In accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Confessions of a Literary Persuasion. All books I review are either borrowed, purchased by me, given as a gift, won, or received in exchange for my honest review of the book in question.

29 April, 2012

World Book Night 2012 Recap.

My original idea was to try and pass out my copies of The Book Thief at the Skokie Holocaust Museum. Which is a fantastic place with the mission of informing and remembering what happened during WWII to the Jewish people. However due to logistics issues it ended up not happening.

Then I ended up with a crazy hectic day, and between school work, classes and more end o the term schoolwork didn't have much free time to go someplace and hand out books.

So, being a bookcrosser and being used to wild releasing books I threw my copies into my bag and took them with me. In the early morning while working at a computer lab before class, I left five copies of the book on free paper racks in the hallway. Since my computer was right across from where the books were, I got to see people picking up the books to see what they were, I witnessed several get picked up (and the exited response by one of the finders). I left five more copies at the Skokie campus of Oakton Community College later that afternoon, and was able to hand a copy off to an interested person walking out from the cafeteria. I left three more copies on a ledge in the front window of the place I stopped for lunch as you entered(all of which were gone by the time I finished eating). And finally left my last four books in various parts of the hospital nearby (one in the professional building, One on a bench in the hall to the cafeteria, and two in the ER waiting room). I have also passed along my last three copies by hand through people I know.

It was a fun day. I was surprised at how quickly the books were picked up - It was either the eye catching green "pick me up!" notes I put on the covers or the striking cover image for the books themselves. Hopefully World Book Night will continue to occur here in the USA. I would love to hand books out again, and do it in person next time.

24 April, 2012

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday

The rules come from MizB of Should Be Reading.

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!

This week's teaser comes from: Powering the Dream: The History and promise of Green Technology by Alexis Madrigal

"Coal is a flammable rock. You can put it in a pail and carry it to your house. Or, you can pack it into one hundred cargo containers and load it onto a rain. It's plentiful and spread pretty evenly around the world.Take a pound of it. Burn it completely and you would generate ten thousand British Thermal Units (BTUs) of heat. Dirty and heavy, coal has exactly one thing going for it: price." (pg 201)

18 April, 2012

World Book Night 2012


The date draws near! Yesterday I picked up my box of books to pass out for World Book Night on 23 April 2012.

I am passing out copies of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak which I read in 2009. You can see my response to the book here I was thrilled to see it on the list of 30 books chosen for this first year of giving away books on World Book Night here in the United States.

My original idea for passing out books fell through due to complications in logistics.

So, I'm thinking of where to leave 20 books for light readers to find, and figuring how to register the copies on bookcrossing without obscuring the World Book Night information found on the covers.

12 April, 2012

Celebrating the release of King Trevor by Susan Helen Gottfried

One of my good online friends is a writer. We met through bookcrossing, and the now defunct book relay site. We've traded opinions on books over the years, chatted on forums,and reviewed books for Front Street Reviews.

A few years back Susan started to post outtakes on her blog from the world she had created for her then looking to be published novel. When we her readers clamored for more she jumped on the self-publishing bandwagon and put out three volumes collecting the outtakes by year called The Demo Tapes. Shortly before the third demo tapes book came out she published her novel Trevor's Song. I read this last year and have yet to add a review here as I've been struggling to write it without revealing too much. It had a powerful story, and a very sudden ending leaving me wanting more.

Today, I get more of Trevor's story. Today the sequel King Trevor is being released.

In celebration, I have a book giveaway. One person will get signed copies of the Demo Tapes years 1,2, & 3 as well as Trevor's Song.

Two other people will get a copy of a book Susan recommended to me in the past that I found amazing.

I have One copy of Snow flower and the Secret Fan and 1 copy of Cowboys are my Only Weakness to pass along.

Leave your name a way to contact you and a way music has touched your life. I'll draw winners on Monday 16 April 2012

Swing by her blog over at West of Mars to see what Susan has in store for everyone on her release date, and to congratulate her on the new book and a happy birthday!

10 April, 2012

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday

The rules come from MizB of Should Be Reading.

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!

This week's teaser comes from: The Kittens of Boxville by Ryosuke Handa (this is a book that should be read as it is very dependent on the photos of the kittens in the story)

(pg 30) "Today of course, Pauly Pancakes is on vacation, and the kitchen of the resteraunt is quiet and still. Minnie sits in front of the stove and pouts. "If Pauly was here he would make us some breakfast." she says sullenly, watching Borris from the corner of her eye as he tries without sucsess, to scratch open the pantry door. "He keeps crackers and stuff in here!" Huffs Borris. "Tinned Fish!""

06 April, 2012

Books Wild Released in March 2012

Here are the books I wild released in March:

1.) Acts of Malice by Perri O'Shaughnessy on 3/1/2012
2.) What the Librarian Did (Harlequin Super Romance) by Karina Bliss on 3/3/2012 Caught!
3.) 7th Heaven (Women's Murder Club) by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro on 3/6/2012
4.) Moonlight Becomes You by Mary Higgins Clark on 3/12/2012
5.) See No Evil (Smallville Series for Young Adults, No. 2) by Cherie Bennett, Jeff Gottesfeld on 3/14/2011
6.) Jewel (Oprah's Book Club) by Bret Lott on 3/14/2012
7.) Point of Origin (Kay Scarpetta) by Patricia Cornwell on 3/14/2012
8.) Lavender Morning by Jude Deveraux on 3/19/2012
9.) Beyond and Back: Those Who Died and Lived to Tell It by Ralph Wilkerson on 3/19/2012
10.) The Eye of the World: Book One of 'The Wheel of Time' by Robert Jordan on 3/19/2012
11.) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston on 3/27/2012
12.) What Looks Like Crazy by Charlotte Hughes on 3/27/2012
13.) The Dead Zone by Stephen King on 3/27/2012

02 April, 2012

Books read in March 2012

Audiobooks:
1.) Damned by Chuck Palahniuk
2.) A Canticle for Lebowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
3.) Hounded by Kevin Hearne
4.) Hexed by Kevin Hearne
5.) Hammered by Kevin Hearne
6.) Snuff by Terry Pretchett

Print copy:
1.) 7th Heaven by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
2.) Cinderella's Convenient Husband by Katherine Garbera


E-books:

1.) Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn
2.) The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong
3.) A Very Special Delivery by Linda Goodnight
4.) Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
5.) An Election by John Scalzi (novella)
6.) Glitches by Marissa Meyer (novella)
7.) The Secrets of Jin-shei by Alma Alexander

Total Read: 13 full length books, 2 novella/short stories
This month was heavy on the books on my nook and audios