Booking Through Thursday 1.26.12 Writing or Riveting?

This week's BTT asks:

What’s more important: Good writing? Or a good story?

This is the perfect question for me right now considering I finished reading The Lantern today.
A good book should have both good writing and a good story, but give me a good story any day over fancy writing.
You can describe vivid sights and sounds until the cows come home, but if the plot and characters are bleh, you'll lose my interest. Which is what happened with The Lantern unfortunately.
What about you?

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On another note, I apologize if I'm quiet around the blog-o-sphere this week. I'm very busy reading extra on my free time as part of the Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon. And as luck would have it, I chipped a tooth and have wound up at the dentist this week. I also have to go back first thing tomorrow morning to the oral surgeon since the break is deep :(
Wish me luck.

Short Story Review: The Hand

title: The Hand
author: Guy de Maupassant
genre: short story classic/horror
source: http://www.americanliterature.com/
first line: All were crowding around M. Bermutier, the judge, who was giving his opinion about the Saint-Cloud mystery.

I am a fan of Guy de Maupassant's short stories. He had a knack for simply telling an entertaining story. I like his scary ones best. I actually wondered whether I'd want to read this one, because hands freak me out. I was brave and read it anyway. What I found here is an enjoyable, creepy short tale.

In the short story The Hand, Judge Bermutier is telling a group of ladies a strange story.
Bermutier had once been living and working in a small town when he met a man named Sir John Rowell with a mysterious past. The two men were neighbors and all kinds of unsavory rumors were circulating about Rowell.

Bermutier observed Rowell as best as he could, trying to figure him out and ended up somewhat befriending him. He learned the man was a hunter. Rowell shows Bermutier the inside of his home and a creepy collectible he has acquired, a mummified human hand. The hand is chained to the wall.

How gross is this?

"One night, about three months after the crime, I had a terrible nightmare. I seemed to see the horrible hand running over my curtains and walls like an immense scorpion or spider. Three times I awoke, three times I went to sleep again; three times I saw the hideous object galloping round my room and moving its fingers like legs."

I'll leave my post at that so as not to ruin the story, but there is a bit of mystery involved. The author was supposedly inspired to write this story because he was shown a mummified human hand as a teenager.
I found this short story to be a nice quick dose of horror.

You can read The Hand online for free.

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents.
Maupassant suffered from mental illness in his later years and attempted suicide on January 2nd, 1892. He was committed to a private asylum in Paris and died the following year.

Really Random Tuesday #29: Pending Reads and Tom Hardy?

Really Random Tuesday is hosted by Suko.

It's been a few weeks since I've done an RRT post. Today I wanted to yap about the books I'm currently reading.
I've got a few reads I want to wrap up this week and reviews I want to write. I also have book giveaways coming for late January, February and March. *yay* Stay tuned for that.

Currently reading:

Taken By Storm by Donna Fletcher. I'm semi-sabotaging myself here, this book has nothing to do with pending reviews, which I have plenty of. It's a copy I bought myself years ago and suddenly had the itch to read. Okay, okay, the cover is God-awful, but I was in the mood for some fluffiness. I'm nearly done reading this one already.


The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. My copy came from AmazonVine. I'm halfway through this one and it's getting a bit slow now. I was expecting better and I hope it will pick up again soon.


SEAL of My Dreams by various authors. I told you I was in the mood for fluff. I must be going through a phase. This one is from NetGalley and It's a collection of 18 short stories. I've been reading a few at a time.

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**the following has nothing to do with book blogging or reading.
I'll end my post with some randomness about British actor/bad boy Tom Hardy. Can I just say I did a little happy dance when I found out he has a main role in The Dark Knight Rises which comes out this summer?
I like Hardy, there's something about his voice.

I first saw him when he played Heathcliff in the BBC version of Wuthering Heights and have caught a few of his other films since then. He's definitely the dark, brooding type.

Hardy actually auditioned for the role of Mr.Darcy in the latest P&P movie but lost out to Matthew Macfadyen.


Enjoy your Tuesday :P
What are you reading?

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon begins today.
It runs all week from January 23 through January 29.
I'm reading as much as I can this week and will keep this as my updates post.

**update: Tuesday 5:06pm
Michelle's first mini-challenge: My Read-a-Thon reading pile
Taken By Storm by Donna Fletcher (almost done, I want to finish this this week)
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson (halfway through, I want to finish reading this one this week)
The Box by Richard Matheson (205 pages, so not too long and perfect for a quick dose of scary)
Stay Awake by Dan Chaon (258 pages, a collection of short stories)

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Charla is hosting a mini-challenge: briefly describe a "do over" for a character that you read about during the read a thon
I am reading Taken By Storm and I wish the hero Burke Longton was a warrior with a Scottish Brogue that wears a kilt instead of an American. I was looking forward to reading a trashy romance featuring a Highlander.

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Karla is hosting a fun mini-game: grab a couple of your books and make a Love sentence with the titles

Oh, Juliet Chasing Windmills, The Greatest Love on Earth

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update: Thursday 6:55pm I finished reading Taken by Storm and The Lantern
I also fit in a short story called The Hand, up next I'll be reading The Box.
Michelle is hosting a mini-challenge : Take three sentences (from certain pages in your current read) and make them into a short paragraph
I used three sentences from The Box:
It was just getting dark. The brunette turned, smiling. Suddenly, a wall cracked open.

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Read so far:
1. The Hand (short story)
2. Taken By Storm
3. The Lantern

Sunday Salon: My Wishlist is Growing and NKOTB

Happy Sunday everyone. We got a snowstorm here yesterday and it was so pretty to watch it fall. Oddly enough, the last time we had snow like this was this past Halloween.
Diego as per his usual, is doing what he does best, cuddling up in his blankie and relaxing.

My blog hopping this past week has made my wish list grow. Isn't that always the case?
Not that I need anymore books, but *ahem* here are the recently added ones.

I was alerted via email about this one. I like anything Paris related.

Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate) is a charming memoir about a woman’s journey balancing her love for New York and Paris. Forever a girl obsessed with Nutella crepes, silk scarves, and all things French, sweet freak Amy Thomas landed a gig as rich as the purest dark chocolate: leave Manhattan for Paris to write ad copy for Louis Vuitton.
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I hold Dar and Sam fully responsible for my wanting these two books. After reading their rave reviews, I added these to my wish list.

A Demon Does It Better by Linda Wisdom


The Doomsday Vault: A Novel of the Clockwork Empire by Steven Harper

In a clockwork Brittania, Alice's prospects are slim. At 21, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale-towards a clandestine organization, mad inventors, life-altering secrets, and into the arms of an intrepid fiddle-playing airship pilot.

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On a non-bookish note, when I was in grammar school I was head over heels in love with the boy band New Kids on the Block. I *hearted* bad boy Donnie. He's the one on the left trying to look like a gang member. More recently, he actually went on to act in films, which was pretty cool. He was in one of the Saw movies, I gave a little squeal when I saw him.

Funny enough, I was telling my daughter, who is 11 going on 30, about my NKOTB phase. We wound up spending a good hour on Friday night YouTube-ing NKOTB. It was a great trip down memory lane for me, and she liked the music too.
She promptly added a few of these songs to her favs list...that cracks me up. She said "Mom, how did they find 5 talented guys who could sing and dance?!"
I promised her I'd dig through my stored collection of memorabilia. I know I have Donnie pins, collectors cards and NKOTB cassette tapes stored away. I used to walk around with my stonewashed denim purse covered with NKOTB pins on the front. 'Nuff said.

Here they are now, looking like an episode of Law & Order.

I'll end my post with the sugary sweet Please Don't Go Girl . Funny how after over a decade, and after not having listened to this music in years, I still remember all the lyrics to all of their songs.
I know the group reunited a few years ago, but it's just not the same as back in the late 80's early 90's when stonewashed denim and mullets were prerequisite.


Enjoy your Sunday. We've got company over today to watch football so I won't be reading at all. It's rude to read in front of company right? I did make another cherry cheesecake using the recipe from the book More Than Words Can Say for my guests.
What are you reading? Doing?

On Becoming a Book Review Blogger

One of my favorite things about book blogging is that it has given me the opportunity to discover some wonderful books that I may not have come across otherwise. When I first started my book blog, I never dreamed I'd actually receive review copies. I simply wanted a place where I could chat about books.

It's a great thing to be contacted by authors, publishers and PR people asking me to read and review books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer, so when I am contacted for a review, I really feel honored. Even more so when the authors contact me themselves, because I know their books are their 'babies', something they put their hearts and souls into.

Reading and reviewing is something I just love to do. I don't get paid and it's a labor of love, but I will "work for books". Hubby, a non-reader, has often said to me, "You don't get paid for reading those books". I just tell him that the books are my payment because I love to read! I'm addicted to books, so what's better than getting them for free?

I was recently asked by a fellow blogger how I receive these books for review. So here goes, this is my advice on
Becoming a Book Review Blogger

First things first, you will need a blog and you will need time to dedicate to blogging and reading.

1. Be An Active Blogger and Review Books on a Regular Basis
Part of book blogging is getting to meet fellow bloggers online, so go for it. Visit other bloggers and see what they have to say, leave a thoughtful comment on their posts, they'll probably return the visit.
I've gotten authors and PR people email me with a review request saying they saw me comment on so and so's blog.

I keep my blog active by posting, reviewing, and visiting other blogs on a regular basis. I try to make my posts engaging and creative. I want visitors to enjoy my blog enough to return. You want your blog to have traffic and comments.
You can see my **first review here**, which kind of sucked. Practice makes perfect however, and I like to think I tweaked my reviewing skills over time. The first review request came about a year later.
I put alot of work into my reviews, and they are always my honest opinion, I don't bash books and I keep my reviews as as interesting as I can.

Your book reviews are the key, they need to be well written, honest and well thought out.

2. Find websites that offer free review copies.
I am a member of the following:

*NetGalley is a great resource for ebooks. Once you request one, you get it within a few days if not a few hours.


*LibraryThing. Become a member, then join their LibraryThing Early Reviewers/Member Giveaway. Each month you will be able to request books from a list. LibraryThing will notify you if you snagged a review copy. Depending on the book, the hard copies are available to the U.S. and some to Canada, but they also offer e-books for all.


*Pump Up Your Book Promotion offers free review copies. This is only for only U.S. and Canada however.


* Historical Fiction Book Tours. The fabulous Amy offers historicals for review as well as author interviews, guest posts and giveaways.


* TLC Book Tours Lisa & Trish over at TLC offer some really fantastic book tours to take part in.


3. Post your reviews on several sites.
Whenever I post a review on my blog, I also post it on Amazon, Goodreads and LibraryThing. I have had authors contact me after reading my reviews on these sites.
Amazon has a program called Vine where they offer you two products for review each month. The products vary from books, to accessories and housewares for review. This is an invite only program, based on your Amazon reviews ranking. I've been reviewing on Amazon for a couple of years before I was invited to become a Vine Voice, but it was certainly worth it. If you're going to review books anyway, take a few minutes to post the reviews on amazon too, there's a chance of getting invited to AmazonVine.

4. Set up a review policy on your blog with your email readily available so that authors and PR people can contact you for possible review inquiries.
When you have information on your blog readily available on how to contact you for a possible review, the greater the chances are that you will be contacted.

5. Be your own PR person.
If you read and reviewed a book you enjoyed, visit the author's website.
Authors usually have contact forms on their websites, and they do like to hear from readers. So why not drop them a line if you enjoyed their work? They may respond, and you have nothing to lose either way.

After reading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, I filled out the contact form at author Laurie Viera Rigler's website and told her how much I loved her book and I let her know I reviewed it on my blog. Laurie was very kind, wound up stopping by my blog for an interview and sent me a copy of the sequel, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. That was a huge deal for me, I was thrilled.

The more you put yourself out there, the more chances are of getting your blog noticed by authors. You never know who might contact you online. Life is full of nice surprises.

6. Be Picky
The downside of being an online book review blogger is that sometimes you will get review requests that simply don't interest you. I recommend not feeling guilty if you have to politely refuse. Life is too short to read books that you don't enjoy.
If the review request is vague, has no author website link or information on the book, chances are you don't want to waste your time anyway. I'm telling you this from personal experience.

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After getting myself out there by frequently blogging, reviewing and being part of book tours, I am now contacted by publicists and authors with review requests on a regular basis.
It's funny how times are always changing. When I first began book blogging, it was all about the hard copy. Now it's all about the e-book, which really simplifies things if you have an e-reader.

It doesn't happen overnight, I began my blog in 2007. Slowly but surely, the review requests began to come in and now I get to do something I really love, while getting books for review and getting the opportunity to meet some fantastic authors and publicists online.

The book blogging community is wonderful, and I very happy to be a part of it. Getting books for review has been the icing on the cake.