Carol's Notebook

I thought I'd list some of the great giveaways that are out there. I'll update this post through the week, if I find any new ones. If you have one you want me to add, let me know. I've got three giveaways going right now. The first is One Deadly Sin by Annie Solomon, but the deadline is May 15.  I have five copies of The Man's Book by Thomas Fink, and the deadline is May 20. Finally, I have five copies of The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson. The deadline for that one is May 28. All three are open to the US and Canada only, no PO boxes. Jo-Jo Loves to Read! is holding two great contest, a Mother's Day Giveaway and an Asian Heritage Month Giveaway. The deadline to enter for both is May 31.  A few people are having Daphne duMaurier giveaways. Caite at A Lovely Shore Breeze is giving away two books in honor of duMaurier's birthday, but the contest is only open through May...

I ran across a few new to me words this week. lagniappe- 1. chiefly Southern Louisiana and Southeast Texas. a small gift given with a purchase to a customer, by way of compliment or for good measure; bonus. 2. an unexpected or indirect benefit "And if you like all things Pucci, the stunning bottles are a lovely lagniappe."  (pg, 85, The Oprah Magazine, April 2009) some punkins- someone or something great or special. "'He thinks he's some punkins,' Patrick said. 'But he ain't.'" (pg. 67, Silver Dollar Girl by Katherine Ayres) perspicacity- keenness of mental perception and understanding; discernment; penetration. "Mr. Pirelli, on the other hand, is a model of perspicacity. (Look it up. It will be on your spelling quiz.)" (pg. 91, Do-Over! by Robin Hemley. My copy is an ARC.) Play along at Bermudaonion's Weblog....

Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two (2) "teaser" sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12. You also need to share the title of the book that you're getting your "teaser" from...that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given. Please avoid spoilers! My teaser: One day a group of my fellow campers threw a knife at a stunned bullfrog in the middle of the main path while counselors walked by, unmoved, the knife edging closer and closer until one camper stuck the knife in the bullfrog's back and its heart seemed to jump out of its mouth. That was camp play. -pg. 62, Do-Over! by Robin Hemley (ARC) Tuesday Teaser is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along....

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about re-reading… Have you ever finished a book, then turned around and immediately re-read it? Why? What book(s)? (question courtesy of MizB) No, I haven't. At least not that I can recall. I'm not much of a re-reader in general. There are just so many books out there to read, I tend to move onto new ones. There are some exceptions. I've re-read several Agatha Christie books over the years and I will read things with my daughter that I read when I was young, like Alice in Wonderland, Pippi Longstocking and Nancy Drew. Of course, when she was younger, like most kids, she wanted us to read her the same book over and over and over and over.  We knew a couple of Dr. Seuss ones by heart....

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page. My mailbox was busy this week. A couple even came that are perfect for Amber. I have to admit doing some shopping this week too, which I talked about here. These are ones I won. Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron (Thanks, J. Kaye!) Penny & Rio: The Mysterious Backyard Meeting by Jennifer Swanson (Thanks, Bev!) Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney (Thanks to Lori's Reading Corner.) Highland Guardian by Melissa Mayhue (Thanks to Yankee Romance Reviewers.) The Mechanics of Falling and Other Stories by Catherine Brady (Thanks, Serena!) Exit Music by Ian Rankin (Won in a contest on Twitter.) Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton (Thanks, Roxanne!) Just Desserts by Barbara Bretton (Thanks, Roxanne!)   I also received a couple of other packages. Perfection by Julie Metz Don't Call Me a Crook by Bob Moore The Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton   Amber and I stopped at the library after school on Thursday and checked out a few things. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath The Case...