Sunday, July 6, 2008

Sunday Salon, BAFAB Week Give-A-Way

Happy 4th of July to all and Happy BAFAB week. In honor of our two exciting celebrations, I have decided to giveaway a $15.00 gift certificate to Amazon or Borders. The winner may choose.
All you have to do is leave a post on my blog today through July 8th midnight to be entered into the drawing. Good luck to all.

I had to say good-bye to my teeny little foster girl Contessa Clara Bella yesterday who went to the best forever home she could possibly get. Yeah she is the 818th greyhound saved by our group.
I just love that. Here is a pic.

This week was ARC week for me. I received an ARC everyday in the mail. Wow!! How exciting. It was my birthday everyday.



I finished Two Men, by Elizabeth Stoddard, originally written in 1865. This book was released in June of this year, under the University of Nebraska imprint. Jennifer Putzi, wrote the book's Introduction and in it claims people of her time considered Stoddard an "enigma". Writer after writer lay claim that she wrote like no one else and influenced no one. Putzi writes that Stoddard was overlooked by her contemporaries because her writing did not fit the mold.

According to Putzi's intro, she took it as a compliment when it was said about her, " she accepts no authority, treads in the footsteps of no other, follows only her own nature, and is always herself." (pg.xxi) She considered herself a romantic, but her writing captured a realistic portrayal of women in the late 20th and 21st century. I would have loved to meet this author at a book signing. Clearly, her thoughts and work were ahead of her time and vastly under-appreciated. She wrote two other novels, The Morgensons and Temple House, numerous short stories, poetry and newspaper articles. A full review will be coming out in Historical Novels Review in the August issue under the name Donna Bassett.

(Lastly,
I read a YA book...I know J. Kaye..I told you I wouldn't, but it was an ARC )
If anyone has a 3-6 grader at home who is looking for a funny, sci-fi, fantasy story, Nightmare Academy Monster Madness is hilarious. It would make an awesome read-aloud. The author Dean Lorey has a quick wit and sarcasm that comes out in the character's dialog. What makes this book special is that you believe the kids wrote the book. Lorey's characters sound like kids. It is tooooo funny. Kids will love the monsters, the Bermuda Triangle, the hydras, and so much more. This book will be released August 26th.
Revision
I did forget to mention that Monster Madness, was the 2nd book in a series. Nightmare Academy #1 Enter the Portal to Monsters and Mayhem is in stores now. Notice also the fabulous cover illustration by Brandon Dorman. Don't pass this series up, and take a minute to read it yourself, you won't be disappointed. Don't tell your kids, but you may even laugh.


Have a great week. Who will win the Gift Certificate?

25 comments:

Julie P. said...

I'll have to take a look at Nightmare Academy Monster Madness. I have an almost 9 year old daughter who loves to read. Thanks for the suggestion!

Dean Lorey said...

Hiya -- this is Dean Lorey, the author of MONSTER MADNESS, and I couldn't resist saying hello after you said such nice things about the book. MONSTER MADNESS is actually the second book in the NIGHTMARE ACADEMY series. If you're interested in the first one, it has been in stores for a while and there's also a cool, new edition you can pre-order online. If you want to see more about the series, check out my website if you get a chance. www.deanlorey.com.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the book! Take care...

wisteria said...

Hi Dean,
Thanks so much for saying hello. It was a real treat and surprise. I'm glad you mentioned the first book in the series, because I forgot...dah.
I am a librarian and would like to talk to you about the book off site if you don't mind.
tekeygirl{at}gmail{dot}com
Thanks...Donna

Anonymous said...

One of the things I missed most when I moved from primary education into the Higher Ed field was reading aloud to children. Some books are perfect, others just somehow don't make it. If the Lorey is available over here I shall have to take a look at it.

wisteria said...

Anne...You will love the series. It is available in the UK.

Dean Lorey said...

Hi Donna -- I'll shoot you an e-mail soon.

Table Talk -- I'm not sure where you live but I'm guessing the UK. If so, Book 1 is in stores there under the title "Charlie's Monsters" and should be available at any Waterstones or online through Amazon. They were also selling them at Tesco, although I'm not sure if that's over now.

Take care...

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dean, I've already placed an order.

Anonymous said...

BubbleShare photos never would load up for me. I can only imagine the happy/sad feeling you get. It's so nice when they find forever homes, but I know you have got to miss them.

Got your package in...lol...love it! Will be blogging about it this week.

Nightmare Academy sounds perfect! I'll see if Nona has read this yet. It's hard for me to keep up with her book list, so I don't try. :)

Anonymous said...

Just spoke with my daughter and she has read Nightmare Academy. She says it's fantastic and that it gets a 5 out of 5 rating in her opinion. She can't wait for book II to come out.

wisteria said...

Hey J. Kaye, I'm glad Nona said she rates it 5, because the 2nd book is a 5 also. Please tell her. How old is she?

Anonymous said...

She's 11 going on 25. :)

Literary Feline said...

There are a lot of giveaways going on this week!

I am glad to hear that Contessa has found a great forever home. I think you do a great service by fostering dogs as you do. They are lucky to have you.

I hope you have a great week. Happy reading.

herblady said...

Dogs and books-two of my three favorite things! (The other is chocolate). I have a rescued furkid too, my second. Keep up the good work! I sure would love to win some book money. ;-)

The Bookworm said...

Happy Sunday :)
Nightmare Academy Monster Madness sounds like a good one, I'll have to check that out.
cute pups! glad that Contessa found a good home...wow 818! that is excellent.


http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

Marie Cloutier said...

What a beautiful dog. Thanks for stopping by my blog too! :-) Have a great week!

ikkinlala said...

I'm glad you've found a good home for Contessa Clara Bella!

Deborah said...

please enter me for the giveaway, thanks!

maggie moran said...

If I win, I promise to pass it on to our library after reading! :)

-.- said...

I'd love to be entered in your giveaway.

I've also made a post about the contest on my blog http://proudbookworm.blogspot.com

Thanks

~ Popin

Anonymous said...

Thanks for having a giveaway, please enter me in your contest. I linked to your blog here: http://trishtheconqueror.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/buy-a-friend-a-book-week/

Pamk said...

the nightmare academy sounds great. my son is a rising 7th grader but that sounds like something he'd read. He's a voracious reader. hum wonder who he got that from lol.

Jackie said...

I would love to win the gift certificate!!

Debbie said...

I am intriqued by these YA books too. You make them sound great. I'd love to be entered into your giveaway. Thanks for the chance.

Meredith said...

I am so glad that the dog went to a good home. Dogs are the best and deserve great homes. Good luck with future reading and animal adventures!

~Meredith
rosesaremyfavorite@hotmail.com

photoquest said...

Saw your site at J-kays she was showing us her book she won and the lovely packaging! I think it's wonderful what you're doing with the dogs glad the dog went to a good home. I'd love to be included in your contest too. Thanks, photoquest@bellsouth.net