Sharing Beyond Books #274 Comment Giveaway October 15, 2016

Hello again and Welcome to Sharing Beyond Books, SBB!

Thanks to everyone who commented last week.

Three commenters might picture celebrities and six might visualize their own image of the characters. But the rest of us, (nine), do not really create or see character images.

~~~~~

The Winner from SBB #273 comments is: #5 SueF who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated ARC/Review titles or (not yet updated) Love titles - all linked near the end of the post. [I'm hoping to update the book choices - maybe the beginning of next year, lol.] Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #274

(One Question.)

bn100 asks: Can you stop anywhere in a book or do you have to finish the chapter??

This is another good question. Our ladies in book club noted this month that they like shorter chapters because they want to stop at the end of a chapter. Although that is my preference, I will stop in the middle if need be. Sometimes I just grab a few sentences before I am interrupted or have to get back to life tasks. So I am willing to snatch what I can whenever I can. :-).

Image Found at Quotesgram.com.

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify.

Your turn to share: bn100 asks: Can you stop anywhere in a book or do you have to finish the chapter??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Valentine and "Love" books or the February 2015 Newly Updated ARC/Review List. (My daughter pulled several of the Christmas titles to give with gift bags we made up for the nursing homes. One of these days I will get together a new box of Christmas titles.)

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made through Saturday October 22, 2016 at 5 PM central.

Audible Book Review: Lost in a Good Book: A Thursday Next Novel by Jasper Fforde

This is crazy fun listening - makes me chuckle and smile.
Lost in a Good Book: A Thursday Next Novel
Written by: Jasper Fforde
Narrated by: Emily Gray

Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
Series: Thursday Next Novels, Book 2
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:03-08-11
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Genre: Female Detective, Alternate History
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
Intrepid literary detective Thursday Next is back in the second installment of Jasper Fforde's one-of-a-kind series. The inventive, exuberant, and totally original literary fun that began with The Eyre Affair continues with Jasper Fforde’s magnificent second adventure starring the resourceful, fearless literary sleuth Thursday Next.
When Landen, the love of her life, is eradicated by the corrupt multinational Goliath Corporation, Thursday must moonlight as a Prose Resource Operative of Jurisfiction—the police force inside books. She is apprenticed to the man-hating Miss Havisham from Dickens’s Great Expectations, who grudgingly shows Thursday the ropes. And she gains just enough skill to get herself in a real mess entering the pages of Poe’s "The Raven".
What she really wants is to get Landen back. But this latest mission is not without further complications.
Along with jumping into the works of Kafka and Austen, and even Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, Thursday finds herself the target of a series of potentially lethal coincidences, the authenticator of a newly discovered play by the Bard himself, and the only one who can prevent an unidentifiable pink sludge from engulfing all life on Earth.
Delve into Jasper Fforde's literary universe with the other books in his Thursday Next fantasy/detective series.
©2011 Jasper Fforde (P)2011 Penguin Audiobooks

Review:
Thursday Next is a spunky literary detective working for Spec Ops (Special Operations) in an alternate London. Thursday won notoriety in her successful investigation in Book 1, The Eyre Affair, when she took down a prime criminal, Hades. Thursday is dodging the division’s publicist who keeps seeking her presence for promotions.

During an investigation, Thursday is caught in a time slip that involves her with Neanderthals, who have been recreated and trapped as civil slaves. A second loop indicates that Thursday is the target of an assassin. Thursday’s father is fully aware of time jumps and time slips as he was a “Chronoguard” officer who went rogue and lives in an alternate timeline while trying to prove corruption in the system. He is willing to help Thursday but needs her help to prevent the eminent destruction of the world from a strange pink goo.

Meanwhile Thursday is also facing threats from the corrupt corporate giant, Goliath. Goliath’s leader has a step-brother who was trapped by Thursday in Poe’s The Raven. Now the leader has ‘eradicated’ Thursday's husband, Landon. He is blackmailing Thursday to show him how to get into the literary library world to rescue his step brother.

The prior portal to the literary realm was opened by Thursday’s uncle, a prolific inventor. Now it has been closed and Thursday doesn’t realize she can get to the realm without the portal until she is cornered. She finds herself in the world of Dicken’s Great Expectations where she becomes the apprentice to Miss Havisham. She is assigned to help with the internal police force, the Prose Resource Operative of Jurisfiction. During her tasks Thursday ventures into the worlds of Kafka, Jane Austen, and even Beatrix Potter. She makes enemies and friends of the Neanderthals who have been recreated and trapped as civil slaves.

If all of that sounds rather crazy, it is – zany, crazy fun especially for those of us bibliophiles who are familiar with the classic authors and works that make up part of the stories’ adventures. It had been a while since I read The Eyre Affair but I remembered that it was fun listening. As I began this story it took me only a few minutes to remember the characters and get back into the fast-paced, comical stream of Thursday’s world. I love her unique pet, Pickwick, a dodo bird. The author melds literary characters with a rather fantastical world of strange, and sometimes corrupt, police procedures.

I recommend this series to readers who want to enjoy light, fun, literature name-dropping entertainment. I will be picking up Book 3, The Well of Lost Plots: A Thursday Next Novel, for future listening fun.

Audio Notes: Emily Gray does a wonderful job narrating this craziness. Her tone conveys a perfect flighty atmosphere to enhance the characters and dialogue. Although I am sure this is fun in print, for me it is a hoot in audio.

This selection is from my Audible library picked up in August, 2012. It qualifies for TBR Mountain, Audio Book Challenge and "L" in Alphabet Soup Challenge.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway October 14, 2016

Happy Friday!
Work moves along well. 
Our weather has been getting cooler which is nice.
I hope to put up a new list soon.

TO ENTER FRIDAY PICK

US Entrants: Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
INTERNATIONAL: Leave a comment indicating "Gift Card" (see further comments near the end of the post.)

CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 9:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up too late to do the winner post! I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.

Thank you to all who entered the October 7 Pick. This week there were two automatic wins. Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times without other people asking for that book during those weeks. There were one title blocked by two requests.
AUTO: SueF gets Wicked and
Rita gets The Inheritance

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from October 7 Pick:
Elizabeth gets Circle of Stars

Llehn also gets a GC

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual, sexy or sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

Are you planning on any spooky books this month?
Image found at A Book Long Enough.

New Book Group #67 September 9, 2016

(*Three more very old books from my Gothics box.)
PAIRS:
Into the Night (book 5) and Gone too Far (book 6) by Suzanne Brockmann
The Wedding Night of an English Rogue: A Novel (A Boscastle Affairs Novel Book 3)
The Wicked Games of a Gentleman: A Novel (A Boscastle Affairs Novel Book 4) by Jillian Hunter
SINGLES:
*Bloodstone by Lynn Benedict (1973 - yellowed)
*The Brittany Stones by Lynna Cooper (1974 - yellowed; corner of cover cut)
Her Scoundrel by Geralyn Dawson
In Search of Lucy: A Novel by Lia Fairchild
No Place for a Lady by Katherine Greyle
Wicked by Beth Henderson
To Die For: A Novel (Blair Mallory Book 1) by Linda Howard
The Inheritance by Joan Johnston
A Dark Champion by Kinley MacGregor
*The Man in the Garden by Paule Mason (1969 - yellowed)
Mysterious: The Right Path / This Magic Moment / The Search for Love by Nora Roberts (2008)
The Spitfire by Bertrice Small


New Book Group #66 June 25, 2016

(I will post a picture later. *Four of these books are very old; pulled from a box of gothic novels I have had for many years. They may not be wanted by anyone and if so, I will donate elsewhere in time.)
SINGLES:

*Maggie – Her Marriage by Taylor Caldwell (1953 very old, yellowed pages, some stain damage doesn't effect reading)
Fire Dancer by Ann Maxwell
Freedom's Stand by J. M. Windle


New Book Group #65 April 29, 2016

SINGLES:
A Dangerous Fancy by Tracy Cozzens
The Champion by Heather Grothaus
So Wild A Kiss by Nancy Richards-Akers


New Book Group #64 March 4, 2016

SINGLES:

First Things First by Stephen R. Covey- Audio Cassette


New Book Group #63 January 22, 2016

SINGLES:
Wayward Winds by Michael Phillips - Audio Tapes

New Book Group #62 November 6, 2015 -- All Gone

New Book Group #61 October 30, 2015
After I noticed the trend I went on a hunt for “bride” titles. I even pulled a couple from some of my long time collections(*). (But they are not getting read on my shelves.)

SINGLES:
Border Bride by Deborah Hale

New Book Group #60 September 18, 2015
A set of "haunting" tales and a few mysteries for October!

SINGLES:
The Shadowing by Joan Overfield

Trilogy Of Mysteries Audio Book Shadow Prey, There Was A Little Girl, Smokescreen Audio Cassettes (NOT CDs)


New Book Group #59 July 31, 2015 -- All Gone



Cruise to a Wedding by Betty Neels

New Book Group #58 June 26, 2015 -- All Gone

New Book Group #57 May 1, 2015 -- All Gone


New Book Group #56 March 20, 2015
SINGLES:
The Sweetheart Dance by Patti Ann Colt
Raintree Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones (spine creases)

New Book Group #55 February 5, 2015 -- All Gone

New Book Group #54 December 26, 2014 -- All Gone

Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card - Tape Cassettes


BOX 4 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 47-53)

The Hidden Truth of Cytech's Randall Forty byVickie Kennedy
First to Fight Anthology
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
Undateable by Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle


BOX 3 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 39- 47)

Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes (link is for mass media version)

Sweet Talking Man by Betina Krain


BOX 2 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 24- 38)

Thinner by Stephen King
Foundation (Foundation Novels) by Isaac Asimov
Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)
A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley -- NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one

The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe
Anthology: Something Borrowed, Something Blue - this book has spine creases and minor water damage...I thought I had read it and liked it but now I realize it was another anthology I read with Elaine Barbier.


BOX #1 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 1- 23)

Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser


If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

I started Friday Pick on November 27, 2009 and in almost six years I have posted 62 groups of 16 (992) books to find new homes! (as of November 6, 2015).

I am happy to say that so far about 1005+ books have found new homes! YAY. I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed. I periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want!

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $7.00 and $10.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

Audio Book Review: Loreena's Gift by Colleen M. Story

This engaging audio presents a different view (not religious) of afterlife.

Loreena's Gift
by Colleen M. Story
Narrator: Alyssa Bresnahan

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:04-12-16
Publisher: Recorded Books
Genre: Listed as Religious & Inspirational
(although I think it fits Fantasy better)
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Description
Loreena Picket is a young blind woman with a gift. In the rare moments when she's not wearing her gloves, if she takes your hand, she travels with you to your own personal afterlife. Loreena will return -- you won't. Loreena's minister uncle says her power is a gift from God, and together they help terminally ill people die peacefully. Still, Loreena is conflicted, because she's seen the afterlife, and it's nothing like her uncle says it is. This uneasy peace is shattered when one night, Loreena must take a life to save her wayward brother. This act draws her unwillingly into a seedy world of crime, and she must learn to survive being kidnapped, confined, and used for her power. And, ultimately, she must discover whether her true nature is that of an angel of mercy or an assassin.

Review:
Loreena has more troubles than just her blindness. If she touches anyone hand to hand she takes them to their death. The first time it happens as an accident to a growing friend and she is devastated. Guilt is a heavy burden even as her uncle, a preacher, pushes her to assist terminally ill congregants to ‘pass over’. Each death journey is different once they pass through the initial ‘tunnel’. In addition to the guilt she feels Loreena is confused by what she perceives as conflict in the journeys and the faith teachings of her uncle.

Loreena is thrilled to unexpectedly see her brother, Saul, who walked away three years before. She agrees to go out with him and his new girlfriend, who happened to be the daughter of the cancer patient she just helped. During their evening at the bar a business ‘enforcer’ comes after Saul. The man beats Saul and then pulls a gun. Loreena reacts to stop the man – an act that propels her into a nightmare.

A strange man appears in the church. Dominic claims to be a journalist who wants to do an interview of the blind church pianist. Loreena steps out of her carefully controlled world and convinces Dominic to help her go looking for her brother. Instead they find a gang boss who wants to use her skills for his own purposes.

The story is told from Loreena’s POV and the author does a good job of presenting her world of sounds, smells and touches. When Loreena is forced to use her ‘gift’ against her will some of the afterlife scenes are far from serene. The story has a certain amount of creepiness and darkness – in more than sight. There is violence and a jolting rape scene. It fits in the story but is painful.

The story is listed under ‘religious and inspirational’ but I didn’t really feel it fit that genre as much as it fits in fantasy and paranormal. I liked the twists of the story and found it very engaging. I recommend this to readers who like paranormal tales with a bit of darkness (no pun intended).

Audio Notes: Alyssa Bresnahan does an effective job of narration. Her voice fits the age of Loreena (21) and even though the presentation is a bit low key (her style I think?) she conveys the emotions of the characters. The narration enhanced my engagement with the story.

I received this audio from the publisher through Audiobook Jukebox.  It qualifies for my Audio Book Challenge.

Book Review: Ergon by George HS Singer

This is a thought provoking collection of life reflections.
Ergon
by George HS Singer

Paperback: 86 pages
Publisher: WordTech Communications LLC (June 18, 2016)
ISBN-13: 978-1625491923
Genre: Poetry
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

George Singer's ERGON is precise, delicate and fierce in its engagement with the world.
George HS Singer, a former Buddhist monk, has written a debut collection of poems about his life as a monk and in the monastery and about his life when he left to marry and have a family. As he tries to balance his spiritual principles with every day life as a husband and father, these poems utilize nature as a backdrop for his quest.

Review:
Mr. Singer shares a wide range of life feelings in his varied topics: nature (birds, deer, tides, the beach and stars), childhood and coming of age, childbirth, family madness (mental illness), loving, aging and growing old together.

I have to admit that I received this book with certain expectations. Mr. Singer was a former Zen Monk and I was curious to see how that would be reflected in his writing. In my naiveté (rather than claiming my stupidity) I had focused on the term “monk” and not the descriptive “zen”. (A Zen Monk is a Buddist Monk so it was not what I expected.) After I started reading the poems I realized my error and had to eliminate my expectations so I could read the work with a different-- more open-- mind-set.

Some – well I guess all-- of the poems that I note as ‘nature’ have a life meaning beyond the obvious descriptions. They paint a picture, an image, and then made me stop to think about the feelings that were invoked. That, to me, is an enjoyable part of reading poetry. I enjoyed the cadence of the poems which has a gentle – dare I say, ‘zen-like’—meditative tone.

The selections are presented under four headings: Visiting, Ergon, Our Quotidian, and Immensity Although I enjoyed all of the work I think my favorites were in the third grouping. I had to look it up. Quotidian means “ordinary or everyday, especially when mundane.” This group of sharing addresses the memory of skin on skin that eventually turns to pains and groans of age, yet show a warmth of growing old with one who is loved. Perhaps I relate well to those thoughts.

The beginning of “Our Quotidian”:

I love you differently
now than when you were hot
and I sizzled---

The author explains that Ergon means "the core purpose of something or someone...". His collections seems to say that although it may be different for each person, there are many things in life and emotion that we share. Many of the poems reflect (in a gentle, sometimes haunting way) on wars, illness and pain, as well as love. The poems reveal events that are sometimes common and sometimes foreign to a reader but still have elements that connect us. There are surprising glimpses of reactions to tragedy in everyday events as in "After the Retreat" which tells of a doe hit by a car. Another poem that particularly caught my heart is "It Seemed He Swam" which shares about teaching a mute, palsied child and how the young boy learned to communicate his needs. This was very touching.

The poems are short and easily read in “bite-size” portions that are good for the mind to chew on. I recommend this to readers who might be seeking a book to encourage meditations on life shared in a lovely, caring voice.

I received this title from the author through Poetic Book Tours.

About the Author:

George HS Singer, a former Zen Buddhist monk and student of Rev. Master Jiyu Kennett, lives with his wife of forty-two years in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he works as a professor at University of California, Santa Barbara. He was educated at Yale, Southern Oregon University, and the University of Oregon. He wrote poetry in college but took a twenty-year break before taking it up as a regular discipline. He has been a long term student of Molly Peacock and has had the opportunity to work with other marvelous poets through the Frost Place in Franconia, N.H. He writes about life in and out of a Zen monastery, trying to live mindfully in a busy and troubled world, his love of nature and of his wife. The arts have become more central to his life. Singer’s poems were published in the Massachusetts Review, Prairie Schooner, and Tar River Poetry.