The Polliwog Blog

Friday, January 6, 2012

Got Great Giveaways

Giveaway Hops
Loveswept Holiday Hop hosted by Romance at Random Dec. 12 - Jan. 8

You Adult Faerie and Fantasy Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer and vvb32reads Jan. 6 - 12

Monthly:
Reader Views
Prime Crime
Myshelf
Sherryl Woods
Stella Cameron
NAL Authors
Madeline Hunter
Marie Bostwick
Nicole Jordan
Ann Roth
Carly Phillips
Catherine Anderson
The Secret Writer

Weekly:
Booktrib.com
Free Book Friday
Show Me the Money Mondays hosted by Lori's Reading Corner

Seasonal:
Regal Literary Holiday Sweepstakes

Ongoing:
Family Fiction

Goodreads.com's First Reads
Christianbook.com

January:

Cold Blood by Heather Hildenbrand hosted by Confessions of a Bookaholic Jan. 6
Six Weeks to Yehidah by Melissa Studdard hosted by Jaclyn's Musings Jan. 6
Giving Thanks to Kick Ass Books of 2011 Giveaway hosted by Nocturnal Book Reviews Jan. 7
Stalker in the Shadows by Camy Tang hosted by Christian Bookshelf Reviews Jan. 7
Blood of Canteros by Georgia Cates hosted by Reviews by Molly Jan. 7
All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson hosted by Unabridged Chick Jan. 8
When Copper Suns Fall by KaSonndra Leigh hosted by Book Briefs Jan. 8
Island of Wings by Karen Altenberg hosted by Unabridged Chick Jan. 8
The Locksmith by Lafe Metz hosted by Man of La Books Jan. 10
Switched by Amanda Hocking hosted by Live to Read Jan. 10
A Spirited Gift by Joyce and Jim Lavene hosted by Lori's Reading Corner Jan. 12
Raven (Violet Jewels #1) by Nuayma Jeggels hosted by Spades High Reads Jan. 12
Snow by Nigel West and Madoc Roberts hosted by Man of La Books Jan. 12
Feyland the Dark Realm by Anthea Sharp hosted by Sizzling Reads Jan. 14
Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer Jan. 15

120,000 Page Views Celebration Giveaway hosted by Hippies, Beauties, and Books, Oh Moy! Jan. 15
Ashfall by Mike Mullin hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer Jan. 16
May B. by Caroline Starr Rose hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer Jan. 16
Tall Tales with Mr. K by Kathy Sattem Rygg hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer Jan. 16
Revenge of the Dorkoids by Holly Beck hosted by I Am a Reader Not a Writer Jan. 17
It Takes a Witch by Heather Blake hosted by Lori's Reading Corner Jan. 17
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi hosted by Word Spelunking Jan. 17
Gun Games by by Faye Kellerman hosted by Lori's Reading Corner Jan. 18

new since last update

a week old

Thursday, January 5, 2012

One Book Challenge: One Book That Made You Laugh

One Book That Made You Laugh

Hm, what book made me laugh? I don't know. I don't read a lot of books that have me laughing out loud. Um, hm. I know I've read funny stuff, but I can't remember what it is. I'm going to go with The Baby-Sitter's Club #31 Dawn's Wicked Stepsister. It's probably not the funniest book I've read, but I do remember laughing during it and it is the one that came to mind.

The secondary plot in this story revolves around the Pikes. At every turn one of them ends up sick or injured. There are 10 Pikes so that's a lot of sick and injured people. As they get sick and/or injured they need a baby-sitter to help with the house. There are 10 Pikes and having a few of them sick is a handful. Plus, the parents end up out of action. The mother aggravates a tennis injury and the father burns his hand. The funny part is when one of the baby-sitters, I can't remember, it's either Mary-Anne or Dawn, it's been a while since I read the book, has to baby-sit the Pikes who are fine at the time. I love the scene where they're playing in the rec room with Nicky and Vanessa. They're playing injured people having to go to the hospital. It had me laughing the first time I read it.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

One Book Challenge: One Book You Would Want on a Desert Island

One Book You Would Want on a Desert Island

This is a tough question. Should I go with the Bible because I am Christian and love the Lord's word. It is a long book and would give me plenty to read.

Would I rather go with some fiction? I would like something interesting to read. What book would I want to have? If the Harry Potter series was in one book I would take that. It'd be a HUGE book, but it would give me LOTS to read. Unfortunately, it is not, so that is not a choice.

What would I choose? A big thick book would be great. I guess I would go with the Bible. There are plenty of stories in there. I don't have to read the same stuff all the time. Yeah, that would be my choice. The Bible.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

One Book Challenge: One Book You Have Read More Than Once

One Book You Have Read More Than Once

I could name so many books here, but I will go with just one. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks. I received this book for my 20th birthday. It's not so much the love story that gets me, but how Landon is Jamie's miracle. I love reading the change in him. I like Nicholas Sparks. I think he's a good writer. He's got a formula, that's true, but I still like reading his work. He knows how to tell a story. A Walk to Remember is the first novel of his that I read and it's still my favorite. I've read it at least once a year since 2002 when I got it. I've seen the movie a lot, too. I love it, but I don't think it compares to the book.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Book Review: A Life of Joy (Kauffman Amish Bakery #4) by Amy Clipston

I like reading Amish fiction, but I've never read anything outside Beverly Lewis. Amy Clipston's fourth book in her Kauffman Amish Bakery series was a pleasant surprise.

I did not know when I read the book that it was the fourth book in the series. I didn't feel I lost anything not reading the first three books, but I do want to go back and read them. The characters back stories from those novels was sufficiently explained in this one that I could enjoy it just the same.

18-year-old Lindsay Bedford is at a crossroads in her life. Her older sister is heading off to a prestigious internship in New York City while her Amish friends are being baptized and joining the church.

The story is full of Amish culture giving readers a compelling story with characters that touch us. What will Lindsay do? How does she fare in the English world when she has to step outside and help an ailing friend? Will she follow her sister's wants and desires by joining the English world or will she find it in her heart to stay Amish?

In the front of the book is a glossary of German or Pennsylvania Dutch terms used by Amish and in the book. Clipston uses these phrases throughout the story. Having the glossary allows the reader to know the meaning of the words without breaking up the flow of the story by inserting the English word in the prose.

At the end of every few chapters, Clipston includes an Amish recipe. I did not care for them. I am here for the story and that's it. If I want a recipe I'll search online or open up a cookbook. I'm sure many Amish fiction fans will find them useful.

I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars. I received the book as a free ebook from netgalley.com. I was not compensated or asked for a review.

One Book Challenge: One Book that Changed Your Life

A new book meme for the new year! This didn't have a title accompanying it, but since every question starts out with "one book" I've named it the One Book Challenge. I found it here: http://book-memes.livejournal.com/

One Book That Changed Your Life

You might think I'm going to say Harry Potter because I'm a huge fan of the series, but I'm not. Instead I am going with The Debt by Angela Hunt. This book opened my eyes to how Christians are to live in the real world. We don't treat the sinners, because we're all sinners, like they are a plague and we should never be seen with them. They need help and we have to be there to give it to them.

The story is about a young man who finds his birth mother. His birth mother is part of a famous televangelical team. Her husband is a pastor of a local church and runs a nation wide ministry. She never told her husband about the son she had before they were together. Her son is a minister himself, but he doesn't have a church. He ministers in bars and other seedy places, like a porn shop. What he shows his mother is to reach the people in need we need to be where they are.

The book didn't encourage me to hang out the seedy places in town. I would not fair well there, I can tell you that. We are to not worry about how we are percieved helping the lowly. The mother was afraid of what her congregation would say seeing her step out of a bar or another not so good place. Her son knew he was doing the best thing he could reaching out to those who really needed his help.

I recently attended a church in Daytona Beach, Florida that is located downtown just a walk from the seedy part of that town. The church is amazing. The preacher is great. The congregation was welcoming. I enjoyed my time there. The church is building in a new location. They are going to a not rough part of town. A few people I talked to were excited. They were glad to be getting out of that part of town. I kept thinking about this book and how moving would change a lot of things. They were in their present location to help those around them and the congregation didn't want anything to do with them.

This book has made me rethink things. I haven't changed my a whole lot because of it, but I'm changing my way of thinking and that's the first step.