Random NYC Photo

The view of Times Square from a Marriott Marquis hotel room - when my sister came to town a while back.

Giv by Boston Teran - GIVEAWAY!

Do you remember (one post ago) when I raved that I loved Boston Teran's Giv: The Story of a Dog and America, but I wasn't going to give my copy away?

Well, Jim over at Keeley and Hall sent me an email saying that they are sending me FIVE copies of GIV to giveaway. How cool is that?!

So you know the drill, go over and read my review and then enter my giveaway here. Please comment on why this book sounds interesting and leave me a way to contact you. For fun, let me know if you have any pets that have made a different in your life.

I love my international readers so the contest is open world-wide through November 25th.

Giv - Boston Teran

A while back, I was contacted by Jim at Kelley and Hall about reviewing a book by Boston Teran called The Creed of Violence. It looked really interesting so I said, sure! A short while after they sent me that book, they sent me another one of his books, Giv: The Story of a Dog and America. I wasn't under any pressure to read or review it, but I thought it would be a great addition to my Dog Days of November reads. So I grabbed it off my shelf.

And O. MY. GOSH. I loved it. I'm not sure if I loved it because I had no expectations or what, but what a beautiful book. Beware: If you are the type that might tear up while reading a book, this is one of those books. The idea behind the story is based on events in the author's life. You can read his idea for the book here.

The story follows the life of a dog named Giv. The book is composed as the story of Giv's life written by one of Giv's many owners, Sergeant Dean Hickok. From Giv's birth, by chance, fate, or luck, he gets passed on from person to person, from experience to experience. The blurb from the press release by Americans Speak says "The Forrest Gump of dog books." I'm not sure about all that, but boy does Giv go through some stuff. He's in Dallas with some struggling musicians checking out the book depository, he's there through Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and he's there for an Iraqi war vetran.

While the book is about a dog named Giv, it's also about the people he meets. Memorable characters. Heart-wrenching characters. It's about the free-will, undying spirit of man and man's best friend. I loved how the idea of the act of rebellion, not always a bad thing, was a piviotal aspect of the book and the character of Giv. Boston Teran wrote rebellion as "the power to choose freely who one will or will not be". I like that. As he points out, America was founded by rebels and there's a little bit of rebel in us all.

I find it hard to write about this book and not sound cheesy or blubbery...but I can't help it. I really loved it. I was really surprised how much I liked it. It's not a book I would have picked up on my own but I am so glad I was sent it.

As a side note: who is Boston Teran? Apparently no one knows! The About the Author section states that it's either a pseudonym of a well-known writer, or a group of writers, or who knows! Apparently Creed of Violence has been bought by Universal for the second-highest price ever paid for a manuscript and another novel, God is a Bullet is highly acclaimed and is being adapted to film as well. Interesting, right?

Has anyone else read this or have it to read? I'd love to hear another person's opinion. Or have you read any other Boston Teran novels? Thoughts on just who Boston Teran is?

I'd love to give away a copy but I'm going to make my husband read it. That and I want to keep mine. So go buy it, borrow it...just read it.

Charlie and Me

Charlie and me a long while back on Long Island. I'm testing trying to make my picture size larger thanks to Plays With Needles' post.

I think this size looks better:

My normal "large" upload:

Holiday Swap 2009

And now for something completely different:

Today is the last day to sign up for the Book Blogger Holiday Swap. Apparently this is the 3rd year of doing the swap but I've just now found it and decided to join in the festivities. How fun!

I'll have to figure some fun stuff to gather and give as a gift. If you want, go join in all the fun!

And I just found their twitter page: @holidayswap

Ask Away!

I'm going to try something a bit different for this review of The Art of Racing in the Rain. I've been putting off reviewing it because while I really liked it, I'm not sure what I am going to say that is much different than the many other reviews floating around out there. That and I really loved that my husband read it as well during the same time...and it was totally unplanned! He even has his own copy he bought because he didn't know I had one.

So...after that long schpeel...I want YOU to ask us questions about the book. You can ask me, or my husband, or our dogs...ok, they didn't read the book but you get the point.

BONUS: I am giving away my copy (details in the follow-up post) so if you enter the contest I'll give you FIVE extra entries for every legitimate question you ask.

Note: I was asked by Sean at Terra Communications to read and review this book. My husband, however, just thought it looked like a book he would like and bought his copy.

**We both liked the book. My husband (Robb) is going to re-read it in the near future.

Now & Then - Jacqueline Sheehan GIVEAWAY

I was asked by Stephanie at Harper-Collins if I wanted to read and review Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan. I took one look at the puppy cover and said OK! I have a soft spot for "not-so little" dogs since I have one of my own.

This book is a bit of a trip. Take chick-lit, a bit of romance, Irish historical-fiction, and time travel and mix it all up, throw in a little bit of Irish wolfhound and you've got Now & Then. And I totally enjoyed it. **Warning: The dog plays a fairly small part in the story.**

Plot:

Anna O'Shea is a bit of a mess. Her father abandoned the family, her brother has anger issues, her nephew has just landed in jail, and her husband left her for another woman after three failed pregnancies.

Joseph O'Shea is a bit of a mess. He's sixteen, unpopular at school, and only good at wrestling, not the most popular sport at school. His father just got into a huge car accident while on his way to pick up Joseph from jail and his aunt, Anna, is furious with him.

Enter the time-travel. How? Why? Read the book!

Anna and Joseph get whisked back in time to country Ireland, 1844. Just one year before THE potato famine. And they get separated. Anna is injured and is taken in by some of the country people. Joseph gets taken for a non-Irish Canadian and is taken in by a wealthy Englishman. And of course, they both fall in love with someone while in historic Ireland. Anna and Joseph have to find each other, figure out what happened and why, and how to get home...if they still want to go home.


What I liked:

I enjoyed the sections narrated by Anna. I really liked her and just wanted her to be happy. I loved the historical setting in Ireland. The way the Irish were suppressed by the British landlords and what they had to do to survive was fascinating and horrible at the same time. I love that it was kind of realistic too. Anna got beat up quite a bit which I don't think you'd find in a romance novel. I mean, at one point she looses some teeth. O yeah.

What I didn't like:

Ok. I think the cover and blurb is so misleading. I thought this book would be more dog-centric, right? Wrong. Well, mostly wrong. There is a dog. An Irish wolfhound name Madigan. He has more to do with Joseph's part of the story. But just a bit. Madigan's importance really only comes out at the very end. And speaking of Joseph, he was so annoying. I guess he's a sixteen year-old but still. Hmm...I guess that is it.

While it wasn't the story the cover led me to believe it was, it was still a fun time-traveling ride. I have to admit I'm a sucker for Irish history so that was a huge bonus for me.

Over at Harper-Collins, you can browse inside the book.

Stephanie also told me I could give away FIVE copies of Now & Then. How cool is that!?! It's open worldwide (if Harper can't deliver to you, I will) and it runs through Friday, November 20th. You must:

1) Give me a way to contact you AND...
2) Tell me your favorite time-traveling story (book, movie, etc) AND/OR pet story (book, movie, etc).

For more reviews, Jacqueline Sheehan is over at TLC Book Reviews

Here's her tour stops:

Monday, November 2nd: The Bluestocking Guide

Wednesday, November 4th: Yule Time Reading

Thursday, November 5th: Life in the Thumb

Monday, November 9th: Eclectic Book Lover

Thursday, November 12th: I’m Booking It

Tuesday, November 17th: The Brain Lair

Wednesday, November 18th: Bloggin’ ’bout Books

Monday, November 23rd: Stephanie’s Written Word

Monday, November 30th: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Tuesday, December 1st: The Tome Traveller

**Thank you Stephanie and Harper-Collins for giving me this book to read and review!