Awesome Giveaway: Anna Karenina Book and Merchandise!

Awesome Giveaway!

(prizes)

Dear readers,

We are all VERY excited to host this giveaway from Focus Features celebrating this month's release of Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law and directed by Joe Wright ("Pride & Prejudice," "Atonement").

2 lucky winners will receive:

• a copy of the book, Anna Karenina, movie tie-in edition
• a copy of the official movie soundtrack
• a special edition, Anna Karenina Votivo candle with bookmark

Anna Karenina will open in select theaters November 16th and everywhere November 30th. Watch the trailer here.

To enter this giveaway...

• Leave a comment on this post with your name and email address for 1 entry
• Tweet about the giveaway or post about it on facebook for an additional entry, then leave a separate comment linking to your post

You may earn up to 3 total entries. Entries will be accepted until 12:000 am on Friday, November 30th, with winners contacted and announced later that day.

Happier at Home Giveaway Winners!

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Thank you to all those who entered our giveaway for Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin!

Using Random.org, we have randomly selected 3 winners:

Ingrid (not our Ingrid)

Debbie

& Melissa!

Congratulations! Check your email inbox for our correspondence.

Review & Giveaway: Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin

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Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life by Gretchen Rubin

Reviewed by Christine-Chioma

The publisher, Crown, is sponsoring a giveaway of the book. Enter to win your own copy at the end of this review. There will be three winners (one per household).

Published: 2012

It's about: Gretchen Rubin previously embarked on a "happiness project" to improve her happiness levels in her every day life. This book is a sequel of sorts in which she tries another happiness project with the main focus and theme of home. Each month she focused on different aspects of home such as possessions  interior design, time, and neighborhoods.

I thought: As a single after graduating college sometimes nowhere really feels like "home" so this was a good read for me. I learned that having a sense of home is very important to happiness. Rubin's life and circumstances are very different from mine, but I was still able to glean truths from it. I  especially liked the interesting facts about various factors that contribute to a home environment that Rubin weaved into her personal experiences (for example, Rubin's parents never allowed teasing growing up and Rubin discovered in her research that people who tease believe they are conveying a spirit of playfulness whereas the person being teased finds it more mean-spirited). I appreciated the fact that the book was to the point--in her first book, Rubin already figured out how to have a happiness project so in this book she was able to jump in with the project immediately. I appreciated being able to see the things Rubin described through the various images and pictures in the book and I was glad there weren't reader comments like there were in the previous book.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf or Rubbish Bin? In-between. I really enjoyed the book myself, but I am generally an introspective person who likes pondering happiness.  For most people I would suggest either her first book or this one, but I don't necessarily see the need for both---unless you're a happiness fanatic.

Reading Recommendations: The intended audience is people who are already happy who need a happiness boost. It is not for people who are unhappy. As well, it is not a how-to guide. The book is more of a memoir with suggestions and tips.

Warnings: Nothing

Favorite excerpts: "An unhappy truth about happiness is that one of the best predictors of whether a person will be happy in the future is whether they have been happy in the past."

"To 'Be Gretchen' was the way to happiness, but there was also a sadness to this resolution--the sadness that comes from admitting my limitations, my indifferences, all the things that I wish I were that I will never be".


*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

To enter the giveaway for a free copy of this book, like "The Blue Bookcase" facebook page and/or become a follower then leave a comment on this post including your email address. We will leave the giveaway open until 12:00 am on Wednesday, November 14th.

Review & Giveaway: The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. by Nichole Bernier

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Reviewed by Christine-Chioma and Connie


The publisher, Crown, is sponsoring a giveaway of this book. Enter to win your own copy at the end of this review.

Published: 2012

It's about: This book juxtaposes the lives of two seemingly simple mothers and reveals their complicated inner struggles, fears, and secrets. One of these women is Elizabeth, an apparently perfect suburban mother content to stay at home with her kids. The other is Kate, a former pastry chef turned stay-at-home mom who is left with Elizabeth's journals after Elizabeth dies in a plane crash around the same time as 9/11. In a spontaneous addendum to her will, Elizabeth leaves the journals to Kate, asking that she start from the beginning and use her sensitivity to determine what to do with them. The book explores several themes, including post-traumatic stress disorder, the struggle between motherhood and career ambition, death, and when we are protecting our loved ones and when we are deceiving them.

Christine-Chioma thought: I devoured this book! I started reading it at seven in the evening and finished it just after midnight. I really enjoyed the way Bernier weaved Elizabeth's old journal entries with Kate's past and present. I felt emotionally invested in all of the narratives and Bernier's characterization was brilliant. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. It was deeper than I expected--without being too heavy. The characters contemplated many of the things we don't talk about: how we're perceived by others, how much we can really know another person, how much we can rely on others. I also enjoyed the overarching theme of the things we share with others and the things we don't. The plot was compelling (and a bit mysterious) while remaining realistic. I liked the book so much I was worried about the ending, but it was satisfying.


Connie thought: When Crown emailed us about this book, they advertised it as "the perfect summer read," and I would agree. After reading so many heavy books this year (Moby Dick, Anna Karenina) and then boring pregnancy books (I'm expecting!), this book was a great way to mix it up. For a beach read, this book's prose is surprisingly good, and the themes are also surprisingly vast and deep -- if not deep for a serious piece of literature, deep for a summer read. While the story is not anything revolutionary, I appreciated that the author strove to depict the complexities of stay-at-home mothers, who are often reduced in people's minds to women who are happy to clean up other people's poop and spit-up all day. Bernier shows the difficulties of choosing one's children over one's career, the insecurities of not living up to other people's expectations, and the nagging, unfulfilled longing in these two SAHMs.

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf

Reading Recommendations: Connie says, if you're looking for something lighter without wanting to stray so far from literature as to try, say, Tyra Banks' Modelland, this is an excellent, lighter alternative. Christine-Chioma says, it would be a good book club pick--great discussions!

Warnings: Very clean. Some cutaway sex scenes (meaning no details but you knew when characters had sex) and some mature themes, including death, alcoholism, infidelity, and abortion.

Favorite excerpts:
"A sister was a companion and a competitor, the person who best understood the crucible in which you were formed. One of the few capable of completing you, and if lost, of cleaving you cleanly in half."

"But that's the funny thing about people who don't fit into a box. They grow to infiltrate everything, and when they suddenly go missing, they are missing everywhere."

"I will be okay. But the price I'll pay for not having to do this alone will be never having the certainty that I can count on him."

"There was something reflexive in the forgiveness, but of course, once you knew what made a person into a collection of oddities and defenses. The work to reach that knowing was exhausting, not the forgiving. That seemed to happen on its own."

* We received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

To enter the giveaway for a free copy of this book, leave a comment on this post including your email address. We will leave the giveaway open until 12:00 am on Wednesday, August 8th.

June 2012 Literary Giveaway Hop

We're participating in the Literary Giveaway Hop again!

As before, you can choose to win any book we've ever reviewed from our Reviews Archive.

Enter the giveaway on our facebook page here.)


(Does that link work? If not, leave a comment with your choice and your email address.)

After you enter, check out the other blogs participating in this giveaway hop in the list below.

 Good luck!

Leeswammes Candle Beam Book Blog Musings of a Bookshop Girl The Book Whisperer Book Journey (US/CA) breieninpeking (Dutch readers) bibliosue heavenali I Read That Once... The Parrish Lantern The Bibliomouse (Europe) Tell Me A Story Seaside Book Nook Rikki's Teleidoscope Sam Still Reading Nishita's Rants and Raves Readerbuzz Books Thoughts Adventures (North America) 2,606 Books and Counting Laurie Here (US/CA) Literary Winner (US) Dolce Bellezza The House of the Seven Tails The Book Diva's Reads (US) Colorimetry Roof Beam Reader Kate's Library Minding Spot (US) Silver's Reviews (US) Book'd Out Fingers & Prose (US) Chocolate and Croissants Scattered Figments Lucybird's Book Blog The Book Club Blog

Lizzy's Literary Life The Book Stop Reflections from the Hinterland (US) Lena Sledge's Blog Read in a Single Sitting The Little Reader Library (UK) The Blue Bookcase (US) 1morechapter (US) The Reading and Life of a Bookworm Curled Up with a Good Book and a Cup of Tea My Sweepstakes City (US) De Boekblogger (Europe, Dutch readers) Exurbanis Sweeping Me (US/CA) Living, Learning, and Loving Life (US) Beauty Balm Uniflame Creates Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book (US/CA) Curiosity Killed The Bookworm Nose in a book (Europe) Sharon's Garden of Book Reviews (US) Giraffe Days Page Plucker Based on a True Story Read, Write & Live Devin Berglund (N. America) Ephemeral Digest Under My Apple Tree (US) Annette Berglund (US) Book Nympho A Book Crazy, Jane Austen Lovin' Gal (US) Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity

Guest Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Guest Review by Rachel Hunt Steenblik

Rachel is a philosopher, librarian, and reader. She currently lives in Vienna, Austria with her husband. He is studying architecture. She is studying Kierkegaard, and fine breads and cheeses.

Title: Room by Emma Donoghue

Published: 2010

It's about: A small boy, and his mother. The child Jack, grows up in a small, 11x11 room, not knowing the outside world except through television. Because of this, he thinks the outside is something made up, like Muppets, or Sesame Street. For Jack, only the room is real. Only his mother, and her love. They do everything together inside that room: P.E., read, eat, play, sleep, and so forth. Everything in the room has a name. "Rug," "Door," "Table," etc. Every time of the day has an activity. There is an order and a purpose. They laugh a lot, and sometimes they scream in a screaming game. Which one can scream the loudest? Who can get closest to the single, ceiling window? They stand on the table. They try. They only receive one visitor, but young Jack is not allowed to be present. He must hide, tucked away in "Wardrobe," only to come out when the visitor is gone. Jack doesn't know exactly what happens during these visits, only that the man brings food, and sometimes special treats. Occasionally he hears things. He also knows that it can leave his mom different, tired, gone. Once his mom was gone for a whole day, even though she was there. Jack tried to take care of himself, counting the cereals. For the mother, things are different. The screaming game is not a game, but attempt at escape: the room is not home, but a prison. They are being locked up by her captor--her rapist. She has tried to create a safe space for her son. She has done the best that she knows how, with the limited circumstances she has. Jack is her hope, her constant survival. And so she hatches a plan.

I thought: Room was harrowing. And innocent. And sweet. It would have been wholly different if it had been told from the perspective of the mother. While that could have made a powerful story as well, I believe it was a good call on the part of the author. We were introduced to the room so sweetly and so simply, through the eyes of a child. He is a smart child, but a child nonetheless. So often we are left to conjecture what we know must be a sad tale, a sad beginning to the room. We make discoveries little by little. We feel for the mother. We feel for the boy--even though he is a happy and kind child--because we know that there is so much more. His life could be richer, fuller. We are scared when the mother dreams of escape, because we don't know what will happen. We are scared when they succeed, because of what does happen.

This was actually one of the most interesting parts for me, that the book didn't end there, at the usual fairy tale ending. There was no page that said that they would live "happily ever after." We are shown the after, and it is not always happy. But it wouldn't be, would it? Instead we watch Jack get sunburnt, because he has never seen the sun. (He must have been ghostly pale.) We watch newscasters interview the mother. We see criticism for the way she raised Jack (as if other's could understand). We see letters of support pour in (making her survival an act of heroism). We see her family changed. They thought she was dead. We see Jack want to return to "Room." It is his womb. His home--the only place he knows. How can we blame him?

Verdict: Stick it on the shelf. (Please. You will thank yourself, and me.)

Reading Recommendations: This book is meant for people who love honesty and hope both. It is a sad book, but it is also beautiful in that sadness. We are shown the worst and best of humanity. Those who read it will come out changed, perhaps a little more thoughtful, a little more able to embrace the whole of human experience, a little more able to affirm it.

Warnings: Some scenes/backstories of rape and violence.

Favorite excerpts: "When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I'm five I know everything."
"Ma's still nodding. 'You're the one who matters, though. Just you.' I shake my head till it's wobbling because there's no just me."
"'Goodbye, Room.' I wave up at Skylight. 'Say goodbye,' I tell Ma. 'Goodbye, Room.' Ma says it but on mute. I look back one more time. It's like a crater, a hole where something happened. Then we go out the door."
"In Room me and Ma had time for everything. I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter all over the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear of time on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit..."

What I'm reading next: Works of Love, by one Danish philosopher, Soren Aabye Kierkegaard.

Literary Giveaway Hop: Oct 15-19

We're a little late in the game here, but we are definitely participating in the Literary Giveaway Hop hosted by Judith over at Leeswamme's. This hop begins Saturday and ends on Wendesday, October 19th. I will announce the giveaway winner on Thursday, October 20th. To enter this giveaway, you must live in a country where Amazon or Book Depository will ship.

Take a look at our Book Reviews Archive and choose a title you would want to win, EXCLUDING The Hunger Games Trilogy and Anthropologie of an American Girl (because Ingrid hated that book.) Then fill out this form:

Now go enter more giveaways at these great blogs! Leeswammes Devouring Texts The Book Whisperer Seaside Book Nook The Scarlet Letter (US only) Rikki's Teleidoscope Bibliosue Curled Up With a Good Book and a Cup of Tea The Book Diva's Reads Gaskella Lucybird's Book Blog Kim's Bookish Place The Book Garden Under My Apple Tree Helen Smith Sam Still Reading Nishita's Rants and Raves Ephemeral Digest Bookworm with a View The Parrish Lantern Dolce Bellezza Lena Sledge Blog Book Clutter I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (US only) The Blue Bookcase Book Journey (US only) The House of the Seven Tails (US only) In One Eye, Out the Other (US only) Read, Write & Live Fresh Ink Books

Living, Learning, and Loving Life (US only) Bibliophile By the Sea Laurie Here Reading & Writing Reviews Amy's Book World (US only) Teadevotee Joy's Book Blog Word Crushes (US only) Thinking About Loud! Kinna Reads Sweeping Me Minding Spot (US only) Babies, Books, and Signs (US only) Lisa Beth Darling Tony's Reading List SusieBookworm (US only) Tell Me A Story Close Encounters with the Night Kind Nerfreader Mevrouw Kinderboek (Netherlands, Belgium) Boekblogger (Netherlands) In Spring it is the Dawn No Page Left Behind Elle Lit

Literary Giveaway Hop: June 25-29

Judith from Leeswammes is hosting another Literary Giveaway Hop! Of course we are ECSTATIC to participate. (You can be ecstatic to do something, right?)

Anyway, we will once again be giving away your choice of any book that we have ever reviewed, to be shipped anywhere in the world.
(Check out our review archives here to choose which book you would like to win.)
Note that we will give you 2 full extra entries if you comment on our review of the book you would like to win!
We will announce the lucky winner on Wednesday night at 12:00AM EST.

To enter, fill out the form below:

Now go check out these other great giveaways! Leeswammes (Int) The Book Whisperer (Int) Kristi Loves Books (Int) Teadevotee (Int) Bookworm with a View (Int) Bibliosue (Int) Sarah Reads Too Much (Int) write meg! (USA) My Love Affair With Books (Int) Seaside Book Nook (Int) Uniflame Creates (Int) Always Cooking Up Something (Int) Book Journey (Int) ThirtyCreativeStudio (Int) Col Reads (Int) The Book Diva's Reads (Int) The Scarlet Letter (USA) The Parrish Lantern (Int) Lizzy's Literary Life (Int) Read, Write & Live (Int) Book'd Out (Int) The Readers' Suite (Int) I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (USA) Ephemeral Digest (Int) Miel et lait (Int) Bibliophile By the Sea (Int) Polychrome Interest (Int) Book World In My Head (Int) In Spring it is the Dawn (Int) everybookhasasoul (Int) Nishita's Rants and Raves (Int) Fresh Ink Books (Int) Teach with Picture Books (USA) How to Teach a Novel (USA) The Blue Bookcase (Int) Gaskella (Int) Reflections from the Hinterland (USA) chasing bawa (Int) 51stories (Int) No Page Left Behind (USA)

Silver's Reviews (USA) Nose in a book (Int) Lit in the Last Frontier (Int) The Book Club Blog (Int) Under My Apple Tree (Int) Caribousmom (USA) breienineking (Netherlands) Let's Go on a Picnic! (Int) Rikki's Teleidoscope (Int) De Boekblogger (Netherlands) Knitting and Sundries (Int) Elle Lit (USA) Indie Reader Houston (Int) The Book Stop (Int) Eliza Does Very Little (Int) Joy's Book Blog (Int) Lit Endeavors (USA) Roof Beam Reader (Int) The House of the Seven Tails (Int) Tony's Reading List (Int) http://thinkingaboutloud.blogspot.com/ Rebecca Reads (Int) Kinna Reads (Int) In One Eye, Out the Other (USA) Books in the City (Int) Lucybird's Book Blog (Europe) Book Clutter (USA) Exurbanis (Int) Lu's Raves and Rants (USA & Canada) Sam Still Reading (Int) Dolce Bellezza (Int) Lena Sledge's Blog...Books, Reviews and Interviews (Int) a Thousand Books with Quotes (Int)

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop Winner

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... aaand we have a winner! Using random.org, I chose:

Amy from New Century Reading

as our Literary Giveaway Blog Hop Winner! The book Amy chose is The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall (our review here.)

We received almost 200 entries and lots of great comments and suggestions. Thanks to everyone who participated! 

Literary GIVEAWAY Blog Hop Feb 19-23

This weekend we are excited to participate in the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop hosted by Leeswammes' Blog!

Our giveaway is open to US and international readers living anywhere The Book Depository will ship to. We will be giving away one book of your choice that we have reviewed here at The Blue Bookcase. Click here to browse your options, fill out the form below, then check out the list of other blogs hosting literary giveaways at the very bottom of this post. 

If this is your first time here, please consider joining our good ole regular Literary Blog Hop, which we host every other week.

Have fun and good luck!

1. Leeswammes (Int)
2. Teadevotee (Int)
3. The Book Whisperer (Int)
4. Uniflame Creates (Int)
5. Bookworm with a View (Int)
6. Stiletto Storytime (USA, CA)
7. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (Int)
8. The Bookkeeper (Int)
9. Chinoiseries (Int)
10. Ephemeral Digest (Int)
11. bibliosue (Int)
12. ThirtyCreativeStudio (Int)
13. Nishitas Rants and Raves (Int)
14. Roof Beam Reader (Int)
15. Actin Up with books (USA)
16. Sarah Reads Too Much (USA)
17. Book Journey (US)
18. The Blue Bookcase (Int)
19. Read, Write and Live (Int)
20. Silver’s Reviews (USA)
21. Graasland (Int) - From Saturday evening onwards
22. Teach with Picture Books (USA)
23. Books in the City (Int)
24. thebookbee (Int)
25. The Scarlet Letter (USA)
26. Seaside Book Nook (USA)
27. Chocolate and Croissants (Int)
28. write meg! (USA)

Spooktacular Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Emily at Reading While Female

You've won our Spooktacular giveaway!


We'd like to thank all those who participated in our giveaway. We had 94 people enter for a total of 128 entries (with tweets, blog posts, etc). We used random.org to generate the winner from our list of entrants.

Halloween Week: Roald Dahl and a Spooktacular Giveaway!

Posted by Connie

It's Monday, October 25th, and today begins our Halloween week countdown! Every day this week, we'll be comin' at you with a Halloween themed post and lots of suggestions for readings to add a bit of horror to your week.

I'm kicking things off today with one of my favorite horror stories --

Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter." 

Photo courtesy of Alana

Ever since I read this gem in middle school, it has stuck with me... perhaps even some nights when I haven't wanted it to. Dahl centers his story around an all-too-eager housewife, sitting and waiting, counting down the minutes until her husband gets home. But when he has some bad news for her, this housewife goes a little beyond nutty.

The story is pretty short, very simple, and incredibly twisted. It's that weird horror story that by the (perfect) final line, you are feeling simultaneously uncomfortable and oddly pleased. If you have a penchant for the strange, this story will certainly satisfy.

And guess what? You can read the full text here for free.

PLUS this week, in honor of Halloween, we here at the Blue Bookcase are hosting a giveaway as part of the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop! What, you ask, are we giving away?

Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems (hardcover)

including all your favorites such as:

The Murder in the Rue Morgue
The Fall of the House of Usher
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Black Cat
The Cask of Amontillado
The Pit and the Pendulum (one of my favorites)
The Raven

and many, many, MANY more!

Here's how to enter:

Follow this blog on Google Friend Connect or Twitter, then fill out the form below

Bonus entries:

Tweet about this contest +1 (up to 5 points if on different days)

Blog about this contest +3

Comment on another post on our blog +1 (up to 3; must be new comments)

The giveaway ends at 11:59 pm on Halloween, October 31st

International submissions welcome

Check out these other great giveaways, too!

And the winner is...

Well, it's that time -- our first book giveaway ended at noon MST today (so about 12 minutes ago), and we have a winner!  Not including multiple posts from the same person or our own answers to people's questions, we had 20 contestants.  I used random.org to generate a random number from those 20 contestants, and it is...

Number 20 -- Chersti over at Literary Life Notes

Congratulations, Chersti!  We'll be in contact soon to give you your book of choice -- Dragon Slippers.

Book Giveaway Contest

Well, we've done it.  We've reached our target 50 followers (and then some).  You know what that means!  We can finally give away a free book!

So, last-minute contestants will have until noon (MST) on Tuesday, May 18th (this Tuesday) to enter here.  Then, we will use a random number generator to pick our winner, and we will announce it!

Also, since we have posted many book reviews since some of you entered, you will have a chance to change your mind about what book you picked.

Remember, you must do more than be a follower to be entered.  You must either post about us on your blog, facebook, or twitter, as well to be eligible.

Good luck!

Our very first BOOK GIVEAWAY!

All right, it's finally here: The Blue Bookcase's first free book giveaway!  Get excited, because you could win a copy of the book of your choice that we've reviewed here on the Blue Bookcase!

Here's how to enter:

1. Become a follower of our blog, with your little picture down there in the sidebar.  We're only going to do the giveaway once we've reached 50 followers.
2. Spread the word about The Blue Bookcase and our giveaway!  You can do this by:
1. Adding a link to your facebook page
2. Writing about it on your blog
3. Tweeting about it with a link
3. Leave a comment on this post sending us the link to send us to check out what you did in #2 along with the book we've reviewed of your choice that you'd like to receive if you win the contest!

Remember, we're only going to do the giveaway if we reach 50 followers, so start spreading the word!