Book Giveaway!

Over at GoodReads, there is a giveaway for a signed copy of Susan Wittig Albert's book Loving Eleanor.  Enter before July 7, 2016!

To be honest, I know very little about Mrs. Roosevelt.  So I am eagerly waiting to see if i win a copy of this book before I add it to my Audible library!  One way or another, I intend to devour this book very soon.  I "know" she played a huge role during her husband's presidency, but just how huge, I don't know.  Then, while listening to A Traitor to His Class by H. W. Brands, I learned just a little bit more about her and her personality and her relationship with two women who lived in a house, and ran a storm door company, near the Roosevelt retreat in upstate NY.  And most surprisingly, Jack Gantos wrote two novels for kids set in Norvelt, PA.  Norvelt is an "Eleanor Town" ... never heard about these places ...Great idea and extremely fun novels!

Now, I need to know more about Eleanor!  From the Good Reads description of "Loving Eleanor:"  When AP political reporter Lorena Hickok—Hick— is assigned to cover Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1932 campaign, the two women become deeply involved. Their relationship begins with mutual romantic passion, matures through stormy periods of enforced separation and competing interests, and warms into an enduring, encompassing friendship documented by 3300 letters.

I've listened to Susan's historical  novel "A Wilder Rose" -- loved every minute of it;  I expect to enjoy "Loving Eleanor" just as much!  I'll let you in on a little secret about these books -- if you like audiobooks as much as i do, both of these titles are "whispersync" ready -- meaning buy the kindle eBook at amazon and get the Audible narrated audiobook at an incredibly discounted price.  I don't like ebooks but occasionally take advantage of this kind of deal because it is just too good a price to pass by.  (I have even gotten free deals of the day in the cozy mystery category and the Audible audio version for under $3 ... a price you can't beat if you ask me!)

I don't mind if you enter the giveaway too!  You will be my competition to win a copy ... but i think you need to discover Susan Wittig Albert's historical novels, her China Bayles novels and other writings so much that I am willing to dilute my own chances of winning a copy of "Loving Eleanor" ... and while you are at it, hunt down copies of John Gantos' Norvelt books and be sure to read them both!!  So much fun to read!

And You May Like:

Jake's Uncle Joe getting
involved in helping me
with my embroidery ...
he thought he could
pick out the next color
I should use ...

When I was listening to The Tale of Holly How by Susan Wittig Albert, I realized that it reminded me of many other books I have enjoyed since I "discovered" audiobooks in 2007.

For instance, the badger reminded me of The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame.  Many of the other animals reminded me of Brian Jacques' Redwall series, and of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett.  And The Professor reminds me of Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne.

Events at the local school remind me very much of Battles at Thrush Green by Miss Read.

The Tale of Holly How is the second book in a cozy mystery series featuring Beatrix Potter as the amateur sleuth.  Details of Miss Potter's life are used but a lot is fictional extrapolation. 
I discovered the series recently when Susan Wittig Albert wrote a post at her author page at Facebook (Dec 24, 2015) concerning how it happened that the animals have speaking parts in the book -- which was not the original intention.  She said that it turned out that Mrs. Tiggywinkle, the hedgehog, had something she wanted to say -- and (sorry if I am infringing on Ms. Albert's copyright here, but I think what she says here is rather important and amusing so I wanted to share it ...) "But Mrs. Tiggywinkle appeared in the first book, with important things on her mind. When a character wants to talk, there's only one thing to do: LISTEN! (and start taking dictation)."

The facts of Miss Potter's life are available all over the web -- probably Wikipedia is a good place to start -- if you want to know more about her.  (And you probably will.)

The fact that she is the amateur sleuth in this series really isn't important (to me as a reader / listener).  The books are so well written, the characters all interact so well and the mysteries are well crafted -- that is what makes the series so likeable for me.  I am looking forward to getting into and through the rest of the series as soon as possible **grin**

Welcome to 2016 ... Lots of listening already :D

A move and computer problems have kept me away for a while.  Hopefully the 'puter will keep running long enough to "do" this post ...

While packing for the move, I lost track of the book(s) where I recorded the books I'd listened to in 2015 ... so decided to just not try to catch up with that list ... And I decided to start the list on 1-1 ... but forgot what was listened to in what order.  So, here are the books I listened to at the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 ...
(I'm not 100% sure of the order ... Hubbby's computer croaked and we've been sharing mine and sharing "listening time" too ... I think this is the list of books since Christmas ...)

From the public Library's OverDrive service:

Also, books from our Audible libraries:
* Sea of Thunder by Evan Thomas
* Mistletoe and Murder by Carola Dunn
* The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
* The Chimes by Charles Dickens
* The Enchanted Files: Diary of a Mad Brownie by Bruce Coville
* The Tale of Hill Top Farm by Susan Wittig Albert
* A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert
* The Tale of Holly How by Susan Wittig Albert


I'll figure out what order they were listened in and start the "proper" book count, come back and edit ... also, I hope to give a short review or info about a few of the books -- such as other books in the "you may also be interested in" type info as well as anything else I think you may find interesting or helpful in determining if this is a book you may be interested in, too.

Chance to Win a seat in Beth Barany's "Plan Your Novel Course"

November's NaNoWriMo is coming up.  To help you prepare, Beth Barany is running an awesome course "Plan Your Novel" beginning October 1st.  And she is making one seat available for free!  WOO HOO!

If you would like more information about the course and the opportunity to win the free seat, check it out here.

While visiting Beth's site, be sure to sign up for her newsletter and other offerings (such as Blab chats and other fun events!).

Linkage (LOL)

February 16, 2015 -- 065 to 068

Book 065

Originally titled "Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence" Doris Pilkington's Rabbit-Proof Fence is as much history of the relations between Europeans and Aboriginals in Australia as it is a story of how three mixed race girls (aged 8, 11 and 13) ran away from the government school they were sent to and walked home again -- a 1600 km trek.

ICFP (It Came From Peter) -- A YouTube video about Station X (Bletchley Park) and the efforts to break the Enigma codes.  This was part one of four parts ... and did not mention Turing at all!  

The recent movie about Turing sparked a short discussion on Facebook about the inaccuracies about Turing's life -- and a few people were surprised to learn that the Enigma encoding machine had been built pre-WWII and was sold it to businesses across Europe.  The German military saw its potential and decided to use it.  The German military made changes to the machine that made breaking its encoding more and more and more difficult.

A great book on the subject is Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-Boats Codes, 1939–1943 by David Kahn.

 

Book 066

 

Okay, it has been around for a few years and really did not interest me.  Peter mentioned it the other day -- I don't know where he saw the title but he mentioned it.   It was available through OverDrive so I decided to give it a whirl.  Thus Pride and Prejudice and Zombies  by Seth Grahame-Smith found its way to my computer and found itself being played.

There is a preface where the author admits to getting a call from someone at his publisher's office (or was it his agent??) -- anyhow, the caller says "Let me toss an idea at you.  What do you think of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?"  Seth says he envisions blood and guts and lots of fun.  He figured the Austen fans would hate it for the zombies and zombie fans would hate it for the Austen stuff.  The main criticism he has gotten, he says, is "not enough zombies."

I shouldn't admit it -- since I was supposed to have read the book for a college course but did not -- I have never read Pride and Prejudice.  And maybe that is why I did not click with this book.  

Peter wanted to take a nap and he wanted a wake up call in two hours.  Seemed like the perfect reason to pause (um, more accurately -- quit) this book and find something the right length to use as a "timer listen."  Two items became those timer listens:

Not really books but I'm numbering them anyhow.  They are both Thalia Kids' Book Club interviews.

"Book" 066 is the interview with Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson concerning their fourth installment in their trilogy prequel to Peter Pan.     

The Starcatcher's Series came about through a short series of events but started when Dave Barry was reading Peter Pan to his daughter, who interrupted to ask how and when Peter had met Captain Hook.  Book four of the trilogy is Peter and the Sword of Mercy.

"Book" 067 is the interview with Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series of books.  He grew up in Liverpool during WWII and the first time I  had listened to this interview a couple of years ago, I was surprised that I was surprised to learn that besides London getting bombed during the blitz, Liverpool's docks were bombarded too.  Jacques says, "The first thing kids always ask me is 'when did you decide to become an author?'  You can't answer this.  But I always say, 'Ha ha!  I remember the very morning I leapt out of bed and said, 'Ha ha!  Today I shall become an author and I will auth and auth and auth and auth'."  **grin**

 

Book 068

So after the interview, what could I do but return to the Peter Pan prequel that I had first listened to five or six years ago.  Peter and the Starcatchers, Starcatchers series book 1, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, answers the question where and when did Peter first meet Captain Hook and tells us where Tinkerbell came from.

February 15, 2015 -- Book 064

Alex Flinn rewrites fairy tales to set them in modern times.  Previously I had listened to Cloaked and A Kiss in Time.  I figured this book would be just as good.  Told by the male character, Kyle, Beastly did justice to the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale but maybe not as well as the other two had reset their stories. 

February 14, 2015 -- Book 063 -- A "Ho! Ho!" Better than Santa's!

Edmund Crispin should get the credit.  He wrote it.  But it is the narrator who deserves the credit.  Philip Bird's narration is good.  But it is a very short part of this book, The Glimpses of the Moon, that brings me back to it.  First, I do have to admit that of all the Fen mysteries I've listened to, this one has him at his least obnoxious.  But the part that makes me return to this murder mystery is the vicar's laugh, his "ho ho ho!"  The series of fiasco events leading up to that laugh from the vicar are enjoyable but the tone of that 'ho ho ho" makes me listen the entire book just for that moment of levity ...