ABEA - Giveaway

A couple of months ago was my 8 year blogging anniversary. I usually hold a giveaway to celebrate, but just did not get it accomplished. This giveaway is in celebration of that as well as the close of Armchair BEA. You are welcome to enter for your choice(s) of audio or print or both.

Audiobooks:
Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand
Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
Invisible by James Patterson and David Ellis

Books:
Red Moon by Benjamin Percy
To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander
Angel Killer by Andrew Mayne

All of these items have been read or listened to by me.
Each item will be given away to an individual winner.
Fill out this form to enter.  Random winners will be drawn on June 3rd.

WINNERS:
Red Moon - Caroline M.
To Win Her Favor - Holly L.
Angel Killer - Stephanie T.
Boston Girl - Anita B.
Invisible - Rita H.
Winter Street - Mystica V.

Armchair BEA Introduction

Armchair BEA is an online conference that runs in conjunction with Book Expo America in New York City. There are a large number of people around the world that are not able to join in the literary celebrations in the Big Apple, so Armchair BEA brings the celebration to you by allowing networking among other book bloggers, authors, and publishers as well as special coverage of the event, all from the comfort of your very own armchair.

Today is introduction day:

I have been an avid reader since the 9th grade when I was home from school on sick leave for over six weeks. Due to the contagious nature of my sickness, I could not have any friends over and pretty much had to stay in my bedroom. Way back then (1970s) there was not much on TV during the day so my family brought me books. I have developed into a very fast reader and my yearly book count is in the hundreds.

My reading tastes have been challenged and stretched since blogging. I have tried and have come to love genres that I would never have given a second look at if not for recommendations from fellow bloggers. I have plans to continue to keep a record of my reading on my blog for years. It has been fun to be a part of the book blogging community for eight years and watching it grow and change.

Last year has been so much fun being a first time Grandma to this wonderful guy! He will be 1 year old in three weeks. His mother and I hope to bring him up to be a reader!

I have a pile of books just for him.

The local library has challenged us to read him 1000 books before he enters Kindergarten.  I am looking forward to this challenge.  Officially, the count is at 10 and will rise quickly now that he is becoming very interested in books.













If I was stranded on a deserted island, I would have the Outlander series (8 books) with me.  I have read this series a few times and always find something new to love about them.  I am listening to them on audio (again), currently on Voyager.

What book or books would you like with you on a deserted island?

(kneecee)

ABEA - Giveaway Day

Today is Giveaway Day on Armchair BEA. I am offering a selection of audiobook and print books to choose from. The audiobooks have been listened to once by me, the books have not been read.

 The summary of each item is linked to Goodreads.

Four Audiobook choices:
First Love by James Patterson
The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Red Hill by Jamie McGuire

Four Book Choices:
The Last Camilla by Sarah Jio
The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman
Follow the Heart by Kaye Dacus
Siege by Simon Kernick



Click Here to Enter

Multiple winners will be randomly drawn on June 1st.
Multiple entries are possible, see the form.

Armchair BEA - More Than Words

Armchair BEA - fifth annual event that parallels Book Expo America in New York City.

 More Than Just Words There are so many mediums that feature more than just words and enhance a story in a multitude of ways. Examples may include graphic novels and comics, audiobooks, or even multimedia novels. On this day, we will be talking about those books and formats that move beyond just the words and use other ways to experience a story. Which books stand out to you in these different formats?

 The book Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein popped right into my head as soon as I read the question. I tried twice to read this book in print, but just could not move forward.   I had heard it was excellent and could not understand why it was not grabbing my attention. I was perusing the audio selections at the library, saw this book, and decided to give it a listen.

WOW!, it was a totally different experience listening. I was engaged, and could not wait for opportunities to listen. I loved Maddie and Verity, and was so afraid for them both. The narrators Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell did a fantastic job! Tissues were needed for this listen!

Do not let the fact that this is classified as a Young Adult book put you off.  It is fantastic.

When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she’s sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.  They'll get the truth out of her.  But it won’t be what they expect.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from a merciless and ruthless enemy?

A couple of other books that I thought were fantastic on audio are The Fault In Our Stars by John Green and The Ocean At The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

Armchair BEA - Introductions

In celebration of Book Expo America (BEA) that happens in late May every year those that cannot attend the BEA Bloggers Conference or Book Expo America (BEA) in New York City, but would like to ‘meet’ other book bloggers and publishers to discuss books and book blogging can participate in the virtual Armchair BEA event!  Today is introduction day:

This is my third year participating in Armchair BEA.  The kick-off year I mostly lurked!  It is a great way to meet new book bloggers, discover new to me authors, and find out all the happenings in the book world. 
 

My participation will be a bit low key this year, as I am in the midst of my daughter's wedding preparations as you can see by the picture.  We are in the centerpiece creation mode!   I am signed up to comment mostly, but will be hosting an audiobook giveaway too. 

I have been blogging for six years last March.  I started my blog as a way to record my thoughts on the books read as well as a way to keep track of what I've read.  What I found was a community of passionate readers that has lead me to genres I would have never considered on my own.  I live in a small town on the Lake in Western Michigan.  It is home to Brilliance Audio, also two fantastic narrators call West Michigan home!

I am currently reading Nicholas by Grace Burrowes, Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, and am listening to Dark Tide by Elizabeth Haynes and The Hit by David Baldacci.

Before you go, please enter my giveaway of a loaded Beach Bag just in time for Summer!  Be sure to stop back later in the week of an audiobook giveaway.

Thanks for visiting.

ArmchairBEA - Beyond the Blog

Today we'd love you to share your top tips for getting beyond your blog! Have you done any freelance writing? Are you monetizing your blog and how so? How do you make connections outside the book blog community on the internet? If none of these apply we'd love for you to share a fun aspect about your blog or life that may be completely separate from books.

I am definitely not a writer. In fact, I almost did not start my blog because I thought you had to be a writer to have a blog. I am so glad that I took the plunge and gave it a try.


My husband says I need to find a way to make some money since I spend so much time reading and blogging! :o). How does that work I wonder? I am definitely not in it for the money. 

Yesterday's post was about how I make connections outside the blog.
Since I really have nothing to contribute to today's topic here are some fun facts: 

Both my mom and my daughter share my love of reading. My mom is currently reading Tripwire by Lee Child. My daughter is currently reading An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, book #7 in the Outlander series.  My son always has a book that he is reading, but may put it aside for awhile.  He is currently reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth.  My youngest son hasn't realized his reading heritage yet, but I have high hopes.  LOL 

I recently had a pedicure and manicure and my nails are painted Crystal Waters (blue).

I am growing my hair (again) to donate it to Locks of Love.  I did it in celebration of my 50th birthday a year ago, and since it grows so fast decided I would do it once more.

I am not a coffee lover, love the smell, just can't drink it.  I do spend a lot of money at Starbucks though! 

Enter my ACBEA Giveaway.

ArmchairBEA - Networking

Today is the day that we discuss networking. Many of us bloggers network online. Afterall, Armchair BEA is all about networking online, particularly with other bloggers. However, how can you get more involved offline and in real life? Have you ever wondered how some bloggers have established those connections with local bookstores or libraries or even beyond?

  For Day 3, we want you to share your positive experiences of using your blog to get involved in your community. This can involve partnerships with the local literary scene, attending author events and signings, or getting together with bloggers in your area. We want to hear it all!

Living in a small town makes has it advantages as well as disadvantages. Most of the book related events are held in a larger city an hour drive away. But that doesn't mean I don't attend! In a couple of week, a local author, Kristina Riggle, will be promoting and signing her new release, Keepsake, and I plan to make the trek to attend.

My local independent bookstore hosts author events every so often and I make it a priority to attend those.  My favorite local author, Sharlene MacLaren's book, Loving Liza Jane, is available on Kindle for free as of this posting.  Sharlene MacLaren writes "romance for the heart and fiction for the soul". 

I have made a close connection with the owner of our local second hand bookstore.  Whenever I stop in I know we will be talking books and it never will be a quick visit.  Many of my books wind up on her shelves and vice versa!

Both of my local libraries offer Book Club in A Bag, which allows you to borrow up to 10 copies of a newer release for a month and host your own book club.  It comes with book discussion material for that specific book as well as ideas on how to have a successful book club.

One of these days I hope to meet my online bookbloggers in person. Especially those that live in Michigan (Staci, Lisa,).  If you are a Michigander, please identify yourself!  ;o)

Be sure to enter my giveaway.

Armchair BEA Best of 2012 (so far)

Today is day two of Armchair BEA and we’re talking about the best books we’ve read in 2012. So far I have read 102 books in 2012. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio- I  was glued to the pages of this book for an evening. The author did a fantastic job of weaving both stories together causing you to care about characters in the past as well as the present. I often was on the edge wanting to get back to the "red diary" to find out what happened next. I loved the setting as it is a place I've visited many times. A wonderful debut novel, and I will not wait as long to get to her second novel.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach - This story of family, friends, relationships, love and loss centers around college baseball, but it is much more than a baseball story. You get so caught up with the characters and their lives. It is humorous, touching with a little heartbreak an over all brilliant debut. Narrated superbly by Holter Graham

Cinder by Marissa Meyer - I love it when a book surprises me! I was immersed in the world of Cinder. She is a likeable character with strength as well as a secret. I look forward to the next book in this series.

The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker - This book has everything I like in a story, generational secrets, complicated sister relationships with messy romantic interests, greed, betrayal, and a setting that makes for an entertaining read. 

Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb - It amazes me that after 32 books of the "In Death" series, I am still interested and invested in these characters. Eve Dallas is doing what she does best - investigating, ferreting out clues and making an arrest. The murder is centered around a movie that is being filmed about one of Eve's famous cases. 

What are your favorites so far this year?

Be sure to check out my 3 book giveaway.

Armchair BEA Giveaway

Today is giveaway day at Armchair BEA. I am giving away three new hard cover books.

To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNeal  - The Things We Cherished by Pam Jenoff

 - The Astral by Kate Christensen

Enter for one, two or all three books.  The books may arrive with chocolate, so let me know if you prefer dark or milk.  Enter by leaving a comment and letting me know which book(s) you would like to win.

A random winner will be drawn on Saturday, June 9th.  This giveaway is open to all!!

Armchair BEA - Introductions

ArmchairBEA is for those of us that are unable to attend the Book Expo America in New York.  Today is introduction day.  Be sure to visit command central for complete information.

 Welcome to Under the Boardwalk.  My name is Nise' (kneecee) and I am addicted to reading.

My love of reading grew when I was home sick for six weeks in the 9th grade. While I was excited to get back to school, I missed those days of reading all day long! It is still one of my favorite things to do today! Since then, I have always made time to read whether I was working full time or a busy mom with three kids. These days as an empty nester and working part time, I have more freedom to read and I take FULL advantage of that time.

  I have been blogging for 5 years. I set up a profile in order to comment on other blogs, since I felt creepy being “anonymous” all the time. It then became a way to keep track of what I was reading and has morphed into what it is today. It has been such fun sharing my reading with other book lovers all over the world.

My reading tastes have been challenged and stretched since blogging. I have tried and have come to love genres that I would never have given a second look at if not for recommendations from fellow bloggers. I have plans to continue to keep a record of my reading on my blog for years. It has been fun to be a part of the book blogging community from the early days and watch it grow and change.

Even though this blog is all about books, I do share a bit of my personal life from time to time.  You can find a few personal posts here.

I am currently reading Abdication by Juliet Nicolson. I am listening to Catch Me by Lisa Gardner, Defending Jacob by William Landay and Love in a Nutshell by Evanovich and Kelly.

So far this year I have a few books that will be on my favorite reads of 2012: A Grown Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson, The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, The Violets of March by Sarah Jio and Young Adult Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow as I will be hosting book giveaway.

Blogging About Blogging

Today is the day of the Book Blogger Convention, so Armchair BEA will also put the focus on the “blog” portion of “book blog.”   Here are a few thoughts to the prompts of today's theme:

How do you utilize social networking in relation to your blog? What may be the pros and cons of doing so?

At this point I do not utilize social networks.  A con, for me, is they become time wasters.  If I use my Facebook, it is for family/friend related things and not books. Do not get the attraction of Twitter. I am interested in reading the pros of doing so.

Share some of your favorite blogging technical tips.

I keep a template ready to go for my reviews, for the weekly memes I participate in and my monthly wrap-up posts to make the time of writing the post easier and less time consuming. 

Create a "rule list" of things you should and shouldn't be doing on a book blog.

My pet peeves. - (Not that these are "rules" or "dont's):

Embedded comments with word verification is a PAIN.  If you want to utilize word verification please use the comment window that pops up, it is so much easier.  The easier you make it to leave a comment the better.

Blogs that have music are not my preference.

Blogs that take a long time to load (not sure what the cause is) make it difficult to stick around to read and try to leave a comment.  Does anyone know what causes this? 

Jumping through hoops or giving my right arm to enter a giveaway/contest.

DOs:

Be yourself, find your voice/style and don't compare your blog to another blog.

Comment, comment, comment

Warn your readers if your review contains a spoiler.

Be respectful, if you hated the book and another blogger loved it don't slam them or the author and vice versa.

What are your tips for balance life and blogging?

When I accept a book for review I take the time to get my post ready with a picture and summary of the book so that when I am finished I can get my thoughts down right away and my post is pretty much completed.  I also try to write down my thoughts before I pick up another book so as not to get behind in my reviews. 

I have a couple of days that I purposely do not to get online, as the time can get away from me quickly.

There are quite a few book blogging events out there. Which are your favorites?

The Armchair BEA event exposes me to many blogs I would not have found on my own.

Read-A-Thon - anything devoted to reading has got to be good! 

Bloggiesta - Blog Maintenance, learning tips and tricks at it's finest

BBAW - we all need some love

Weekly events: What Are You Reading?, Tuesday Intros, Teaser Tuesdays, Weekend Cooking

Do you have any blogging tips or tricks?

Confessions - AC BEA

Today is Armchair BEA's Interview Day. I somehow missed the sign up. ;o(. Those that missed the interviews are encouraged to share their favorite bloggers and something about their blogs that has them on your must visit list.

It would be too hard for me to pick and choose so I've decided to go a different route, and confess/fess up to those blogs that I lurke at and hardly, if ever, leave a comment. Why am I lurker there?  I don't know really, shyness, intimidation, laziness, I am just one in many??

 Here it goes:

Beth Kephart Books

The Eclectic Reader

The Literate Housewife Review

Books, Movies and Chinese Food

Reading Teen

Now that I've confessed, I promise to do better on leaving comments when I visit and not be a lurker.  Are there places that you lurke?  Confess and we can commit to do better together!

Armchair BEA Giveaway Day/Best of 2011

Winners are Lisa of Lisa's World of Books and Lori of She Treads Softly

Today is Giveaway Galore day!  My giveaway contains two of my favorite things: books and chocolate.  The books are pictured with my bear collection. 

Choice #1 Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson + Chocolate

Tracy Waterhouse leads a quiet, ordered life as a retired police detective-a life that takes a surprising turn when she encounters Kelly Cross, a habitual offender, dragging a young child through town. Both appear miserable and better off without each other-or so decides Tracy, in a snap decision that surprises herself as much as Kelly. Suddenly burdened with a small child, Tracy soon learns her parental inexperience is actually the least of her problems, as much larger ones loom for her and her young charge.

Meanwhile, Jackson Brodie, the beloved detective of novels such as Case Histories, is embarking on a different sort of rescue-that of an abused dog. Dog in tow, Jackson is about to learn, along with Tracy, that no good deed goes unpunished.

Choice #2 is To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNeal + Chocolate

Judith Whitman always believed in the kind of love that "picks you up in Akron and sets you down in Rio." Long ago, she once experienced that love. Willy Blunt was a carpenter with a dry wit and a steadfast sense of honor. Marrying him seemed like a natural thing to promise. But Willy Blunt was not a person you could pick up in Nebraska and transport to Stanford. When Judith left home, she didn't look back.

Twenty years later, Judith's marriage is hazy with secrets. In her hand is what may be the phone number for the man who believed she meant it when she said she loved him. If she called, what would he say?

Both books have never been read. The bears are not included. Sorry ;o(. Open to all! You may enter for both books.

To enter the giveaway, please fill out this form.  The winner will be drawn on Saturday, May 28th.

Today's topic is: "Our Best of 2011"
 I have read many really good books so far this year and it was hard to narrow it down to just a few. Not all of them were published in 2011.
Adult:
13 rue, Therese by Elena Mauli Shapiro
The Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Skipping A Beat by Sarah Pekkanen

Young Adult:
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Undercover by Beth Kephart

My favorite audio so far this year is Darkfever by Karen Moning read by Joyce Bean

Armchair BEA Day #1

Today is Armchair BEA's First Day  - an event for those who are not attending BEA (Book Expo America) this year.  There will be fun events held every day.
Today is my busy day of the week so I am not sitting in my armchair yet! 

Today's Armchair BEA topic is Who Are You and How do you Armchair?

I have been an avid reader since the 9th grade when I was home from school on sick leave for over six weeks.  Due to the contagious nature of my sickness, I could not have any friends over and pretty much had to stay in my bedroom. Way back then (70s) there was not much on TV during the day so my family brought me books.  I have developed into a very fast reader and my yearly book count is in the hundreds. 

I have been blogging about books for 4 years and have grown to love this wonderful community of book lovers.

Recently I was featured on CMash Loves to Read's blog as her weekly "Shining Star".  You may visit there if you want to know more about me (like my age, if I'm married, or have kids)!


A couple of things that I get asked often are:

How can you read so many books? 
As I said, I developed into a fast reader over the course of years.  I do read every word and do not skip/skim pages.  If I am not engaged in a book by page 50, I move on to the next book.  I am never without a book and would rather read as many of my half finished hobbies/projects can attest.

How do you say your name?
Nise' is pronounced KneeCee.  It is shortened from my given name (Denise) that my family gave me years ago.  I am often called Nice (I can live with that), as well as KneeZay (imagine fake French accent ;o).

Be sure to stop by tomorrow as I will be posting about my book and chocolate (two of my favorite things) giveaway!!