Category: Blog Hops

Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

spooktacular-2016

Halloween is right around the corner. That means it’s time for the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop, hosted by Bookhounds!

So let’s talk about what spooks us.

I’ll admit that Pumpkin Spice Everything is really starting to creep me out. I like pumpkin pie as much as the next person, but seriously, Pumpkin Spice Cheerios? Never mind the Pumpkin Spice Triscuit crackers. That just sounds WRONG. But maybe not as wrong as the Pumpkin Spice Bailey’s and the Pumpkin Spice-filled Truffles. The only Pumpkin Spice thing I’ve liked so far is this one:

pumpkin spikes latte

 

So what are you scared of this Halloween? If you’re looking for a scary book to read, I highly recommend Teeth, Long and Sharp by Grace Draven, Antioch Grey, Aria M Jones, Jeffe Kennedy and Mel Sterling. All the stories in collection are good, but the last one, Voice of the Knife by Mel Sterling, gave me the shivers to the point I needed a hug and hot drink afterwards. And the hot drink was NOT Pumpkin Spice Anything!teeth long and sharp by jeffe kennedy et al

For Halloween, I have two books that have spooky-related themes, but are probably not too scary: Shadowed Souls edited by Kerrie L. Hughes and Jim Butcher here at Reading Reality, and Ghost Maker by Robin D. Owens over at the Book Pushers.

What scary books are you planning to read this Halloween? Or what’s your favorite scary book? Answer in the Rafflecopter for your chance at a $10 Gift Card or $10 Book. No pumpkin spice allowed!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And if you are looking for more bookish and scary prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop.



Attack of the 14 Nights of Halloween Giveaway

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Attack of the 14 Nights of Halloween Giveaway> Blog Hops> Giveaways

It’s that time of year again. The days are getting shorter, the air is getting cooler and the nights are getting spookier. Yes, it’s time for tricks and treats, goblins and ghouls, chills and thrills and huge amounts of sugary sweets. But at the Laughing Vixen Lounge blog it’s also time for the 5th annual Attack of the 14 Nights of Halloween Giveaway. Join Laughing Vixen Lounge and our bewitching co-hosts The Kids Did It, The Mommy Island, Herding Cats and Burning Soup, The Hopping Bloggers, Mama Smith’s Reviews and Women and Their Pretties for a spooktacular Halloween event.

Enter to win a $250 Prize Pack filled with goodies from 10 wickedly fabulous shops. All shops are offering Gift Cards or your choice of item(s) so there will be something for everyone. Many of the shops have items perfect for any book lover along with lots of unique, handcrafted and custom designs to choose from.

Visit the Laughing Vixen Lounge blog daily during the giveaway for the Halloween Movie Marathon. Test your movie knowledge with the Guess the Movie Game. Then try to solve the Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt, if you dare! Each event will get you daily entries in the giveaway plus a special giveaway for the Scavenger Hunt. Find full details for these events HERE.

There’s a Guess the Movie Game at the Laughing Vixen Lounge, but Reading Reality is a book blog! I don’t read much horror, but there are a couple of books that have scared me in one way or another that I’d like to share. In the more recent category, if you like a little fantasy mixed with your horror, I highly recommend Teeth, Long and Sharp, with scary stories by Grace Draven, Antioch Grey, Aria M Jones, Jeffe Kennedy and Mel Sterling. The Mel Sterling story is particularly creepy. Another book that scared me in a completely different way is Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper. While it is not horror, the portrait of the 1960s as the “last good time” gives me the creeps every time I think about it.

young frankenstein

As far as scary movies goes, the closest I ever get to a “scary” movie is Young Frankenstein! What’s your favorite scary book or movie?

You can start by entering the Rafflecopter widget below. To experience all the games, movies, shop features, giveaway info and all around awesome fun make sure to stop by the Laughing Vixen
Lounge blog HERE.

The giveaway runs October 18th – November 1st and is open worldwide to anyone 18+. 1 winner will win the Prize Pack and 1 winner will win the Scavenger Hunt Prize Pack. Laughing Vixen Lounge is responsible for all giveaway details. Click HERE for full details.

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Bugs & Hisses Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Bugs & Hisses Giveaway Hop> Giveaways

bugs and hisses giveaway hop

Welcome to the Bugs & Hisses Giveaway Hop, hosted by The Kids Did It and The Mommy Island.

Isn’t that a cute little spider? My opinion of spiders was forever changed by the evil Shelob in The Lord of the Rings. Now THAT was a spider! <shudder>

Speaking of bugs, however, our new kitten Freddie has taken to chasing invisible flies. Or fleas. Or leaping into the air for no good reason whatsoever. It’s been a long time since we had a very young cat, and we’d forgotten how funny, and occasionally destructive, a cat with the zoomies can be. He’s adorable. And we’re moving the breakables to higher shelves.

It’s definitely Fall now, even here in Atlanta. And now that October has begun we’re starting to see Halloween decorations sprout on people’s lawns. That is, if hay bales and scarecrows actually sprout.

Although speaking of sprouting, the stores are starting to bring out their Halloween candy. Temptation, thy name is Hershey. At least for me.

Speaking of temptation, I’m always tempted by a good book. (I have one burning a virtual hole in my iPad as we speak). So I’m offering the temptation of a $10 Gift Card or $10 Book to one lucky winner for my stop on the Bugs & Hisses Giveaway Hop.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And for more fabulous Halloween prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop!

Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop> Blog Hops> Giveaways

banned-book-hop-2016

Welcome to the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop, hosted by Bookhounds.

What is Banned Books Week?

It’s an event that is sponsored every year by the American Library Association and a whole host of other organizations to celebrate the Freedom to Read. This year, ALA is partnering with We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) to bring more attention to the unfortunate fact that books by diverse authors or with diverse content are more commonly banned or challenged than other books.

Banned Books Week focuses on efforts across the U.S. to remove or restrict access to books. I’m going to put on my librarian hat here to say that the reasons that someone might want to restrict access to, or ban, a book are many and varied. While when someone says “banned books” most people think of sex, in real life anything that makes some people uncomfortable will incite in those people the idea of banning that book so that other people aren’t exposed to whatever it is that just made them uncomfortable.

Violence gets challenged. Speaking truth to power gets challenged. Books that contain historical truths that make people uncomfortable get challenged. Books that appear to uphold an opposing, untraditional or unpopular viewpoint get challenged. And yes, books that include sexual references, or even merely seem to include sexual references, often get challenged.

As I said in my Banned Books Week post a few years ago, “Everything bothers somebody”. And if that somebody gets bothered enough, they may try to ban the book that bothered them.

But Banned Books Week is all about the Freedom to Read. Just because a book upsets one person, or even a whole group of people, does not mean that those who are upset have the right to prevent others from reading that book. If one person’s meat is another person’s poison, then one person’s book to ban is another person’s book to cherish.

This year’s Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association;American Booksellers for Free Expression; the American Library Association;American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; the Freedom to Read Foundation; National Coalition Against Censorship;National Council of Teachers of English; National Association of College Stores; People for the American Way; PEN American Center and and Project Censored.  And it is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

Diversity-banner-WEBSITE-780x300-v1For more information on Banned Books Week, including the absolutely fascinating lists of frequently challenged books, visit the official Banned Books Week site. The books on those list are guaranteed to contain more than a few surprises.

In my own celebration of Banned Books Week, I’m participating in the Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop. The prize is either a $10 Gift Card or a $10 Book, so that you can get your own Banned Book to read.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And for more fabulous banned and bookish prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop:



Unbe-Leaf-Able September to Remember Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> September to Remember Giveaway Hop> UnBe-Leaf-Able September to Remember Giveaway Hop

unbe leaf able september to remember giveaway hop

Welcome to the UnBe-Leaf-Able September to Remember Giveaway Hop, hosted by The Kids Did It and The Mommy Island.

Spring is Sprung,
Fall is Fell.
Here comes Summer and it’s
Hotter than…last year.

A terrible poem, but easy to fall into its rhythm. Unofficially, Fall is definitely fell, even if the official first day of Fall is a week away. And even if you live somewhere in the U.S., like I do, where Fall mostly means that the daily high temperatures finally drop below 90, and the daily lows finally begin to dip into the 60s. Or the other way around. When I lived in Anchorage, Sept. 21 could be the beginning of winter. Complete with snow!

In Anchorage, this would be the time of year when the regular Autumn ritual was to switch to studded tires. I don’t miss that.

It’s also when school officially or unofficially begins. Some places start earlier now, and some colleges still start a bit later, but crisp fall days always carry with them the memory of starting school and hoping for great teachers and interesting things to learn. Sometimes those hopes are fulfilled, and sometimes the enthusiasm wears off more quickly than in other years. And sometimes we remember those days fondly and think that adulting isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

But this giveaway hop celebrates whatever you want to think of best about fall. For me, it just means more opportunities to curl up with a good book. So I’m giving away the winner’s choice of a $10 Gift Card from Amazon or a $10 Book of the winner’s choice.

Happy Fall. May all your apples be crisp, and all your leaves be crunchy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more fabulous Fall prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop!

Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop> Giveaways

freedom to read giveaway hop

Welcome to the Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop, hosted by Bookhounds.

This hop celebrates U.S. Independence Day. This year, just like last year, it also celebrates a three-day weekend where we can read as much as we want without having to worry about the alarm clock going off in the morning. At least for those of us whose definition of insomnia is a good book we can’t put down.

To give you a chance to get even more books to keep you up at night, I’m giving away either a $10 Amazon Gift Card or a $10 book from The Book Depository. Happy Fourth of July and Happy Reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And for more chances to win more great bookish prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop!



Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Midsummer's Eve Giveaway Hop

 

midsummer eve hop

Welcome to the 2016 edition of the Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop, hosted by BookHounds.

I checked out the Google Doodles for today. While it is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, it is the Winter Solstice south of the equator. Looking at the two doodles, those poor rocks are obviously way happier being up north today. On December 20, I’m sure it will be the other way around.

Rocky summer from Google Doodles

The winter version shows those poor rocks blinking and shivering under a blanket of snow!

But whether you are basking in the sun or shivering in the winter chill, a good book or two always helps to wile away the hours.

For my part in this Midsummer’s Eve Giveaway Hop, I’m giving away the winner’s choice of a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card or a $10 Book from the Book Depository. This giveaway is open to all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more fabulous bookish prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop!

Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Life's a Beach Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Life’s a Beach Giveaway Hop, hosted by The Kids Did It and The Mommy Island.

I think all readers have their secret list of “desert island” keeper books. You know the ones that I mean – the books that you would desperately want to have, to re-read over and over again, if you were marooned on a desert island. And we all think of ways to “cheat” on the numbers.

For example, if I could only have 10 books, would The Lord of the Rings count as 3 or 1? I would say one, because I have an edition where all three books are shoehorned into one gigantic volume. Would Harry Potter be 1 or 7? Would I want to take books I’ve already read and know I’ll love, or would I be willing to take one or two things that I haven’t read yet.

If they could count as a single book, it might be the perfect time to finally read Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time mega-book. I might even finish this time.

What about you? What would be on your “desert island keeper” bookshelf? Tell us your contenders for a chance at either a $10 Gift Card from Amazon or B&N, or international contestants, a $10 Book from the Book Depository.

amazon 10 dollar gift card picture

book depository image

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And for more chances to win more great prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop:

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop

love-in-bloom-hop

Welcome to the Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop, hosted by BookHounds.

Spring is sprung,
Fall is fell,
Here comes Summer and it’s
Hotter than…last year.

Of course, if you believe in Global Warming or Climate Change, that is literally true. It is warmer than last year. Which was warmer than the year before that.

But unlike my year before that, even if it is warmer here in Atlanta than it was in Seattle, at least we have air conditioning.

But speaking of warmer weather, it is already summer here in Atlanta. Spring was probably back in February. I love the winters here, but the summers are beastly. And I miss my favorite flowers from the Midwest in the Spring.

The hopeful rising of the daffodils and the tulips, and the big bright profusion of luscious smelling peonies. As much as I love to get roses, peonies are my favorite flower.

So what’s your favorite flower? Or your favorite flower or gardening themed romance? My friend Amy is in the middle of reviewing Nora Roberts In the Garden trilogy. Her review of Blue Dahlia has already posted and Black Rose is scheduled for next month.

My current favorite gardening-themed series is Marty Wingate’s Potting Shed series, starting with The Garden Plot. They may not be romances but romance certainly happens to her gardening and sleuthing heroine in the course of the story.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more blooming bookish prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop:


Showers of Books Giveaway Hop

Posted on by Marlene Harris | Author : | Blog Hops> Giveaways> Showers of Books Giveaway Hop

showers of books giveaway hop

Welcome to the Showers of Books Giveaway Hop, hosted by BookHounds!

The hop theme may be “showers of books” but there certainly have been showers of giveaways this April. Maybe everyone is looking for something to do while those April showers are falling. Curling up with a good book and a purring cat seems like the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon. An idea that I’m sure all of my cats can get behind. Or sit on top of.

I am frequently visited by actual showers of books. As a member of one of the book awards committees for the American Library Association, I receive between 1,000 and 1,500 books per year. These are all print books, often hardcovers, and are almost never ARCs. And this doesn’t include the books I buy, or the ones I receive for blog tours.

books to be soldWhile this sounds, and frequently is, wonderful, it also qualifies as an embarrassment of riches. As you can see from the picture at right.  I have been on a continual quest to find a place to sell my books, wherever we have lived.

My problem is that I really, Really, REALLY want to sell the books for cash. Not just because they are new books that have been read maybe once, but because there are always more coming in. I expect five more book boxes on Friday, and that’s just one day. Much as I love to read, I need store credit from a used book store like I need the proverbial “hole in the head”.

Seattle had three terrific options for disposing of my slightly used books: Third Place Books, University Book Store, and Half-Price Books. Since we moved to Atlanta, I’ve been searching for some place similar, but to no avail until now. Half-Price Books is opening a store in the Atlanta area next month, and the pile in the picture will be taken there the minute the place opens for buying.

I’m not going to miss those trips north (the nearest HPB until now was in Lexington KY) to sell the pile. We would load the trunk of our car all the way to the sight-line, and hope that we didn’t hit any sudden stops. The one time we did, the weight of all the books pushing forward released the back seat seat back controls, and the books all came flying into the front of the car. We were finding books under the seats for months. Not an experience we’ll have to repeat.

So what do you do with the books that you are ready to let go of? I’ve always had some books that were keepers, and others that were definitely “read once and done”. When you’ve really, truly finished with a book, or when you have to reduce your collection, what do you with the ones you let go?

Answer in the rafflecopter for your chance at a $10 Gift Card from Amazon or B&N, or a $10 Book from the Book Depository. (You must be in a country that Book Depository ships to. The list is enormous but not exhaustive.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And for more chances at more great bookish prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on the hop: