Mailbox Monday- September 28

Since my Monday's always seem to consist of cleaning the house and running errands (groceries, anyone?) I usually end up missing out on Mailbox Mondays. This week I've decided to post a day in advance so that I don't miss out! Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia over at The Printed Page and asks, What was in YOUR mailbox last week?

Last week brought three new additions to my TBR pile:

Sex, Drugs, and Gefilte Fish: The Heeb Storytelling Collection edited by Shana Liebman (ARC, from the publisher)

Damas, Dramas and Ana Ruiz by Belinda Acosta (contest win)

Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell (contest win from Booking Mama)

What was in your mailbox last week?

Don't Miss Out: These Giveaways End Soon!

Don't miss out on these giveaways that are ending soon!

Win 1 of 5 copies of "The Smart One and the Pretty One" by Claire LaZebnik: this ends September 27th at midnight!

Win 1 of 5 copies of "Friends Like These: My Worldwide Quest to Find My Best Childhood Friends, Knock on Their Doors, and Ask Them to Come Out and Play" by Danny Wallace (I'm reading this right now and it is hilarious!): ends September 29 at midnight!

Win a copy of "The Day the Falls Stood Still" by the incredibly talented Cathy Marie Buchanan. This giveaway ends on September 30, 2009 at midnight.

Don't miss out on these great giveaways, as I greatly enjoyed (or am greatly enjoying) all of them. Good luck!!!

Giveaway: "Supreme Courtship" by Christopher Buckley

From the Publisher's Website:

"President of the United States Donald Vanderdamp is having a hell of a time getting his nominees appointed to the Supreme Court. After one nominee is rejected for insufficiently appreciating To Kill A Mockingbird, the president chooses someone so beloved by voters that the Senate won't have the guts to reject her -- Judge Pepper Cartwright, the star of the nation's most popular reality show, Courtroom Six.

Will Pepper, a straight-talking Texan, survive a confirmation battle in the Senate? Will becoming one of the most powerful women in the world ruin her love life? And even if she can make it to the Supreme Court, how will she get along with her eight highly skeptical colleagues, including a floundering Chief Justice who, after legalizing gay marriage, learns that his wife has left him for another woman.

Soon, Pepper finds herself in the middle of a constitutional crisis, a presidential reelection campaign that the president is determined to lose, and oral arguments of a romantic nature. Supreme Courtship is another classic Christopher Buckley comedy about the Washington institutions most deserving of ridicule."

About the Author:

Buckley is the author of eleven books, many of them national bestsellers, including Thank You For Smoking, God Is My Broker, No Way To Treat A First Lady, and Florence of Arabia. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages, including Russian and Korean.

Thanks to Valerie at the Hachette Book Group I have five copies of Supreme Courtship to give away! To enter:

1. Leave me a comment and include your e-mail address, so that I can contact you if you are a winner!

2. Bonus Entry: Become a follower and leave me a seperate comment letting me know that you now follow! Current followers are also eligible, just let me know that you already follow.

3. Bonus Entry: Blog about this giveaway, Twitter it, Facebook it, whatever! Just leave me a seperate comment letting me know how you've spread the word.

This contest is open to residents of the US and Canada, no PO boxes please! It runs until October 20, 2009 and on October 21, 2009 I will e-mail the winners. Good luck!

Giveaway: "Fierce Style" by Christian Siriano

Book Description from the Publisher's Website:

"In 2008, Christian Siriano made headlines as the youngest designer to win the hit reality series

Project Runway. But the now twenty-three-year-old is bigger than a TV celebrity. From his prodigious fashion talent to his one-of-a-kind personality, Christian is the embodiment of fierce style.

Now in his first book, he helps readers discover how to look, feel, and act fierce in everyday life. With tips from some of fashion and Hollywood's biggest names -including Victoria Beckham, Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Vanessa Williams -- along with gorgeous original sketches by Christian, never-before-heard stories, and behind-the-scenes photos, he tells his journey of developing his own fashion sense and overcoming obstacles to success.

Giving advice on creating personal style, sharing tips on building self-confidence, and revealing his own list of fashion dos and don'ts, Christian shows how to use one's unique strengths to get ahead - and go from tickity-tack to totally flawless."

About the Author:

Dubbed "America's next great fashion designer" by Tim Gunn, Christian Siriano is the youngest winner of reality television series Project Runway. He previously honed his fashion chops in London working for top fashion designers Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. His first collection debuted at New York fashion week in fall 2008.

Thanks to Anna at the Hachette Book Group, I have 1 copy of Fierce Style to give away! To enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me what your biggest fashion faux pas has been. Mine was probably wearing all-purple track outfits in Grade 5. No seriously, people, think all purple. There were probably Unicorns on them somewhere. It was seriously embarassing, but at the time I thought that I was so cool! Don't forget to leave your e-mail address with your post, so that I can contact you if you're the lucky winner.

2. Bonus Entry: Become a follower of this blog! It's that simple! Leave me a seperate comment letting me know that you are now a follower, or let me know that you are a current follower.

3. Bonus Entry: Blog about this giveaway, or tweet, or do whatever you like to do the most. Just spread the word, and let me know in a seperate comment how you've done it!

This contest is open to Canadian and US addresses, no PO boxes, please! This contest will run until October 19, 2009 and I will be choosing the winner using random.org. The winner will be notified on October 20, 2009 by e-mail. Good luck!

Review: "Starting Over" by Tony Parsons

George Bailey has been given a second chance. After suffering a heart attack, he is given the heart of a 19-year-old donor who's family wishes to remain anonymous. George leaves the hospital, ready to carry on with his life, but quickly realizes that things are not the same. Suddenly he is able to make love to his wife like he's 19. He relates better to his daughter with her ambitions to save the planet, and he is becoming more like a friend than a father to his son. George can't imagine this being a bad thing, but suddenly his life begins to fall apart.

George's wife, Lara, suddenly finds that living with her husband is more like living with a teenager. Frustrated with being the only parent with any sense, Lara suggests spending some time apart. George moves back in with his own parents, and deja vu settles in. He's living under his parents roof, he's drinking like it's the old days, and he has absolutely no idea who he really is.

George sets out to find the family of his anonymous donor in the hopes that he will be able to come to terms with his new life and hopefully be able to return to his old one. In the process George learns to be grateful for the gift that he's been given, and he begins to appreciate how satisfying adulthood can be.

This was a wonderful book, based on the theory of cellular memory, that organs retain some of the memories of their "original owners", even when transplanted. It went beyond that, though, and it also touched on the beauty of the gift of life, as well as appreciation for all of the things that make us adults. I thoroughly enjoyed Starting Over, and since Tony Parsons is a new-to-me author, I'll be checking out some of his previous works. Parsons creates characters that are easy to relate to, and who you'll be rooting for the whole way through.

Intrigued? You can browse inside this book here. Thank-you to Deanna at Harper Collins for sending me this review copy!

Review: "The Ice Chorus" by Sarah Stonich

Liselle Dupre has left it all behind: her husband of 18 years, her teenage son, and her former life in Toronto to start over in a remote village in Ireland after a brief but meaningful affair. Lise is a documentary film maker, most interested in the lives of others, yet her own life is the one thing that she can't figure out.

When Lise met and fell in love with Charlie, an artist, while on vacation in Mexico she realized that her marriage to her husband Stephen was one of convenience and obligation, rather than one of love. Making the life-changing decision to leave her husband to pursue the happiness she has found, she risks losing her son as well. Adam, on the cusp of adulthood, has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that his mother has had an affair.

Lise escapes to a remote Irish village and, over time, comes to know and love the people who live there. She fixes up her little cottage on the sea, works on her documentary, and more than anything, she hopes that her son will forgive her for turning his life upside down. Lise also waits for Charlie, her artistic lover, although she knows deep down that she needs to find herself and come to terms with her past before she can experience true love.

The Ice Chorus was a beautifully written story. The plot was intricate, involving several characters who were all lovable yet flawed. The story flowed from one scene to the next, which was no easy task considering that as Lise's story unfolds we find ourselves in Mexico as she meets Charlie as well as in Toronto as her former life unravels.

What I loved the most about this book was how well Sarah Stonich described places and events. As she described her little cottage on the sea, I felt as I was there with Lise, looking out over the frozen beach. When she described Mexico, I could almost see the vibrant colours. Most of all I could feel Lise's agony as she contemplated leaving her husband, whom she was not in love with, for Charlie, a man whom she loved with every fibre of her being, but knowing that she would be risking losing her son, Adam. The intricacy of the relationships between all of the people involved was especially gripping.

To purchase this book, newly out in paperback, please visit Amazon, and to find out more about the author, please visit http://www.sarahstonich.com/.

Review: "The Smart One and the Pretty One" by Claire LaZebnik

I finished this one a couple of days ago and have yet to review it! Yesterday I was too busy "playing" with my brand new washing machine and dryer (after 7 months of a broken washing machine, this was like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one!). Today, the washing machine is happily, um, washing, and I finally have a chance to review this wonderful book.

Lauren and Ava are sisters. Although they look a lot alike, even being mistaken for twins on occasion, they could not be more different. Lauren enjoys dressing fashionably and spending more money than she makes. Ava is a lawyer who dresses dowdily, almost hiding behind her clothes. When their mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Lauren decides to come home to care for her, although it was caught very early and her mother feels quite well. When Lauren arrives home, Ava finds out that Lauren has moved home for good. She has lost her job and was thisclose to being evicted from her apartment, so she decides to start over. Ava attempts to help Lauren find her way out of debt by ambushing her with a credit counsellor, so Lauren attempts to get Ava back by reuniting Ava with Russell, a man who she was "betrothed" to by her parents one drunken evening when the kids were seven.

Hilarity, of course, ensues. Ava is resistant to dating, and to any well-meaning suggestions that she change her dowdy look, but Lauren is persistent. Lauren is resistant to budgeting and to paying off her outstanding debt, but learns a couple of hard lessons as she tries to put her finances back together. Both sisters end up learning things about themselves and about their sister in the process.

This was a fun read about sisterhood and dating. I don't have a sister (two brothers, but no sister), so there were some parts that I couldn't directly relate to, but enjoyed nonetheless. What I loved about the book is that Ava eventually was able to overcome her past hurts and hangups in the romance department to open herself up to the possibility of finding love. The ending left me wanting more, and I'm hoping that Claire LaZebnik considers writing a sequel to "The Smart One and the Pretty One". Thank-you to Miriam at the Hachette Book Group for the review copy, and if you're interested in winning your own copy of "The Smart One and the Pretty One" be sure to enter my contest (it ends September 27th!).

Giveaway: "Sex, Drugs, and Gefilte Fish" by Shana Liebman

Thanks to Brianne at The Hachette Book Group I have five copies of Sex, Drugs, and Gefilte Fish edited by Shana Liebman to give away!

From the Publisher's Website:

"Scoring weed for your uncle...Hanging out with porn stars on Christmas Eve...Eating nachos with the Mossad...Observing the Dyke Days of Awe...Getting held up at a Weight Watcher's meeting...Spying on your naked Hebrew School teacher.

From Heeb magazine--the definitive voice of a proud, searching, and irreverent new generation of American Jews--this first-of-a-kind fast and fun showcase spotlights the hilarious and heartful raconteurial gifts of many of today's leading writers, comedians, actors, artists, and musicians. Laura Silverman, Michael Showalter, Andy Borowitz, Joel Stein, Ben Greenman, Darrin Strauss, and others navigate sex, drugs, work, youth, family, and, on the lighter side, body and soul. You'll never bleach your arm hair again."
I've heard that this hilarious collection really does have something in it for everyone, and I personally can't wait to review it.

To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post with your e-mail address so that I have a way to contact you if you win.

2. Bonus Entry: Become a follower and let me know! (If you're already a follower, just remind me on your comment!)

3. Bonus Entry: Blog about this contest, Tweet about it, Facebook it, whatever you want! Just make sure that you leave me a comment letting me know that you've spread the word.

This contest runs until October 16, 2009 at midnight. I will be e-mailing the winners on October 17th. It is open to residents of both the US and Canada, no PO Boxes please! Good luck!!!

Review: "Bold Face Names" by Shinan Govani

Ravi is a Toronto-based gossip columnist and apparently he's a keeper of secrets. Big secrets. He's keeping one about himself, and when a mysterious man corners him at a party and insists on employing him for a "special job" he becomes the keeper of someone else's secret. Although up until this point Ravi has only been a gossip columnist with an in to the biggest and brightest parties, book launches, and art shows, Mr. Darcy offers him a substantial sum of money to teach a D-List starlet how to behave like someone on the A-List. Ravi can't refuse the money, and although this isn't something that he's done before, he takes on the job.

Enter Leeza (with a zed) Pellegrino, a sassy yet smart starlet with a secret that will launch her directly to the A-List. Leeza is nothing like Ravi expected and after he takes her under his wing, the two jet-set to the hottest parties and launches all over the world and Ravi tries to teach her everything that he knows. Once he's sure that she's ready, he prepares her to do the thing that will change her life forever.

Sounds mysterious, huh? I'm not giving too much of the plot of Bold Face Names away, because this fun, light read is worth picking up for yourself. Reading it was akin to gossiping with a friend (albeit a well-connected friend) over lunch in the latest hot-spot. The celebrity references were intriguing, and for a gossip-hound such as myself it made reading this book all the more fun. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves the world of celebrity (Govani is a gossip columnist for the National Post so he divulges what it's really like to be one), or for anyone just looking for a (fictional) scandal fix. You'll never look at celebrities (or read gossip columns) the same way again!

Thanks to Harper Collins Canada for this review copy. You can read all about Shinan Govani's real-life book launch party here.

Blog Tour: Author Interview with Cathy Marie Buchanan and Giveaway!

I am absoutely thrilled to have Cathy Marie Buchanan, author of The Day the Falls Stood Still, stopping by today. Not only is her book a Barnes & Noble Recommends choice, but it also is a Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice Title and it was one of Elle Magazine's September Reading Choices. It also recently debuted at #31 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Cathy agreed to stop by today to answer a few questions that I had for her after I read The Day the Falls Stood Still (if you missed my review, I loved it!).

The Day the Falls Stood Still made me aware of some of the rich history of Niagara Falls that I hadn't heard before, despite the fact that I've visited many times. Was this your intention when you set out to write this book?

Born and bred in Niagara Falls, I grew up awash in an endless stream of local lore. With such a storied past and the staggering beauty of the falls themselves, I knew I would set my debut novel in Niagara Falls long before I had an inkling about character or plot. To begin, I read books surveying Niagara's history. What I was seeking, as I read, was the time period and narrative that best showcased Niagara’s wondrous and quirky past. The story of William “Red” Hill, Niagara’s most famous riverman, came up time and again, and with each telling I became more certain my main male character-Tom Cole-would be loosely based on him.

Bess, one of your main characters, is a strong woman who makes the best of her circumstances, despite the fact her life is not easy. Is she based on a real person?

In the very first bit of The Day the Falls Stood Still that I wrote (long since scrapped) Bess was an old woman, bitter and hateful of the river. I had conjured her up from　the wife of real-life riverman Red Hill. She was quoted as saying that she hated the river, that she was afraid of it. In addition to being a hero, Red Hill was also a daredevil, risking his life by shooting the Whirlpool Rapids in a barrel three times. In 1951 the couple’s eldest son died attempting to go over the falls in a barrel and another son was killed in a hydroelectric accident. Clearly, she had cause to hate the river. She is where I started with Bess Heath, but once I decided not to incorporate the daredevil side of Red Hill into my riverman, Bess became purely a product of my imagination.

The ending of this book came as a complete surprise to me. Did you know how you wanted the book to end when you started writing it, or was that something that came later?

The ending of The Day the Falls Stood Still evolved as I wrote. Initially I thought the story would more closely parallel that of Red Hill and his family. In one instance, while Red Hill was shooting the rapids, his barrel became trapped in the whirlpool. Red Junior lashed a rope around his waist and plunged into the water, eventually hauling his father’s barrel to shore. According to local lore, Red Junior was paraded about on his father’s shoulders, a hero. Very early on, I thought this scene was how I would end the story. Along the way, Red Junior's impending death in 1951 would be foretold. The story would be about a father's culpability in his son's death. Once I made the decision that Tom Cole would not be a daredevil, the story I was telling and the ending of that story changed dramatically.

About Cathy Marie Buchanan:

CATHY MARIE BUCHANAN’s stories have appeared in several of Canada’s most respected literary journals ─ The Antigonish Review, The Dalhousie Review, Descant and The New Quarterly. Buchanan holds a BSc (Honours Biochemistry) and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. She has been awarded grants by both the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council. Born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario, she grew up amid the awe-inspiring scenery of the Niagara River and awash in the local lore. She now resides in Toronto.

You can visit Cathy Marie Buchanan's website here, and and you can follow the rest of her blog tour here. You can also browse inside the book at Harper Collins Canada's website.

Thanks to Cathy Marie Buchanan I am able to give away one copy of this book! To enter, post a comment relevant to this post and leave your e-mail address so that I have a way to contact you if you win. This contest is open to residents of the US and Canada, no PO boxes please, and runs until September 30, 2009. The winner will be contacted by e-mail on October 1, 2009.

Review: "The Day The Falls Stood Still" Cathy Marie Buchanan

"The Day The Falls Stood Still" is the story of Bess Heath, a young woman growing up in Niagra Falls in the early 1900's. As we meet Bess, she is one year shy of graduating from Loretto Academy, the boarding school that she has been attending for the majority of her formative years. When her mother comes to pick her up from the school's graduation ceremony, Bess learns that her father has lost his job at the Falls' Hydroelectric company, and she knows that everything is going to change. Her sister has lost her fiance (who doesn't want to be associated with a family falling on hard times), her mother has had to take on odd sewing jobs to keep up with the household bills, and her father has become an alcoholic. Bess takes it all in stride, and by chance she happens to meet Tom Cole, Niagra's own river man.

Despite the fact that Tom Cole is not the type of man that her family wants Bess to marry, she secretly courts him anyways, and not long after their meeting, the two are married. Tom goes off to fight in the war and when he returns nothing will be the same: not for the Cole family, and not for Niagra Falls.

Tantalizingly based on actual facts, this novel is part fictional love story and part fascinating Niagra Falls history. Despite the fact that I grew up approximately an hour away from the Falls, and visited it many times growing up, I had no idea of the history and folklore surrounding this great display of rushing water. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Bess and Tom, I equally enjoyed finding out things that I didn't know about Niagra Falls. This book is accompanied by fascinating historical photos the Falls, and I was constantly nudging my husband to show him the pictures or to share a new fact.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow as Cathy Marie Buchanan stops by to answer a few questions as part of her blog tour! There will also be an opportunity to win a copy of this must-read novel.

Review: "The Household Guide to Dying" Debra Adelaide

Delia is dying. She has breast cancer, which has recurred several times and is now slowly bringing her to the end of her life. She's the mother to two young daughters, she has a husband who adores her, and she is a popular advice columnist, but she has resigned herself to the inevitablility of her death and she is getting prepared. Delia has some loose ends to tie up from her past, she wants to prepare special mementos for her daughters and husband, and last but not least, she is writing a guide to dying. As the author of such popular works such as The Household Guide to Laundry and The Household Guide to Lawn Care, she wants her final work to be called The Household Guide to Dying. So, Delia begins to write her book, but she also attempts to come to terms with her tragic past and to prepare her children for a future that doesn't include their mother.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. However, the writing style confused and annoyed me to the point that I wasn't able to enjoy it. The plot has a lot of potential to be both funny and sad, yet it fell short for me. My main complaint was that the book covers several different time periods. It covers Delia's distant past, it covers her present as she edges towards death, and it covers a period of time from her recent past, as Delia sets out to find some things out about her distant past. The writing switches from one time period to another with absoultely no indication to the reader which time period is being covered. Dates would have helped. At least I wouldn't have started reading a chapter, only to find out that a different time period was being covered than the one that I thought was. To make thise situation worse, snippets from Delias advice column are thrown in there willy-nilly, adding very little to the book in general.

My other problem was with Delia. For a dying woman, I had a hard time feeling empathy for her. I tried to, but her personality came across as cold and detatched, and I just couldn't get myself worked up about her inevitible demise.

That being said, I loved the ending of the book. This was one part that I thought was done particularly well. It wasn't a weepy ending, but it definitely got to you, in a quiet way. All in all, unless you can endure the writing style, I would give "The Household Guide to Dying" a miss. It had potential, but just didn't measure up for me.

Mailbox Monday- September 14

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia over at The Printed Page. Each week she asks: What was in YOUR mailbox last week?

This week I added two very welcome books to my TBR pile. The first book that I received was "The Smart One and the Pretty One" by Claire LaZebnik, courtesy of Miriam at the Hachette Book Group. If you're interested in entering to win a copy of this one, my contest is posted here.

The second addition to my mailbox was a copy of "The Ice Chorus", courtesy of the author, Sarah Stonich. I'm very excited to read both of these books, as they both look like ones that I could get lost in.

What was in your mailbox this week? Feel free to leave the link to your mailbox posts, I would love to stop by!

Mailbox Monday- September 7

Mailbox Monday is posted by Marcia over at The Printed Page. Each Monday she asks us: What was in YOUR mailbox this week?

This week I only had one new addition to my TBR pile, which is managable! I'm trying to catch up a little on my TBR pile, as well as my pile of wonderful books from the library. This week's addition was "The Way Home" by George Pelecanos.

From the Publisher's Website:

"Christopher Flynn is trying to get it right. After years of trouble and rebellion that enraged his father and nearly cost him his life, he has a steady job in his father's company, he's seriously dating a woman he respects, and, aside from the distrust that lingers in his father's eyes, his mistakes are firmly in the past.

One day on the job, Chris and his partner come across a temptation almost too big to resist. Chris does the right thing, but old habits and instincts rise to the surface, threatening this new-found stability with sudden treachery and violence. With his father and his most trusted friends, he takes one last chance to blast past the demons trying to pull him back.

Like Richard Price or William Kennedy, Pelecanos pushes his characters to the extremes, their redemption that much sweeter because it is so hard fought. Pelecanos has long been celebrated for his unerring ability to portray the conflicts men feel as they search and struggle for power and love in a world that is often harsh and unforgiving but can ultimately be filled with beauty."

So that's it for me! What was in your mailbox this week?

Review: "This is Where I Leave You" Jonathan Tropper

I have been lucky enough to have read some fantastic fiction recently! First there was "The Slap" by Christos Tsiolkas, which was fascinating, then Sophie Kinsella's "Twenties Girl", which I had a difficult time putting down, and now there's Jonathan Tropper's "This is Where I Leave You"- amazing!

"This is Where I Leave You" begins as Judd Foxman finds out that his father has died. The family were fairly prepared for it, as Mort had been diagnosed with late-stage cancer about a year and a half ago. Apparently Mort's dying wish had been for his entire family, his wife and his four very different children, to spend a week together sitting "shiva" a Jewish tradition. Judd is not looking forward to spending a week together, as his family is wildly dysfunctional and he's still dealing with the fact that his wife has left him for his boss, and that she is now pregnant.

Judd reluctantly returns to the family home and there he reunites with his mom, Hillary, a psychologist with huge breasts and apparently no shame, Paul, his serious older brother who is running the family business, Wendy, his sister with three kids and apparently no idea how to raise them, and Phillip, the baby of the family, and also the screw-up. Judd has no idea how he will survive a week with these people, especially considering that all of them are emotionally damaged. However, after a lot of "together-time", two fistfights, and some hurt feelings, Judd comes to understand that dysfunctional or not, these people will always be his family.

What a great book- I was sorry to see it end! The characters in the book were screwed up beyond belief, yet I could empathize with each and every one of them. The book was suprisingly funny, and I actually laughed out loud at a couple of parts, causing the people around me to look at me a little funny. You can't help but root for Judd, the main character, as he comes to grips with both his fathers death and his wife's betrayal. It says in the back of the book that Jonathan Tropper is currently adapting this book to become a feature film for Warner Bros' studios, and I can tell you that this is one movie that I can't wait to see!

Giveaway: "Friends Like These" Danny Wallace

Thanks to Anna at the Hachette Book Group I have five copies of "Friends Like These: My Worldwide Quest to Find My Best Childhood Friends, Knock on Their Doors, and Ask Them to Come Out and Play" to give away!

From the Publisher's Website:

"Danny Wallace has friends. He has a wife and goes to brunch, and his new house has a couch with throw pillows. But as he nears 30, he can't help wondering about his best childhood friends, whose names he finds in a long-forgotten address book. Where are they now-and where, really, is he?

Acting on an impulse we've all had at least once, he travels from London to Berlin, Tokyo, Australia, and California, risking rejection and ridicule to show up on his old pals' doorsteps. Memories of his 1980s childhood-from Michael Jackson to Ghostbusters-overwhelm him as he meets former buddies who have blossomed into rappers and ninjas, time-traveling pioneers, mediocre restaurant managers, and even Fijian royalty.

Danny's attempt to re-befriend them all gives remarkable new resonance to the age-old mantra, "friends forever!""

To enter:

1. Post a comment telling me if there are any childhood friends that you've lost touch with and would like to reconnect with (1 entry)

2. Follow this blog and leave me a comment saying that you've done so (existing followers leave me a comment saying that you already follow) (1 entry)

3. Blog/ Twitter/ Facebook, whatever about this contest, and leave me a post letting me know that you have (1 entry)

Please leave your e-mail address in your comment so that I have a way to contact you if you win. This contest will run until September 29, 2009 and is open to both US and Canadian residents, no PO Boxes please!

Review: "Twenties Girl" Sophie Kinsella

I am just so tired. Last night I couldn't fall asleep (too many after-dinner grapes!) and this morning I woke up at about 5:30 am and couldn't fall back asleep! I laid in bed for a while and couldn't get comfortable, so I decided to get up for a bit and read and hopefully I would be able to take a nap on the couch. Once I picked up my current read, Sophie Kinsella's "Twenties Girl", all hope of sleep flew out the window! What a fabulously entertaing read, one that it took me less than 24 hours to read!

Lara Lington is a partner in a struggling new company (although her best friend and the other partner in the company has left for vacation and decided not to return), and she's just been dumped by the love of her life. The last thing that she wants to do is attend the funeral of her great-aunt Sadie, who was 105 when she died, and whom Lara never really knew. At the funeral Lara is shocked when the ghost of her dead aunt appears and insists that Lara find her necklace, a piece of jewlery that has always made Sadie feel happy. Sadie won't rest without it, and she certainly won't leave Lara alone until it has been found.

Thus, the fun begins. Lara sets out on a search for her Great-Aunt's missing necklace, all the while trying to make her business succeed and get back together with her ex-boyfriend. Along the way, Lara gets to know more about her Great-Aunt, and she learns things about herself too.

"Twenties Girl" was a hit for me. It was wildly entertaining, not at all predictable, and impossible to put down. The book was part ghost story, part mystery, and completely fun. I loved Great-Aunt Sadie's ghost, and the other main characters were wonderfully created as well. This is my favourite Kinsella book since "Can You Keep a Secret?". Highly recommended for any chick-lit fans out there!

My Favourite Reads- September 3

"My Favourite Reads" is hosted by Alyce over at At Home With Books. Each week Alyce highlights a book that she has read in the past and has resonated with her in some way. Anyone is invited to join in!

This week I chose "Something Blue" by Emily Giffin as one of my favourite reads from the past.

From the Publisher's Website:

"From the New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin comes a novel that shows how someone with a “perfect life” can lose it all—and then find everything.

Darcy Rhone thought she had it all figured out: the more beautiful the girl, the more charmed her life. Never mind substance. Never mind playing by the rules. Never mind karma.

But Darcy’s neat, perfect world turns upside down when her best friend, Rachel White, the plain-Jane “good girl,” steals her fiancé, while Darcy finds herself completely alone for the first time in her life…with a baby on the way.

Darcy tries to recover, fleeing to her childhood friend living in London and resorting to her tried-and-true methods for getting what she wants. But as she attempts to recreate her glamorous life on a new continent, Darcy finds that her rules no longer apply. It is only then that Darcy can begin her journey toward self-awareness, forgiveness, and motherhood.

Something Blue is a novel about one woman’s surprising discoveries about the true meaning of friendship, love, and happily-ever-after. It’s a novel for anyone who has ever, even secretly, wondered if the last thing you want is really the one thing you need."

Why I chose this book:

This book is one of my go-to "comfort books". What I mean by this is that if I am having a bad day, or I'm a little down, or a little overwhelmed, I know that I can open up this book, read, and I will start to feel better. I've read this one, oh, maybe 20 times over the past couple of years, and it never fails!

What I love about this story is the transformation that the main character, Darcy, undergoes. She begins the novel as a selfish, spoiled woman. She wants what she wants, and she will stop at nothing to get it. She will manipulate, she will lie, but she will get what she wants in the end. Partway through the book, things begin to change. She's pregnant, and suddenly she realizes that she needs to start thinking about this little person growing inside her. This is the point at which she begins to make positive changes, and she develops into a better, less-selfish version of herself. I enjoyed this book immensely the first time that I read it, and I continue to enjoy it now.

So here's what I'm wondering: Do you have a go-to book for when you're having an off day? What is it? I'd love to know!

Giveaway: "The Smart One and the Pretty One" Claire LaZebnik

I am a huge chick-lit fan, so I am absolutely thrilled to be hosting my first-ever chick-lit giveaway!

About the Book:

"When Ava Nickerson was a child, her mother jokingly betrothed her to a friend's son, and the contract the parents made has stayed safely buried for years. Now that still-single Ava is closing in on thirty, no one even remembers she was once "engaged" to the Markowitz boy. But when their mother is diagnosed with cancer, Ava's prodigal little sister Lauren comes home to Los Angeles where she stumbles across the decades-old document.

Frustrated and embarrassed by Ava's constant lectures about financial responsibility (all because she's in a little debt. Okay, a lot of debt), Lauren decides to do some sisterly interfering of her own and tracks down her sister's childhood fiancé. When she finds him, the highly inappropriate, twice-divorced, but incredibly charming Russell Markowitz is all too happy to re-enter the Nickerson sisters' lives, and always-accountable Ava is forced to consider just how binding a contract really is . . . "

Thanks to Miriam at the Hachette Book Group I have five copies to give away of "The Smart One and The Pretty One" by Claire LaZebnik. To enter:

-Leave a comment telling me why you love chick-lit and please include your e-mail address.

-Bonus Entry: Become a follower and leave a seperate comment! (Current followers, just let me know that you already follow)

-Bonus Entry: Promote this contest on your blog, tweet about it, whatever! Be creative, just make sure you let me know in a seperate comment how you've spread the word.

This contest is open to residents of the US and Canada, no P.O. Boxes, please! It will run until midnight on September 27, 2009, and winners will be notified on September 28th. Good luck!

Review: "A Vintage Affair" Isabel Wolff

From the Back Cover: "Phoebe always dreamt of opening her own vintage dress shop. She imagined every detail, from the Vivienne Westwood bustiers hanging next to satin gowns, to sequinned cupcake dresses adorning the walls.

At the launch Village Vintage, Phoebe feels the tingle of excitement as customers snap up the fairytale dresses. Her dream has come true, but a secret from her past is casting a shadow over her new venture.

Then one day she meets Therese, an elderly Frenchwoman with a collection to sell, apart from one piece that she won't part with. As Therese tells the story of the little blue coat, Phoebe feels a profound connection with her own life, one that will help her heal the pain of her past and allow her to love again."

My Review: Although I enjoyed this book, I did find that parts of it were a little too good to be true. Some of the parts fell into place a little too easily (Phoebe starts her store with four cupcake dresses, and all four are purchased by the women that she feels suits them best. It doesn't always work that way!) It really did have a "fairytale" aspect to it. I just found it a little sweet for my tastes.

However, this is not to discount the great writing of this book. I enjoyed it, I found it interesting, and there were definitely some great parts. I especially enjoyed that Phoebe's love life was not "fairytale". She doesn't end up with who I thought that she would, but I liked how the book ended.

If you can handle a little bit of sap, then this book is worth checking out. Find out more about the book here.