Sep 11

27

Love At Absolute Zero by Christopher Meeks

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on September 27, 2011
Posted in Books Read in 2011 • Christopher Meeks | 8 Comments

At 32 years old, Gunnar just earned tenure as a physicist at the University of Wisconsin. He takes this as a sign that it is time for him to find a wife. He has a three day break from work and decides that he must find a wife in that time however, he understands very little about love and relationships. He enlists the help of his two friends/ colleagues to find a scientific method of finding his soul mate.

This new method meets with hilarious results, while all the time the reader can’t help but root for Gunnar. In three days time he gets Lasik eye surgery on his eyes, braces, and a new hair style, all to appear more attractive to women. He goes to two speed dating events. The first one with disastrous consequences.

Gunnar finds love on the third night but Kara is from Denmark. Should he risk his tenure to follow ? He has never been outside of Wisconsin, let alone outside of North America. He could go there and work as a visiting professor at the Niels Bohr Institute.

I must admit I was a little nervous accepting a review copy of this book. I loved Christopher Meeks first novel, The Brightest Moon of the Century however, science scares me. I also don`t always enjoy romance. I usually like historical fiction or literary fiction that has an element of romance but not as the main plot.

I need not have worried! Christopher Meeks pulled it off beautifully. He was able to explain the science, so that even I could understand it and actually enjoy it. This is true literary fiction. It has romance but so much more! Meeks has a biting sense of humor and has created quirky yet totally believable characters. This book is a must read for literary fiction lovers.

4.5/5

Love at Absolute Zero and Christopher Meeks are currently on tour through Premier Virtual Author Book Tours. There are more reviews, guest posts, and giveaways of the book happening right now. To follow the tour go here, to view the schedule. Also, for the duration of the tour you can buy the ebook for only .99 cents at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Please note that I am the coordinator of the Love of Absolute Zero Tour but it in no way influenced my opinion of the book. My review is my honest and true feelings of the book.

Also reviewed by:

A Casual Reader`s Blog

She Treads Softly

This Miss Loves to Read

From the TBR Pile

Butterfly-O-Meter

Sep 11

23

Giveaway and Review: Help for Writers by Roy Peter Clark

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on September 23, 2011
Posted in Books Read in 2011 • My Past Giveaways | 102 Comments

The subtitle of this book is 210 Solutions to the Problem Every Writer faces. I decided to accept a review copy of this book to see if there were any tips that a book blogger could use in writing reviews.

Though there wasn’t a specific chapter dedicated to writing book reviews, there were a lot of useful tips. The book is divided in to seven steps of the writing process. The most useful step for me was step four: Looking for Language. If I am searching for a word to use, the first place I usually go to is a thesaurus or dictionary. However, there are so many other great places to find words. For instance, one I know some of you book bloggers already do is to keep a list of new words you come across in your reading. There is even a meme going around for that.

I often catch myself writing in cliche’ and wonder if it is really appropriate Clark says it’s okay to have some. He does suggest “When tempted by a cliche’, give yourself one minute to think of an alternative.” To help with this write it down and then write down alternative words and phrases.

This book is full of ideas for writers. If you are a writer you may very well find this book helpful.

About Roy Peter Clark:

Roy Peter Clark, a Ph.D. in medieval literature, is Vice President and Senior Scholar of the world-renowned Poynter Institute. The author or editor of 14 professional books, he is founding director of the National Writer’s Workshops, regional conferences that attract 5,000 writers annually. His 50 tools, published in abbreviated form on the Poynter Website (www.poynter.org), have already gained foothold worldwide.

Thanks to Anna Balasi of Hachette Book Group, I am giving away up to three copies of this book.

1-10 people who enter = one copy

11-12 people who enter= two copies

13 or more people who enter= three copies

To Enter:

Leave a comment with your email address, so I can contact you if you win.

Extra Entries: (please leave a separate comment for each, for instance you you are a follower, leave 3 comments that you are a follower).

+3 Old or new follower of this blog.

+3 Old or new follower on Twitter (@teddyrose1).
+2 Tweet about this Giveaway (Up to 1 time per day)

+3 Be my friend on Facebook (Teddy Rose).

+3 “Like” the post about this giveaway on Facebook

+3 Be my friend on Goodreads (Teddy).
+3 for Joining my Books Won Reading Challenge (be sure to follow the rules and then let me know you joined here.)

+ 3 for following my Premier Virtual Author Book Tours

+4 for filling out the Tour Host Interest Form (please do this if you have a book blog and you are serious about wanting to be a tour host)

+ 5 if you have been a tour host for Premier Virtual Author Book Tours (please specify which tour)

+2 for each comment on a book review I have done. (Be sure to tell me which ones).

+1 for clicking to give free food at The Animal Rescue Site (tell me you did it).( Up to 1 time per day)

+1 for clicking to give free books at The Literacy Site (tell me you did it). ( Up to 1 time per day)

That’s 36 or more possible entries! Sorry, this giveaway is only open to U.S and Canada.

The winner’s mailing address: No P.O. Boxes

Only one entry per household/IP address

Winners will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if you win the same title in two or more contests, you will receive only one copy of the book.

This giveaway will end on Friday, October 7th, 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email. Winners must respond within TWO days or will be disqualified.

Sep 11

21

Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on September 21, 2011
Posted in Books Read in 2011 | 6 Comments

When Matilda’s husband, the German Emperor, died Germany had no use for her. Since she didn’t have a son, the thrown went to someone else. Thankfully, her father, King Henry I of England sent for her to return home. At least she knew she wouldn’t end up in a German nunnery.

When she returned home Matilda met her new sep mother, Queen Adeliza. They were very close in age and became fast friends. Then Matilda found out her father had great plans for her, indeed. She was to become Queen of England, at least until her unborn son could rule. First Henry had to find her a new husband, so she could have a son. He found just the “man”, a almost 14 year old boy named, Geoffrey from Anjou.

Matilda detested Geoffrey and he felt the same about her however, they were able to fulfill their duty and had sons. Although all the barons of England swore allegiance to Matilda and promised to follow her, when Henry died, the swore allegiance to her cousin Stephen and he was crowned. Meanwhile, Matilda still had some faithful followers and with their help over the years, she struggles with Stephen over the crown.

This is the best Elizabeth Chadwick book yet! The cast of both real and imagined characters are brought back to life in living color. I could see and feel them in my imagination with the superb writing and research of Chadwick. I was totally immersed in this book as I have experienced with all of her books. This book is fast paced, with never a dull moment. If you love historical fiction, Elizabeth Chadwick is a must. Lady of the English would be a great book to start with.

5/5

Thanks to Laura Brotzman of Sourcebooks for the advance reader copy of this book.

Also reviewed by:

Passages to the Past

History and Women

Historical-Fiction.com

A Girl Walks into a Bookstore