A Sea of Books: August 2010

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Mailbox Monday: August 23, 2010

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at The Printed Page, is being hosted this month by Shanyn at Chick Loves Lit. If you'd like to join in, stop by Shanyn's and leave a link - or just browse through the comments to see what new books have been showing up.

What's in your mailbox?

An easy post for me this week - one unsolicited surprise . . . and it's a good one!

GOING AWAY SHOES: Stories

by Jill McCorkle

Spotlight and Audiobook Giveaway: THE LION by Nelson DeMille; read by Scott Brick

CLOSED.

Thanks to the generous folks at
Hachette Book Group,

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

THE LION

by Nelson DeMille.

Rules for entering this giveaway

are at the bottom of this post.

THE LION

by Nelson DeMille

Read by Scott Brick

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Category: Fiction

Format: Audio Book

Subformat: CD (Audio)

Edition: Unabridged

Publish Date: 6/8/2010

Price: $39.98/$49.98

ISBN: 9781607882206

Pages: 0

Description (from the publisher):

In this eagerly awaited follow-up to The Lion's Game, John Corey, former NYPD Homicide detective and special agent for the Anti-Terrorist Task Force, is back. And, unfortunately for Corey, so is Asad Khalil, the notorious Libyan terrorist otherwise known as "The Lion." Last we heard from him, Khali had claimed to be defecting to the US only to unleash the most horrific reign of terrorism ever to occur on American soil. While Corey and his partner, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, chased him across the country, Khalil methodically eliminated his victims one by one and then disappeared without a trace.

Now, years later, Khalil has returned to America to make good on his threats and take care of unfinished

business. "The Lion" is a killing machine once again loose in America with a mission of revenge, and John Corey will stop at nothing to achieve his own goal — to find and kill Khalil.

Click here to listen to an excerpt.

Click here to read an excerpt.

Click here to visit the author's website.

About the author (from the publisher):
Nelson DeMille is the author of 15 previous novels. He lives on Long Island, New York. Click here to read a more detailed biography.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original 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, September 10, 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.

• Winners are determined using the sequence generator at Random.org.

Thank you to Anna
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday: THE UNBELIEVERS by Alastair Sim

"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 UNBELIEVERS

by Alastair Sim

Pub. Date: September 2010

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Format: Hardcover, 336pp

ISBN-13: 9780312621698

ISBN: 0312621698

Description (from the publisher):

A brooding, Victorian murder mystery set in the Scottish Highlands and featuring Inspector Allerdyce and Sergeant McGillivray.

Scotland’s richest man has been shot dead and dumped down a well. Was the Duke of Dornoch murdered by one of the miners whose wages he cut because of “market forces”? Was he killed in return for his part in clearing the Highlands of their people? Did a discarded lover take their final revenge?

Inspector Allerdyce and Sergeant McGillivray VC must find out before the killer strikes again. But their search, from the material heights of Victorian society to its moral dregs, threatens to overturn everything Allerdyce believes and loves.

In the tradition of Charles Finch and The Somnambulist, Alastair Sim has crafted a memorable, atmospheric novel that covers new ground in the world of Victorian mysteries.

About the author (from the publisher):

ALASTAIR SIM has published stories and playscripts in magazines, anthologies and on the web. The Unbelievers is one of two books which he wrote while in the University of Glasgow’s prestigious Masters in Creative Writing course.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Ditto Doubles: Pass Around Gowns

Sometimes we'll see the same image on the cover of more than one book, usually customized with Photoshop. This time, it's not the photos or even models -- it's the wardrobe! Imagine getting to play dress-up with the items in that closet! The books themselves all look pretty good, too!

QUEEN BY RIGHT by Anne Easter Smith

I found this cover at Passages to the Past where Amy posted about a couple of upcoming releases. QUEEN BY RIGHT is due out in May of 2011. I couldn't help but recognize the gown from the cover of my current read, THE QUEEN'S PAWN by Christy English, pictured below.

And then on closer inspection, I realized that the blue gown with the gold fleur-de-lis design looked familiar, too. If you can't really tell from these photos, it's much more obvious when you're looking at the actual book.

THE CAPTIVE QUEEN by Alison Weir

Teaser Tuesdays: THE QUEEN'S PAWN by Christy English

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 saw in that moment that she refused to accept what I had understood all my life: men are unfaithful ever. She thought to hold the men she loved to a higher standard." -- Page 248

THE QUEEN'S PAWN
by Christy English

Pub. Date: April 2010

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Format: Paperback, 400pp
Sales Rank: 79,260
ISBN-13: 9780451229236
ISBN: 0451229231

Monday, August 16, 2010

Mailbox Monday: August 16, 2010

THE ISLAND (audiobook)
by Elin Hilderbrand

AH-CHOO!
The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold
by Jennifer Ackerman

BARNACLE LOVE
by Anthony De Sa

SALVATION CITY
by Sigrid Nunez

STARTING FROM SCRATCH
by Susan Gilbert-Collins

A BAD DAY'S WORK
by Nora McFarland

Thank you to the authors, publishers, and publicists for sending me review copies!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

. . . And the Winners Are . . .

Graphic courtesy of Cupcakes for Clara.

Click here to visit her Etsy shop.

!! CONGRATULATIONS !!

THE ISLAND
(audiobook)

#5 Just Mom
#17 janetfaye
#41 librarypat

WAR
(audiobook)

#14 librarypat
#24 Sky Princess
#26 Beth

THE SECRETS OF NEWBERRY

#1 Gerri -- YAY!! It's always special when the #1 wins!
#35 Andrea
#41 Chanelle

THE IMPOSTER'S DAUGHTER

#8 Martha Lawson
#28 Stephenia
#31 misusedinnocence
#33 Christy Jan
#39 Mark

OFF SEASON

#40 Brenda
#55 Anonymous (but I know who she is!)
#74 Tiffany

A CHANGE IN ALTITUDE

#5 Benita
#49 rubynreba
#72 degood

- Thank you to everyone who stopped by and entered. If you weren't one of the lucky ones in this drawing, click here to hop on over to the contest page at Hachette Book Group for listings of other blogs hosting book giveaways.

- Be sure and check my sidebar for other ongoing giveaways here and at other blogs.

A big thank you to
Anna, Valerie, and Hachette Book Group

for making these giveaways possible.

Book Giveaway: THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK by Peg Bracken

CLOSED.

Thanks to the generous folks at
Hachette Book Group,

I have been authorized to
give away two (2) copies of

THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK
by Peg Bracken.

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

I HATE TO COOK BOOK

50th Anniversary Edition

by Peg Bracken

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Category: Cooking

Format: Hardcover Book

Publish Date: 7/26/2010

Price: $22.99/$27.99

ISBN: 9780446545921

Pages: 224

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

Description (from the publisher)

"There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who don't cook out of and have NEVER cooked out of THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK, and the other kind...The I HATE TO COOK people consist mainly of those who find other things more interesting and less fattening, and so they do it as seldom as possible. Today there is an Annual Culinary Olympics, with hundreds of cooks from many countries ardently competing. But we who hate to cook have had our own Olympics for years, seeing who can get out of the kitchen the fastest and stay out the longest."

- Peg Bracken

Philosopher's Chowder. Skinny Meatloaf. Fat Man's Shrimp. Immediate Fudge Cake. These are just a few of the beloved recipes from Peg Bracken's classic I HATE TO COOK BOOK. Written in a time when women were expected to have full, delicious meals on the table for their families every night, Peg Bracken offered women who didn't revel in this obligation an alternative: quick, simple meals that took minimal effort but would still satisfy.

50 years later, times have certainly changed - but the appeal of THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK hasn't.

This book is for everyone, men and women alike, who wants to get from cooking hour to cocktail hour in as little time as possible.

Meet Peg's daughter, Jo Bracken, by visiting her blog.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original 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, September 3, 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.

• Winners are determined using the sequence generator at Random.org.

Thank you to Anna
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Book Giveaway: THE LINK by Colin Tudge

CLOSED.

Thanks to the generous folks at
Hachette Book Group,

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

THE LINK
by Colin Tudge.

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

THE LINK

Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor

by Colin Tudge

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Category: Science, Social Science

Format: Trade Paperback

Publish Date: 8/11/2010

Price: $15.99/$19.99

ISBN: 9780316070096

Pages: 272

Size: 5-9/16" x 8-15/16"

Description (from the publisher):

For more than a century, scientists have raced to unravel the human family tree and have grappled with its complications. Now, with an astonishing new discovery, everything we thought we knew about primate origins could change. Lying inside a high-security vault, deep within the heart of one of the world's leading natural history museums, is the scientific find of a lifetime - a perfectly fossilized early primate, older than the previously most famous primate fossil, Lucy, by forty-four million years.

About the author (from the publisher):
Colin Tudge is a biologist by education and a writer by inclination--on biology, food and agriculture, and the philosophy of science. His books include The Tree, Feeding People Is Easy, Consider the Birds, and The Time Before History. For more information about the author, go to http://www.colintudge.com/.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original 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, September 3, 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.

• Winners are determined using the sequence generator at Random.org.

Thank you to Anna
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Book Giveaway: FIT FOR LIFE by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond

CLOSED.

Thanks to the generous folks at
Hachette Book Group,

I have been authorized to
give away three (3)

FIT FOR LIFE
by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond.

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

FIT FOR LIFE

by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond

Publisher: Wellness Central

Category: Health & Fitness

Format: Trade Paperback

Publish Date: 8/16/2010

Price: $14.99/$17.99

ISBN: 9780446553643

Pages: 336

Size: 5-1/4" x 8"

Description (from the publisher):

It's the program that shatters all the myths: FIT FOR LIFE the international bestseller that explains how to change both your figure and your life. Nutritional specialist Harvey and Marilyn Diamond explain how you can eat more kinds of food than you ever ate before without counting calories...and still lose weight! The natural body cycles, permanent weight-loss plan that proves it's not only what you eat, but also when and how, FIT FOR LIFE is the perfect solution for those who want to look and feel their best. Join the millions of Americans who are FIT FOR LIFE and begin your transformation with:

•The vital principles that bring you permanent weight loss and high energy

•The FIT FOR LIFE secrets of timing and food combining that work with your natural body cycles

•A 4-week meal plan, menus, shopping tips, and exercise

•Delicious recipes and more.

About the authors (from the publisher):
Harvey and Marilyn Diamond are also the authors of the bestselling Fit For Life 2. And, Marilyn also penned The American Vegetarian Cookbook and A New Way of Eating. She is co-author with Dr. Donald Schnell of Fitonics. Marilyn Diamond lives in Beverly Hills, CA. Havery Dimond lives in Florida.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original 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, September 3, 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.

• Winners are determined using the sequence generator at Random.org.

Thank you to Anna
at Hachette Book Group

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday: AN IMPARTIAL WITNESS by Charles Todd

"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 . . .

I've read this first book in this new series, A DUTY TO THE DEAD, and now I can hardly wait for this next installment. If you've enjoyed Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs novels, you're sure to like these, too.

AN IMPARTIAL WITNESS

A Bess Crawford Mystery

by Charles Todd

Pub. Date: August 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Format: Hardcover, 352pp

Series: Bess Crawford Series, #2

ISBN-13: 9780061791789

ISBN: 0061791784

Description (from the publisher):
World War I nurse Bess Crawford, introduced in A Duty to the Dead, returns in an exciting new mystery in which a murder draws her inexorably into the sights of a cunning killer

It is the early summer of 1917. Bess Crawford has returned to England from the trenches of France with a convoy of severely wounded men. One of her patients is a young pilot who has been burned beyond recognition, and who clings to life and the photo of his wife that is pinned to his tunic.

While passing through a London train station, Bess notices a woman bidding an emotional farewell to an officer, her grief heart-wrenching. And then Bess realizes that she seems familiar. In fact, she's the woman in the pilot's photo, but the man she is seeing off is not her husband.

Back on duty in France, Bess discovers a newspaper with a drawing of the woman's face on the front page. Accompanying the drawing is a plea from Scotland Yard seeking information from anyone who has seen her. For it appears that the woman was murdered on the very day Bess encountered her at the station.

Granted leave to speak with Scotland Yard, Bess becomes entangled in the case. Though an arrest is made, she must delve into the depths of her very soul to decide if the police will hang an innocent man or a vicious killer. Exposing the truth is dangerous—and will put her own life on the line.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Guest Post: Shobhan Bantwal - Marriage By Arrangement

Today, I am honored and thrilled to welcome one of my favorite authors, Shobhan Bantwal, to A Sea of Books. Ms. Bantwal has just published her fourth novel, The Unexpected Son. Check back tomorrow for my review. (I'll give you a hint: I loved it!)

Marriage by Arrangement
by Shobhan Bantwal - author of The Unexpected Son

While arranged marriage may seem like an antiquated practice to most Americans, it has been around for thousands of years and has worked rather well in establishing the institutions of family, community, and even entire civilizations. To this day, many conservative Europeans and Jews practice arranged marriage, albeit subtly and not as frequently as they did a hundred years ago.

In my own Indian culture, what started out as a way to assure the compatibility of a couple by matching partners from similar social and economic backgrounds has worked so well over the centuries that it continues in the same vein in contemporary India. The divorce rate in India and similar cultures is a fraction of what it is in the western world.

I had a strictly arranged marriage more than 36 years ago and I'm still happily married to the same man. Arranging a marriage is not some magic formula. It is all based in the fact that family is valued above all else. To preserve that precious unit, people passionately work towards finding partners who will support it and nurture it. And who better than experienced and wise elders to go about seeking a suitable bride for their sons or grooms for their daughters?

Arranging a marriage is serious business in my culture. An intricate network of relatives, neighbors and friends are involved in the process. The horoscopes of the potential bride and groom are often matched, dowries may be discussed behind closed doors (although, not all Indian communities follow the dowry system), educational levels, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and a whole list of items that apply to both parties. Indian marriages are not just between two individuals but two families, and in rural areas, between two communities.

All my books and short stories have some reference to arranged marriage. In my latest novel, The Unexpected Son, the protagonist has a happy arranged marriage, until a shocking letter abruptly turns her cozy life upside down. A closely-guarded secret comes to haunt her after 30 long years.

A Note From Shobhan Bantwal - Information about my books, video trailers, contact, photos from India, reviews, contests, and recipes is available on my website: www.shobhanbantwal.com. All my books can be purchased at any retail bookstore or online bookseller.

For more information about The Unexpected Son virtual tour, visit http://bookpromotionservices.com/2010/07/02/unexpected-son-virtual-tour/

About The Unexpected Son (from the publisher):
What happens when a woman who's realized her dreams wakes up to a shocking truth? It is a morning like any other in suburban New Jersey when Vinita Patil opens the battered envelope postmarked “Mumbai.” But the letter inside turns her comfortable world upside down. It tells Vinita an impossible story: she has a grown son in India whose life may depend on her.

Once upon a time, a naive young college girl fell for a wealthy boy whose primary interests were cricket and womanizing. Vinita knew, even then, that a secret affair with a man whose language and values were different from her own was a mistake. He finished with her soon enough--leaving her to birth a baby that was stillborn. Or so Vinita was told.

Now that child is a grown man in desperate need. How will she confess her secret past to her arranged-marriage husband and her grown daughter? Nonetheless, to help her son, to know him, Vinita must revisit her darkest hours by returning to her battle-scarred homeland--and pray for the faith of the family she leaves behind.

About Shobhan Bantwal (from the publisher):
Shobhan Bantwal calls her writing “Bollywood in a Book,”romantic, colorful, action-packed tales, rich with elements of Indian culture -- stories that entertain and educate.

Her writing career is a “menopausal epiphany,” because she took up creative writing at the age of 50. By day Shobhan works for the government. In the evenings and on weekends she slips into her writer's cape and flies off to Authorland. She loves writing stories about her native India and Hindu culture.

To date, Shobhan has four published novels by Kensington Publishing, with a fifth slated for 2011. Since 2002, Shobhan's articles and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications. Her award-winning stories are available for reading on her website: http://www.shobhanbantwal.com/

Natasha from Princeton Community Television on Vimeo.

For more information about The Unexpected Son virtual tour, visit http://bookpromotionservices.com/2010/07/02/unexpected-son-virtual-tour/

Thank you to Nikki Leigh and Promo 101 Virtual Blog Tours
for organizing this tour.

Mailbox Monday - August 9, 2010

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at The Printed Page, is being hosted this month by Shanyn at Chick Loves Lit. If you'd like to join in, stop by Shanyn's and leave a link - or just browse through the comments to see what new books have been showing up.

What's in your mailbox?

Oh, I received some high-quality reads last week! Summer's not over yet, but I always start thinking of historical fiction toward the fall, and the gods and goddesses (authors and publicists) are paving the way.