5 Ways to Stay Warm for Winter - A Give-away

Happy New Year! 

 Every time January rolls around, we book industry people start thinking about New Year, New You promotions. We of course have A TON of healthy living, diet and spirituality books to get your new year started on the right foot. But, this has been done A MILLION times and it's not fun, creative or new. 

 So this year at S&S Canada we decided to do something a little different in January. Allow me to present to you the Winter Survival Package. We all know that Canadian winters can be known to drag on and on, so what better than a burst of bookish fun at mid- January when we're all suffering from the winter blahs. 

 Our kit will contain all the fun and fantastic books pictured below, as well as oodles of goodies to keep you toasty and warm during the frigid winter months.

To enter, head over to the website.

The Books:

You Know You Are Off Your Rocker When....

.... you plan to get up bright and early tomorrow to go out to breakfast with your friend after they get off backshift! And, well, its your idea because you have some insane desire to have pancakes... That would be me... Because you know, you get off work at midnight (and it is currently almost 1AM) and you have to be back at work at midnight, but hey, let's get up at 7:30 AM for pancakes... My friend just laughs at me. I was going to make my own but everything is closed (stupid stores), so I guess we are eating out. Will I be awake? Probably not and I cannot have caffeine because I plan to go back to bed. Me and my bright ideas, huh?

In the meantime, I REALLY need to review some books. I have actually been reading and you would never even know because I haven't posted any reviews. I started to post one earlier and I forgot what I was doing (totally a blonde in a past life, no offense), so of course that never got done. I have actually managed to read two books for the Canadian Reading Challenge (yay). One was Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland (I hated it Nymeth.... I have never hated a Douglas Coupland book before, and since I know you like him, you must know how tragic this is) and the other was Traveling Music by Neil Peart, which I didn't hate but I liked the other two books I read by him better.

Currently I am reading Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which I am counting as part of the Canadian Reading Challenge because she went to my university (which is in Canada) and she got an honorary degree the year I graduated. That makes her Canadian in my books. That will mean three out of thirteen books. Go me!

And now, I am going to shut up because I am mostly just rambling and if I have any hope of getting up for pancakes tomorrow, I need to go SLEEP! But, I should conclude with saying I had drunk men at work tonight going to the bathroom in the middle of the parking lot. While I understand it is a lot easier for men to go to the bathroom wherever they want... IT'S A PARKING LOT! I mean, there was a puddle! I was just disgusted because we have an amazing invention known as a TOILET! Maybe that is why the book I posted about earlier appealed to me so much... I just don't get the male species. I mean, there are really great men out there, but I seem to get stuck with the idiots!

So, now I am of course curious! I think I just had a book give-away idea! I know, I have a couple due... hm, I really should post that list, huh? I will do it on Wednesday. In the meantime, how about a fun topic of conversation? What are the things about the other sex that you wish they didn't do? What would be your 'porn'? If this gets some response I will send one lucky person a copy of Porn for Women. (If you post about it on your blog in some manner and link back here, you will be entered twice! Really creative entries will get entered three times!) I think this sounds like a fun idea... And, I really will send out all the books I owe people. You should SEE the pile of books on my floor, though, it is like Mt. Rushmore and I have worked a LOT lately... Anyways, how about August 1st as an end date...

Winners!

That apparently was not as hard as I thought... Anyways, I was sort of waiting until I had a chance to make up a list of all the books I have to give away, but I had company all day yesterday and they just left. That means, I still haven't had a chance to type it up (it is going to take a while). So, 3M and Stephanie were my first winners. (3M got them both right, but I thought I would share, work for you?) So, if you ladies will send me your addresses, I will send you books. I also need to know if you are interested in the books themselves or if you want me to tell you what else I have... If it is the latter, I am aiming to have that completed this weekend. I still have a couple shelves that I want to try and thin out a bit. There will be another give away when I have finished the list.

Books, books, beautiful books...

Okay, so I have too many books and I just had to narrow them down, so you know what that means? I have decided to give books away! Yes, you read that right, I am giving books away. I haven't decided on any schedule, but I am going to take a picture of the mess that is currently on my floor and you can see just how much I need to give some away! I could take them to the second hand store for credit, and I might take some of them, but it sort of defeats the purpose.

Anyways, first up are a book in honour of the Orson Scott Reading Challenge, better known as a book by Orson Scott Card, and a copy of a Jane Austen fan fiction in honour of the fact that Jane Austen's novels seem to be everywhere lately.

Here is the idea: Which books are they? I will provide a couple clues, first person that correctly guesses which book it is, gets it. Then, when I reveal what book it is, they have the option of either taking it or picking another book out of the goodie pile. I will make up a list of all the books afterwards. Be advised the condition of the books ranges. Some are paperback, some are hardcover, some have been read, some have never been read, and some are Advanced Reading Copies. And, I am afraid that since I am a fantasy fangirl, there really are not a lot of fantasy books... Sorry folks!

The Orson Scott Card book is a bit easy where you know the author:
"A Riveting Story of Love and Destiny from the New York Times Bestselling Author" - Quoted from the front of the book.

The Jane Austen fan fiction:
"Pride and Prejudice told from a whole new perspective" - Quoted from the front of the book.

If no one gets it from these clues, I will provide more, of course.

A Book Give-Away

Susan Higginbotham, author of The Traitor's Wife: A Novel of the Reign of Edward II, just got a snazzy new cover, and to celebrate she is giving books away! All you have to do is answer her question of the day and it does not even have to be right! So for a chance at a new book, click here. Just pay attention to the day so you do not answer the wrong question, and if you do not win, there is always Amazon!

I won a Book!

Is that getting monotonous? It isn't for me! I love books in any shape or size, so getting to experience new authors is always a big treat for me. So, when Nath posted on Twisted Kingdom that Rene Lyons was guest blogging on Sanctuary's Finest, I decided to head over there and see what was going on. I have had Rene on my tbr list. I know, she really is not in my normal genre field, but I will break out of the comfort zone once in a while (J.D. Robb for example), and since she both makes appearances on my blog and joined in on the Bloggers Ten Books You Cannot Live Without Thing, I am all about the support. Long story short, I signed up for a draw for her new book, and I won a free e-book version. I will be reading it in the next couple days century, and then I will let everyone know what I thought about it. Thanks Rene for the book, I am looking forward to reading it! It's also very fitting that there is a TNA wrestler as the cover model, because I know who the author is, and Tom knew who the wrestler was. The way people connect. (And the look that Tom gave me when I told him why I was talking about said wrestler.)

Anyways, thanks Rene! I look forward to reading this book!

The Birth House by Ami McKay (and a surprise)

Books Completed: 45
Completion Date: March 2007
Publication Year: 2006
Pages: 400
Reread for a class at school

The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of Rares. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing. Dora becomes Miss B.’s apprentice, and together they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labours, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives. Filled with details as compelling as they are surprising, The Birth House is an unforgettable tale of the struggles women have faced to have control of their own bodies and to keep the best parts of tradition alive in the world of modern medicine.

This was a reread. Ami McKay is a local author, so my Women Writers class decided to add this book to the course list this year. The offical release of the paperback was also done at my university, so that was pretty cool. Sadly, I missed it, but I had intended to be there. Anyways, I was really bad and only went to the first class we discussed the book because I hate it when books I love get over analyzed. I can never look at a book the same way again. It was great to reread it, though. I still strongly recommend this book, and she has made an appearance on the Ten Books That Bloggers Cannot Live Without. She is not a top book, but her book is still circulating around, and many people have not had the chance to read it.

To read my original review of this book, you can see the review here.

So, because Ami McKay is a local, because I know that some people want to read it and have not yet, and because it is buy a friend a book week, I am going to buy someone Ami McKay's book. Join in even if you have read it, if too many people have read it for it to be a good idea for a give away, I will change the book, but the idea is for it to be the book I give away. Everyone knows the drill, just comment on this post and I will draw a name at the end of the week.