Thursday, March 31, 2016

#REVIEW: THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND by Katarina Bivald (translated by Alice Menzies)


AND/OR - YEP! You guessed it! There are two different covers for this book depending on which type you buy, either print or ebook. I thought I would post both of them for you so you don't get confused!



This book is pictured as the first book now because when I first came upon this book, I found it with the book cover #2. The publisher has since changed the cover, which is not uncommon, especially when it is going 'to' or coming 'from' different countries. We now have this book here in the US as the FIRST cover.
I was, and did pick this book up based upon the Description AND the cover, but now I think the cover we have now does fit this quirky book MUCH, and I would now be LESS apt to have requested it to review. Sorry, just giving my opinion. The cover and the Description would not have matched, and they don't, at least I don't believe they do. I LOVE the "Warning", though!!


DESCRIPTION:
The International Bestseller


Warning: once you let books into your life, the most unexpected things can happen…


This is a book about books. All sorts of books, from Little Women and Harry Potter to Jodi Picoult and Jane Austen, from to Stieg Larsson to Joyce Carol Oates to Proust. It’s about the joy and pleasure of books, about learning from and escaping into them, and possibly even hiding behind them. It’s about whether or not books are better than real life.


It’s also a book about a Swedish girl called Sara, her elderly American penfriend Amy and what happens when you land a very different kind of bookshop in the middle of a town so broken it’s almost beyond repair.


Or is it?

The Readers of Broken Wheel has touches of 84 Charing Cross Road, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Chocolat, but adds an off-beat originality and intelligence all its own.


The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katrina Bivald

(9781492623441; January 19, 2016; $16.99; Trade Paper Original)

#1 INDIE NEXT GREAT READ January 2016
#2 LibraryReads Picks
Midwest Connections Pick February 2016
“Touching and lively, Bivald’s genuine homage to the power of books vibrates with fondness for small-town life and fascination with its indelible connections.”  
Booklist
“[A] heartwarming and utterly charming debut novel by Swedish author Bivald…. This gentle, intelligent Midwestern tale will captivate fans of Antoine Laurain’s The Red Notebook, Nina George’s The Little Paris Bookshop, and Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of A.J. ­Fikry. An ideal book group selection, it reminds us why we are book lovers and why it’s nice to read a few happy endings.
Library Journal (STARRED)
“Between the book references and the idyllic setting, readers won't want to leave Broken Wheel, either.”
Kirkus Reviews
“Bivald's The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is perfection. Every word on every page is sheer perfection. I haven't been this in love with a book in ages! Sara has traveled all the way from Sweden to meet her pen pal Amy in Broken Wheel, Iowa, only to discover Amy has recently passed away. The townspeople of Broken Wheel quickly adopt Sara as one of their own and what follows is one of the loveliest and endearing books I've encountered in ages! I'll carry this book in my heart for years to come.”—Bess Bleyaert, McLean & Eakin (Petoskey, MI)
This heartwarming story is the answer for those who loved The Storied Life of AJ Fikry.  Book lovers will applaud Sara and her love of books.  Book clubs will delight in this delightful caper through book-loving middle America. Read this and smile!”
—Nancy Simpson-Brice, Book Vault (Oskaloosa, IA)
LOVED IT!  Readers will cheer for Sara and all the residents of Broken Wheel as a friendship that began with An Old Fashioned Girl renews and offers hope to an entire town.”
—Jennifer Winberry, Hunterdon County Library (Flemington, NJ)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading [this book]. The descriptive language was wonderful.”
—Lesley Marshall, Perry Branch Library (Gilbert, AZ)

MY TAKE:
4 STARS!
A quirky little book that takes place in a quirky little town, Broken Wheel, Iowa, full of quirky people which all started with a quirky friendship between two women who wrote letters to each other about books. One is from Sweden, Sara, and the other one is Amy, from Broken Wheel, Iowa, who has now been found dead just before Sara got here. Yes, dead. Of all quirky little things? This is a very odd quirky part.
So while Sara is here visiting Amy, she is not getting to visit her at all. She is getting to visit the people of the town, though, and Amy had spoken quite nicely of them, giving Sara expectations of very good people she would be getting to know, and it was exactly that! The people took Amy in under their arms and really helped her out!
This book was so much fun because the author throws all types of references, such as one to the movie 'Green Card' (I think that was a movie!) and several books and authors, too! It's not often that happens! That made this book all the more special to read it! This truly was a fun book to read, and I think you'll enjoy it, too. Personally, I don't want to give away too much about the plot because you will get to figure out too much about the book. We can't have that or else it completely spoils reading the book for you! Trust me, if you LOVE to read, LOVE to hear references to other books and authors, LOVE truly good-hearted people, you're going to LOVE this book, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend! Next thing you'll know is YOU will start your own Book Club where you live! I received this book for FREE from the Publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley in exchange to read and write a review about it. "Free" means I was provided with ZERO MONIES to do so, but just to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it and giving my own honest opinion no matter whether it is positive or negative. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the law set here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html The Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, 16 CFR 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising Federal Acquisition Regulation.

A Note From the Publisher

• The literary focus and bookstore angle will appeal to readers and bibliophiles
• The charming premise combined with the perennially popular small-town setting and absorbing characters make this perfect for book clubs
This book also won 2 awards for January 2016, and they are:
January 2016 LibraryReads selection

January 2016 Indie Next selection

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Spring into #CASH $250 #GIVEAWAY! #PayPal or #Amazon #Gift #Card! Your choice! Ends 4-15

Spring-Into-Cash-no date

Spring Into Cash $250 Giveaway
An awesome group of bloggers and authors have joined with me to bring you one fabulous prize!

One lucky winner will receive...
$250 Amazon.com Gift Code or $250 in Paypal Cash


Sponsor List

I Am A Reader
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Kimber Leigh Wheaton
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Bonnie Blythe Time Travel Romance
Aubrey Wynne: Romantasy Through the Ages
Carol Malone - Author
Diana's Book Reviews
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Laurie Here - Cont Fiction and More
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Helen Smith
Why Not? Because I Said So! (Sheila Staley)
Author D.E. Haggerty
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Jennifer Bardsley
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T_BookChick
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J. Keller Ford


When you are finished here, come on over HERE!!! and enter the Hoppy Eggstravaganza #Giveaway BLOG HOP! LOTS of other blogs are giving away other prizes, ALL DIFFERENT, in this FUN HOP going blog to blog! I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!


Giveaway Details

$250 in Paypal Cash or a $250 Amazon.com eGift Card

Ends 4/15/16

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use money sent via Paypal. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the authors, bloggers and publishers on the sponsor list. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, March 25, 2016

#BOOK #REVIEW #FREEBIE "THE "ADULT" BUZZ BOOKS 2016 SPRING/SUMMER VERSION" Exclusive Excerpts from 40 TOP NEW TITLES! By PublishersLunch!


Description

Our seventh Buzz Books edition evokes all the excitement of Winter Institute with substantial pre-publication excerpts from 40 adult titles. At the end of most excerpts, you will find a link to the full galley on NetGalley! Young adult excerpts from spring/summer titles can be found in a separate volume.


Enjoy access to the newest voices the publishing industry is broadcasting for the upcoming season as you discover breakout books from established authors, sparkling debuts from soon-to-become literary stars, and fascinating memoirs and inspirational nonfiction.


Familiar names include Louise Erdrich, Chris Cleave, Tracy Chevalier, Joe Hill, and Emma Straub, along with L.S. Hilton’s Maestra, already stirring buzz from Hollywood to London and back again as one of the year’s big new thriller discoveries.


Major debuts by Michener Center Fellow Flynn Berry, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, Danny Johnson, Paul Krueger, Joe Okonkwo, Phaedra Patrick, and H.P. Wood are among our dozen new authors.


Rounding out this generous sampler are books from well-known nonfiction writers, including Nathaniel Philbrick’s Valiant Ambition, and Chuck Klosterman’s But What If We’re Wrong?—as well as books that will have people talking, such as Lindy West’s Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman and Vishen Lakhiani’s The Code of the Extraordinary Mind.


As always, there’s also a great preview from Publishers Lunch of more than 100 additional, noteworthy spring/summer books to have on your radar!


Start reading books right now that are sure to show up on bestseller lists, win awards, and be chosen by booksellers as top picks. Then invite your reading friends and book groups to download their own free copy of the ebook from any major ebookstore or at buzz.publishersmarketplace.com.


AT NETGALLEY: And for the best in children’s literature, be sure to look for Buzz Books 2016: Young Adult Spring/Summer: http://netgal.ly/1QG12N
MY TAKE:
5+++ STARS!!!
I LOVE THESE BOOKS! I wait for these books to come out! I mark my calendar for the "it's about time" for this book to come out, and I wait! Every time these books come out, I am in HEAVEN and LOST inside of this ebook for DAYS . . . until I have read it straight through! 
I should have written this review a little sooner, but I was SO INTO this Adult book I got, (that is what my blog is - adult fiction) well, that's what I've been doing! You'll also NOTICE that the very LAST LINE OF THE DESCRIPTION OF AT LEAST THE ADULT FICTION BOOK, THEY "DO" MAKE MENTION THAT THERE "IS A YOUNG ADULT VERSION OF THIS VERY BOOK AVAILABLE, TOO!"
I've been reading and writing reviews as I go along of the AMAZING books that are inside of this one! I cannot recommend ANY book MORE so than this book, especially if you are a book blogger, so that way you KNOW what is coming out and when! You can share these with your followers, and post the book's reviews on your blogs and the other places you post your reviews at, as long as the publisher is okay with that as well as the retailer! Make SURE to post your review at a retailer such as Amazon, and ALWAYS, ALWAYS POST AT Goodreads! Goodreads is like the BIBLE OF BOOKS!!! Wherever that book came from, make SURE you fill out the Feedback at NetGalley and tell them what you thought about the book!
For those of you who are not bloggers, some publisher request us book bloggers to NOT post our reviews about certain books until a certain time, just in case you were wondering! NOW "YOU" can request this book just like we can! This way YOU get to read the first one or few beginning chapters of the books inside of this book just like we do now! YOU will be JUST as IN THE KNOW as we are! You will also be able to make decisions to pre-order these books ahead of time if you would like too, too, just like we get to! You'll know when you are sitting on the fence and can't make that decision whether or not you want to order that book, you'll have those chapters to read and be able to make that final decision!
These books are TRULY a GEM!
I want to take this time to thank the publishers for giving us this wonderful opportunity for a sneak preview into these GLORIOUS BOOKS so we can prepare to share them with our blog followers! Thank you, from the bottom of our HEARTS! Our blog followers really RELY on our ability to show them this book, and to make mention of some of the books based upon the Description that goes along with this book as to some of the books that are available for THEM to get to read some of the very first chapters of some of these books! I'm CERTAIN that some of my of my followers ALSO GRAB THIS FREE BOOK (thank you SO MUCH for giving this book out for free! This means the world to me AND my followers!) FOR THEM, TOO, AND THEY RUN TO THEIR FAVORITE READING CORNER AND JUST GET LOST WITH THIS BOOK JUST LIKE I DO!!! (This book IS STILL AVAILABLE at the following link on the second line down!)  
Yes, I did receive this ebook for free at this LINK: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book/80353 in exchange for an honest review of what I thought about this wonderful book!  
HERE ARE THE FREE AMAZON LINKS FOR THESE BOOKS! In order to get the entire book downloaded for free, you MUST have a NetGalley account, otherwise, you can download this and read the chapters they give you!
OR . . . 
Buzz Books 2016 - ADULT VERSION - "FREE!" CLICK ON THE BOOK AND YOU'LL GO STRAIGHT TO AMAZON! ENJOY!!!




Again, here is the FREE AMAZON LINK FOR THIS BOOK! In order to get the entire book downloaded for free, you MUST have a NetGalley account, otherwise, you can download this and read the chapters they give you! 
OR
Buzz Books 2016 - YOUNG ADULT VERSION - "FREE!" CLICK ON THE BOOK AND YOU'LL GO STRAIGHT TO AMAZON! ENJOY!!!

#Enter the Hoppy Eggstravaganza #Giveaway Hop! #Win #books and/or #book related items!


Thanks to our Sponsor, Bookhounds!!!

Welcome to the Hoppy Eggstravaganza #Giveaway Hop! NOW to April 2nd!

There will be:

ONE US WINNER OF . . .

ONE PRINT WINNER OF . . .

the BRAND NEW, NOT EVEN RELEASED YET . . .

YES, YOU MUST WAIT TO GET THIS BOOK 

UNTIL IT RELEASES which is . . . 

APRIL 5th, 2016 . . . ta, da!

Here it is . . . !!!

Lies and Other Acts of Love by Kristy Woodson Harvey
(and I already have one!!! He, he!!! I am reviewing this beauty of a book!)

About the book:
Dear Carolina was praised as “Southern fiction at its best.”* Now author Kristy Woodson Harvey presents a new novel about what it really means to tell the truth . . .

After sixty years of marriage and five daughters, Lynn “Lovey” White knows that all of us, from time to time, need to use our little white lies.
Her granddaughter, Annabelle, on the other hand, is as truthful as they come. She always does the right thing—that is, until she dumps her hedge fund manager fiancé and marries a musician she has known for three days. After all, her grandparents, who fell in love at first sight, have shared a lifetime of happiness, even through her grandfather’s declining health.
But when Annabelle’s world starts to collapse around her, she discovers that nothing about her picture-perfect family is as it seems. And Lovey has to decide whether one more lie will make or break the ones she loves . . .

This is the link to my review of "Dear Carolina" written by this author last year in 2015. I LOVED the book.



HOW DO YOU ENTER TO WIN THIS BOOK?

FILL OUT THE FORM WHICH IS BELOW!
You will have to make this form scroll down by using the light grey scrollbar that is on the outside of the BLACK box that surrounds the FORM BOX. That will be to the RIGHT side of it. It might be a little hard to see, but look hard and you'll notice it! Have FUN! Good luck! I HOPE you win LOTS of GREAT books!!!

*This light grey scrollbar is pretty simple to see this time!! I wish they were ALL this simple like this EVERY time I had to make a form just like this form!!





ALSO - WANT TO ENTER ANOTHER #GIVEAWAY FOR $250 CASH? SURE YOU DO!!! CLICK HERE!!! TO DO SO! GOOD LUCK!!!

Here is the list of ALLLLL the other blogs in this Hop!
Have FUN!!!!
Happy Easter, too!!!







Friday, March 18, 2016

#StackingtheShelves #28 - Plus, blog updates!


Thanks to our Sponsor, Tynga's Reviews!

First, let's find out HOW Stacking the Shelves works! 
Hello everyone! It's that time of week again, that time to do an awesome "SHOW AND TELL" of the books I have been given, I bought, borrowed, or received somehow, some way this past week! I LOVE showing books off like this! Especially when the books have AWESOME COVERS!! That is MY favorite part!!
With THIS POST I am often always finding MORE amazing books and adding them to my TBR list! That list is longer than my life already, but that's okay! What's life without a list with reading on it longer than my life? There is NOT ONE!!! I also LOVE to see other books and I like to look for trends! How do I do that? When I see the same book on other blogs quite often, I KNOW that book HAS TO BE GREAT!! That's the BEST way to spot an amazing book!

GOODREADS: Make sure to ADD any books you find you want to read to your TO BE READ list on your Goodreads page! Why? Goodreads will send you a NOTICE telling you "a book on your To Be Read list" is in a Giveaway" . . . for however long! Nice, eh . . . ? Oh, yes!!! You get to go over to Goodreads and ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Want to see MORE books than just mine each week? Okay! Awesome!! Many of you who do not go to the Sponsor's blog on Saturday's are missing out and may not know you really should go there to do the following:
When you are done here, go up to the top of this post where I thank the Sponsor, Tynga's Reviews (that is the Sponsor) you really w and click on that sponsor's name. Once at Tynga's Reviews, find HIS/HER POST and follow the Arrows TO READ the post, "Stacking the Shelves" meme, which is usually ALWAYS the first post on the LEFT of her blog. Click on the arrow! You'll get to see what he/she got, BUT, what I'm after to show you is to SCROLL DOWN FURTHER, and you'll see usually a VERY LARGE and LONG Linky-List of blogs GALORE!!! Blogs ADD their names to this list ALL DAY LONG!! I've been known to add mine close to midnight on Saturday! Visit a few blogs! You're now ADDICTED to Stacking the Shelves! (Sorry - not really!!! LOL!!!)
Enjoy!

***GIVEAWAYS!!! ALWAYS CHECK THE LEFT SIDE COLUMN for the most recent GIVEAWAYS! (Please check the giveaway dates) ALL the Giveaways I have on my blog each week will have ALL of the Giveaways posted right there! They are YOURS TO ENTER and I will have a FEW gently read print books I will be posting to give away in these hops! Check out the LEFT side column! 

FOR ANYONE I AM PARTICIPATING IN A BLOG TOUR FOR THAT INVOLVES AN EBOOK IN MARCH AND APRIL: Here's the latest information FOR ANYONE I SIGNED UP WITH TO PARTICIPATE IN A BLOG TOUR FOR NEW RELEASES. 
NEW INFO!!! I FINALLY RECEIVED MY KINDLES!!! Now I will be reading like CRAZY from now, well, I'll start with tomorrow, Saturday, March 19, 2016 since I 'just' literally got the Kindle OUT of the box! It is charging right now and I'll check and see what it's ALL about! I bought the Kindle Voyage WITH the 3G! I got SO MANY CREDITS, I figured I may as well spring for the BEST of the BEST!! I'm SO excited! I got the wrong case, easily fixed! Also, I did not get the screen savers. Those are the plastic covers you put on top of your screens that helps to prevent scratches, etc. Easily fixed! I'm just SO happy to get them! FINALLY! It took a LONG time to get that! I turned it in on Feb 29th. My printer broke, so I had to get a new one, learn how THAT worked! Figured it out. Got my mailing labels! Sent them off on March 5th, UPS did not send them until March 7th at NIGHT TIME!! I was HOT about that! Anyway . . . Amazon received them (uh-oh! I forgot that date!) but it took them until THIS WEEK, the 14th and 15th for Amazon to give me my credit for sending them back in TO Kindle. On the 16th I ordered my Kindle!!! (Hear those angels singing? I DO!!!!) I got my Kindle Voyage today, the 18th! Now I can say that I believe Amazon is going to come out with a NEW Kindle reader! I believe so. We'll see, but that is my guesstimate! They have just given such EXCELLENT credits asking US to send our Kindles back in to them that you just could NOT pass up the offers! I could not! Plus, I wanted the NEWER version, but this version I got is from 2014, two years old, so it's probably time for Amazon to roll out a NEW version of the Reader. 

Last week was probably my week for Karma to come back around and kick me in the butt in case I have ever done anything bad! LOL! MY GLASSES BROKE!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE WORST NIGHTMARE IN THE WORLD DID HAPPEN!!! The BEST news: I got IN to see the Optometrist, but NOT my Opthamologist because I had another Dr appointment that I was going to be late for! I had to LEAVE his office and shoot over to another appointment! Now I have to reschedule to go BACK and see the Opthamologist! The next appointment went great and I even got in to see Robbie at Shallcross Optical here in Port Huron Michigan to pick out a NEW frame and have him get the measurements to make my NEW glasses! Today is Friday and I HAVE MY NEW GLASSES!!!! I LOVE them! I need to make a NEW Profile photo! I look SO DIFFERENT than the profile photo you all see now! It's kind of funny! LOL! I'll do a NEW one this upcoming week!
Last week I said I was going to read certain books, and I DID get 2 out of 3 read! Besides, it was pretty hard to read with my OLD GLASSES! They were, The Hole in the Middle by Kate Hilton. I also read Perfectly Broken by Robert Burke Warren. I did NOT get to read Lies and Other Acts of Love by Kristy Woodson Harvey because I could NOT find where I put it! It was a mustard colored ARC and we have been working on getting a new desk here in the living room, and books are EVERYWHERE! I know it's in here, I just can't find it. That's okay, though, because guess what came in the mail today? YES!!!!! THE FINAL PRINT COPY OF LIES AND OTHER ACTS OF LOVE BY KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY!!! I WILL be reading this book THIS WEEKEND!!! I'm DYING to read this!!! Just to remind you what this book looks like, here it is!


LIES AND OTHER ACTS OF LOVE BY KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY
(Thanks, Beth and Kristy!!! It's FIRST on the list to read TONIGHT!!!)

I am STILL going to continue on with Jenny Milchman's Ruin Falls! Below!


and the other's I bought for myself and I put these in the cloud:


The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson


Over - Diagnosed, Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health by Dr H Gilbert Welch
I CAN vouch for this this week! One of my Dr appt's was at an ENT's office. I kept having a problem with my ear breaking out with what I thought was a pimple but my own Primary Care Dr couldn't help me. The ENT brought me right in and BEFORE I saw him, they wanted to TEST MY HEARING when I had NO REASON TO HAVE IT TESTED!!! I NEVER SAID I HAD A PROBLEM HEARING!!! I WAS TICKED! I REFUSED THE HEARING TEST and was as VOCAL as VOCAL COULD BE! I made the "Cha-ching" noises and everything! LOL! That IS what it was! That ENT even had ads for Botox to take away "women's" crows-feet! IN AN ENT'S OFFICE!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! Then I saw this book! I HAD to get this one! I WILL be VERY ANXIOUS TO READ THIS ONE!!! I completely agree with our Dr's OVER-testing! How about bloodwork? That is another one that is used very largely! 

Thanks for coming and I'll see you next week!

Don't forget to HOP in the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop! In the LEFT side column!
Thanks!
Laurie

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Lucky Leprechaun #Giveaway #Hop! NOW to 3-22! Come over to #enter!


Thanks to our sponsor Bookhounds!

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by my blog for this Giveaway Hop! I have a book I HOPE brings you LUCK with MONEY! Leprechauns, four-leaf clovers, St Patrick and green beer are supposed to bring that luck, after all! So here you go! Scroll down and fill out this form and keep your fingers crossed that YOU may be the winner! Here is the cover of the book!!!








After you have filled out this form, scroll down a little to see ALL THE OTHER BLOGS who are also participating in this Hop! HOP on over to their blogs and enter their Giveaways, too! Good luck and have fun!




Friday, March 11, 2016

#StackingtheShelves #27 Plus why Bloggers can't repost an ARC on Kindle


Thanks to our Sponsor, Tynga's Reviews!

First, let's find out HOW Stacking the Shelves works! 
Hello everyone! It's that time of week again, that time to do an awesome "SHOW AND TELL" of the books I have been given, I bought, borrowed, or received somehow, some way this past week! I LOVE showing books off like this! Especially when the books have AWESOME COVERS!! That is MY favorite part!!
With THIS POST I am often always finding MORE amazing books and adding them to my TBR list! That list is longer than my life already, but that's okay! What's life without a list with reading on it longer than my life? There is NOT ONE!!! I also LOVE to see other books and I like to look for trends! How do I do that? When I see the same book on other blogs quite often, I KNOW that book HAS TO BE GREAT!! That's the BEST way to spot an amazing book!

GOODREADS: Make sure to ADD any books you find you want to read to your TO BE READ list on your Goodreads page! Why? Goodreads will send you a NOTICE telling you "a book on your To Be Read list" is in a Giveaway" . . . for however long! Nice, eh . . . ? Oh, yes!!! You get to go over to Goodreads and ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!

Want to see MORE books than just mine each week? Okay! Awesome!! Many of you who do not go to the Sponsor's blog on Saturday's are missing out and may not know you really should go there to do the following:
When you are done here, go up to the top of this post where I thank the Sponsor, Tynga's Reviews (that is the Sponsor) you really w and click on that sponsor's name. Once at Tynga's Reviews, find HIS/HER POST and follow the Arrows TO READ the post, "Stacking the Shelves" meme, which is usually ALWAYS the first post on the LEFT of her blog. Click on the arrow! You'll get to see what he/she got, BUT, what I'm after to show you is to SCROLL DOWN FURTHER, and you'll see usually a VERY LARGE and LONG Linky-List of blogs GALORE!!! Blogs ADD their names to this list ALL DAY LONG!! I've been known to add mine close to midnight on Saturday! Visit a few blogs! You're now ADDICTED to Stacking the Shelves! (Sorry - not really!!! LOL!!!)
Enjoy!

***GIVEAWAYS!!! ALWAYS CHECK THE LEFT SIDE COLUMN for the most recent GIVEAWAYS! (Please check the giveaway dates) ALL the Giveaways I have on my blog each week will have ALL of the Giveaways posted right there! They are YOURS TO ENTER and I will have a FEW gently read print books I will be posting to give away in these hops! Check out the LEFT side column! 

THIS WEEK:  THE LUCKY LEPRECHAUN GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP STARTS "THIS TUESDAY", MARCH 15th TO MARCH 22nd! One entire WEEK to hop to ALL the blogs participating in this Hop! I will be one of those blogs, so mark your calendar and come on by!


***BLOG UPDATES! From now on, "EVERYTHING" I announce that is going on HERE, AT MY BLOG, will be posted HERE in THIS POST EVERY SATURDAY! It makes it easier for everyone to make ONE stop HERE on the weekends which will be included in this post! Thanks!


FOR ANYONE I AM PARTICIPATING IN A BLOG TOUR FOR THAT INVOLVES AN EBOOK IN MARCH AND APRIL: Here's the latest information FOR ANYONE I SIGNED UP WITH TO PARTICIPATE IN A BLOG TOUR FOR NEW RELEASES.
I took advantage of Amazon's "Trade-In" program for my 2 KINDLES as Amazon runs these programs every so often, but not one as great as this one, so I HAD to take advantage of this and turn my Kindles in for credit so I can now purchase the Voyage w/3G! I WOULD HAVE BEEN CRAZY NOT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS ONE! I could NOT miss it, and my Kindles ARE starting to age, so I thought NOW would be the PERFECT time to do this.
HOWEVER, I NEVER gave it a thought as to how LONG I WOULD BE WAITING AND "NOT" HAVING A KINDLE TO READ ON! I thought I would HAVE my NEW Kindle by now! NOPE! NOTHING! Not even my credit to be able to BUY my NEW Kindle Voyage! During SEVERAL of my MANY Amazon phone calls, they have NO CLUE as to WHEN I will receive my credit for my "2" of Kindles, which were my Keyboard AND my Paperwhite!!! Grrrrrrrrr!!!! 
THIS MAKES ME WISH I "NEVER" TRADED MY KINDLES IN!
Another issue that is running through my mind is they (Amazon) is having a Kindle SALE RIGHT NOW! So WHY would Amazon give me a CREDIT NOW, RIGHT? THEY WOULD NOT!
Had I known Amazon would be having this HUGE SALE, I WOULD "NOT" HAVE TURNED MY KINDLES IN RIGHT NOW. Currently, Amazon seems to be "waiting" until they are done running this sale until they will be crediting our accounts! Again, Grrrrrrr! At least "I" would NOT want to credit accounts if "I" had a huge sale like that going on! So I don't see Amazon giving ANY credit to the people who took advantage of this last Trade-In program because it would be too good to be true, and so YOU know, I have ebooks that are ARC's, (Advanced Reader Copies) that are NEW and releasing the beginning of this current month and the month coming up (April) which I am NOT going to be able to post! This is REALLY ticking me off!
Whenever you have ARCS (ADVANCED READER COPIES) downloaded onto your computer, phone, ANY DEVICE, because I didn't get my Kindles replaced yet. I've never known Amazon to pull something like this, and HAD ALL the respect in the world for them, but now . . . I AM starting to LOSE it ALL.
AMAZON KNOWS HOW UPSET I AM! BELIEVE ME! THEY HEARD WHAT I THOUGHT OF THE PROGRAM AND THAT IT IS NOT FAIR TO DO THIS TO THEIR EXISTING KINDLE CUSTOMERS WHO BLOG ABOUT BOOKS! However, NONE of the people I spoke to caught onto what I was talking about NOR did they understand what an ARC is! I TRIED to get through to the US side because THEY were the ones who suggested I talked to OUR side, but I was in a relentless circle in the Philippines! Grrrrrrr!!!!!!! Amazon couldn't even get that right!

BLOGGERS - BEFORE YOU TURN YOUR KINDLES IN FOR WHATEVER REASON - KEEP IN MIND THE ARC's YOU HAVE BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TO LOSE THEM - AND YOU ALSO DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO WAIT OVER A MONTH, OR IN MY CASE GETTING CLOSER TO TWO MONTHS FOR A "NEW" KINDLE! Consider what you have NOW and what you want later, and then make up your mind! I should have WAITED, but I didn't know there was going to be this HUGE SALE on Kindles, again! I guess we are all supposed to be Psychic! LOL! Well Bloggers, TRY! That's ALL I have!

In the meantime, for REVIEW PURPOSES, I am taking advantage of the time I have NOT been able to read ARC's that are PRINT BOOKS and I will be reading ONLY THOSE PRINT books I have received for review! Perfect timing! Ta,da! This IS working the BEST after all! At least for some books! EVERY book I have picked up so far it
So far, I have read a print copy from Story Plant, Perfectly Broken by Robert Burke Warren and now I'm on to the next one!
I am currently just starting this one down below from New American Library/Penguin Random House (and it's REALLY good!): 



The Hole in the Middle by Kate Hilton, a debut author who made this book turn into an  International Bestseller! MANY of you may be much more familiar with the FOLLOWING COVER:


It looks like the publisher is going with the above cover. This cover right above looks as if this it is the initial cover when it was released in 2013. It looks as if this book was picked up as an Indie Author? It had a different cover which had a donut on it (from his kids!). It was cute, but out of ALL the covers, the TOP COVER FITS THE BOOK THE BEST! You'll see why when you read it. When you sit down to read it, it is one HARD BOOK TO PUT DOWN! Enjoy!



Lies and Other Acts of Love by Kristy Woodson Harvey - releasing April 5th! I'm DYING to read this one because this author has also written the book, Dear Carolina. Ahhhh! Southern Fiction at it's BEST! This author transports you into the way they way live, and especially the way they talk, and she is TOP NOTCH at it! I LOVED Dear Carolina and it's holds one of those spots in my heart where the BEST books go! Try it out! A couple have difficulty trying to conceive, and find out what happens. Even if you don't have a problem with that in your life, your heart will be touched by this one!



Ruin Falls by Jenny Milchman  I met and fell in LOVE with this author, Jenny Milchman, and her writing SO much, it really was quite a while ago back when she released an Anthology out called Lunch Reads in 2011! It has two short stories in it, and again, I loved hers! (The second story I never read, but it is in this book and is by a different author. I guess you could say I was only focusing on Jenny's writing.) Don't discount this little novella! It's only #99cents and well worth two stories! Jenny and I became online friends after that and she had asked me to review Cover of Snow back in 2012 as that book was due to release in January 2013, and you can read that review HERE! Now I've been DYING to squeeze this book in, but it seemed as if EVERYTHING got in the way of EVERY attempt to reviewing it. NOT THIS WEEK! This week IS dedicated to getting this book reviewed NO MATTER WHAT!
Jenny, if you get to read this, PLEASE accept my sincere apology for my NOT getting this review done by NOW! It seemed like every time I would even ATTEMPT to go for it, another book popped up with a release date that week or within a few days, and I got stuck not being able to squeeze it in. So here we are, quite a while AFTER the release of her NEWEST book, As Night Falls, released in June 2015, (which also sounds like another EXCELLENT Thriller AND THAT ONE IS ON MY "TBR LIST"!!!) I will finally be doing and COMPLETING this one! I do just feel AWFUL but I WILL STILL be reviewing it THIS WEEK NO MATER WHAT! Not that this makes it any better, but we do know ALL authors love reviews at ANY time! I have JUST as MUCH excitement as I originally had! This author does not have to worry about that! NEITHER of the two books below will be be TOUCHED, they are going on my TBR list until I finally get to read Ruin Falls! I can't WAIT!!! Jenny's writing is PRISTINE! I learned that with her first two books! Yep! One of my next books will be to save for, get and review is As Night Falls! PLUS, since I live in Michigan, we STILL get snowstorms here as LATE AS APRIL! It has even snowed one of those awful slippery, major accident prone snowfalls AND ICE in MAY!!! So I need to get that book NOW while I'm STILL in the season!!!



The Glassblower by Petra Durst Benning (I LOVE this type of historical fiction and this book has been STARING AT ME!)



The Hypnotist #3 in the Reincarnationist Series by MJ Rose
I LOVE ANY type of books like this series by MJ Rose! OR, ANY type of series of books like these! The current time with Medieval Times! Where past and the present collide, and lotions and potions are a real thing in these books! Love it!  I just completely get lost! I almost have this entire series! My FAVORITE out of this entire series so far has been The Book of Lost Fragrances! 

Have a WONDERFUL week of reading! Also, may you read whatever you WANT to read . . . easily and uncomplicated! LOL! 

Saturday, March 5, 2016

#Books #FICTION - #SocialMedia - Is it running your life? It is mine and I need to STOP it!


This is hosted by myself! If you'd like to link-up, please feel free to do so in the comments! Thanks!
When I first started blogging, these MANY Social Media sites did not exist! We had our blogs, GFC (Google Friend Connect) from who Google which were comment replies on our blogs. Google NO LONGER has that product available now, but it does still send out what we post to our "current subscribers" but we cannot add new subscribers. The product is OVER. This is where Bloglovin' comes in! Bloglovin is SO MUCH BETTER! I LOVE Bloglovin! Facebook and Google+ were there for us, and THEY have been the "Founding Father's" of Social Media, so we've always had them to DEPEND on! 
I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden, BOOM! We now have 100's of social media places today (okay, I know I am WAY over-stating the truth of the NUMBER of social media sites we have now, but they seem to be EVERYWHERE AND CONSTANTLY MULTIPLYING!!!) it's true! Look at it NOW! There is Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Yahoo, and MORE!!! PLUS, you can leave comments on articles in magazines, newspapers, and more using their comment forms or wherever you are you can use THEIR snacks kind of out of the machines to eat! 
I need to state, I cannot ADD one MORE Social Media place on my "TO DO" list! I cannot! I don't know HOW I can possibly do it??? Another thing is I don't think I NEED to do it NOR do I feel I HAVE to do it! Linked-In was trying and IS now successful, but come on! I MUST draw the line somewhere! I draw it there. I cannot work, and isn't Linked-In more for people looking for jobs and networking? I believe it is, so it isn't anything that I would DIE if I didn't use. Check! Cross that one off my list! 
(Now I see "Pocket" is trying to make an introduction! Wow!) LIMITS! REMEMBER! LIMITS!!
This is what we are going to have to start doing because we DO NEED SOME downtime! Or, like myself, REST IS what I need for this illness. Rest/sleep is the ONLY thing that helps tame these muscle spasms I get, so I HAVE to get my rest some time during each day and I am STILL not good at knowing when my body needs the rest/sleep! LOL! I HAVE to laugh at that because you would think I SHOULD be a PRO after having Stiff Person Syndrome after ALL these years I have had it! Let's see. This disease took me OUT of the population really HARD 12 years ago now, and the DAY (yes! I remember the DAY AND DATE this REALLY took me OUT completely!) The muscle spasms VIOLENTLY threw me into bed! 
We cannot have EVERYONE going out of life like this, but with ALL and MORE social media sites growing daily, we ARE going to burn ourselves out. We ARE at that time where we NEED to make the decisions of which sites
Social Media is getting to be too, too much as we jump around to ALL of them now "trying" to keep up! We can't. We are only human and THIS IS A COMPUTER!!! The computer has NO LIMITS! WE DO! PLEASE REMEMBER THAT!!! If you start to feel overwhelmed, take a break! 
I had a printer die on me, the one attached to this computer. I found one online at Best Buy and my hubby went to go pick it up, and now that I FINALLY got it installed, (ALL thanks go to The Geek Squad for that! I TRULY could NOT compute without The Geek Squad! I mean it from the bottom of my heart!) They help me when my computer goes haywire, when it decides to update, but NOT in a good way, and ANY other even LITTLE things! Now I'm ready and I sent in my Kindle KEYBOARD! Yes! I STILL had that one! I also sent in my Paperwhite, and when I get the credits they are giving us for those, I am going to grab the Kindle Voyage WiFi w/ 3G! I LOVE that combo! I could be anywhere and buy a book! This does put me behind reviewing my ebooks, but I have print books I need to catch up on which is giving me a GREAT chance at it!
You have a GREAT week ahead! I wish you the BEST READING, AND BUMPING INTO THE BEST BOOKS! I LOVE accidentally finding AMAZING books! I hope it happens to you this week!
Have an amazing week!
Exchange your Kindles! GREAT deals are going on RIGHT NOW! Sunday MIGHT be the last day? I don't know?? Grab the deal of them giving you credit - yes! MONEY IN THE WAY OF A GIFT CARD towards money off a NEW Kindle! Plus there is a Gift Card to take money off the Kindle! You can't beat it right now! Do it! See you next week!
Leave YOUR comments below about Social Media!
Thanks!
Laurie