Teaser Tuesday (10-20-09 edition)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
  
• Open to a random page
  
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's Teaser:

"Stop them!" Ramesses shouted angrily. His guards formed a tighter circle around us, but the people's chanting was quickly building to a feverish pitch. Even children, who didn't know what they were shouting, squinted into my face and yelled, "Another Heretic Queen!"

-- The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran, page 156

WINNERS: Testimony and Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home

We have our winners of the Testimony/Mrs. Meyer's giveaway:

The winner of Testimony by Anita Shreve is...

#25 Amy






The winner of Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home is...

#7 edmontonjb





Congratulations to you both! I will be emailing you about the win, but you are welcome to email me your mailing address if I don't get to you first: nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

Thanks to all who entered! I have a contest going now for Mother of the Believers, but it is for my used copy-- not a new copy. Just wanted to clear that up, because I realized that I posted the giveaway this morning and forgot to mention that.

Thanks everyone!

GIVEAWAY: Mother of the Believers by Kamran Pasha

Synopsis
Deep in the heart of seventh-century Arabia, a new prophet named Muhammad has arisen. As his message of enlightenment sweeps through Arabia and unifies the warring tribes, his young wife Aisha recounts Muhammad's astonishing transformation from prophet to warrior to statesman. But just after the moment of her husband's greatest triumph -- the conquest of the holy city of Mecca -- Muhammad falls ill and dies in Aisha's arms. A young widow, Aisha finds herself at the center of the new Muslim empire and becomes by turns a teacher, political leader, and warrior.


GIVEAWAY: Win Mother of the Believers by Kamran Pasha. See my review here.

ALERT!! I forgot to mention that this is for my "used" book. It is pretty gently read, but there is light wear and perhaps a curl on a corner or something.

Rules (you knew there had to be some):

• You must be 18 years or older
  
• Open to US and Canada residents only
  
• To enter, just comment below. Be sure to leave your email address in your comment, or have it visible in your profile.
  
• For extra entries, follow my blog and/or blog about this contest. One extra entry for each. Sidebars are okay.
  
• Leave a separate comment for each entry.
  
• That's a total of 3 possible entries!
  
• Those who don't follow the rules risk being disqualified.

Deadline is November 1, 2009.

Good Luck! Ready, Set, Go!

Mailbox Monday (10-19-09 edition)

Mailbox Monday is brought to us by The Printed Page. In my mailbox last week I got:

America Libre from Raul Ramos y
Sanchez
Won from All About {n}

How will today's immigration crisis shape our nation? This provocative novel set in the second decade of the 21st century poses a chillingly credible nightmare vision . . . a Hispanic liberation movement seeking to redraw the borders of the United States.

After years of anti-immigrant backlash, anger seethes in the nation's teeming barrios. The crowded streets bristle with restless youth idled by a deep recession. When undercover detectives in San Antonio accidentally kill a young Latina bystander during a botched drug bust, riots erupt across the Southwest. As the inner-city violence escalates, Anglo vigilantes strike back with barrio shooting rampages. Exploiting the turmoil, a congressional demagogue succeeds in passing legislation that transforms the nation's Hispanic enclaves into walled-off Quarantine Zones. Amid the chaos in his L.A. barrio, Manolo Suarez is out of work and struggling to support his growing family. Under the spell of a beautiful Latina radical, the former U.S. Army Ranger eventually finds himself questioning his loyalty to his wife-and his country.

Fast-paced and action-packed, America Libre is a wake-up call to the dangers of extremism - on both sides of this explosive issue.

Bo's Cafe by John Lynch
Won from The Review Broads

High-powered executive Steven Kerner is living the dream in southern California. But when his bottled pain ignites in anger one night, his wife kicks him out. Then an eccentric mystery man named Andy Monroe befriends Steven and begins unravelling his tightly wound world. Andy leads Steven through a series of frustrating and revealing encounters to repair his life through genuine friendship and the grace and love of a God who has been waiting for him to accept it. A story to challenge and encourage, BO'S CAFE is a model for all who struggle with unresolved problems and a performance-based life. Those who desire a fuller, more authentic way of living will find this journey of healing a restorative exploration of God's unbridled grace.

A Profound Thank You

Looky, looky what came in the mail for me!

According to the accompanying card, that is a coin from 2nd to 4th century AD! This was a wonderful gift from author Michelle Moran for hosting a giveaway for her books The Heretic Queen and Cleopatra's Daughter, and I couldn't be happier or more surprised to receive it.
The 2nd to 4th centuries. 100-400 AD. The early days of Christianity. The days of Pliny the Younger and Ptolemy. Jonah is swallowed by the whale in this era. The days and decline of the Roman Empire. This coin is over 1500 years old! Can you wrap your mind around that?

I love "old things". So you can imagine how excited I am to have a coin from the early days of the first millennium. A coin that just missed sharing the earth with Christ by a mere few hundred years. A coin that could have sat in the hand of Ptolemy, or shared the sea with Jonah. Maybe it was lost at sea after being newly minted, and was never touched by anyone but the minters and the salvagers. But can you wrap your mind around the antiquity of this tiny little coin? It baffles the mind!

Michelle Moran-- thank you, thank you, thank you! I got such a kick out of receiving this coin in the mail. Learn more about Michelle's books here!

On a sidenote: I am reading Michelle's book The Heretic Queen right now, and I promise you that I have been in no way influenced by the coin when I say that I am loving the book! I love the ease of her descriptive writing style, which paints pictures in my mind of the scenes being played out. The coin just helps pull me even closer into the time period in which the story is staged.

Thanks so much, Michelle!

Poetry Sunday (10-18-09 edition)

Love's Philosophy
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

The fountains mingle with the river,
And the rivers with the ocean;
The winds of heaven mix forever,
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single;
All things by a law divine
In one another's being mingle:--
Why not I with thine?

See! the mountains kiss high heaven,
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister flower would be forgiven
If it disdained its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea:--
What are all these kissings worth,
If thou kiss not me?

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (10-17-09 edition)

Here is a list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld*. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:

Chick with Books is giving away 3 copies of Beat the Reaper. Deadline is October 17.

The Lateiner Gange Book Review Spot is giving away your choice of an ARC or a hard copy of Catching Fire. Deadline is October 17.

Readaholic is giving away 5 copies of The Bible Salesman. Deadline is October 17.

A Sea of Books is giving away 5 copies of Lovely Bones. Deadline is October 17.

Bookfoolery and Babble is giving away 5 copies of The Bible Salesman. Deadline is October 18.

Passages to the Past is giving away 5 copies of The Tudor Rose. Deadline is October 19.

Crazy for Books is giving away 2 copies of Breaking the Bank. (I can't link directly to the giveaway, as it misdirects to Amazon on her site.) Deadline is October 19.

Outnumbered 3 to 1 is giving away 3 copies of 9 Dragons. Deadline is October 20.

Luxury Reading is giving away 5 copies of Run for Your Life. Deadline is October 20.

Tutu's 2 Cents is giving away 5 copies of Lovely Bones. Deadline is October 20.

Tutu's 2 Cents is also giving away 5 copies of The Bible Salesman. Deadline is October 20.

Book Giveaways is giving away a Downlite Reading Wedge Pillow. Deadline is October 20.

Bookshelf Monstrosity is giving away Pope Joan. Deadline is October 20.

A Circle of Books is giving away 5 copies of The Heretic's Daughter. Deadline is October 20.

At Home with Books is giving away 2 copies of The Queen's Mistake. Deadline is October 21.

The Review Broads is giving away 5 copies of Eating Animals. Deadline is October 22.

Passages to the Past is giving away 2 copies of The Queen's Mistake. Deadline is October 23.

Books and Needlepoint is giving away 5 copies of The Bible Salesman. Deadline is October 23.

The Book Resort is giving away The Lost Symbol. Deadline is October 23.

Libby's Library News is giving away 5 copies of A Highlander's Temptation. Deadline is October 23.

All About {n} is giving away 5 copies of The Heretic's Daughter. Deadline is October 23.

Chick with Books is giving away 2 copies of Breaking the Bank. Deadline is October 24.

Readaholic is giving away 5 copies of Life After Genius. Deadline is October 24.

Readaholic is giving away The Heretic's Daughter! Deadline is October 24.

Drey's Library is giving away a bookmark and paperweight. Deadline is October 25.

Recipe Lion is giving away a copy of the book Unforgettable Desserts. Deadline is October 25.

Luxury Reading is giving away The Sound of Sleigh Bells. Deadline is October 26.

A Sea of Books is giving away 2 copies of Traveling with Pomegranates. Deadline is October 26.

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time is giving away a copy of The Queen's Mistake. Deadline is October 26.

Libby's Library News is giving away 5 copies of Run for Your Life. Deadline is October 26.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 3 copies of Death Message. Deadline is October 26.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 3 copies of the audiobook Alibi. Deadline is October 27.

He Followed Me Home is giving away 5 copies of Run for Your Life. Tell 'em nfmgirl sent you! Deadline is October 27.

The Tome Traveler is giving away 5 copies of Life After Genius. Deadline is October 28.

At Home with Books is cleaning off the shelves, and offering up Her Fearful Symmetry, The White Queen, Julie & Julia and Alex & Me. Deadline is October 29.

Froggarittaville is giving away 5 copies of Lovely Bones. Deadline is October 30.

Book Blab is giving away Hugh and Bess. Deadline is October 30.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 5 copies of The Heretic's Daughter. Deadline is October 30.

Libby's Library News is giving away 2 copies of Day by Day Armageddon. Deadline is October 31.

Bookin' with Bingo is giving away 5 copies of Girl on Top. Deadline is November 2.

Libby's Library News is giving away 5 copies of Connected. Deadline is November 2.

Jo-Jo Loves to Read is celebrating her one-year blogging anniversary by generously offering one winner their choice between three gently read books! Deadline is November 6.

My Own Little Corner of the World is giving away 5 copies of The Heretic's Daughter. Deadline is November 7.

One Person's Journey Through a World of Books is giving away 5 copies of The Heretic's Daughter. Deadline is November 11.

Jeanne's Ramblings is giving away 5 copies of The Heretic's Daughter. Deadline is November 15.

*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration!