The Geek's Guide to Dating by Eric Smith (+ giveaway)

There seems to be a mix-up with a book giveway and I received this one instead. I couldn't figure out at first why I would enter a contest for a dating book but I thought that maybe I thought it was a novel. It turns out that, no, it was just a mix-up. No problem. But this looked fun and so I flipped through it. I find dating guides interesting. I clearly not their target audience since I have been with my husband since we were 20 and we have 2 kids together and all. But I guess some people need help or advice. I know a lot of people who have trouble getting relationships off the ground. I, myself, can be pretty awkward around new people. I am terrible at small talk. So I found the advice in here pretty useful for someone trying to establish a rapport with another person. The main message is basically don't be overzealous, be respectable of the other person's wants, needs, and feelings and don't try to rush into anything. I can co-sign that. Plus it is filled with many, many, many nerd references. I was pretty proud of myself for recognizing the majority of them. So this was a pretty fun read for a mix-up and it didn't take me long to skim through it. And I'm sure someone else will enjoy it as much as I did.

Giveaway! Book + a nifty poster
Giveaway ends August 4, 2013.  US or Canada only.  Winner will be chosen randomly and e-mailed for mailing address.

Ruby Red Winner!

Congrats to Christina T at Reading Extensively on being the winner of Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier!!

Ruby Red Giveaway!

Thanks to the Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, I am giving away one copy of Kerstin Gier's upcoming book, Ruby Red.  

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

Sounds awesome right!?  Just fill out the form.  Giveaway ends June 15, 2011.  US or Canada only.  Winner will be chosen randomly and e-mailed for mailing address.

And here is the awesome book trailer as well!

Mackenzie Blue winner

And the winner of the three Mackenzie Blue books is ...

RUNA

I'll send you an e-mail.  

Thanks everyone for entering.

Mackenzie Blue Giveway!

I am giving away the first 3 of the Mackenzie Blue series!  Giveaway ends July 30th, US only.  Winner will be chosen at random.  Please fill out the form to enter.

Winner! The More You Ignore Me

And the winner of my ARC of The More You Ignore Me is

Britt!!

I will e-mailed you for your address!
Thanks everyone who entered!

The More You Ignore Me + Giveaway

Alice lives in 1970's England with her hippy dad and her crazy mom.  As she grows up, she see more and more of how her mother's spirit has been dampened by all her psychiatric medicines and one day she decides it's time to set her mom free.

She paid the pharmacist and turned to embark on the well-worn walk of the teenager exiting the chemist bearing a product she neither wanted nor needed.  p.131 ARC

This was definitely different from my usual YA fantasy fare.  It was more like the books I read when I was a teenager.  It's described on the back as in "the tradition of the Adrian Mole novels" and I got that impression right off.  It was like a cross of Adrian Mole and Susan Juby's Alice, I Think.

The More You Ignore Me was very poignant.  It was sad in places, and funny in others.  Alice grows up in an odd life, with two parents around but her mom has mentally checked out.  After an obsession with the local weatherman and an incident of nudity on the roof, her mom has been placed on a heavy course of drugs to tamp down on her schizophrenic tendencies (it's the 70's so the diagnoses is uncertain).  Consequently, Alice tends to dampened down her emotions so though things happen to her, the book reads like it is far away from these events, like Alice is not really involved.

I enjoyed this book.  I liked Alice and felt sorry for her whole family.  I thought her mother's family was funny and was amused by her love of Morrissey.  I liked her dad and I really wanted the best for everyone.  This was a good read and I'm glad I got it.


Won from Library Thing's Early Reviewers
Hogwarts: Muggle Studies

Giveaway!  I'm giving away my ARC copy of The More You Ignore Me by Jo Brand.  To enter, just fill out the form below.  Winner will be chosen at random.  US only.  Ends June 25, 2010. 

Beautiful Creatures Winner

And the winner for Beautiful Creatures is

41 -   iluvhersheys_andbooks!!

Congrats!  I will e-mail for your address. 

 

Beautiful Creatures + Giveaway!

Ethan lives in the sleepy southern town of Gatlin where nothing ever changes, until Lena shows up at school.  The niece of the town shut-in she is immediately shunned for being different, but Ethan is drawn to her anyway.  What mysteries lie at her uncle's house and what is the connection between Lena and Ethan?  As the weather rages in Gatlin, the two of them must figure out how to save Lena from her fate.

It had been a long dull day at Jackson without Hurricane Lena, and I was starting to wonder how I ever got through eight periods without all the trouble she caused me.  Without all the trouble she made me want to cause myself. p.132 ARC

After suffering from some slow starters, Beautiful Creatures sucked me right in and all I wanted to do was read it.  It was a real page turner.  It was interesting that it was told from the boy's point of view so there is a lot he is not privy too since he is not the one dealing with the magic.  Ethan is such a 16 year old boy and the emotion you get from him isn't how you expect a boy to feel.  But it was funny because he would have these intense emotions and on the outside just act chill, like it was no big deal.  If I was reading from Lena's POV I doubt I would have loved Ethan as much as I do.  Of course, I might have liked Lena more if it was her POV.  But she grew on me and, at the last, I understood more about her.  Oddly enough, it was her cousin that I found the most interesting even though she is just a bit part.  But I wish there had been more explanation about Ethan's abilities.

In ways, this book was the perfect book for me.  Magic, romance, crazy relatives, a dog like creature wolf thing, the creepy South; all of this spells Andrea.  But there was so much book involved that I kept losing details and wondering are they important and, yes they are, no they aren't, WTF, what just happened.  WHY won't anyone answer a damn question?  WHY!!?  Everyone is so cryptic and they are all just running around not answering questions and then it is the big OMG moment at the end and I'm going well, if you had just answered one freaking question then we'd all be in a better place.

Despite that, it was well worth my time and a good read.  It really moves at a great pace and makes you want to find out what happens next. And the emotion is so real.  I got a little teary at the end.  The visuals I got from the prose were great and I could see the entire thing.  I could even hear the soundtrack. It was nice to read a good book that wasn't a series for a change.  I miss standalones and this was definitely a good one.

ETA: I'm using this for the R.I.P. Challenge


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So I'm giving away my (gently read) ARC* copy of Beautiful Creatures.  If you are interested, please leave a comment below with your e-mail or Twitter name if you have one and don't want to give out your e-mail.  Contest open to US and Canada and ends on October 31, 2009.  Winner will be chosen at random.

*an ARC I received from The Tome Traveller's Weblog

And the Winner is...

And the winner of the Treasure Map of Boys ARC is:

WANDA
Thanks everyone who entered.

Giveaway! The Treasure Map of Boys - ARC

So I have an ARC of The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart and I've decided to give it away. This is going to be a short contest ending on August 7th at midnight. I'm going to keep this simple. Please just comment here that you'd like to enter. If you tweet/blog/advertise in anyway, leave a separate comment for each time and please try to direct link your tweet. Oh and I'll need an e-mail address too. The winner will be chosen by random number.

ETA: To learn how to direct link from Twitter, go here.