of his colleague Lt. D'Agosta, Agent Pendergast will face his most personal case yet when he discovers the death of his beloved wife Helen, during their hunting trip in Africa many years ago, was not an accident---she was murdered.

Click here to listen to an excerpt.

Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here to visit the official website of Preston & Child.

About the authors: (from the publisher):
DOUGLAS PRESTON and LINCOLN CHILD are bestselling coauthors of 13 novels. Preston, a regular contributor to The New Yorker, worked for the American Museum of Natural History. He is an expert horseman who has ridden thousands of miles across the West. Child, a former book editor, is passionate about motorcycles, exotic parrots, and nineteenth-century English literature. The authors encourage readers to visit and send them e-mail at their Web site, http://www.prestonchild.com/.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me you would like to win. Include an email address with your comment so that I can contact you if you do win. Use a spam-thwarting format such as geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com or geebee.reads [at] gmail [dot] com

• You must leave an email address in order to qualify. If I can't contact you, you can't win!

• You can earn an extra entry by being or becoming a Follower or Subscriber of this blog and telling me about it in a separate comment.

• Blog about this contest and provide me with the link to the post in a separate comment, and I'll give you yet another entry.

• Tweeting about this contest and providing me the link in a separate comment will get you one more entry. I've added a Retweet button at the bottom of every post.

• Stumble this blog, Digg it, or Technorati Fave it, whatever, and leave a separate comment for another entry.

• Winners must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. Hachette is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 9, 2010.

• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to my email announcing that they have won; if I don't hear from a winner, I will draw another name.

Thank you to Anna
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Friday Finds: CIVIL & STRANGE: A Novel by Cláir Ní Aonghusa

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week?
Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!


I came across this title while surfing the web -- the cover attracted me, but the description sold me!

CIVIL & STRANGE

by Cláir Ní Aonghusa

Pub. Date: March 2008

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Format: Hardcover, 320pp

ISBN-13: 9780618829361

ISBN: 0618829369

Description (from the publisher):

Finely observed and utterly transporting, Cláir Ní Aonghusa's debut takes us inside a vibrant rural Ireland -- and three interconnected lives -- on the cusp of change.

Eager to escape her failed marriage, Ellen hopes to recapture the magic of her childhood summers when she decides to leave Dublin for the small village of Ballindoon. She is surprised when her uncle Matt, a nearby farmer, welcomes her with the rather mystifying advice to play it "civil and strange," a local expression meaning "be polite on the surface but keep your distance" -- and even more surprised to find herself attracting the attentions of a younger man. But when the two of them are spotted together and Ellen becomes the focus of her fellow villagers' gossip and judgment, Matt's words resonate in a new way. Ellen realizes how little she understands about life in Ballindoon, leading her to question not only her choices, but herself. Meanwhile, she grows closer to Matt and to his friend Beatrice, a widow still troubled by her eldest child's suicide, and begins to glimpse how the web of connection that defines village life can also be sustaining -- which frees her to take a few risks of her own. To Ellen's great wonder, as the events of this transformative, tumultuous year play out in all three of their lives, it becomes clear that even tradition-bound Ballindoon can allow for new beginnings. Anchored by the cadences of its Irish setting and the love story at its heart, Civil and Strange offers a moving exploration of the possibilities open to us, at any age, in any place, if only we are brave enough to embrace them.

Click here to read an excerpt.

About the author (from the publisher):
Cláir Ní Aonghusa is an award-winning poet and short-story writer, and has twice been short-listed for the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Emerging Fiction Writer Award.

Back in the Swing of Things

I'm back in the swing of things - or at least trying to be! 

Over the last few months, I've been helping a family member and her children navigate a rather difficult life transition -- maybe you can read between the lines. It's been very difficult and emotionally draining. Hopefully, we will all adjust to things over the summer . . .

I've missed blogging and visiting everyone so much -- I feel a bit isolated from the book world!  I've managed to scroll through my Reader a few times, but that just made me miss you all even more! Fortunately, there have been plenty of books to keep me anchored and distracted from reality, and I'll be telling you about them over the next couple of weeks. 

There's a lot of news for me to catch up on -- and to catch you up on!  I've got a mega list of contest winners to announce (who have all been contacted and confirmed), and another long list of new giveaways to post. As I said, I've read some great books, as well as made a couple of reading "mistakes" I want to tell you about. And, I may even change things up a little bit as I reassess what I want A Sea of Books to be. Keep watching!

For now (since I'm only on my lunch break), I'm starting off slow with a lovely Friday Finds. But soon, I'll be swinging high as the sky!