Waiting on Wednesday: BLESS THIS MOUSE by Lois Lowry; illustrated by Eric Rohmann

"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 do love a good mouse story! )

BLESS THIS MOUSE

by Lois Lowry

illustrated by Eric Rohmann

Pub. Date: March 2011

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Format: Hardcover , 160pp

Age Range: 9 to 12

ISBN-13: 9780547390093

ISBN: 0547390092

Description (from the publisher):

A resilient and quirky colony of church mice fears another Great X more than they fear cats. Under Mouse Mistress Hildegarde’s leadership, they save themselves from one danger after another—sometimes just by the skin of their tails! Can one ultimate act of bravery during the feast day of St. Francis get Father Murphy to bless these mice and keep them safe forever?

 

Rife with humor and personality, this young middle-grade novel has an old-fashioned feel with the makings of a modern classic.

Teaser Tuesdays: THE GIRL WHO WOULD SPEAK FOR THE DEAD by Paul Elwork

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

THE GIRL WHO WOULD SPEAK FOR THE DEAD
by Paul Elwork

"Emily had named the game after the first successful test with Albert.  The idea of spirits knocking from another world gave her a genuine chill and a grin."

-- page 64 (from the uncorrected proof copy)
Pub. Date: March 2011

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Format: Hardcover , 320pp

ISBN-13: 9780399157172

ISBN: 0399157174

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!

Mailbox Monday: February 21, 2011

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at The Printed Page, is being hosted this month by Laura at the Library of Clean Reads. If you'd like to join in, stop by Julie'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?

NOTE:  This is more than a week's worth -- I've fallen behind in posting, so these are some highlights from recent weeks.

THE RAVEN QUEEN
by  Jules Watson

for a Blog Tour
-- my day is March 3rd

THE SANDLEWOOD TREE
by Elle Newmark

an ARC for review





THE GIRL WHO WOULD SPEAK FOR THE DEAD
by Paul Elwork

one of my current reads - very good!

THE PORTABLE PEDIATRICIAN

by William Sears, MD, et al.

for review and giveaway
from Hachette Book Group

Be on the lookout!

PRAYERS AND LIES
by Sherri Wood Emmons

A purchase from Barnes & Noble

IRON QUEEN
by Julie Kagawa

for review from Harlequin
I'm reading the IRON KING and IRON DAUGHTER first

RADIO SHANGRI-LA
by Lisa Napoli

an ARC for review

MINDING BEN
by Victoria Brown

an ARC for review

WEST OF HERE
by Jonathan Evison

finished copy for review

THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER
by Barbara O'Connor

a recent purchase from Barnes & Noble
review coming this weekend!

THESE THINGS HIDDEN
by Heather Gudenkauf

A win from Book Trib

Waiting on Wednesday: DREAMS OF JOY by Lisa See

"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 . . .

DREAMS OF JOY

by Lisa See

Pub. Date: May 2011

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Format: Hardcover , 416pp

ISBN-13: 9781400067121

ISBN: 140006712X

Description (from the publisher):

More than a sequel--literally a continuation--Dreams of Joy fulfills the spellbinding story begun in Shanghai Girls, launching its engrossing narrative from the last cliffhanging scene in that book.

Devastated after discovering the shocking truth about her mother and father, Joy flees to China to find a new life (and her real father)--and Pearl, realizing what has happened, sets out for Mao's China, resolved to find her daughter.

Both women face almost insurmountable struggles as they combat their guilt-ridden past and a Communist China intolerant of their free spirits, and the tension in their stories is heightened by Pearl's selfless determination to rescue Joy and bring her home.

Click here to visit the author's website.

About the author (from the publisher):

LISA SEE is the author of six previous novels, including the critically acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Shanghai Girls, Peony in Love, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Flower Net (which was nominated for an Edgar Award), The Interior, and Dragon Bones. She is also the author of the widely acclaimed memoir On Gold Mountain.

Teaser Tuesdays: TO DEFY A KING by Elizabeth Chadwick

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish memehosted 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:

"While her endangered husband strove to hold all together at court, she had to maintain their estates, deal with her vassals, run a household and cope with pregnancy.  He could  not imagine his own gentle mother managing such a feat, although he suspected Mahelt had it within her."

-- page 215

TO DEFY A KING

by Elizabeth Chadwick

Pub. Date: March 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated

Format: Paperback , 544pp

ISBN-13: 9781402250897

ISBN: 1402250894

Ditto Doubles: The Best I've Seen So Far

This is probably the most beautiful "copycat" book cover I've ever seen.  If you're going to reuse an image, this is the way to really make it special.

What do you think?

A NORTHERN LIGHT

by Jennifer Donnelly

DESIREE

by Annemarie Selinko

When your mailbox is at home and you are not . . .

Wooo hooo! Delivery from the Man in Brown!

 Nothing perks up my day at the office like a delivery of books. Most of my books go to my home, but when I "order in" I like to have them come to the office.

Here's a peek at what was on the packing list:

First, I've been neglecting my dollmaking for awhile and it's time to get back to stitching. This one will provide some inspiration and education from a few of my favorite dollmakers.

CLOTH DOLL WORKSHOP:

From the Beginning and Beyond

 with Doll Masters Elinor Peace Bailey, Patti Medaris Culea, and Barbara Willis

Description (from the publisher):
Patti Culea, elinor peace bailey, and Barbara Willis are three of the leading doll artists and teachers in the country. They are also friends. Each of these artists has her own distinct approach to the design and development of a cloth figure. In this book, each artist's process will come alive through their choice of fabrics, sketches, simple patterns, and skill-building variations. The book is oriented toward beginning doll makers, but offers unique variations and embellishments to please even more experienced doll designers. Two introductory chapters cover basic materials and techniques. Each artist's chapter includes step by step illustrations, instructions, and patterns to make a complete doll, plus variations that create completely new figures. Readers are treated to full color photography and a look inside of each artist's workspace. A gallery of additional creations by each artist, along with commentary on each work completes the collection. This is a must-have book for any aspiring or experienced doll making.

And secondly:  A little "lite" math! (Ha!) Actually, math is a lot more fun when you don't have to take any tests.  I've been working my way through the grade levels so that I can help my niece and nephew with their homework. These workbooks have really helped me to understand the modern approach of New Math. I enjoy it, but it might help to explain why my dollmaking isn't get as much attention as it should!

FIFTH GRADE BASIC MATH SUCCESS

by Sylvan Learning

Description (from the publisher):

Success in math requires children to make connections between the real world and math concepts in order to solve problems. Successful problem solvers will be ready for the challenges of mathematics as they advance to more complex topics. The activities in this workbook are designed to help your children catch up, keep up, and get ahead. Best of all, they’ll have lots of fun doing it! Some of the great features you’ll find inside are:

Tic-Tac-Toe
A twist on this classic game helps students develop a solid understanding of factors, prime numbers, and composite numbers.

Dueling Denominators
Students gain practice determining the lowest common denominator between fractions and then adding them.

Simply Simplify
Multiplying fractions can be easier if you simplify the fractions first, and students reinforce these skills by identifying numbers with common factors.

Fitting In
Measuring the length of a book, CD case, and DVD case to determine how many will fit on a shelf gives students confidence in measuring objects in centimeters and finding an answer measured to hundredths.

Fine Lines
Students practice recognizing points, lines, and rays by looking for pairs of lines in a picture and determining which are parallel, perpendicular, or intersecting.

And now, lunch break is over. Sigh . . .

Waiting on Wednesday: INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS by Imogen Robertson

"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 . . .

INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS

by Imogen Robertson

Pub. Date: February 17, 2011

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Format: Hardcover , 384pp

Sales Rank: 297,751

ISBN-13: 9780670022427

ISBN: 067002242X

Description (from the publisher):
An intricate historical page-turner about a forbidding country estate and the unlikely forensic duo who set out to uncover its deadly secrets.
 
In the year 1780, Harriet Westerman, the willful mistress of a country manor in Sussex, finds a dead man on her grounds with a ring bearing the crest of Thornleigh Hall in his pocket. Not one to be bound by convention or to shy away from adventure, she recruits a reclusive local anatomist named Gabriel Crowther to help her find the murderer, and historical suspense's newest investigative duo is born.
 
For years, Mrs. Westerman has sensed the menace of neighboring Thornleigh Hall, seat of the Earl of Sussex. It is the home of a once- great family that has been reduced to an ailing invalid, his whorish wife, and his alcoholic second son, a man haunted by his years spent as a redcoat in the Revolutionary War. The same day, Alexander Adams is slain by an unknown killer in his London music shop, leaving his children orphaned. His death will lead back to Sussex, and to an explosive secret that has already destroyed one family and threatens many others.
 
Instruments of Darkness combines the brooding atmosphere of Anne Perry with the complex, compelling detail of Tess Gerritsen, moving from drawing room to dissecting room, from coffee house to country inn. Mrs. Westerman and Mr. Crowther are both razor-sharp minds and their personalities breathe spirit into this gripping historical mystery.

Click here to access the Readers Guide which includes a Q&A with the author.

Click here to visit the author's website.

About the author (from the publisher):
Imogen Robertson studied Russian and German at Cambridge University and has worked as a TV, film, and radio director. In 2007, she won The Telegraph's First Thousand Words of a Novel competition with what would become Instruments of Darkness. She currently lives in London and has finished a second novel about Harriet Westerman and Gabriel Crowther entitled Anatomy of Murder.

Galley Giveaway: SINS OF THE HOUSE OF BORGIA by Sarah Bower

CLOSED.

Sourcebooks is offering a galley copy of SINS OF THE HOUSE OF BORGIA by Sarah Bower to one of my readers. This novel is due to be released on March 8, 2011. Here's your chance to get your hands on an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) before it hits the stores!

This is a short contest with a special entry requirement,

so act fast but read carefully!

Rules for entering this giveaway

 are at the bottom of this post.

SINS OF THE HOUSE OF BORGIA

by Sarah Bower

Pub. Date: March 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated

Format: Paperback , 544pp

Sales Rank: 225,632

ISBN-13: 9781402259630

ISBN: 1402259638

Description (from the publisher):

Violante isn’t supposed to be here, in one of the grandest courts of Renaissance Italy. She isn’t supposed to be a lady-in-waiting to the beautiful Lucrezia Borgia. But the same secretive politics that pushed Lucrezia’s father to the Vatican have landed Violante deep in a lavish landscape of passion and ambition.

Violante discovers a Lucrezia unknown to those who see only a scheming harlot, and all the whispers about her brother, Cesare Borgia, never revealed the soul of the man who dances close with Violante.

But those who enter the House of Borgia are never quite the same when they leave—if they leave at all. Violante’s place in history will test her heart and leave her the guardian of dangerous secrets she must carry to the grave.

About the author (from Amazon.com):
Sarah Bower teaches creative writing and was UK editor of the Historical Novels Review for two years until the beginning of 2006 when she stepped down to make more time for her own writing. Sarah lives in rural north Suffolk with her husband, two grown up sons, and two golden retrievers.

RULES FOR ENTERING THE GIVEAWAY:

• Leave an original comment on this post telling me in what historical period and country you would like to have lived and why. You must answer this question in order to qualify! 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.

• Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only (Sorry!) Winner must provide a U.S. or Canadian street address. The publisher is unable to deliver to P.O. Boxes.

• PLEASE NOTE: One win per household. If you win this title in another contest hosted at another blog, the publisher will only send one copy per household address.

• Deadline for entry is 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 9, 2011.

• Winner will have 24 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 Beth
at Sourcebooks

for making this giveaway possible.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.