Book blog news: other giveaways and other news

http://www.24hourreadathon.com/ is having a 24hour read-a-thon that starts  April 10th
Also some giveaways and mini challenges

http://www.wiseowlbookreviews.com/
has a couple days left for  book giveaway "The Help Kathryn Stockett" and  "The Bloodroot" by Amy Greene.

http://www.jillmrayearth.blogspot.com/  Is hosting a new weekly meme where you can list your top ten favorites
Go to the link to see more details.

Well that's it for this Monday.  If anyone has something to post in next Mondays news email me at Cheryls39at hotmail dot com

Problogger: Secrets for Blogging your way to a Six Figure Income By Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett

This book promises to show you how to:
-Show you how to choose subject matter
-Handle Technical issues
-Examine different ways your blog can earn income
-evaluate your blog's sucess
-Keep content fresh and interesting
-Use your blog to generate income indirectly

Here's a partial list of the Table of Contents

Chapter 2 Niche blogging
Chapter 3 Setting up your blog
Chapter 5 Blog  Income and Earning Stategies
                                  Chapter 8 Blog Promotion and Marketing
                                  Chapter 10 Creating Something Worthwhile

I feel that they did look at different ways your blog can earn money and did a good job of showing you how to make money indirectly.  Everything else not so much .  Ifyou have just started blog or in the planning stages then this book can be helpful .  If you have been blogging for more than 8 months you may already be
already aware of the majority of the book. If you want to learning promotion etc.... I think going to Problogger.net would be sufficent enough without having to buy the book I give it 3 1/2  out of 5 stars

Beneath The Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

   Our story takes place in Addis Ababa  ,Ethiopia ,1974 right before the
revolution.  How long must the citizens of Ethiopia wait for a change? Hailu is
a prominent  doctor whose wife has become gravely ill.  His youngest son
Dawit thinks he is a coward for not doing something more concrete to make
change happen.. His older brother,Yonas, thinks that Dawit doesn't really understand
the needs of the country's poorest citizens because the comfortable life he
has led.  Will these two ever see eye to eye?  Will Yonas' marriage to Sara
survive the onslaught of crises that is to come?   Will Hailu's wife Selam survive? I have to say I was very pleased
with author's use of imagery in this book, in my opinon it was her strongest point.
Her style is poetic, with this soft fierceness, meaning that where she needed to be
softer she was soft but where she needed to be more brutal to make a point she
could be that as well. Overall I thought the story was frightfully brilliant.  She has already
won some awards and it's not hard to see why.  I give the book 5 out of 5 stars

Book blog news : the other giveaways

http://www.debshere.blogspot.com/ has a Teewit Review and giveaway

http://www.bookblabbing.blogspot.com/
is having a 300 follower giveaway and
a signed copy of Cowboy and Wills

http://www.kandksblog.blogspot.com/
is also having a giveaway you can click the link
to check it out

and you still have time to enter my contest until April 15th
so dont forget to leave a comment on the Paula Deen or
J.California  Cooper Review(March11th and March13th post).  and let me know how you found
out about the contest and your favorite author.

Good HouseKeeping Favorite Cookie Recipe

This is a really fun review for me I love this cookbook.  All the recipes are triple
tested!  .The cookbook is divided into 5 sections

1. Bar Cookies

2.Drop Cookies

3.Rolled Cookies

4.Pressed, Molded & Refrigerator Cookies

5.Holiday Cookies

                                    I know this doesn't mean squat until you find out that there are recipes for:
                                   Chocolate Pecan Bars
                                    White Chocolate Macdemia Jumbos
                                      Carmel  Pecan Bars
                                    Sour Cream Cookies
                                    Madelines
                                   Mexican Wedding Cookies
                                  Chocolate Chip Biscotti

I could go on.I also like the fact that they included a section on  Perfect Cookies Everytime
which includes measuring ,timing, what cookie sheet to buy etc....
Dont be suprised if you see pictures of cookies on my other blog !  I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

First Contest Giveaway :Let the Great World spin by Colum Mccann

I will be hosting my first giveaway"Let The Great World Spin" by Colum Mcann which I think
is a great book to start off with  here are the contest rules
1.  You must be a follower to enter.

2.You must be a U.S. resident( sorry cant afford the postage for overseas shipping)

3.You must post a comment  on either of the two last reviews (either the Paula Deen cookbook or
 the novel by J.California -Cooper) no later than midnight April 15th

Paula Deen's my first cookbook

  If you are looking for something to do with the kids this Spring Break
then look no further .  I love the fact that she used alot of illustrations with kids
in mind.  The most helpful sections were the Safety First,Glossary and How to Measure right in the front section of the cookbook.
  For each recipe their is an illustrated side of all the equipment and ingredients  Titled what you need  and for the same recipe on the left hand side you get very detailed instructions..  The kids could almost do this by themselves but of course it's better if a grown up were there and hey this could also be a good bonding experience. Apartial list of the Table of contents include  Chapter1.  Morning Sunshine  Chapter 3   What's for Dinner    Chapter 4I'm starving  Also Chapter 9 Dont Eat These Fun arts and crafts.   Some of the recipes included:  Cinnamon Rolls,Pigs In a Blanket,Personal Pizza,Chicken Pot Pie, and Vanilla Cupcakes
  Very well done I  give it 4stars out of 5

Life is short but wide by J.California-Cooper

    This story is set in Wideland,Oklahoma and narrated by Hattie Brown a 91 year old resident
who grew up near our characters Hermain and Myine.   Thing is the story really begins with Myine's
grandparents Val Strong and Irene Lowell in the earlier part of the 20th century.  Now I don't care
how you speed that up it's a lot of ground to cover and that's o.k. if you have a point.  That's my biggest
disappoint for about 3/4th of the book I couldn't tell what the point was. This author is an excellent
short story teller.    It seems like this would've been better off told as a series of short stories instead of
cramming this together under the ruse of publishing a novel.  Another thing that irked me is the fact that
the author stuck alot of religous beliefs that had nothing to do with the story.   I would only give
her 2 1/2 out of 5 stars

Scandalous Truth by Monica P. Carter (Urban Christian)

  Nikki Brousard is a stay at home mom with a degree,she has one child with William Broussard who, has a computer company, but these days he is preoccupied with getting Reverend Chance
elected mayor in Lousiana.  Their marriage  survived Hurricane Katrina and the loss of  their first computer company, but will it survive William not wanting his wife to work outside the home because he doesn't want to look like he can't provide for his family?  Will Nikki's secret destroy everything her husband has worked for? Then there is Danielle Esperanza ,Nikki's needy ,self centered friend from her college days.  While Danielle desperately needs her friend later in the story she still manages to push her away .  Will her faith
overcome her issues?  I thought the author did a pretty good job of showing how sometimes people won't let
you forget the things you did before you got saved.  Also how easy it is to proclaim what you believe in until
a crisis situation happens where you have to test that faith.    What I didn't care for was the names of some of these characters. I mean come on who in the world was going to name they child   Lo Dark? The thing that really bothered me the most was the plot that started off very strong but midway until the end it had more  holes in it than swiss cheese!(I dont believe that two grown people of the opposite sex can live together for almost a month and not sleep together!)William's character was too perfect and  Danielle wasn't a very well developed one it the sense that she didn't have any redeeming qualities.  Which in my opinon even troubled wounded people can   havegood qualties.  I could have used a better use of imagery but that's my personal preference.  Overall I gave this book 2 1/2 out of 5 stars