Beth Hoffman Book Signing & Giveaway

January 14, 2010November 10, 201078 Comments

Tonight I met Bonnie from Redlady’s Reading Room for the first time. We only live about 20 minutes from each other and we decided to get together and meet Beth Hoffman, author of Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt. Bonnie is a fellow Ohio State grad and we had a lot of fun chatting before we headed to the library for the book discussion and signing. I have exchanged a few emails with Beth and knew that she was sweet. However, I think she was even sweeter in person! She was full of charm and warmth and if you have the chance to meet her on her book tour, take the opportunity! (tour locales here) She was truly inspirational.

I should note that before her discussion she talked to Bonnie and when Bonnie introduced me, Beth said, “Oh, Stacy, Max’s Mom!” Well, let’s be honest, I was floored that she remembered to mention him. How cool is that?!

Okay, a couple of photos…

Beth getting ready to speak.

Bonnie, Beth, and me.

We also got to meet a few new-to-us local bloggers and writers. Christina from Write-Brained and Lisa and Laura from Lisa and Laura Write. Why not check them out?

Tomorrow I’ll post my interview with Beth, so come back for that.

Okay, now for your chance to win a brand new copy of Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt. Leave a comment with your email address and you’ll be entered to win. You have a chance to earn extra entries by participating in my Tuesday quizzes. Open internationally and I’ll draw a winner on February 1st.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

2009 Challenges

January 8, 2010January 8, 20103 Comments

readown3

1. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

2. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

3. Second Nature by Alice Hoffman

4. Fox River by Emilie Richards

5. The Pigman by Paul Zindel

6. Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell

7. Presidential Leadership edited by James Taranto and Leonard Leo

8. The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood

9. Smart Women by Judy Blume

10. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

11. Yesterday I Saw the Sun by Ally Sheedy

12. Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts

13. Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil by John Berendt

14. Naked Came the Matinee by Hiaasen et al.

15. Deep Shaker by Les Roberts

16. April Morning by Howard Fast

17. Sights Unseen by Kaye Gibbons

18. The 5th Horseman by James Patterson

19. The Zero Hour by Joseph Finder

20. An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender

21. Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts

22. Joy School by Elizabeth Berg

23. The Cove by Catherine Coulter

24. The Cold Moon by Jeffery Deaver

25. Children of Eve by Kevin Casey

26.. The Rival by Brenda Joyce

27. House of Many Shadows by Barbara Michaels

28. Small Town Girl by Lavyrle Spencer

29. Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

30. The Angel by Carla Neggers

31. Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick

32. When Venus Fell by Deborah Smith

33. Pot of Gold by Judith Michael

34. Watchers by Dean Koontz

35. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

36. Storm Rider by Cassie Edwards

37. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

38. A Useful Affair by Stella Cameron

39. Billy Budd by Herman Melville

40. The Quilter’s Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini

41. God on a Harley by Joan Brady

42. The Stone Monkey by Jeffrey Deaver

43. The Time Machine by HG Wells

44. Silk and Stone by Deborah Smith

45. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

46. Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg

47. Dead Sleep by Greg Iles

48. The Taking by Dean Koontz

49. Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

50. The Appeal by John Grisham

Authors

A Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen

B God on a Harley by Joan Brady

C Working Stiff by Tori Carrington

D The Stone Monkey by Jeffery Deaver

E Storm Rider by Cassie Edwards

F April Morning by Howard Fast

G Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

H Second Nature by Alice Hoffman

I Dead Sleep by Greg Iles

J The Rival by Brenda Joyce

K The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

L Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts

M Pot of Gold by Judith Michael

N The Angel by Carla Neggers

O The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

P What I Did For Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Q Slightly Shady by Amanda Quick

R Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts

S Small Town Girl by Lavyrle Spencer

T Murder on Nob Hill by Shirley Tallman

U Sliver of Truth by Lisa Unger

V Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguie

W The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

X Sky Burial by Xinran

Y Blood Bayou by Karen Young

Z The Pigman by Paul Zindel

TITLES

A Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

B Billy Budd by Herman Melville

C Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah

D Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

E Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell

F Fox River by Emilie Richards

G Garden of Beasts by Jeffery Deaver

H The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

I An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender

J Joy School by Elizabeth Berg

K Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells

L Long Lost by Harlan Coben

M The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood

N Naked Came the Manatee by Carl Hiaasen, et al.

O Outtakes from a Marriage by Ann Leary

P Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich

Q The Quilter’s Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini

R The Red Siren by M.L. Tyndall

S Salty Like Blood by Harry Kraus, MD

T Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

U Ultra-Longevity by Mark Liponis, MD

V The Vanished Man by Jeffery Deaver

W Watchers by Dean Koontz

X The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton

Y Yesterday I Saw the Sun by Ally Sheedy

Z The Zero Hour by Joseph Finder

Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil by John Berendt

When Venus Fell by Deborah Smith

Sights Unseen by Kaye Gibbons

Runs from May 15-August 15

From July 1 – Dec 31, 2009

1. Listen to Sense & Sensibility

2. Watch Sense & Sensibility movie

3. Read or listen to Persuasion

4. Read Pride & Prejudice

5. Read The Jane Austen Book Club

6. Watch The Jane Austen Book Club movie

Tracy Chevalier Book Signing and Giveaway

January 8, 2010January 10, 201057 Comments

Tonight my friend Jean and I met for dinner at Joseph-Beth Bookstore and stayed for the book reading by bestselling author Tracy Chevalier. I just recently read Girl with a Pearl Earring and loved it, so I was excited to hear her speak. Her first question to the 30-40 of us who were there was ‘who likes Jane Austen’? Well, with a start like that you knew it was going to be good. She chose 3 different passages from her new book, Remarkable Creatures (just realeased January 5th), and spent half an hour reading to us. She was wonderful.

Then she opened it up to questions. Here are a few things I learned…

*It took her 2 1/2 years from beginning research to completion to finish Remarkable Creatures. As part of her research she looked for fossils and brought a few that she had found to the signing.

*Margaret Atwood is the living writer that she respects the most.

*She went to an Ohio college, Oberlin. One of her professors was sitting in the front row.

*She chose to not be directly involved with the making of the movie, Girl with a Pearl Earring. She thinks a movie should respect the book, but not be a slave to it or the movie will fall flat. She was able to visit the set and loved it.

*Her next book is set in Ohio. Woo Hoo for the Buckeye State!

It was a wonderful way to spend a Thursday evening with a friend. So, when it was my turn to have my book signed I had her sign two.

So, is this your book she’s signing? Could be. Leave a comment with your email address and you’ll be entered to win this autographed hardcover copy of Remarkable Creatures. You have a chance to earn extra entries by participating in my Tuesday quizzes. Open internationally and I’ll draw a winner on February 1st.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, by Beth Hoffman

January 7, 201028 Comments

Finished 1-2-10, rating 5/5, fiction, pub. 2010

I stared at my hands, not knowing how to respond. I’d never heard of a holy man named after a llama, I’d never heard of a great gaping vagina, and I didn’t know a thing about the black boomerang of karma. All I knew for sure was this: I had been plunked into a strange, perfumed world that, as far as I could tell, seemed to be run entirely by women.

Chapter 8

Cecelia Honeycutt is a twelve-year-old Ohio girl who has grown up with a mentally ill mother and a mostly absent father. When her mother is killed in an accident CeeCee is shipped off to her great-aunt Tootie in Savannah, Georgia. Here, CeeCee is surrounded by wealth, beauty, and the constant love and support of Aunt Tootie and Oletta, the cook who is really a part of the family. CeeCee is still dealing with guilt and abandonment and grief, but she is also falling in love with where she is, the south.

Okay, first book of the year and the one I’ll be judging others by since I’m giving it 5 stars. This book made me cry and laugh and left me with a smile on my face, not something that happens very often. CeeCee was a charming girl who had led a hard life to date and my heart broke for her. I loved her and her mistakes were both funny and important, reminding me that she was still just a girl no matter how grown up she sometimes seemed.

The other main player in this story was Oletta. She was an important woman to CeeCee and CeeCee was just as important her. The friendship between the two was the glue that held this story together. I also loved all of the other kooky women CeeCee met and they each left an imprint on her heart and sense of well being. This book is a love affair with the south, especially southern women. I love that, although I’d like to note that us northerners are not all that bad and have our virtues too 😉

I highly recommend this one! Hoffman’s debut novel was simply wonderful. I received this for free from Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program.

Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill

January 6, 2010January 6, 201015 Comments

Finished audio 12-31-09, rating 2.5/5, fiction, pub. 2007

Jude Coyne is an aging rock star who goes through 20-year-old goth girls like candy. When his assistant finds a ghost for sale online he knows that Jude will want it. Only once Jude receives the old suit and the ghost with it bad things start to happen. The ghost turns deadly and Jude must face his past sins and accept that they are directly responsible for what is happening.

9 cds, 11 hours and countless good reviews later and I confess that I really did not like this book. The last two cds actually made me angry because I just wanted it to end. Harsh, yes, but true. This book was well written (by Stephen King’s son) but boring. I did not care about the characters at all and because of that this story just dragged on and on. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but was disappointed. My husband and I listened to this on our Christmas travels and we still had 2 cds when we got home. I finished listening on the treadmill and Jason decided not to bother finishing at all.

I confess that I did not enjoy the audio and I think that could have something to do with my dislike. It was so slow. If I had been reading it I may have been able to move along at a faster pace, but that doesn’t really solve the problem of characters I didn’t like. Hill is a talented writer and I would read another of his books, but not anytime soon. A disappointing way to end the year.

I checked this audio book out of the library.

The First Ladies of the United States, by Nicola Gillies

January 3, 20109 Comments

Finished 12-31-09, rating 3/5, history, pub. 1997

To date, there have been thirty-eight First Ladies, each different, but all possessing to various degrees the values of loyalty, compassion, strength, courage, and faith.

from the Foreword

I have a fascination with politics and people in power. It is interesting to me to see where they came from, how they got to where they are, and what happens to them once they gain power, whether they sought it or not. Some of these women were born for the role of First Lady and others did not want the job at all. A surprising number had health issues that diminished their public role and some even died while in the White House.

This is a small book, with a picture of each woman and a small bio on her life, by small I mean a page for most and two pages for a few. This book is a great overview for teens or a nice, slight book for the casual reader. Obviously, its 63 pages do not lead to depth, but it does have some very interesting facts about each of the ladies. Some Presidents did not have a wife and some had two during their term(s) in office. On Tuesday, my first quiz of the year will be on the 38 women in the book (Clinton was the last one included) and there is a possibility of one lucky reader to win the book! So, come back Tuesday for more detailed info on each of the First Ladies.

I chose this book from my personal library because I needed to finish one more book before 2010 to reach my goal of 130 books for 2009 🙂

FREE Books (and a puzzle) for January

January 2, 2010January 2, 20105 Comments

Leave a comment, tell me which book or puzzle you want and I’ll get it to you for FREE either by mail or personally if I’ll see you soon. The first one to request each book or puzzle wins. Once you’ve ‘won’ I can get your shipping address if I need it. Also, you can come back and get a free book every month if you want. These have all been read before.

(Isn’t the snow pretty from our front door?)

I love jigsaw puzzles. I’ll probably offer one a month through the winter months.

1. The Japanese Footbridge, Giverny by Claude Monet. 2000 pieces. 38″ x 26″. It’s been put together once (by me). for Charity

2. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom with John & Elizabeth Sherrill. Mass Market. Pub. 1971. 241 pages. This book has been read by who knows how many people and normally I wouldn’t offer a book that’s in poor condition, but it was one of my favorite books from last year, so I have to try to pass it on 🙂 When it was published in 1971 it cost $1.75. for Sarah

3. Stories by O.Henry. Mass Market. Contains 23 stories. 210 pages. Not sure it’s ever been read. for Em

4. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. Trade paperback. Published 1992. 263 pages. It’s been read once I think. for Margie

One More Challenge

January 1, 2010January 1, 201012 Comments

I promised myself no more challenges, but I saw this one over at Under the Boardwalk and have to try it! It’s the Book Around the States challenge.

50 states of mind The challenge is to read a book set in every state. I’m not all that confident that I’ll be able to do it since I’ve joined too many challenges already, but I’m excited to try.

2009 Wrap-up, part 2

December 31, 2009January 9, 201012 Comments

Out of the 130 books I read this year (the final 2 to be reviewed in the next week) I gave only 3 a perfect 5 Star rating. I’m picky.

I gave out 15 4 1/2 Stars. To make it a top ten list I’ll choose my favorite 7 from this list.

I see none of these were published in 2009, but that can’t be helped now.

I joined 5 Challenges and COMPLETED THEM ALL!!!! Of course, I should confess I only finished the 100 Mile Challenge today at 3:30 pm after walking 4 miles on the treadmill 🙂

readown3 I made a goal of 50 and reached that number in October.

I finished this one in October too. For each letter I read a title and author.

I realized how little Southern fiction I read and did something about it. I only read 3 books, but liked them all.

I’d never read Austen and enjoyed reading Pride & Prejudice and listening to Sense & Sensibility during this challenge.

I had 3 months to walk 100 miles. As I’ve already confessed it came down to the wire, but I did it!

And this is a monthly challenge where I committed to reading when I could. Of the four months, I’ve participated in 2 and look forward to more screenplays and movies in 2010.

Thanks for reading and commenting! I appreciate each and every one of you 🙂 Have a fun and safe New Year’s Eve.

The Cleveland Connection, by Les Roberts

December 30, 20093 Comments

Finished 12-30-09, rating 4/5, mystery, pub. 1993

Book 4 in the Milan Jacovich mystery series

I don’t kid myself that I’m changing the world during my brief tenure here, but I’d like to believe I’m at least making a little dent. I think we all nurture a secret terror that our living and dying will go unremarked, unmourned, that unlike Jimmy Stewart in that perennial Christmas movie, our life won’t make a damn bit of difference to anyone.

Chapter 2

Milan is a 40 year-old divorced police officer turned private detective who has spent his whole life in Cleveland, Ohio. When an old classmate hires him to find her missing grandfather and his good friend, Ed, starts receiving death threats, Milan is forced to bully, and bribe, and hope that he will still be in one piece when the day is done. There’s never a neighborhood bar he can’t find trouble in and rarely a woman not interested in this ex-football player.

There are many mysteries to be solved, but the main focus is on war criminals of World War II and the losses of the Serbians at the hand of the Nazis. It’s an interesting history lesson of the war and of Cleveland. Roberts really does capture the vibe of this city I live in the shadow of.

This book is much more introspective than the first three. Milan is single and lonely and it has made him melancholy. Milan is a great character who is always trying to do the right thing, but the right thing is not always black or white. I never know for sure what side Milan will come down on in complicated issues and that makes him a very interesting character.

I love this series and think it only gets better with each book. Roberts manages to keep many storylines going at once without ever confusing the reader and I appreciate that I can never see how it’s all going to come together until the end.

This book was from my personal library.

Stacy's Books

books, movies, and boy

Tag: Books