Grounds for Change Coffee Gift Box Giveaway

30. December 2008 · 457 comments · Categories: Creature Comforts for Bookworms · Tags: , ,

Nothing beats relaxing with a good book and your favorite cup o’ joe.  For coffee connoisseurs, the joy of testing new brews is equivalent to the wine taster’s experience.  This is the great pleasure I’ve been having lately with the Grounds for Change Songbird Gift Box.  Grounds for Change is a unique coffee company; all of their coffee is organic and fair trade, and they roast to order and ship fresh daily.  That means really fresh coffee!

Grounds for Change is giving away one Songbird Gift Box to one of you!  Their Songbird coffees aren’t just your average bean.  These days when coffee is grown, the fields are clearcut and the beans are grown in full sun.  But the coffee shrub is a shade-loving plant.  After scientific tweaking, coffee was developed to handle full sun.  But truth be told, nothing is better than coffee grown as coffee should be – in the shade, surrounded by a wide variety of trees.  These coffee farms, second in biodiversity only to the rainforest, quickly become the home to a wide variety of animals, including migratory birds whose songs surround the farms.  Hence, the Songbird coffees of Grounds for Change.

But are they good?  I’m telling you, I’ve not enjoyed coffee so fresh and wonderful in a long time.  Peru “Cafe Femenino”, Agate Pass Blend, and Bolivia “Los Yungas” have been in my mug every morning for the past week, and every cup has been a pleasure.  I love to prepare cappuccino, and in my opinion that can’t be done properly without a full wonderful coffee that lacks bitterness.  All three of the Grounds for Change flavors have been smooth and delicious, perfect for cappuccino.  

Now that you’re jonesing for joe, it’s your turn to enter to win!  The Songbird Gift Box includes the following:

  • Three 8 ounce bags of Fair Trade Organic coffee (Regular or Decaf; Ground or Whole Bean; Coffee Varieties Your Choice)
  • One Fair Trade milk chocolate bar
  • One Fair Trade copper & brass coffee scoop from Chile

1.) Just visit Grounds for Change and tell me something you liked or learned there. (You may enter once a day – following entries don’t require you to answer the question.) Remember, leave an interesting comment.  If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Email subscribers get an extra entry for as long as their subscription is active.

     Already a subscriber?  Leave me a separate comment on this post to let me know you’re interested in this giveaway.

     Want to subscribe?  Just enter your email address in the “Subscribe” box on the left. (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you do not receive it, check your junk mail. Only verified subscriptions are entered for all the giveaways.)

3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.  Come back and leave me a Comment with a link to your blog post. (If your comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry – I may have to approve it first.  My blog might think it’s spam but gosh darn, I certainly don’t!)

4.) I’m feeling Twittery.  If you Twitter a link to this giveaway, come back and comment here to let me know your Twitter name for another entry! (I’m dkmommy if you want to follow me.)

Feel free to do all four, plus enter once a day, and you can gain up to 9 entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Sunday, January 4, 2009, to enter.

Check out all current giveaways for both my blogs here.

I, City by Pavel Brycz – Review & Giveaway

29. December 2008 · 97 comments · Categories: Czech Literature · Tags: , , ,

Powerful and written in a solid voice, Pavel Brycz’s “I, City”is a book told from the perspective of the city itself.  The book’s narrator is actually the city of Most in the Czech Republic; having watched its inhabitants through omnipresent eyes, the city tells us stories, gives us short glimpses into the lives of the dwellers of Most.  While in many ways, the stories of the people could happen in any city, in Most the inhabitants are met with their own challenges – the challenges that occur while living in a city in decline.  But the city seems sympathetic towards those who dwell within her walls, somewhat proud of their strength and resilience.  We get to hover over the streets, sneak into the buildings, listen in on conversations, and thus get to know Most.

Each chapter is an appearance of new characters, offering the opportunity to observe a scene of life, which leaves one with the sensation of walking through a city invisible.  Pavel Brycz understands how to say much with few words, giving a resonating power to each short chapter which presents a series of stunning impressions on the reader.  Beautifully translated, the book flows effortlessly in English.

Originally written in Czech, “I, City” is the first of Pavel Brycz’s books to be translated into English.  Published by Twisted Spoon Press of Prague, Czech Republic, the book was translated by Joshua Cohen and Marketa Hofmeisterova.  I have a copy of “I, City” sent to me straight from Prague to give to one carp(e) libris reviews reader.  The winner of this book is guaranteed a unique and beautiful book, not only in writing style but in its physical appearance as well.  Ready to enter?

1.) Just leave a comment telling me something your city or town might say about you if it were to tell your story.  (You may enter once a day – following entries don’t require you to answer the question.) Remember, leave an interesting comment.  If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Email subscribers get an extra entry for as long as their subscription is active.

     Already a subscriber?  Leave me a separate comment on this post to let me know you’re interested in this giveaway.

     Want to subscribe?  Just enter your email address in the “Subscribe” box on the left. (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you do not receive it, check your junk mail. Only verified subscriptions are entered for all the giveaways.)

3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.  Come back and leave me a Comment with a link to your blog post. (If your comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry – I may have to approve it first.  My blog might think it’s spam but gosh darn, I certainly don’t!)

4.) I’m feeling Twittery.  If you Twitter a link to this giveaway, come back and comment here to let me know your Twitter name for another entry! (I’m dkmommy if you want to follow me.)

Feel free to do all four, plus enter once a day, and you can gain up to 10 entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Friday, January 2, 2009, to enter.

Red Leaf Tea Giveaway

23. December 2008 · 151 comments · Categories: Creature Comforts for Bookworms, Giveaways · Tags: , ,

It’s been snowing here for days.  For weeks.  Since before Thanksgiving, much of the Northeast has been under a thick blanket of snow that is burying my driveway, making the neighborhood chainlink fences slowly disappear.  The kids on our block are all so bundled up that, when I can see them around the snowdrifts, I can no longer tell who’s who.  And although we’re in the midst of the holiday season, I could use a little warmth and sunshine.  Perhaps an African Summer.  As it turns out, the mug just to my left is filled with a steaming brew of African Summer tea from Red Leaf Tea.  It may taste of summer, brimming with honeybush, lemongrass, and flowers like hibiscus and marigold, but I’m also enjoying a much-needed immune system boost from these very herbs.  Rose hips, safflower, lemon myrtle, and eucalyptus are also in the mix, making this loose leaf tea blend not only pleasing to the palate, but to the eye as well.  

I’ve been enjoying my African Summer tea with honey, a beautiful German linden flower honey, which has been a perfect complement.  And since the tea naturally caffeine free, I’ve been able to curl up in the evenings with a good book and a mug of tea, followed by a good night’s sleep – just the thing when it’s snowing and blowing outside.  If it ever does thaw out, which is hard to imagine right now, African Summer would make a lovely sun tea.  But in the meantime, I’ll be drinking it hot, envisioning the heat of the Sahara Dessert, wondering if Hemmingway ever drank the same.

Enter to win your own 3.2 oz. size African Summer tea:

 

1.) Just visit Red Leaf Tea.  Then come back here and tell me something you liked or learned there; or perhaps you have a suggestion or idea for the company.  They’d love to hear what you have to say! (You may enter once a day – following entries don’t require you to answer the question.) Remember, leave an interesting comment.  If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Email subscribers get an extra entry for as long as their subscription is active.

     Already a subscriber?  Leave me a separate comment on this post to let me know you’re interested in this giveaway.

     Want to subscribe?  Just enter your email address in the “Subscribe” box on the right. (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you do not receive it, check your junk mail. Only verified subscriptions are entered for all the giveaways.)

3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.  Come back and leave me a Comment with a link to your blog post. (If your comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry – I may have to approve it first.  My blog might think it’s spam but gosh darn, I certainly don’t!)

4.) I’m feeling Twittery.  If you Twitter a link to this giveaway, come back and comment here to let me know your Twitter name for another entry! (I’m dkmommy if you want to follow me.)

Feel free to do all four, plus enter once a day, and you can gain up to 10 entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Saturday, December 27, 2008, to enter.

Other Lives by Andre Brink

16. December 2008 · Comments Off · Categories: Book Reviews, Goldfish Award Books, South African Literature · Tags: ,

Take an accomplished South African writer nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature three times, add a surprising Hitchcock-like plot with a message and stir.  What comes out will be a book you will never, ever forget.  Andre Brink’s Other Lives is one of the most creative novels I’ve read in a long time.  

Three separate stories merge, crisscross, and get you tangled as they weave through the pages.  Imagine a white South African man who, upon entering his studio, suddenly discovers it’s been transformed into a house.  In it are a black woman who calls him her husband and two little children thrilled to see their daddy.  He’s never seen these people before in his life. Or a white man who wakes up, looks in the mirror, and finds he’s no longer white.  Or a famous pianist who is in love with a singer who won’t allow him to get close to her.  Even after tragedy strikes.  You’ll be hanging onto the edge of your seat throughout the novel, pondering, rethinking what you thought you knew about bigotry and racism, no matter what your color.  

Other Lives is a fantastic novel on so many levels.  Don’t let your book club miss this one – it’s ripe with discussion material.  Once you read it, it will be kept on your “favorites” shelf waiting for the time you’ll pick it up and read it again – and you will.  This is a book that would make excellent study material for psychology, sociology, and South African culture courses.  The message refuses to get lost in the story line as Brink has a way of putting you in the characters’ heads. What would you do if you discovered you aren’t at all who you thought you were?  Want to find out?  Read Other Lives.  You won’t be able to end the book without discovering the answer to that question.

No surprises here – this book gets the carp(e) libris reviews Goldfish Award.  Published by Sourcebooks, Inc.

“A Life Well Read” Set Giveaway

12. December 2008 · 146 comments · Categories: Creature Comforts for Bookworms, Non-Book Giveaways · Tags: ,

Congratulations to Lisa!  Enjoy the set!

I’m happy to tell you carp(e) libris reviews is taking a new turn!  In addition to the usual great book reviews and giveaways, I’ll also be publishing reviews and giveaways featuring items for the book lover.  Our very first giveaway for the book lover would make a fantastic Christmas gift.  A Life Well Read – My Personal Journey Through Books from A Life Unplugged is exactly the sort of thing many of us bookish types drool over.  Made to help you catalog your thoughts and ideas on books you’ve read, keep track of what you have, what you want, what you leant, A Life Well Read prooves to be a little piece of bookworm heaven.

For a few years now, I’ve written down every book I’ve read, keeping track in a journal.  I leave weird little pieces of scrap paper in books where I found something quotable or memorable, but it’s always a hassle to keep it all in line.  Using online sources and computer programs hasn’t really worked well for me.  After all, I read on the couch.  Not at my computer desk.  A Life Well Read includes handy notecards shaped for use as a bookmark so it’s right there where you need it.  Genius!  I hadn’t ever thought of that.  And for someone like me who reviews books?  This could prove a sudden addiction.  Here’s what this set includes:

An elegant, premium-quality keepsake box in the shape of a book which fits easily on your bookshelf to keep your personalized impressions for years to come. Share them with family and friends anytime!

50 pre-printed note cards to use as bookmarks and also record your “a ha’s!” about your favorite books 

Record your notes and impressions, quotes and page references, your personal rating, where you got the book, book club notes, lending history by title and author.

5 pre-printed (and 7 blank) dividers to organize your note cards into a an evolving readers’ journal of your best book content

(All) My Books, My Favorites, Books I Want, Books On Loan, Books To Give and three additional customizable blank categories for you to define for your own needs. Categorize by title, author and subject.

A classic, heavy weight ballpoint pen which fits neatly into your keepsake box so you are always prepared to capture a lifetime of reading!

56 elegant bookplates to personalize your books in your own personal library.

24 color gift labels to add a personal touch to your gifts of books to friends and family and fellow book club members.

3 double-sided gift-giving reminder cards which help you track to who and when you gifted a book

A Life Unplugged, makers of the A Life Well Read set, are offering one carp(e) libris reviews reader their own set!  (Note it includes a pen – I love pens.) 

4 Ways to Enter (Only US entries on this giveaway, please):

1.) Just visit A Life Unplugged.  Then come back here and tell me what interests you most about this set.  Feel free to share if this is for you or someone you know. (You may enter once a day – following entries don’t require you to answer the question.) Remember, leave an interesting comment.  If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Email subscribers get an extra entry for as long as their subscription is active.

     Already a subscriber?  Leave me a separate comment on this post to let me know you’re interested in this giveaway.

     Want to subscribe?  Just enter your email address in the “Subscribe” box on the right. (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you do not receive it, check your junk mail. Only verified subscriptions are entered for all the giveaways.)

3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.  Come back and leave me a Comment with a link to your blog post. (If your comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry – I may have to approve it first.  My blog might think it’s spam but gosh darn, I certainly don’t!)

4.) I’m feeling Twittery.  If you Twitter a link to this giveaway, come back and comment here to let me know your Twitter name for another entry! (I’m dkmommy if you want to follow me.)

Feel free to do all four, plus enter once a day, and you can gain up to 10 entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Wednesday, December 17, 2008, to enter.

Want to buy your own A Life Well Read set?  It’s now on sale for $20 plus $5 Shipping & Handling.

Want more giveaways?  Visit my Contests & Coupon Codes page on dkMommy Spot.

The End of the Straight and Narrow – David McGlynn

09. December 2008 · Comments Off · Categories: Book Reviews, Fiction, Short Stories · Tags: ,

Like most avid readers, I tend to seek out books with a unique voice.  When you read several books a month, it’s easy to find commonalities in books that others might not see.  For instance, there are certain themes that tend to crop up in short story collections again and again.  But I’m happy to tell you The End Of The Straight And Narrow dispensed with all those similarities that can have many active readers yawning in their shirtsleeves.  

The End of the Straight and Narrow manages to be unique without being outlandish or unrelatable.  The subject matter of author David McGlynn’s stories often focuses on the lives and difficulties of people who happen to be Christians.  I say “happen to be” because it’s nether in-your-face proselytizing, nor is it an exercise in faith-bashing, but a true-to-life look at how people really are, flaws and all.  Most of the stories link together having the same characters emerge; new plots, different viewpoints, a different slot of time.  But each story can easily stand on its own two feet.

At first I even hesitated to mention the Christian aspect because I didn’t want anyone to view this book as Christian fiction.  But I can’t imagine skipping over it.  Depth of faith has such a hold on these stories, and in such a fresh way, that any reviewer would be remiss to brush past it.  I’ve often wondered why authors incorporating faith into their stories wouldn’t take an approach such as McGlynn did.  Too often writers either glamorize or tear apart their faith-filled characters, trying to make either a sainted or an ugly example of them whether they be Christian, Jew, Muslim or other.  Personally I find it refreshing to see believing people be believable.  So thanks to David McGlynn.  My brain, as well as my soul, enjoyed the ride to The End Of The Straight And Narrow.

Published by Southern Methodist University Press.

Dreaming of a Green Christmas Giveaway Week

03. December 2008 · 1 comment · Categories: Blog Talk · Tags: ,

For any of you not familiar with my other blog, dkMommy Spot, I’m hosting a very big giveaway week!  Dreaming of a Green Christmas started officially on Monday with new giveaways added every day, but you’re still in time to enter everything.  I’ll be adding more great giveaways right through Friday, so be sure to check it out.  I have a special page that lists all the giveaways as they post, has lots of coupon codes to use all over the net, and provides lots of links to other giveaway sites.  Bookmark it and come join us in all the fun!

The Trespasser by Edra Ziesk

03. December 2008 · 1 comment · Categories: Book Reviews, Fiction, Goldfish Award Books · Tags: ,

When a photographer stumbles upon a Kentucky mountaintop homestead and upsetting one of the residents, everything for this small community begins to change and shift.  Chain reactions are set into place, and the results in Ziesk’s latest novel The Trespasser will draw you into a world where you will definitely change your mind over and over again about who the trespasser really is.  Living in the Appalachians is its own unique challenge, and not for everyone.  Sometimes it’s for hermits who never want to leave, other times it becomes a prison to those who don’t want to stay.  Whichever one you turn out to be, The Trespasser is a book you’ll stay with to the end.

I loved Ziesk’s style of writing; very visual, beautiful writing with just the right amount of darkness about it.  The characters are well-constructed and believable, the scenery plays like a movie in your mind, and the plot took turns I never expected.  When you read a lot of books, this is a nice surprise indeed!  Overall, her style offers something I always look for in a book: an air of mystery with characters I keep thinking back to long after the book is closed.  The Trespasser just has to receive the Goldfish Award, and I happily give it.

Edra Ziesk has written two other novels: Acceptable Losses: A Novel and A Cold Spring.  Will I be looking for them?  Most definitely.