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Sway Giveaway

When I read about this book giveaway - it sounded so fun I jumped at the chance to participate. I will be giving away 5 copies of Sway by Zachary Lazar. Want to know what it's about?

Three dramatic and emblematic stories intertwine in Zachary Lazar's extraordinary new novel, SWAY--the early days of the Rolling Stones, including the romantic triangle of Brian Jones, Anita Pallenberg, and Keith Richards; the life of avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger; and the community of Charles Manson and his followers.

Lazar illuminates an hour in American history when rapture found its roots in idolatrous figures and led to unprovoked and inexplicable violence. Connecting all the stories in this novel is Bobby Beausoleil, a beautiful California boy who appeared in an Anger film and eventually joined the Manson "family."

With great artistry, Lazar weaves scenes from these real lives together into a true but heightened reality, making superstars human, giving demons reality, and restoring mythic events to the scale of daily life.

"One hypnotic tone poem.... It is not the now-historic acts of violence that make Sway so riveting, but its vivid character portraits and decadent, muzzy atmosphere, all rendered with the heightened sensory awareness associated with drugs and paranoia.

The near miniaturist precision with which he describes Keith Richards's attempts to master his guitar, Brian Jones's acid trips and Anger's obsessive desire for Beausoleil bring this large-scale tableau into stunning relief." --Liz Brown, Time Out New York

I haven't read it so I can not tell you a thing about it - but hey, it's free! It's worth a try! AND, it has a reading guide available so it might be great for a book club. Only stipulation?? You must leave a comment WITH your email address to participate and you must have a US or Canada address - no PO Boxes, please. Drawing will be held, Sat. March 14 and the books will be shipped shortly thereafter. (This giveaway is courtesy of Hachette Book Group.)

Hachette Books/Chronicle Books

When a box comes from Hachette - It is a BIG deal!!! And this box is no exception!!
I received the book, When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat by Muriel Harris Weinstein and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. I am pumped about this book - we don't have very many books on Jazz/Scat and this one will be a wonderful contribution. It is PERFECT for our Summer Reading Program theme this summer AND a beautiful tribute to Louis Armstrong - read, you'll be doing Scat in no time!

Also in the box were three Rosie Flo coloring books. These are NOT your normal coloring books and let me just tell you - my daughter thinks she NEEDS all of them. They are beautiful - I mean exquisite - coloring books - designed by Roz Streeten. She designed the books based on ideas from her daughters - they used to ask her to draw dresses so they could color them - and that is just what she did. THEN, you can add arms, legs, heads, etc. They are WONDERFUL - you do NEED to see these!

Fun Giveaway at Patchwork

Amanda, over at Patchwork of Books, is giving away TWO of my favorite books. BELIEVE ME, I hardly want to share this with all of you since I am hoping to win - but I will be generous and kind - and share anyway!! Ok, I admit it, I get more chances to win if I blog about it!!! But you MUST go see it - the new Llama and the new Ladybug Girl - who can pass that up!?!?!?

Share a Story - Shape a Future

Where have I been? I had no idea THIS was going on! Share a Story - Shape a Future is a site/idea all built around sharing books with kids. I love it and it looks wonderful! Here's the line-up. It all begins March 9 and will last for one week!

Sparrow Girl

Since my first Clementine read - I have been a HUGE Sara Pennypacker fan! So when I saw she had a picture book coming out - I had it ordered months in advance for our library. When we got Sparrow Girl in, I read it right away. This is such a great book that I just had to share. The story is set in China and surrounds a true event that took place in 1958. Chairman Mao decided that everyone could help get rid of the Sparrows as they were eating too much of China's wheat crop. So - they did - they had everyone - children included - cover the land and make as much noise as possible so that the birds would die of exhaustion or heart attacks. The plan worked - the sparrow population was GONE in three days - BUT without the sparrows, the locust population grew and contributed to a famine that killed between 30-40 million Chinese people. This picture book is the story of a little girl, Ming-Li, that decides to try to help save some of the sparrows - it is wonderful - and she comes out the winner!! (See, that's another reason I LOVE this book - she was all about helping those birds - from one bird lover to another!) The illustrations are marvelous - Yoko Tanaka, the illustrator - really shines in this, her first, picture book.

What's On Your Nightstand?

I always think this is fun - so here's what's on my NEW nightstand - yes, we redid our bedroom and we got rid of our tables and upgraded to classy square nightstands - just had to throw that in!!

Real Life and Liars by Kristina Riggle - this is an ARC that I am reading from Harper Collins - while it's not my normal fare - I am enjoying it. I will review it here soon, but suffice it to say - it's REAL - it's what families are REALLY like.

I'll Cross the River by C. Hope Flinchbaugh - this is next on my To Be Read List - looks good - I'll fill you in when I get done!

Meet the Bible by Philip Yancey and Brenda Quinn - this is what I use for daily readings - I wanted something "meaty" that included daily scripture readings and this fit the bill - I love it!

The Love Dare by Stephen Kendrick - I know, EVERYONE has this on their nightstand - but I REALLY do want to start it - I think my husband hopes I do soon!!

Lastly - my current Beth Moore study - Stepping Up - POWERFUL - that is all I can say - it is JUST what I needed.

So, what's on your Nightstand!?!?!