Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway August 9, 2013

[** If you are new to Friday Pick Giveaway - Welcome!  Scroll down a bit (below book group #19) for instructions on how to enter.]

Happy Friday Friends!! Oh what a week! It was good busy at work and reading is good too. :-) Maybe I can start thinking about a little break. 

[UPDATED NOTE - US entrants I prefer, please, that you pick a book as that is the first purpose of this giveaway - to find new homes for books. The GCs are for the international entrants because postage has jumped up.]

Thank you to all who entered the August 2 Pick. There were two Automatic wins this week. (Automatic winners are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks). There were four blocked titles - but one was won!
rubynreba gets Promise Forever
Texas Book Lover gets the Catherine Anderson pair

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from August 2 Pick:

Mary P gets a GC 

Ingeborg gets (through the block) Summer by the Sea

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 or sexy and I have a new supply of sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

This image just makes me SMILE!

Image found at McWhorter Library.

New Book Group #41 August 2, 2013

Pairs:
Jude Deveraux
    Return to Summerhouse and Twin of Fire
Mariah Stewart
    Priceless and Brown-Eyed Girl
Singles:
The Shadowed Heart by Nina Beaumont
Hannah by Lori Copeland
My Lady Midnight by Laurie Grant
Wicked and Wonderful by Valerie King
The Door to December by Dean Koontz
Heart of the Storm by Lindsay McKenna
Crucfixtion River by Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini
Tabitha in Moonlight by Betty Neels
The Nightingale's Song by Jo-Ann Power
Caught in a Bind by Gayle Roper
Cattle Rancher, Secret Son by Margaret Way
White Heather by Jaclyn Reding

New Book Group #40 June 28, 2013

Pairs:
     (Highlands) Highland Treasure by Amanda Scott and Highlander Unbound by Julia London
     (Angels) Not Quite An Angel by Bobby Hutchinson and An Angel for Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad
Singles:
What Sarah Saw by Margaret Daley (Cover has black line across where bookstore crossed it for clearance)
Her Last Chance by Terri Reed  (Cover has black line across where bookstore crossed it for clearance)
The Clairvoyant Countess by Dorothy Gilman
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes
Mission: Irresistible by Lori Wilde
Sin and Scandal in England by Melody Thomas
Dance With Me by Luanne Rice
A Mother's Day Anthology - three stories
Rising Moon by Lori Handeland
Star Light, Star Bright by Katherine Stone
Another View by Rosamunde Pilcher
Promise Forever by Marta Perry


New Book Group #39 May 31, 2013 - Plenty of "summer" titles!
Oops - I never added all the links last month so no promises on these either.

Pairs:
Hannah Howell
     Highland Hearts and Highland Destiny
Catherine Anderson
     My Sunshine and Blue Skies
Elizabeth Lowell
     Remember Summer and Too Hot to Handle
Singles:
Touched by Fire by Kathleen O'Reilly
Playing with Fire by Gena Showalter
Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
That Summer by Joan Wolf
Shadow of the Sun by Tammy Hilz
Dark Summer by Iris Johansen
Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs
Shadow Beach by Barbara Freethy
It All Began at Monte Carlo by Elizabeth Adler


New Book Group #38 April 20, 2013
Here is a group with many mysteries.  Links to be added as I get time.

Pairs:
Amanda Scott
      Abducted Heiress and Highland Bride
Sandra Brown
     Texas! Chase and Exclusive (spine wear) (not the covers as on the links)
A Murderous Yarn by Monica Ferris
Deadly Advise by Roberta Isleib
Dial Emmy for Murder by Eileen Davidson 
On Deadly Ground (Love Inspired Suspense) by Lauren Nichols
Happy Never After by Kathy Hogan Trocheck
Female Intellignece by Jane Heller
Improper English by Katie MacAllister
Sheer Dynamite by Jennifer Skully
Golden Chances by Rebbecca Hagen Lee
Caitlin's Guardian Angel by Marie Ferrarella
Burning Alive by Shannon K. Butcher
Awaken the Senses by Nalini Singh


New Book Group #37 March 22, 2013

As I am linking these titles it is clear to me why they were in my TBR boxes and it is really hard to let them go but I have soooo many. Better that they find good reader homes than sit on my shelves, or in a box, and collect dust. 
Pairs:
Singles:
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.

To Tame a Rebel by Georgina Gentry
While Passion Sleeps by Shirlee Busbee
The Admiral's Bride by Suzanne Brockmann
Lady Ice by Joan Hohl



New Book Group #36 February 15, 2013

Pairs:
Tara Taylor Quinn
     Father: Unknown and McGillus v.Wright
Singles:
Timeline by Michael Crichton

The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe



New Book Group #35 January 11, 2013
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing 
Pairs
Singles-- I found a couple of boxes of romances (a lot of Harlequins) that I haven't gotten to read over the past 8 years so... I will send them off to others to read!

*Merger of Fortunes by Peggy Moreland



New Book Group #34 December 7, 2012--- (All gone)

New Book Group #33 October 27, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

SINGLES - CHRISTMAS TITLES (Better sizes for international) 
*Deck the Halls by Arlene James (slight spine creasing)
*A Holiday Prayer by Deb Kastner  (slight spine creasing)


New Book Group #32 October 5, 2012

- Oops upside down book! 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 - A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley


New Book Group #31 August 31, 2012
I pulled some more books from several of my boxes.

An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)


New Book Group #30 July 27, 2012
This time I pulled some books from one of my older boxes.
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Wild Escapade by Lisa Bingham
Dancing on Snowflakes by Jane Bonander (postage too much - replaced with GC)

New Book Group #29 June 29, 2012
*asterisks indicate lighter, smaller books possibly suitable for international mailing

Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology
*One is the Lonliest Number - Tom Clancey's Net Force

New Book Group #28 May 18, 2012 (All gone)

New book Group #27 April 13, 2012 (All gone)

New book Group #26 March 2, 2012--- (All gone)

New Group #25 January 12, 2012---(All gone)

New Group #24 Pick Books November 25, 2011---(All gone)

New Group #23 Pick Books October 14, 2011
I tried to pick some books that would be good for October -
Halloween or dark minded.
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser


New Group #22 Pick Books September 2, 2011---(All gone)

New Group #21 of Pick Books July 29, 2011
Mallory's Oracle (Kathleen Mallory Novels) by Carol O'Connell

May, 2011 New Group of Pick books Group #20
Luciano's Luck by Jack Higgins - Audio Cassettes

3/25/11 I did get to set up a new group of books: Group #19
Primary Colors - audio tapes
*Note of Peril (black strip on cover)

2/19/11 Book Group #18- Pairs!---(All gone).

I have finally updated the intro and Entry paragraphs here:

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 in November 27, 2009 and in three years I have posted 33 groups of 16 (528) books to find new homes! (as of November 2012)

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! I am happy to say that so far about 530 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.

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 $5.00 $7.00 and $6.00 $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)

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 10:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up past midnight to do the winner post!
I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.
Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks.
WINNERS PLEASE CHECK THE WIN POST ON FRIDAYS AND fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads@gmail.com. [I will confirm receipt of the addresses- well I realize I haven't always done this. But if you filled out the form and don't get the book within two weeks nudge me with an email please!] If I have the winners e-mail I will send a reminder in a week or so....

Thanks for helping these books find new homes!!

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!

1/14/11 New List #17--- (All gone)

12/3/10 Book Set: #16
Sleight of Hand by Robin Hathaway
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown  (postage too much - replaced with GC)

List #15---(All gone)

List #14---(All gone)

Here is set #13 of Used books! ---(All gone)

Group #12---(All gone)

Group #11
Cat's Eyewitness by Rita Mae Brown
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

List #1
Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo

Pick #2---(All gone)

Pick #3---(All gone)

Pick #4
Talking God by Tony Kellerman

Pick #5
See Jane Lead by Lois P. Frankel
Cold Hit by Linda Fairstein - Audio Tapes

Pick #6---(All gone)

Pick #7
Prey by Michael Crichton - Audio Tape
Princess Charming by Jane Heller (slightly creased)

Pick #8
(sc) = slightly creased on binding otherwise all in good shape
The Jury by Steve Martini - Audio Tapes
No Safe Place by Richard North Patterson - Audio Tapes

Pick #9
On Treacherous Ground by Earl Murray
Guardian by Dee Henderson - Audio Tapes
Time to Hunt by Stephen Hunter - Audio Tapes

Pick #10---(All Gone)

Book Review: Click: An Online Love Story by Lisa Becker

This is a sweet, fun story of a nice Jewish girl looking for love in a cyber world.
Click: An Online Love Story
by Lisa Becker

• File Size: 486 KB
• Print Length: 286 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1460922638
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• ASIN: B004UI6IJ0

Genre: Contemporary Romance
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, not dating, and without even a prospect or a house full of cats, Renee Greene, the heroine of Click: An Online Love Story, reluctantly joins her best guy pal on a journey to find love online in Los Angeles. The story unfolds through a series of emails between Renee and her best friends (anal-compulsive Mark, the overly-judgmental Ashley and the over-sexed Shelley) as well as the gentlemen suitors she meets online. From the guy who starts every story with "My buddies and I were out drinking one night," to the egotistical "B" celebrity looking for someone to stroke his ego, Renee endures her share of hilarious and heinous cyber dates. Fraught with BCC's, FWD's and inadvertent Reply to All's, readers will root for Renee to "click" with the right man.

Review:
Renee is a bright, attractive Public Relations executive who is concerned that she will soon celebrate her 30th birthday and she has no love interest in her life. She broke up with her last boyfriend almost a year ago and hasn’t done much dating since. She is lamenting her situation, and the awkwardness of meeting the right kind of men in a big city, with her friends, Mark, Shelly and Ashley. Mark, an intense, compulsive individual who designs video games, convinces Renee to try an online dating service as a New Year attempt to find a mate.

Conservative Renee shares the details and progress with exuberant playgirl, Shelly, who has no problem sharing and joking about traits and nick names for her steady stream of one night stands. On the other hand Renee initially keeps her online dating arrangements secret from her judgmental, but long time friend, Ashley.

The story is told primarily through emails between the friends and the prospective dates. The dating choices range from dumb, awkward, pleasant and scary. Along the way there are laughs, embarrassments and disappointments. But there are some good prospects too and even a celebrity rocker who Renee met in person who is showing interest in her down to earth, friendly personality.

This was different because of the way it was written but it didn’t take long to get accustomed to the format of email chatting. I was able to relax and enjoy Renee’s pursuit for love. I liked the distinct differences in the personalities of her friends which made for entertaining interaction.  The pacing was good and there were plenty of conflicts to keep things interesting including a bit of a twist near the end. This is a sweet love story and I am looking forward to reading the next book.  I recommend this to romance lovers who are up for a light read in a unique format.

I received this ebook from the author for an honest review.

Audible Book Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This is a really fun listen! If you have this one in your TBR pile I recommend you get to reading, or listening to, it -- then enjoy!

Ready Player One

     by Ernest Cline

     Narrated by Wil Wheaton 

    LENGTH      15 hrs and 46 mins
    RELEASE DATE      08-16-11
    PUBLISHER      Random House Audio
Genre: Futuristic Fantasy
My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0

Publisher's Summary
At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, Ready Player One is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of 10,000 planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late 20th century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

Review:
Wade is a teenager in 2044 where lives are lived primarily in a free virtual computer world known as The OASIS. Wade actually resides in the crowded ‘real’ world – on and off – with his Aunt and her boyfriend in a mobile home in the stacks, where mobile home units have been staked twenty-two high in a precarious community. But Wade actually spends more time in his personal hideout in an abandoned van. Since schools became too crowded, students even attend through the virtual world, being given the minimal gear and choice of an avatar for their id in the OASIS. Friends are made in the virtual world without ever knowing the real person behind the avatar.

Wade explains how James Halliday, the creator of the OASIS, set up a game in the system as a means to distribute his vast billions on his death.  The first player to collect the three keys, play through three gates and find the hidden Easter egg will inherit the entire fortune. Initially there is a system wide frenzy as the treasure game hunters, called Gunters, study Halliday’s favorite games and past-times trying to find the solution. Some people have formed ‘clans’ and there is a massive, villainous corporation, IOI, whose players are called the Sixers, who want to win and control the system. It is feared if IOI gets possession that they will charge everyone for use of the OASIS and change the world situation for the worse. Wade and his best friend, Aech, agree that they are independent players even though Wade struggles with minimal assets and experience.

It has been five years since Halliday died and the scoreboard has shown no progress. Then one day Wade, or his avatar, Parzival, stumbles upon the path to the first key! A new fervor ensues and others quickly begin to show up on the board. Second is a slick female character, Art3mis, on whom Wade has a crush, then Aech, then two Japanese who are believed to be brothers.  After them come the institutional IOI Sixers who basically block anyone behind them.

Now the race is on and the leaders of IOI are not beyond bribery or even murder to get the secrets and prevail in the hunt. As Wade/Parzival plays and searches he shares memories of the early games like D&D, PACman, and early game systems like Atari. The serious players also have to know classic movies that were Halliday’s favorites including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, War Games, Monty Python’s Holy Grail and more. There is a huge battle to the end between the mega corporation and the young players who finally team together and get a little help just to hide and survive.

This was wonderful fun to listen to, recognizing that the players are computer geeks and this is the only life and hope they have. There are clues and puzzles that Wade must solve and I enjoyed the trip down memory lane hearing about computers, games and movies from the 1980s. I liked the positive messages that were shared with the good v evil set up and with the characters becoming friends through their personalities without meeting. I recommend this book for entertainment and special fun for those who lived through the ‘80s.

Audio Notes:  Wil Wheaton does a wonderful job portraying Wade, his pals and even the evil CEO. I got caught up in the story but it was certainly enhanced by the excellent narration.

I'm really glad I selected this was from my own Audible Library. I picked it for my July "Just For Fun" read.

Winner of MBS 2013 Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNER OF

Giveaway Ended 8/4/13


MBS 2013 Lazy Days of Summer Spontaneous Giveaway Hop

$10.00 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal Credit.

Winner: Dinda L

Notified and claimed. :-)

Sourcebooks Wants to See Your Wedding Dress - Chance to Win New Release!

I'm sharing this announcement from the great people at Sourcebooks:

Jade Lee’s anticipated release, What the Bride Wore, a PW Top Ten Romance Pick for Fall 2013, will be released on August 6^th! And we want to know…WHAT DID YOU WEAR? We want to see your wedding dress! We want to see the good, the bad and the questionable… J

On Tuesday August 6^th, please tweet a picture of your wedding dress using the hash tag #WhatTheBrideWore

We will be picking winners every hour and giving away lots of prizes throughout the day! We will also be re-tweeting some of the best ones from the @SourcebooksCasa Twitter account!

This hot new series is set in a daring, high-energy Regency world where deep longings, secret scandals, and the competition for social stature are all set against the glittering weddings of the season. Grant Benton, Earl of Crowle, finally has the funds he always pretended to have, and what he wants now is a woman. That woman is Lady Irene Knopp, who spends her days helping debutantes plan their weddings. A recent widow, Irene longs for love again, but she’s afraid to risk her heart, especially to the notorious Earl.