Age 30+ ... A Lifetime of Books: Book Giveaway

Who AM I?

That's a good question ... I'm a daughter, a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend ... and there's so much more! But for the purpose of this blog I am a first and foremost a reader.

When I was in the first grade I read The Hobbit and my love of Fantasy took root. By the time I left elementary school I had completed the entire series as well as The Belgariad by David Eddings. Seventh grade brought me the beginning of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time series ... which is still not complete. High school and college introduced me to the classics and to history. My reading disappeared for several years when I had a child. Then I started a book club and it came back in full force.

Today I read anything that catches my eye ... at the moment that includes historical fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, and any titles I find interesting. I'm always on the lookout for the next great find ... any suggestions?

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Book Giveaway - It's My FIRST!

UPDATE: This contest ended on June 27. Here are the winners:

Winner #1 is ... Ti from Book Chatter and Other Stuff. In your comment you said you'd prefer to win Ciao America! - you got it!

Winner #2 is ... The Kea. You were more interested in The Avengers - you got it!

After checking out contests on other blogs for the past few months, I've decided to do my own - what fun! The plan so far is to do one giveaway each month but we'll see if I stick to that or add more as the year goes on.

June 2008 Book Giveaway

Theme: From the Outside Looking In

Prizes: Two books this time!
The Avengers: A Jewish War Story, by Rich Cohen
(click here for my review)
and
Ciao America! An Italian Discovers the US, by Beppe Severgnini
(click here for my review)

Contest Dates: June 8 - June 26
Drawing Date: June 27

Both books are hardcover and come from my bookshelf (meaning they've been read). Why these two seemingly different books? One book is intense, sad, and inspiring; the other is simple, funny, and uplifting. Both are true stories that get you to see the world through different eyes - the eyes of people who don't quite fit in the place where they are (hence the theme for this month!). Plus, both books are favorites of mine from this past year.

Here's how you can win:

post a comment here stating why you want to read one or both of these books (only one comment counts) - you get one entry for that
talk about my contest somewhere on your blog (be sure to let me know where) - you get two entries for that
add my button to your blog with a link back to this post - you get two more entries for that

So, if you post a comment here, blog about the contest, and post my button you'll end up with 5 entries!

Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(FYI, I'm having some issues getting this code right. It may be easier to download the image and reload it onto your site with a link to this post. Sorry about that ... I'm not good with code, but I will continue working on it!)

Here's the code for the button:

Largish Button

Smallish Button

22 comments:

Julie P. said...: How could I not want to win these books with your incredible reviews? I would love to read THE AVENGERS -- it sounds amazing! Thanks for offering this!

bookingmama(at)comcast(dot)net; May 23, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...: I have to put in an extra entry for Trish over at "Hey Lady!" ... she helped me figure out how to make a button and I promised her an extra entry for her help. :); June 8, 2008 at 12:39 AM
tanabata said...: I don't remember the title now but a few years ago (before blogging) I read a book by Severgnini when he was in England. That was sometimes amusing. The Avengers also sounds very good so I'd be interesting in either of these. And I've added the link to your giveaway on my Sunday Salon post. I'll mention it again next week too.; June 9, 2008 at 12:06 PM
Ti said...: Both of these titles sound really interesting. I am leaning toward Ciao America a tad more though. I love a humorous book that is also well written. I have relatives that came from Sicily and I could tell you stories.

Oh! I posted about your giveaway on my blog http://www.bookchatterandotherstuff.blogspot.com and I added the button/link to your post.; June 10, 2008 at 11:34 AM
Snowpuff said...: Both books sound interesting! A little humor would go a long way with all this rain and gloomy, dangerous weather. I'd love to win!

Snowpuff@gmail.com; June 13, 2008 at 5:56 AM
Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...: Ok, here's an extra entry for Beth A. as a thank you for her help here.; June 15, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Andy said...: I would love to read The Avengers: A Jewish War Story, by Rich Cohen. I don't have a lot of time to read these days, but when I do, I really enjoy historical books like this.

cool Contest!; June 16, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Ginny said...: I would love to win these because they are not the norm for me. I tend to read mainly fictional mysteries, so would love to broaden my horizons!; June 16, 2008 at 3:55 PM
Anonymous said...: My personal library is very diverse. You will catch me reading all different types of books. I am proud to say that my love for reading has been passed down to my 14 year old son. He usually reads what ever book I've just finished. It is a joy to see my children chosing to read over watching tv. :)

I think that giving away your books that you've read is a great way to pass along books. Thanks for doing the contest! :); June 18, 2008 at 7:33 PM
Laura said...: I would love to be entered in the giveaway. I have not heard of either of these books, and I am always looking for new authors to read, and books that are different from what I tend to pick up on my own. I also posted about your contest at http://laurasreadingreflections.blogspot.com/2008/06/giveaways-galore.html

Thanks for doing the contest!; June 19, 2008 at 12:48 AM
Rebecca Reid said...: I've love to be entered into the contest!; June 19, 2008 at 1:13 AM
Serena said...: I would love to be entered in your contest to win "Ciao America!" It's set right in my backyard of D.C. and it's about culture clash in a humorous way...sounds like a great read.

I cross-posted your contests on my blog as well.
http://savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com/2008/06/blogiversaries-giveaways-and-contests.html

Thanks for stopping by my contests and blog!; June 19, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Serena said...: oops, forgot the email:
pavcrawphan [at] yahoo [dot] com; June 19, 2008 at 12:26 PM
kamewh said...: Both of these books look like they would be very interesting! I would love the chance to win either!; June 19, 2008 at 5:05 PM
Becca said...: Aw, congrats on your first giveaway! I'd love the Ciao America book. I love reading about the United States from another culture's perspective. It's super fun to see what they point out that I never would have noticed without their observations.; June 19, 2008 at 6:33 PM
Susan Helene Gottfried said...: No need to enter me. I'm just letting you know I posted this at my Win a Book blog. Hope it brings you lots of new friends.; June 19, 2008 at 10:25 PM
Zhian said...: Oh wow!!!
Definitely count me in!!!; June 21, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Anonymous said...: The 'Avengers' sounds extremely interesting! I'm really into WWII history so this is now going on my list of to be read books. The other book sounds really interesting too. Both my kind of reads!
I posted a link on my blog :D
I hope your first giveaway goes splendidly!; June 21, 2008 at 11:13 PM
Anna said...: Both of these books sound interesting! Thanks!

--Anna (Diary of an Eccentric); June 21, 2008 at 11:41 PM
Andi said...: I would love to read Ciao America - I could use some "funny" right now.
Meanwhile, i'll post about this tomorrow on my blog.
Thanks for visiting me, too.; June 25, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Andi said...: Here's my post - enjoy.
http://www.andilit.com/?p=182; June 26, 2008 at 9:16 AM
Anonymous said...: I love light, uplifting tales, and I'm drawn to stories of outsiders, people who don't quite fit in. I guess I'm meant to read Ciao, America!; June 26, 2008 at 10:25 AM