Giveaways around the blogosphere

Sparkling Reviews is giving away a Nook Color.
My Life with Rats is giving away a TV.
The Nerd's Wife is having an awesome blogoversary giveaway, including a Kindle.

Mama's Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.


1. What is your holiday wish for your family?  That we can all be together.
2. What is your Christmas morning tradition?  We all get pajamas on Christmas Eve, then on Christmas Day, we divide up the presents and all open them at the same time.
3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?  To pay off my credit cards and student loans.
4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?  Bake lots of cookies and treats.
5. What games did you play with your family growing up?  We didn't really play any games that I can remember.
6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?  I can't really think of any.  Right now it's just me and my husband, but I'm sure there will be some when we have kids.
7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip?  To see my family in Florida.
8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? 
PS3 Move
Get Fit with Mel B- PS3 Move
World of Warcraft- Cataclysm (for the hubby)

Mailbox Monday

I've been a little MIA lately.  I went to New Orleans for a week with my husband who had a conference there.  My parents, who live 5 hours away, drove up for the weekend to see us.  I haven't seen them in 6 months, so I had a really great time.  Plus, I got to go to Target and Michael's, which we don't have up here.  We saw the French Quarter, which was really neat.  I probably won't be posting very much in the next couple of weeks either, because it's the end of the semester.  I have three big assignments due and 4 finals, so it's going to be hectic.  Yesterday I started volunteering at a library to get some experience, and I had a lot of fun.  Also, I finally got a job! YAY!  Anyway, here are the books I got this week:

Won:


Testimony: A Novel
The Radleys: A Novel

Bought:
Zeitoun (Vintage)
You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas
In the Woods

Review: Speak

Speak: 10th Anniversary Edition

Last month, right around Banned Books Week, there was a big uproar that centered around this book.  For those of you who might have missed (aka living under a rock/not in the book blogosphere), a professor in Missouri called Speak "soft core pornography)".  Like most instances of book banning, his words only made me want to read it even more.  I hadn't heard of this book or even the author until that article.  I've been reading a lot of young adult lately, thanks to the education library in the building where all of my classes are (my library school program is in the faculty of education).  Unfortunately, they didn't have this book or any of the other books mentioned in that article.  However, I luckily won it in a giveaway.
I was really intrigued by the premise.  Until about halfway through the book, we don't know exactly what happened, just that something bad had happened at a party, and know everybody hates Melinda, the main character.  The writing was outstanding.  I could really feel Melinda's pain, of not only getting raped and keeping it a secret, but then everybody in school hating her.  I think this is an important book that all high schoolers should have to read.  It's about a girl having something terrible happen to her, and then getting up the courage to tell somebody about it.  I am going to go get more books by this author as soon as I can.   

Review: Queen of Last Hopes

The Queen of Last Hopes: The Story of Margaret of Anjou

Source: I received a copy from the publisher.

I had heard good things about Susan Higginbotham, but had never read anything by her.  So, when I got the chance to review her new book, I jumped at the chance.  I really enjoyed this book.  I read Philippa Gregory's book The White Queen when it came out last year, and it was really interesting to read about the other side of the story.  The White Queen was told from the point of view of Elizabeth Woodville, and The Queen of Last Hopes tells the story of the other side, Margaret of Anjou.  Like most books about this time period, there are a lot of people to keep straight.  The author did a good job of making sure the reader did not get confused.  This book was very well written and the characters were well developed.  The book covers most of Margaret's life, and she was a very likable character.  I will definitely go out and get this author's other books and read them.  Susan Higginbotham might even edge out Philippa Gregory as my favorite author of England historical fiction.

Giveaways around the blogospher

Sparkling Reviews is giving away a Kindle

Review: The Constant Princess

The Constant Princess 

If you have been reading my blog for more than a couple of weeks, you should know that I love historical fiction.  It is my favorite genre, and Philippa Gregory is one of my favorite authors.   This book, while not her best, is still very good.  It tells the story of Katherine of Aragon.  It starts when she is young and betrothed to Arthur, the brother of Henry VIII and goes until right before Henry starts his affair with Anne Boleyn.  The Other Boleyn Girl starts right where this book left off.  I really liked the character of Katherine.  She grew up knowing that she would become Princess of Wales and then Queen of England.  She knew her duty and she did it without complaining.  She marries Arthur and at first they don't like each other, but they soon fall in love.  He dies and she does her best to keep the promise she made him on his death bed.  Most of the book was about her trying to keep that promise.  This was a good book and recommend to all fans of Philippa Gregory and historical fiction. 

Review: Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies

Source: bought from a used bookstore

I love books that are about a different culture or heritage.  I had heard good things about this book, but never got the chance to read it.  I picked it up at a used bookstore and read it in one sitting.  It is short, but there is still a great deal of character development, especially the main character.  I really liked how the story was told in monthly installments.  Each month had a recipe preceding it, and recipe was made throughout the chapter.  I thought it was a really unique way to incorporate food into the story and told how important the meals were to this family.  The main story line was really sad.  Two people fall in love, but when the man goes to ask for the woman's hand in marriage, her mom says no because it is her duty to take care of her mother until she dies.  The mother offers her other daughter, and the man agrees, thinking he could get closer to the woman he really loves.  Of course, it does not work out like he thinks.  This book is a short, light read, but big on impact.  I really liked it and would highly recommend it to anybody.