Win "Tender Graces"

Win a copy of Tender Graces by Kathryn Magendie from J. Kaye's Book Blog. Enter here.

Book info - Virgina Carey's mother sent her her grandmother's journal and asked Virginia to come home. She refuses and the next she hears, her mother is dead. Filled with regrets, she heads back home. The story continues following the journal and her mother's notes in the margins.

Wins This Week

Thursday I got notice that I won The Ballad of West Tenth Street by Marjorie Kernan. The win came from Confessions of a Real Librarian . The book is about the family of the late rock star, Ree Hollander, his wife Sadie, and children Gretchen, Deen, and Hames, making their way through the life that their father left behind after a drug overdose. Sadie, a devoted mother, is also quite devoted to her vodka. Gretchen is fighting a battle with some inner demons and has been taken to an institution. Deen and Hames, who are both quite musically gifted are given reign of the house and are free to roam New York on their own. It sounds very interesting and I'm looking forward to reading it.

I also won a 3-month extension on my forum subscription to one of my favorite sites, Red Hot Sweeps. This giveaway was sponsored by one of the members and was for members only. It's a great site for sweepstakes information, a place to share your wins, get some tips and encouragement, or just have fun. I've met a lot of really nice people there. You should check it out. The forum part is for members only but you can sign up for a trial subscription for only $5.00.

Books I've read this week

Besides reading, I also like to do jigsaw puzzles and actually have quite a collection of older ones. So this week instead of reading during all my free time I put together 3, 500-piece puzzles that my sister had given me. I did, however, read one book and it was a perfect choice for someone like me who likes to read a lot. It was Lorna Landvik's Angry Housewifes Eating Bon Bons ©2003. Funny title, huh? It's about a group of 5 women who all live on the same cul-de-sac and how they become friends and form a book club as an excuse to get together. After one of their husbands makes a joke about them being a bunch of angry housewives who get together and eat bon bons, they decide to take that as the name of their club. The group inludes Faith, transplanted from Texas to cold Minnesota, who can't admit a past that includes an unknown father and drunken mother so she makes one up, even to her husband; Merit, the beautiful, shy pastor's daughter and doctor's wife who is secretly abused by her husband; Audrey, the sex queen who likes to dress like a teenager, who finds out sex isn't enough to hold a husband; Kari, a wonderful mother figure with no child of her own; and Slip, the social activist, who's never afraid to speak her own mind. The book follows the group from the sixties through the nineties, through marriages and divorce, births and deaths, new careers and shattered dreams, each chapter written from the viewpoint of one of the ladies. It was very easy to relate to the characters and I was sad when the story ended.

Win a copy of The Diary

Head over to Bookin' with Bingo for your chance to win a copy of The Diary by Eileen Goudge. For your first entry, tell Bingo if you've ever kept a diary. Extra entry info on her site. Enter from now until 6:00 PM, Friday, April 17th. If you enter using my link, please say that Kat Bryan sent you. Thanks!

Anya Bast Ginormous Contest!

Grand Prize: $100 GC to Amazon.com
Runner Up: $25 GC to B&N and a box of surprise paperbacks and other goodies (like chocolate, bath goodies, ect). This is going to be a NICE prize!
Runner Up: $25 GC to B&N and a box of surprise paperbacks and other goodies. (same as above)
Plus chances to win books (almost) every day for a month!

Go to http://www.anyabast.com/blog/ for details on how to enter.