Tag Archive: TLC Book Tours

Blog Tour: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

May 15, 2012

Summary: In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations, State of Wonder presents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional resonance and moral complexity.

As Dr. Marina Singh embarks upon an uncertain odyssey into the insect-infested Amazon, she will be forced to surrender herself to the lush but forbidding world that awaits within the jungle. Charged with finding her former mentor Dr. Annick Swenson, a researcher who has disappeared while working on a valuable new drug, she will have to confront her own memories of tragedy and sacrifice as she journeys into the unforgiving heart of darkness. Stirring and luminous, State of Wonder is a world unto itself, where unlikely beauty stands beside unimaginable loss beneath the rain forest’s jeweled canopy.

My Thoughts: I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks between car accidents, sick kids, soccer, and a plethora of other road bumps. As a result, I am not finished with this yet, but I’m liking it so far. I look forward to getting farther into this. I’d heard great things about this book, and I think so far it’s living up to the hype.

Source: Received as part of a blog tour promotion on TLC Book Tours.

About the Author: Ann Patchett is the author of six novels: State of Wonder; the New York Times bestselling Run; The Patron Saint of Liars, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Taft, which won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize; The Magician’s Assistant; and Bel Canto, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Orange Prize, the BookSense Book of the Year, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is also the author of two works of nonfiction: the New York Times bestselling Truth & Beauty and What now? Patchett has written for many publications, including the Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s Magazine, Gourmet, the New York Times, Vogue, and the Washington Post. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Visit Ann at her website.

Tour Info: For the main page for this blog tour, including reviews of this book on other blogs, visit TLC’s post.
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Tags: Ann Patchett, blog tour, TLC Book Tours

Review: Faith by Jennifer Haigh

June 2, 2011

Summary: When Sheila McGann sets out to redeem her disgraced brother, a once-beloved Catholic priest in suburban Boston, her quest will force her to confront cataclysmic truths about her fractured Irish-American family, her beliefs, and, ultimately, herself.

My Thoughts: I almost considered bowing out of this tour, because I just could not get into this book. I only finished it because I had agreed to read it as part of a tour. I am quite disappointed, because it sounds really good – and I’ve read many positive reviews. I guess this one just isn’t for me. For what it’s worth, it did keep me more interested through about the last quarter (maybe a little less), but my that point I was tired of reading it.

If you’re even remotely interested in this book, don’t let me dissuade you from looking into it. Find other reviews (this is part of a tour, so check the tour page for links), check it out from your library. Ask someone. (Anyone who has read this book is welcome to add their comments below, including a link to their own review, if one exists.)

Favorite Quote: Oddly, I did find one quote that I absolutely love.

Faith is a decision. In its most basic form, it is a choice. ~ page 160 (ARC)

I hadn’t ever thought about faith this way, but it’s true. At the very beginning, one chooses whether or not to believe. And it doesn’t just apply to faith associated with religion, but faith of any kind. Faith in someone to make the right choice about something. Faith in your spouse to stay true to you. Or any number of things.

My Rating: 1.5 stars

Source: Received from publisher for review to use as part of a blog tour promotion on TLC Book Tours.

About the Author: Jennifer Haigh is the author of the New York Times bestseller Baker Towers, winner of the 2006 PEN/L. L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author; Mrs. Kimble, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction and was a finalist for the Book Sense Book of the Year; and The Condition.

Her fiction has appeared in Granta, Ploughshares, Good Housekeeping, and elsewhere. She lives in the Boston area.

Visit Jennifer at her website.

Tour Info: For the main page for this blog tour, including more reviews of this book on other blogs, visit TLC’s post.

Challenges: Counts for 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011.

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Tags: 1.5 stars, 100 Books in a Year Challenge 2011, Jennifer Haigh, review, TLC Book Tours

Review/Update: Triumph of the City

May 24, 2011

Back in February I posted for a blog tour about Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser. I had been unable to post a complete review, because I just hadn’t been able to finish the book prior to making my post. I promised an update in the near future …

My apologies for being so late!

I have been reading it a little here and there, whenever there was a lull in my review schedule. But, it being nonfiction, it was slow going for me. I finally finished it a few days ago, so here’s my update!

For the full information on the book, please see my previous post HERE.

My Final Thoughts: I think this book appealed to me because I come from the suburbs of a big city – Chicago. Despite my not being one who could live in a big city, I still love Chicago. Always will. It’s my home.

Anyway, I found this book to be a good read. It held my interest and didn’t bore me to tears. (I’m not a big fan of nonfiction book such as this normally, because I want to be entertained when I read.) It actually was fascinating, and Glaeser’s argument for why cities are a necessary part of society is compelling. He makes his case, and goes further to say that the government here in America should be actively helping cities thrive, rather than encouraging people to leave. While I just don’t see myself moving into any major city, I can appreciate his perspective. I find myself with a bit of a more positive opinion of cities in general now, and I can see how they really are so important – to our country, to the world, and even to the environment.

My Rating: 4 stars

Again, for further information (including a disclaimer and info on how to buy), check out my post HERE.

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Tags: 4 stars, Edward Glaeser, review, TLC Book Tours, update

Review & GIVEAWAY: When Did I Get Like This? by Amy Wilson

May 17, 2011

Summary: Over the last seven years of long days with little children, I have had many moments of joy, calm, and peaceful reverie.

This book is about the other moments.

Before I became a mother, failing at something did not shake my fundamental belief in my capabilities as a human being. But now that I am the mother of three children under the age of seven, I have one overriding daily thought: I suck at this.

What kind of mother feeds her kids dinosaur chicken nuggets? Three times a week? What kind of mother lets hand washing after using the toilet slide, as long as it was just Number One? And then I wonder: When did I get like this? Why do I doubt my parenting abilities, day after day? Why does motherhood, a job as old as Eve, have me teetering daily on the edge of sanity?

With each new stage of motherhood, I tell myself I will never again be suckered by the question, “Don’t you want what’s best for your children?” And yet, time after time, I am. Sometimes, I am right to obsess. Other times, the record will show, it has been distinctly counterproductive.

I’m working on it . . .

My Thoughts: I absolutely love this book! LOVE it! Every mother who has ever felt like she has fell short of her own ideals for herself as a mother NEEDS to read this! It is hilarious, had me smiling and shaking my head in agreement in so many places. There were many, many parts of this that I could completely relate to. From her thoughts on modesty after having given birth and breastfeeding to her description of her husband’s ability to make big decisions, there was something in each chapter that could have come straight out of my own life!

And then there’s the issues with her first child. Who after a couple of weeks becomes quite the screamer. Um, yeah, my oldest was the same way. Except there was no medical explanation for it. No reflux, no colic. Just something she had to outgrow. But, as the author discusses the difficulty of having such a screamer, I could relate on every single level. Leaving the house with her was a scary prospect. People would tell me she must be hungry, when I knew that wasn’t it. Stuff like that. (This book TOTALLY brought back so many memories! LOL)

Not only are there plenty of laugh-worthy anecdotes, but there are also moments of reflection and even insights that made me rethink some of my own approaches to things. Approaches that I often consider my own failings. Big one: yelling. Like the author, I have decided to work at not yelling so much – saving that for the big things so it doesn’t lose its effectiveness when it’s most needed. (Like, when the kids are about to run out into a busy street …)

Anyway, I would HIGHLY recommend this for any mother who occasionally wonders about herself. Wondering how she got so far away from where she thought she’d be – who she thought she’d be. This will make you laugh, smile, and realize that you are most definitely not alone.

Favorite Quotes: There are so many quotes from this book that I had marked that it’s hard for me to pick! LOL But, here are a couple that resonated with me in one way or another.

As a mother, there are only two things of which I am ever certain: (1) I have somehow eluded detection and have been given three children for whose care I am remarkably unqualified, and (2) every decision I make for these small, helpless beings is of the utmost, life-altering importance. ~ page 8

There is a certain evil muscle memory that occurs in the body of a woman who has been pregnant before. “Oh, this again,” your abs say, and surrender immediately, rather than fighting the good fight for twenty-five weeks like they did the first time around. ~ page 33

If you were to piece together our family’s story based on our photos, you would think that our three children had raised themselves and some scary sweaty fat lady stopped by once or twice a year. ~ page 88

The things a mother does well are always invisible compared to the things she does badly. ~ page 165

My Rating: 5 stars

Source: Received as part of a blog tour promotion on TLC Book Tours.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

About the Author: Amy Wilson is the author and performer of the one-woman show Mother Load, which started off-Broadway, and has been touring the country ever since. She made her Broadway debut in the Tony-Award-winning play The Last Night of Ballyhoo, and has appeared in dozens of other plays in New York City. On television, she was a series regular on Norm and Daddio, and appeared on Felicity, Ed, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Deadline, Boston Common, and All My Children. Her film credits include Kinsey, Kissing Jessica Stein, Keeping the Faith, and Ira and Abby.

Her writing appears regularly in Babytalk magazine, on parenting.com, and on CNN.com’s “Living” page. Her favorite productions are her three young children, whom she raises with her husband in New York City.

Connect with Amy:

On her website
On Facebook
On Twitter

Find out more about Mother Load via the blog, Facebook, and website.

Tour Info: For the main page for this blog tour, including more reviews of this book on other blogs, visit TLC’s post.

Challenges: Counts for 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011.

This review is part of Book Review Party Wednesday.

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WIN IT

Thanks to author Amy Wilson, I am able to offer 1 copy of When Did I Get Like This? to one lucky reader! I do not require anything in order for you to enter. Simply leave a comment to this post. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Central) Saturday, June 4, 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly with the help of random.org. I will send the lucky winner an e-mail notification. (It will come from proudbooknerd(at)gmail(dot)com, so make sure to add this address to your safe list or address book to ensure it doesn’t get lost in junk/bulk mail.) If I do not get a response within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to readers in the U.S.

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Tags: 100 Books in a Year Challenge 2011, 5 stars, Amy Wilson, blog tour, giveaway, nonfiction, review, TLC Book Tours

Review & GIVEAWAY: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

May 2, 2011

Summary: Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office e-mail. But the women still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. Jennifer tells Beth everything she can’t seem to tell her husband about her anxieties over starting a family. And Beth tells Jennifer everything, period.

When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he hardly imagined he’d be sifting through other people’s inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company e-mail, but he can’t quite bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can’t help but be entertained-and captivated- by their stories.

But by the time Lincoln realizes he’s falling for Beth, it’s way too late for him to ever introduce himself. What would he say to her? “Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you.” After a series of close encounters and missed connections, Lincoln decides it’s time to muster the courage to follow his heart . . . even if he can’t see exactly where it’s leading him.

My Thoughts: This was a fabulously fun read. I really enjoyed reading Jennifer and Beth’s e-mails and Lincoln’s story.

I think part of the reason I enjoyed it so much is because I could relate on so many levels. Not the reading others’ e-mails, but working at a newspaper – both during the day and the night. I spent roughly 3 years working on the copy desk, which meant second shift. Get in at 5-ish, leave around 1 a.m. Lincoln notes how hard it is – and how lonely it can be – to be on such a different schedule than the rest of the general public. I can only imagine how much worse it would be when you end up sitting around doing nothing most of the time.

The story was slightly predictable, but not to the point of ruining it. I still really enjoyed reading, and discovering how it all came together was still fun – even if I could figure out where some things were going to end up.

My only complaint is the ending. I wanted a little bit more. Just a little. I felt like it just stopped a little prematurely. Still, though, I can confidently say I really enjoyed the book – despite the ending. It made me smile and even laugh out loud at times. Attachments is the perfect light, fun summer read.

My Rating: 4 stars

Source: Received as part of a blog tour promotion on TLC Book Tours.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

About the Author: Rainbow Rowell is only very good at two things – reading and writing, in that order.

People who are good only at reading and writing, and who also want health insurance, usually study journalism. Rainbow earned a journalism degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1995 and, at 24, became the youngest-ever – and first female – columnist at the Omaha World-Herald.

Rainbow started writing Attachments while working at the newspaper, but it couldn’t be less of a true story. She met her husband in junior high and can hardly get him to read her column, let alone her e-mail.

After a brief, enjoyable stint in advertising in the mid-2000s, Rainbow is now back at The World-Herald, writing a pop-culture/lifestyles column.

When she’s not writing, she’s reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing with people about things that don’t really matter in the big scheme of things. She has two sons, and if God hears her prayers, they will grow up just as nerdy and true-hearted as the protagonist of this book.

Connect with Rainbow on her website, her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Tour Info: For the main page for this blog tour, including more reviews of this book on other blogs, visit TLC’s post.

Challenges: Counts for 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011.

This review is part of Book Review Party Wednesday.

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WIN IT

I am able to offer 1 copy of Attachments to one lucky reader! :-) I do not require anything in order for you to enter. Simply leave a comment to this post. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Central) Saturday, May 21, 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly with the help of random.org. I will send the lucky winner an e-mail notification. (It will come from proudbooknerd(at)gmail(dot)com, so make sure to add this address to your safe list or address book to ensure it doesn’t get lost in junk/bulk mail.) If I do not get a response within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to readers in the U.S and Canada.

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Tags: 100 Books in a Year Challenge 2011, 4 stars, giveaway, Rainbow Rowell, review, TLC Book Tours

Review & GIVEAWAY: The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton

April 21, 2011

Summary: Mia, Laney, Betts, and Ginger, best friends since law school, have reunited for a long weekend as Betts awaits Senate confirmation of her appointment to the Supreme Court. Nicknamed “the Ms. Bradwells” during their first class at the University of Michigan Law School in 1979—when only three women had ever served full Senate terms and none had been appointed to the Court—the four have supported one another through life’s challenges: marriages and divorces, births and deaths, career setbacks and triumphs large and small. Betts was, and still is, the Funny One. Ginger, the Rebel. Laney, the Good Girl. And Mia, the Savant.

But when the Senate hearings uncover a deeply buried skeleton in the friends’ collective closet, the Ms. Bradwells retreat to a summer house on the Chesapeake Bay, where they find themselves reliving a much darker period in their past—one that stirs up secrets they’ve kept for, and from, one another, and could change their lives forever.

My Thoughts: For starters, I’m going to be somewhat vague here, because to spill anything likely would ruin the impact of this story.

This was quite the story. It is dark, heavy, and not at all a light read. But don’t hold that against it. It’s done very well. A very delicate subject is handled very well, and leaves you thinking afterward. And while normally I prefer all questions answered at the end, I don’t mind the way this one ends. No, not all questions are given a definite answer, rather we are given possibilities. My reason for not minding this time is that it’s true to life. Often, we know what happens, and what the official take on things is. But we often don’t know with 100 percent certainty what exactly happened, who is to blame for what. There is ambiguity in this story, as there often is in real life. And in this case it’s handled very well, in large part because the characters don’t know any more than we do. They accept it as what it is, and decide to go from there.

The format is one that seems pretty popular lately: first-person perspective, switching the narrator on a chapter-by-chapter basis. If you’re not used to reading something like this (think Picoult, for one example of an author who uses this quite frequently), it might be a bit confusing. At least until you get used to it. I even had a few times where I had to double check whose voice I was reading in a couple of spots. But, I didn’t find it the least bit confusing.

Overall, this was a very well-written story, and a book I would recommend. Just don’t expect it to be light, fun reading. It’s not. It’s heavy and packs a punch. But it’s worth it. I look forward to reading more books by Ms. Clayton.

Favorite Quotes: There were a lot of good quotes in this book. At first I wasn’t going to share any, but then decided that some were just too good to pass up. By that point, I was more than halfway through the book, so these are all in the latter half of the book.

I knew what happened wasn’t my fault. I knew that. But knowing a thing is not the same as believing it. ~ page 194 (ARC)

Oh, so true. Very insightful.

Maybe you want it to be your fault. The thing about it being your fault is that it means you have some control over it, that you have some ability to keep it from happening again. ~ page 194 (ARC)

I can totally understand. When something tragic, something huge, something out of your control happens, how easy is it to beat yourself up? How hard it is to recognize – and accept – that it was NOT your fault, that there was nothing you did to cause it, that you did NOT have any control? And I can see how scary that can be for what it could mean for the future. Does that mean I’m never safe? Does that mean I’m completely powerless? I can see wanting to take the blame for something for the sole purpose of thinking that maybe you can prevent it – or something like it – from ever happening again.

What I know and what I feel are so often two different things, though. What I feel doesn’t always make sense. ~ page 238 (ARC)

I don’t think emotion and logic work together very well. At least for me, my emotions don’t always want to follow my logic, to follow what I know. My emotions go off and do their own thing.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Source: Received as part of a blog tour promotion on TLC Book Tours.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

About the Author: Meg Waite Clayton is the author of The Wednesday Sisters and The Language of Light, a finalist for the Bellwether Prize. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, she lives in Palo Alto, California, with her husband and their two sons.

You can find Ms. Clayton on her Web site, her blog, facebook, and Twitter.

Tour Info: For the main page for this blog tour, including more reviews of this book on other blogs, visit TLC’s post.

Challenges: Counts for 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

WIN IT

I am able to offer 1 copy of The Four Ms. Bradwells to one lucky reader! I do not require anything in order for you to enter. Simply leave a comment to on this post. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Central) Saturday, April 30, 2011. The winner will be chosen randomly with the help of random.org. I will send the lucky winner an e-mail notification. (It will come from proudbooknerd(at)gmail(dot)com, so make sure to add this address to your safe list or address book to ensure it doesn’t get lost in junk/bulk mail.) If I do not get a response within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to readers in the U.S and Canada.

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Tags: 100 Books in a Year Challenge 2011, 4.5 stars, giveaway, Meg Waite Clayton, review, TLC Book Tours

Review: The Raising by Laura Kasischke

April 8, 2011

Summary: Last year Godwin Honors Hall was draped in black. The university was mourning the loss of one of its own: Nicole Werner, a blond, beautiful, straight-A sorority sister tragically killed in a car accident that left her boyfriend, who was driving, remarkably—some say suspiciously—unscathed.

Although a year has passed, as winter begins and the nights darken, obsession with Nicole and her death reignites: She was so pretty. So sweet-tempered. So innocent. Too young to die.

Unless she didn’t.

Because rumor has it that she’s back.

My Thoughts: I’m not sure what to say about this book except that it’s VERY good. I’m wary of saying too much, because I don’t want to spoil it – and there’s a lot that could be spoiled. I’m having a hard time finding the words for how I feel about the book. The plot is very intriguing, but also very disturbing. What the heck is wrong with these girls? I found myself thinking that many times as the story unfolded. Another thought I had toward the end is that I sure hope people realize that this is a work of fiction. Sorority life isn’t necessarily like it’s depicted in this book. (Yes, I was in a sorority in college. NO, there was no hazing. I am saying that truthfully. My sorority has nothing to hide.) I say all of that about my sorority, because I want to express disappointment in how sorority life is portrayed. But, I don’t know how things are in sororities other than my own. I’m sure there are some out there that still do hazing – and just call it something else, keeping it a huge secret. I guess I just worry that this will give more impressionable readers the wrong idea.

Anyway …

This book was fabulous, and I was able to completely dismiss my concerns regarding the depiction of sorority life while reading. I was mildly confused by the number of characters initially, but quickly was able to keep everyone straight. I was actually quite eager to find out how it all came together. Clearly every one of these people is important to the overall story, but I couldn’t see how they’d all come together until they actually were brought together. Their individual, but very much related, stories are like individual threads that are expertly woven together on the loom. The piece as a whole is amazing, and that much stronger, for each of the individual threads sewn in.

I would highly recommend this book to other readers. I especially think fans of Laura Lippman or Heather Gudenkauf will love this book.

My Rating: 5 stars

Source: Received as part of a blog tour promotion on TLC Book Tours.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

About the Author: Laura Kasischke teaches in the University of Michigan MFA program and the Residential College. She has published seven collections of poetry and seven novels including In A Perfect World. She lives with her family in Chelsea, Michigan.