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Library Loot (July 21-27)

The new button for Library Loot is so pretty that I just *have* to participate again. And yes, I'm currently reading a lot of library books. The library in the summer has this incredible appeal to me... it's like an irresistible pull. No idea why, lol.

Library books I have at home right now:

• The complete works of Elsa Morante, book 1
• Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett (Italian translation)
• Tithe by Holly Black (Italian translation)
• In the Land of Lost Things by Paul Auster (Italian translation)
• In the Woods by Lyn Gardner (Italian translation)
• The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forrester (Italian translation)
• Anatomy of Criticism by Northrop Frye (Italian translation)
• Etoile errante (Wandering Star) by  J. M. G. Le Clezio (Italian translation)
• Deutschstunde by Sigfried Lenz (Italian translation)
• Splitter by Sebastian Fitzek (Italian translation)

I've been waiting to receive through inter-library loan:

• Alice nel Paese della Vaporità (steampunk re-telling of Alice in Wonderland)
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Italian translation)
• Melacotones helados by Espido Freire (Italian translation)

I've been making full use of the new possibilities offered by inter-library loans. They come in handy.

It's My Birthday! Giveaway winners :D

So, thanks to Random.org (which I'd definitely recommend for quick, virtually painless choosing of giveaway winners), here are the winners of my birthday giveaway:

no. 75, Spav from Spain who chose The Poison Diaries

no. 2, Cass from Australia who chose The Poison Diaries

no. 51, Thifa from the Netherlands who chose... The Poison Diaries again (can you see a pattern here? Lol)

So, it would seem, it's three copies of The Poison Diaries, which was a very popular choice in this giveaway!

Three winners, because I got 74 entrants (and some 35 additional followers, who don't hurt at all) and that's a good result for me. Plus, I really want to spread the book love!

It's also quite funny, because I just won a giveaway from Cass's blog a couple of days ago. Good book karma :D

I'm emailing winners for their mailing addresses soon, but if you won and see this post first, you're very welcome to email me directly! Also, of course, if you didn't win and would like a 10% discount voucher from BookDepository (valid until August 31), don't be shy, just tell me and I'll send you one! Easy peasy.

Once Upon a Read-a-thon Wrap-up Post

So, the readathon is over... I didn't manage to read much, what with my birthday and going out for shopping and so on. However, I did finish:

• The Sonnets by Warwick Collins
• The Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce

I'm also about half-way through The Amulet of Samarcanda by Jonathan Stroud, which has a great sense of humour. It's very entertaining :)

So, what did you manage to read?

It's My Birthday! Giveaway

Picture by OneEyedJax on Flickr

Contest is closed. Thanks for entering!

So, today it's my birthday, and I'm giving away the presents! I've decided to share with my readers a few of the books I've enjoyed the most so far. Here's what you can choose from:

• The Sonnets by Warwick Castle
• The Land of the Green Plums by Herta Mueller
• Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles
• The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood

All these are excellent books; the first two are more suitable to adults, while the others are geared towards an YA readership. The Sonnets is a historical novel dealing with the genesis and composition of Shakespeare's famous sonnet collection during 1592-94, under the patronage of the Earl of Southampton. The writing is very lyrical, and incorporates about 30 sonnets in their complete form. I'd recommend this book to Shakespeare fans, poetry addicts, and in general to lovers of English literature

The Land of Green Plums (original title: Herztier, "the beast of the heart") by 2009 Nobel prize winner Herta Mueller, is the partly autobiographical retelling of the author's resistance to the Ceausescu regime in Ucraine. The main character, a young woman, makes friends with four other young men at university. They're all part of the German-speaking minority, and have moved from the poor countryside to the main city in order to study and get a better job. Their silent resistance to the dictatorship is soon characterized by intimidations, searchings and police questionings, and betrayal from friends. It is not an easy book, as it is full with sadness and regret, but the writing is so beautiful and poetic.



Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles is a sweet, passionate YA romance that tugged at my heart. Two teenage outcasts get to know and learn to trust each other, in spite of previous events, prejudice, and misconceptions. Please beware, though - the ending is very open and the sequel won't be out till late 2010.



The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood is a historical YA romance set in 1600 England. Jessamine Luxton is the 16-year-old daughter of a widowed apothecary who lives with her father in an isolated cottage in Northern England, with very little company except for the plants in her father's garden. As she knows very well, even the most innocent-looking herb can cure or kill, depending on the doses. When a mysterious, silent boy arrives at the cottage and is taken up by the apothecary as an apprentice, Jessamine begins to discover the power of love.
 

Please do NOT leave your entry in a comment (but you are welcome to comment on this post after filling in the form, so that you know you've entered already and don't fill in the form twice).

Rules:

Open to everywhere BookDepository ships to. If you're not sure about this, please check if your country is on the list.

Contest ends on July 21 at 11:59 CET (Central Europe Time).

Winners will be chosen at random.

Please enter only if you're 16 or older. If you're younger, ask a parent/guardian to enter for you.

There will be two winners. Each will win one book of their choice. If there is a high number of entrants (and if I'm feeling particularly generous), I might choose to have a third winner. 

Each winner can choose the book they prefer. Since I will be ordering new copies, two winners can choose the same book.

You don't have to be a follower to enter, but I'd appreciate it if you'd consider becoming one anyway :)

No extra entries because it's a pain for me to count them (I'm afraid I've become a bit challenged on the math front), but I'd be very, very grateful if you could spread the word through twitter, blog posts/sidebar, etc.

The books will be paid for by me and shipped directly through BookDepository. I will not be responsible for prizes lost in the mail.

Your email address and/or personal data will be handled only in relation to this contest, and will not be stored or shared with anyone after the end of the contest. If you enter the giveaway, you agree with this.

(Please note that the Herta Mueller book is the English translation, not the original in German. If you win and choose that book, you can choose the Italian translation if you're Italian and living in Italy - I can order it directly from the Italian publisher and have it shipped to you.)

Of course, I'd like to be able to give books to everyone, but alas, I'm afraid I can't. I'd be happy to send you a 10% discount voucher from BookDepository, though, if you'd like one. Just comment on this post with your email address, or write so in the giveaway entry form, and I'll email one to you.

Once Upon A Read-A-Thon: Day 1 Mini Challenges

So, today the Once Upon A Read-A-Thon has started! I'm pretty excited :) I had started reading  Menzogna e sortilegio by Elsa Morante (translated into English as House of Liars - a 1947 novel from one of the most important Italian women writers in the XX century), but then stopped at lunch time because the mail arrived and I got The Sonnets by Warwck Collins for review (historical novel about Shakespeare and the composition of his famous sonnet collection), which I've started reading straight away. It's good, very good.

Anyway, to spice things up, I'm doing the mini-challenges for today.

1. From Book Crazy:

We all have a favorite book, right?
We all have a favorite character, right?

What I want you to do, since I am a lover of all things music and photo related is to pick one - or both - and put them together!!

Does that make sense? HMM, lets see if I can explain better, basically pick your favorite book and/or character and pair it with a song and/or photo that reminds you of the person or setting in the book!

I'm choosing my very first book crush - Fred Garland from Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series, and more specifically The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North. I was 13, and very much into blondes at the time ;) Anyway, here's the picture I chose for him:

Photo source: IStockPhoto - no infringement intended

Not really a time-appropriate haircut, and also the model's a bit too good-looking, but hey. At least he has a sort of big nose (Fred Garland has a crooked nose that got broken a few times, after he found himself involved in a couple of fist fights.)

Just for the record, here's a screencap from the 2007 adaptation of The Shadow in the North for UK television:

Photo source: JJ-Feild.com - no infringement intended

2. The Eager Readers ask us to post about our favourite fictional couple, and/or a crossover couple which we'd like to see.

I have several favourite fictional couples... maybe I can list a few? (in no particular order)

• Elizabeth and Mr Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
• Anne and Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen's Persuasion
• Ron and Hermione from JKR's Harry Potter series
• Sally Lockhart and Frederick Garland from Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series
• Lyra and Will from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy
• Beatrice and Benedick from Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing

I could go on, but you get my meaning.

As for crossover couples, I don't really wonder about this kind of things very often, so this is kind of hard for me. So, I'd like to try... Sirius Black from the Harry Potter series and Alexia Tarabotti from Gail Carriger's Soulless. I think they could make a nice couple.

Cool blog events in July

1) Body Image and Self Perception Month, hosted by Once Upon a Bookcase and a handful of other blogs. Covers YA books/authors dealing with "self-esteem and self-confidence, eating disorders, obesity, physical disabilities and disfigurement, to name just a few". It's looking great so far.

 2) Paris in July, hosted by BookBath and Thyme For Tea for the whole month to celebrate our love of all things French and Parisian". "The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through reading, watching, listening to, observing, cooking and eating all things French!" Includes weekly prizes.

 3) SteamBoyz, hosted by vvb32 reads for the week between July 9-17. After the oh-so-successful SteamPink, Velvet does it again: "Travel by airship and learn about other worlds from a steampunk boy's point of view..." Trust me, you don't want to miss this one. Plus, it starts tomorrow.

4) Book Extravaganza, hosted by The Neverending Shelf and Bookworming in the 21st Century for July 16-18. A whole weekend of bookish contests and giveaways. Sounds like fun!

5) Once Upon A Readathon, jointly hosted by Pure Imagination, Candace's Book Blog, and Reading Angel for July 12-14. It's a read-a-thon organized during the week, perfect for those "who work or are just busy on the weekends". Read as much (or as little) as you want, and whatever book you want. There will be also activities and giveaways (although I'm afraid the latter will be limited to North Americans).

 

5) Last but not least, Mes de Lavyrle (=Lavyrle Spencer Month) at Book Eater. For the whole of July, Beleth is going to highlight some of her favourite novels by Lavyrle Spencer. I had never heard of this author, but maybe I can check out something by her. I've had a look at her book list, but unfortunately the most interesting-sounding of her romances were published in Italy in the late '70s or early '80s, and in mass market paperbacks to boot. This means that they are much harder to find (out of print, and also eliminated by public libraries - old and battered copies are given away or just destroyed, and not replaced with new ones.)

It looks like book bloggers have been amazingly active - not really going on holiday, lol. Lots of stuff to keep us occupied, while waiting for Lenore's Dystopian August...

Video Sunday (2): The Dark Divine book trailer (and contest)

First of all, happy 4th July to all our American friends!

This week's video is the brand-new video trailer for Bree Despain's paranormal YA novel The Dark Divine. Click click and watch it:

 

Pretty, eh? There's also a big (international) contest linked to it on the author's blog: she's giving away a bag full of books to a fan who spread the word about the new trailer. Not that I'm actually hoping to win, considering everyone and their second cousin once removed will be entering, but I guess it can't hurt to try. Plus, someone has to win, and it might be you! As for the trailer, I actually kind of preferred the previous (fan-made?) one, but only because of the soundtrack.

On another note, BookDepository is celebrating their 6th birthday and giving their affiliates the chance to give away 10% discount coupons to friends. So, want to get one from me? Just leave me your email address, either in a comment or email (you can find my address in my profile). Only one voucher may be redeemed per purchase, per person. Offer expires August 31st 2010.

The (selfish and potentially evil) reason I'm promoting this, other than the kindness of my own heart of course, is that if you use the voucher you got through me, I receive a 10% discount for myself, which I thought I could use to partially fund the giveaway I'd like to organize for my upcoming birthday. *nudge nudge, wink wink*

Reading is tiring

There are just so many amazing book blogs out there... how can you keep up with all of them?! I keep finding new ones.

I know I should study and/or exercise, but it's too hot and I just feel like sleeping. Zzzzz...