Enquiring Minds - Meme Week 24 PLUS Comment Giveaway + Winner

Thanks for sharing last week about your first, worst and best jobs. Several of us did not like telemarketing!
I thought it was funny - but understandable! -that Cheryl's teaching was her best and worst job.

The Winner from Enquiring Minds Week #23 is: #3 Mystica. Mystica -please pick a book from the Love Books List for Giveaway and let me know your choice, your address and a choice of bookmarks if desired. Or let me know what credit you want or book you want from Book Depository.

This meme is hosted by Dollycas Thoughts for Thursdays - which are hard for me to make.  The goal is to get to know our fellow bloggers and visitors better. Each week Dolly asks some questions for us to answer and then link up. I am late doing the post but I am trying to to participate as I would like to learn more about blogger and follower friends.

WEEK 24 QUESTIONS

1. Did you watch the Super Bowl? If yes, which part did you like the best, the game, the halftime show, the commercials and did you notice the mistake made with the National Anthem?
I know without looking that Dollycas watched! Congrats on the Packers win! I worked on the computer while the game was on so I only half watched.  The halftime show was rather amazing even if I don't care for that sort of hype and have to wonder at the extravagant costs!
As to the commercials... my DH always skips those - we have a TV hook-up that allows that. The commercial I would have liked to have seen was the Christian one they rejected:  

2. Dollycas joined a new meme this week called "Monday's Music Moves Me", this month's theme is love songs, Do you have a favorite love song?
Well - I guess it would be a song I choose for our wedding: What are you doing the rest of your life?  Not real well known but I loved the words. I didn't realize it was sung by Sinatra:

3. How many blog challenges have you entered this year?

This is easy to answer... so far none!  However I do have plans to enter a couple and/or create my own. Of course I will do the 100 Book Challenge. And I need to add the Reading Addict Challenge that Dolloycas has in her post! Does anyone know if there is a full list of challenges anywhere in blogsville for me to check before I create one of my own?

xxx

Your turn to share - Did you watch the Superbowl? Do you have a favorite Love Song? And how many challenges have you entered this year?  

All of February winners will get to make their selection from some Valentine and "Love" books I posted. 
Rules: a) Must be a follower; b) Share a comment on any (or all) of the three questions 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 by Friday, February 18 at 10PM central. 

Winner of Chat Q August 21, 2010

Thank you to those who answered the Interview Chat Post.  I forgot to post it with the Giveaways... which may happen now and then so I suppose I should remind people to always check for Chat and Comment posts since I usually give away a book with those too. :)

I appreciated the comments on the interviews. I am going to try to stick with one per week and generally my Q&As run around 12 questions.  I will see about scheduling some live chats and we'll see how they go.
 There were some good questions some of you would ask and I may add them to some of my interviews.  I do try to vary some of the Qs for each author.

And now to the winner.  Congratulations to

I will email Jillian to chose a book and a gift.

So Let's Chat! Do you read/like Author interviews?

I've missed our Comment days and some of my followers have too. I will try to pull in more chat days and topics - maybe at least once a month with a comment Giveaway like today. :)

Here is today's topic:

You may have noticed that I have been fortunate to get to do quite a number of author interviews lately.

I'd like your input on this.

First Q - Do you read/like Author interviews?
Second Q - Taking it as a given that I will continue to do interviews, how often do you think I should post Author interviews? Once a month? Once a week? Twice a week?
Third Q - How long do you think an interview should be? 5 Qs, 10Qs, 12Qs, 15Qs???
Fourth Q - Would you participate in an Author chat where the author visits for the day and answers questions from the comments?
Fifth Q - Do  you have a question that you would like to ask authors that doesn't get asked?  [You could always ask it in an interview comment and some of the author's might answer. :)]

Sooooo - Talk to me!
Every commenter on this discussion will be included in a drawing to win a book pick from the Friday pick books and one gift from the Blogoversary items.  If an international commenter wins then they may pick a small book and gift if the postage doesn't exceed $8.00 or they can choose a gift certificate or book depository books totaling $8.00. The drawing will be done August 28 at noon central.

Where is the Comment Box?? New Comment System

I am trying a new comment system from Intense Debate.  It allows me to answer each reply individually.   However the system doesn't seem to be showing the comments made and doesn't show how to comment.  If you click on the title of the post the comment box will open.  I will try this out but if it doesn't work then I'll delete it. :)

Comment Tuesday 3/30 Winner!

Thank you to everyone who commented on the review of Hearts of Compassion or shared your story regarding homelessness.  It shows how close to home this issue can be!

I am especially pleased to announce the winner is:

Virginia - please e-mail me with your address and a book choice!

Comment Tuesday - Giveaway; Topic: Being Homeless

TUESDAY

The review posted today is Hearts of Compassion by Eryn Grace.  The story revolves around a homeless shelter.

I have never been homeless but I always try to be mindful that "there, but for the grace of God, go I."
My husband and I did “downsize” at one point to get a handle on debt and maintain our family when I unexpectedly lost a good paying job.  We went from a $150,000.00 home to a $55,000.00 home and were able to be debt free except for the mortgage within three years.

I have had occasion to work with people (clients or church friends) who have had to struggle when they lost their jobs and couldn’t keep their homes.  I have also seen people who refused to downsize and ended up losing everything.

For this week's Comment Drawing, please comment on the review or share an experience you have had regarding the homeless or downsizing. A comment on either post will be counted as an entry and a meaningful comment on both will be two entries.  The winner will get to pick a book from the Friday Pick lists or a gift card if international.

I have been doing Tuesday comment Giveaways now for several weeks.  I have decided to extend the drawing deadline from Tuesday's post to the following Monday at 10pm Centeral with winner to be announced (hopefully) on the next Tuesday. This will hopefully allow a few more people to comment who might not be able to get to the post right away.

Winner of Tuesday 3/23 Comment Question

Thank you to Throughthehaze, Llehn and Carol M who commented on Tuesday's What kind of shifter would you want to be Q.

The Winner to pick a book is:

Throughthehaze - please e-mail me with your book choice and address!

Winners of Movie Trivia

I guess we don't have too many movie buffs!  Some of these were pretty easy!
 The movies that the quotes came from are in red.

1.  "They never call, they never write."

While You Were Sleeping

2.  "We'll do that!"

Galaxy Quest

3.  "100% pure old fashioned homegrown."

The Matrix

4.  "Don't worry. I've done this before...once."
Jumanji

5.  "We're sending someone in to negotiate."

The Fifth Element

6.  "I'd die for you."

Robin Hood

7.  "She's in good hands."
Absolute Power Cindy and Paige both answered with Staying Alive so I gather it is in that movie too!

8.  "The secret's in the sauce."
Fried Green Tomatoes

9.  " What am I supposed to do? Walk around with their little corpses stuck to my finger nails?"
Overboard

10.  "And Winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!"
Groundhog Day

The winners are:

Cheryl got them all right, if I concede her answer for #7.  She gets to pick a book from the Friday Picks and a download from eTreasures Publishing.

 AND

LCD Text Generator at TextSpace.net

Paige gets to choose a book from the Friday Pick list.

Martha's March Movie Madness - Contest!

My family and I have this habit of picking up lines from movies.  So today is Martha's March Movie Madness!  Your goal, *should you chose to accept it *, is to identify the ten (10) movies the quotes came from.  So we do not give away the answers PLEASE DO NOT ANSWER HERE but e-mail me your answers at mesreads@gmail.com. 

I will do a drawing from all entries that get ALL of them correct and I will do a second drawing from all OTHER entries.  So even if you miss a few you will still have a chance.
The winner with ALL correct answers will get to choose a book or $5.00 gift card from the Friday Pick books AND a credit of $5.00 for a book from eTreasures Publishing.  
The winner from the other entries will get to choose a book or $5.00 gift card from the Friday Pick books.

1.  "They never call, they never write."

2.  "We'll do that!"

3.  "100% pure old fashioned homegrown."

4.  "Don't worry. I've done this before...once."

5.  "We're sending someone in to negotiate."

6.  "I'd die for you."

7.  "She's in good hands."

8.  "The secret's in the sauce."

9.  " What am I supposed to do? Walk around with their little corpses stuck to my finger nails?"

10.  "And Winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!"  ***  I liked this so much I looked up the full poem:
 

"All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair- The bees are stirring - birds are on the wing - And Winter slumbering in the open air, Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!"And I the while, the sole unbusy thing, Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing."
Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
Work Without Hope


*Bonus - what movie is *that phrase* (in the third line of this post) from?

Please comment here to let me know you sent an entry and for extra fun when you comment tell me one of YOUR favorite movie quotes and I'll try to guess the movie!
I will pick winners Thursday night at 10 pm central and announce them on Friday.

There is no way to keep people from searching quotes online. AND I know that if it were me I would be trying to search the answers!! I am thinking - hoping - one of these might really get you stumped! *BG*
I'll check answers and if everyone gets stumped by the same question I may add hints if it looks like its needed and I may extend the deadline.  That means I will allow updated answers so check back Wednesday and Thursday to see if I have added hints.

I have used a similar but shorter list for fun at the (SaSR) Sweet and Sensual Romance Tuesday R&R. They have to name the character and movie or show for five quotes.

Winner of Comment Tuesday

Thank you to all you played the Tuesday game!  It was fun to see if you thought the result fit your personality! Right now I am shivering as I type this post as DH didn't make up a fresh fire tonight.  Wait till I crawl in bed and put my icy feet or hands on him! HA HA! No I won't do it!

The Tuesday Comment winner is:

GWEN

Congratulations!

GWEN- Please pick a book from the Friday Pick lists and e-mail me with your choice and address. mesreads@gmail.com

Tuesday COMMENTS Giveaway - How Should You Stay Warm?

I was working on a March comment post for today but we lost Internet connection last night so it didn't get done. I will save it for next week and here is a hint: tone up your movie memories!

I know it is finally starting to warm up a bit but before Spring officially gets here I'll ask the question:

HOW SHOULD YOU STAY WARM?

 My answer suits me just fine!

You Should Stay Warm by Cuddling
You are a caring, kind person who really gets happiness from being around others.
And a cold night is the perfect excuse to cuddle up with the person (or creature) you love the most.

You are nurturing and compassionate. You always make sure that everyone is warm on a cold night.
You love the calm and quiet that comes in the middle of winter. You feel at peace when everyone else is at peace.

So take the test and tell us How YOU should stay warm!

I will be posting two reviews at the blog  in just a bit.  Comment on this post or the Tuesday Review posts to be entered in the drawing for a book from the Friday Pick list! Winner will be chosen through random.org and announced on Friday.
I hope everyone has a great day and stays warm!

Winners of Comment Tuesday!

Thank you everyone who commented on the Review of A Holiday in Bologna and on the Tuesday Romance post. I enjoyed reading places you find romantic too! Your guesses were so much fun! 
Only one had the right guess though and that was:

She correctly guessed that my DH's favorite romantic place was "in bed"! So Cheryl gets her choice of a book from the book list!  Please e-mail me with your choice and address. mesreads@gmail.com

The winner of the comment drawing is:

JAD - Please e-mail me with your choice and address too. mesreads@gmail.com

Comment Contest - What is Your Favorite Romantic Place?

Pueblo Bonito in Cabo from our balcony
My Review post today is Holiday in Bologna by Lindsay Townsend.  The heroine takes a vacation trip to Italy to meet her father's family and maybe she finds love?  This got me to wondering if anyone else had romance on a special vacation trip?  Or...what romantic places did we go to on your honeymoon?  My DH and I went to Marsh Harbor in the Abacos and had a wonderful time!  We will celebrate 25 years this November! Wow- time flies.

Madeira, Portugal from the Rotterdam Ship

Then I tried to think what my favorite romantic setting is/would be.  A transatlantic cruise with a stop in Madeira, Portugal? A mountain cabin with a nice warm romantic fire?  A resort suite in Cabo San Lucas with a nice hot tub? A River Rhine cruise?  A Manor Hotel in Stratford-Upon-Avon (birthplace of Shakspeare)? A resort apartment on Fowl Cay in the Bahamas? Or the boat trip through the Eleuthera Islands?  I've been fortunate enough to visit all of these places with my husband.  I think the nice thing for us is that we are comfortable even at home so we don't necessarily need to travel to a romantic place!

So then I asked my husband what his favorite romantic place is. 
Now I am going to let you guess his answer!

To Enter this giveaway:

1.  Comment here telling me if you fell in love on vacation or where you honeymooned or if you have a favorite romantic getaway!  Or what is your favorite romantic setting from a book? All comments will go in a drawing for one winner to win their book choice (gift card for overseas winner) from the Friday pick lists.

2.  Take a guess at my husband's answer!  The first person to get it right will win a book choice from the Friday pick list.  All other correct answers will go in a drawing for one winner to win a book choice from the Friday pick list.

3.  Comment here first but then if you comment on the review also you will get an extra entry!

Winners to be picked Thursday night at 10:00 pm Central.

[These are my pictures above.]

Two Winners of Tuesdays Comments - Recommend a Paranormal

Again, thank you all for the many comments and recommendations for good paranormal books!
I decided there were enough comments to pick two winners to get a book from the Friday list or a gift card.

I will e-mail Sheere and EA to pick a book from the Friday Pick list!!

Recommend a Paranormal Read - Comment Giveaway

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! Sometime last week I had a topic I wanted to post this week.  Then a cold befuddled me and I can't remember it! [That's my story and I'm sticking to it!]

So instead I decided to seek recommendations from the crowd!  True I do not need a lot of new books as I have plenty. BUT sometimes I feel like reading something different.  The past week or so I have been thinking paranormal.


I have read or listened to all of the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris.  I just checked and I have to wait until May for book #10 Dead in the Family.






I have also read or listened to all of the Rachel Morgan Hallows series by Kim Harrison. Looks like the newest, #8, Black Magic Sanctions, is coming out February 23 so I don't have too long to wait for that one.  I hope it will be at Audible!

Then there is the Karen Chance 

Cassandra Palmer series.

I have read or listened to those so far too.

Book #5 isn't due out until Summer 2011 

so I'll be waiting a while for that one.   

Touch the Dark is Book #1.

I enjoyed Red Fire by Deidre Knight and I have Red Kiss and also Parallel Attraction to read.





So do you see a pattern here?  I like my paranormals in series it seems!  Now lets look for something a bit different --- how about a good werewolf book?  Or a good Dragon Shapshifter - I haven't read too many of those and think I'd like them.  Or other shifters too.
I'm looking for more choices and need your help!

What books would you like to recommend for me to look at when I really need a different paranormal read?

COMMENT TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:  All comments will go into a drawing for a Friday Pick choice - a book for US or Canadian visitor or $5.00 gift card for an international visitor.  I will choose the winner by random.org after midnight Thursday to post on Friday.