Book Goodies Giveaway #1

Have you ever heard of the website Etsy.com? It's a fantastic online store of many unique hand-crafted items, created by many talented individuals. There are many book-related things to find on there and I am going to try and feature some of the artists (because that's what they are!) on my blog.

Today's spotlight is on the art by Lark, of "larkscountryheart" (click here to visit her store). She has generously offered two prizes for our giveaway today. The 1st prize is the beautiful hand-made notepad/pen set, pictured above. The 2nd prize is the unique chain and charm bookmark, featured on the other picture.

Giveaway rules:

1. Open to US residents only.
2. The giveaway ends on July 16th.
3. There will be two randomly chosen winners.
4. You can obtain bonus entries by doing the following:

+2 for following my blog (old and new followers)

+1 for tweeting about the contest (leave the link!)

+2 for adding the link to the sidebar

+4 for blogging about this

+4 for visiting Lark's store and leaving a link in the comment about what item caught your eye

Those are pretty great odds for winning, right?

Good luck and big thanks to Lark for trusting me with this giveaway!

Review: The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

Being a major fan of both the literary and the TV version of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City, reading a book about the protagonist's teen years and background can be more than a little terrifying. What if it's completely different than what I imagined? Worse, what if it plain sucks? Could it affect my love for the character and the story?

Because honestly, Carrie Bradshaw is an icon. Even if you haven't read Sex and the City, the book, you've definitely seen Sex and the City, the TV show (or the inferior movies). Although there are obvious differences between the two Carries in the show and in the book (Bushnell's Carrie is a bona fide bitch, whereas Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie is rather lovable), both are driven by this extraordinary character. A single 30-something New York columnist, who made her way up battling the odds and the many men in her life.

Enter The Carrie Diaries, a basically YA book that is about Carrie's teen years. In it, she falls in love, betrays and gets betrayed, makes her first best gay friend and dreams of moving to New York. And it's great. So many details about Carrie's past are in this book - and since Carrie is a sample of an entire generation of women, it's actually details about many empowered women of the late '70s. Carrie is raised by a single father and this provides Bushnell with an opportunity to use Carrie's strong mother as a symbol of feminism, which works very well in the book. It is also fun to compare Carrie's teen friends with the ones we know she will eventually make.

All in all, Candace Bushnell has revisited Carrie's past and has done it well. I imagine the book will be spoiled by a movie or a TV show soon enough, but fans of Bushnell's universe will cherish this book on its own. Watch out for that infamously magnificent last page, it almost made me cry!

RATING: 4/5

Review: Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan is one of those writers I've always been dying to read, and for a good reason. I've seen two movie adaptations of his novels and loved both - the beautifully shot Atonement and the trippy The Comfort of Strangers. Both movies suggested that this was an author who, in true postmodernist fashion, likes stirring things up, mainly when it comes to mixing the traditional writing sensibilities and the broken 21st century mentality of his characters.

Then came Amsterdam, which I hear is not one of McEwan's best, and it's only like 200 pages long and incredibly easy to read. I loved it to pieces. If I had to retell it, I'd probably say it's about two old friends grieving after the death of their ex lover Molly. Then they are left to cope with the modern world and acknowledge their own moral and spiritual degradation, until the only solution is something that can be performed legally only in Amsterdam.

A totally modern book, Amsterdam still has a classical feel to it. It's British to its very core, yet it undermines everything that has been the staple of the British lifestyle. Still, it's not a satirical novel - more like a very pessimistic vision of the world, where it's still up to the people to fix what needs to be fixed, but the question is whether they will be able to do it.

RATING: 5/5

Teaser Tuesday #6

Teaser Tuesdays are hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Here are her instructions:
Grab your current read, turn it to a random page and share two 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!

My new favorite class in school is Postmodernism in English Literature, because it features many authors I've always wanted to read anyway. One of them is Ian McEwan, who I've never read before, but enjoyed two film adaptations of his books immensely (Atonement and The Comfort of Strangers). My first Ian McEwan novel is Amsterdam, and it's fantastic so far. Here's the very beginning:

Two former lovers of Molly Lane stood waiting outside the crematorium chapel with their backs to the February chill. It had all been said before, but they said it again.
"She never knew what hit her."
"When she did it was too late."
"Rapid onset."
"Poor Molly."
"Mmm."

Giveaway Winners - The Second Coming

Finally, I am posting the list of winners of David H. Burton's debut novel, The Second Coming! The winners will be contacted by David himself with information on where to download their ebooks. I am looking forward to reading your reviews! And the winners are...

Ryan G
Dr Bill Smith
Samantha
cpullum

Congratulations! Watch this space for another giveaway soon!

Review: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Again, I've been a bad blogger. School got the best of me and so my personal life (including this blog) suffered. Never worry, for I am never really gone! Now it's time to blog about books I've read in the meantime, comment on your reviews and do a vlog (look for one in a couple of days).

To kick off what I hope will be the greatest comeback since Mariah Carey, I am reviewing Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey. Jessica is an ordinary girl with a mysterious past - adopted from Romania when she was still a baby, she only knows of her American parents, while her Romanian heritage is a mystery. Enter Lucius Vladescu, a "foreign exchange student" from Romania, with the craziest idea: Jessica is to move to Romania, marry him and live as the greatest vampire queen the Balkans have ever seen.

Jessica's Guide is not to be confused with any recent YA vampire books (especially not the saga-I-shall-not-name). The approach here is much lighter, reminiscent of MaryJanice Davidson's Queen Betsy series. A chick lit in its core, the novel stumbles through multiple twists and turns and manages to come off as humorous and fun, if a little trivial. Lucius is a great character and it is through him that Fantaskey manages to sneak a little satire into the story. His perception of American culture is often funny and rings true. Jessica is spunky (of course!), but she also has her moments of humor.

All in all, Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side is a good choice for people who would like to try out a different approach to vampires. Edgy and fun, it still has an emotional scene or two, and an ending that is so mythical, it manages to wipe out almost every misstep in the books 350 pages.

RATING: 4/5

Thanks to Beth Fantaskey for providing me with a review copy of the book.

Interview and Giveaway: The Second Coming by David H. Burton

I have recently been contacted by a self-published author David H. Burton, who is hard at work promoting his debut novel, The Second Coming (see trailer here). It's my pleasure to announce this interview, as well as host a giveaway of the book. Welcome, David!

Please tell us a little bit about your debut novel, The Second Coming.

Well, it's hard to categorize other than: paranormal/fantasy/horror. It's not for those who are sensitive about their religious beliefs, as it will likely offend.

The religious context of the novel is very delicate. Where did this come from?

From my past where I was immersed in it. In my early years, I grew up as a Jehovah's Witness. Later, after my father was excommunicated and became a born-again Christian, I was brought up in a nondenominational congregation. I've never seen so much judgment and hypocrisy, which I have very little tolerance for. For instance, people will use various biblical passages to justify their own bigotry and skip the passages that don't suit them. As for my book, I decided that if others can pick and choose passages to suit their own purposes, why can't I? The Old Testament God is jealous, pompous and blood-thirsty, so it was easy to "demonize" him.

You mention on your blog that you are a person of "queer persuasion".

In other words, gay. I live with my same-sex partner near Toronto. We have three boys, brothers that we adopted two years ago. We're lucky to have them. I often blog about adoption, particularly older child adoption. Our children were truly the greatest thing that ever happened to us. And being gay has had an influence on my writing, as well. A couple of the main characters in the book are queer, and I have a children's fantasy novel finishing up that will include two dads. Sometimes you write what you know.

Your blog is used for both promotional purposes, as well as a personal blog. How important do you think it is to communicate with one's readers?

Extremely important, especially in today's connected world. I like being able to share both my experiences as a writer and as a human being with others. And I love hearing from readers! I think that, moving forward, authors will be more connected with their readers and that's a great place to be. It allows us to get feedback directly about what they like and don't like about a book. It might even help shape a series, for instance, which is very exciting (and a little scary!).

Do you have a ritual when it comes to writing?

I often write on the commuter train - that's as close to a ritual as I can get. It seems to be the only time I have to sit and be creative. Basically, I just need uninterrupted time and music. I like dark, Gothic music like Evanescence when I write. The Open Door album is perfect for writing this particular series. It's dark, tragic and brings out one's anguish. It may sound weird, but it really works.

What's next on your agenda as a writer?

I'm currently working on the next novel (tentatively titled The Blood of Isis). I'm self-published so I also have to spend considerable time peddling my book. I'm hoping a traditional publisher will pick it up at some point. Also, I've mentioned I'm working on a steampunk fantasy novel for children. There aren't enough boy books out there! I hope it will be ready soon.

What book is on your night stand at the moment? Could you share some authors whose works have influenced you?

George R.R. Martin, both on my night stand and as an influence. When I first read his novel A Game of Thrones, I was aghast that he killed off one of my favorite characters. That was a huge influence on me, realizing I shouldn't be afraid to kill off a character. I also realized I didn't need to use traditional fantasy settings, nor the dichotomy of good pitted against evil. Some people can do evil things, despite their good intentions, and vice-versa.

I also love Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, Margaret Weis, Mark Anthony, J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert J. Sawyer and Dan Brown, to name a few.

Finally, are there any literary trends you particularly like or dislike?

I hear angels are the new vampires. I suppose my angels are not what you'd expect. Sadly, publishing houses latch onto some trends and flog them to death. Right now the focus seems to be on urban fantasy and it's killing the authors who write something different. I don't follow trends as a writer or a reader and I think the vampire/werewolf thing is way overdone.

David has generously offered 5 E-book copies of his novel for a giveaway, in the format of your choice.

The giveaway is open to all and will end on April 28th. Leave a comment to enter. Extra entries are as follows:

+2 for following (never too late to start)
+2 for tweeting about the contest (leave a link!)
+2 for linking to the contest, sidebar is okay (+4 for using a picture!)

The giveaway is now closed.