Tuesday Thingers

Today's question:

Holiday gift-giving. Do you give books for the holidays? Did you participate in LT's SantaThing, either this year or last, or in other blogging gift exchanges? Were you happy with what you received?

I do give books for the holidays! I love to give books to children, especially. I figure if they already have the book, Mom can re-gift it at the next birthday party! I also give books to friends, usually a favorite of mine that I read that year or a book that might interest them. Giftcards are also great for people who read a lot & you are not sure which book to get them. I did participate in LT's SantaThing this year. I got 1 book I already had and 1 that I am excited to read:)

We have a winner!!!

Congratulations to our winner of Matrimony... Melissa of Shhh I'm Reading...!!! I hope you enjoy the book and thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.

Tuesday Thingers

Most of us book bloggers like to write book reviews- if we don't love to write book reviews- but here's today's question. When it comes to LT (and your blog), do you review every book you read? Do you just review Early Reviewers or ARCs? Do you review only if you like a book, or only if you feel like you have to? How soon after reading do you post your review? Do you post them other places- other social networking sites, Amazon, etc.?

I do not review every book I read. Some books I read only for myself and do not always feel the need to write a review. I always review my Early Reviewers books and get those reviews done as soon as I can! I go back and forth between ARCs and regular books, reading and reviewing. I write and post my review as soon as I can after I finish the book while it is still fresh in my mind. I usually only post on LibraryThing and on my blog. Once in a while, I will post somewhere else, like Amazon.

Book Giveaway!!!

Joshua Henkin is generously offering a SIGNED copy of his latest book, Matrimony, to one lucky winner just in time for the holiday season! (Matrimony would make a great Christmas gift!!!) Matrimony is a New York Times Notable book and one of my favorite books from this year. My review follows, below giveaway...

The Details: This giveaway is open to anyone WORLDWIDE and ends Sunday, December 14th at midnight. To enter simply leave a comment on this post, and for an extra entry post my giveaway on your blog.

For other reviews on Matrimony check out these posts:
The Literate Housewife
The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness
She is Too Fond of Books
Age 30 - A Year of Books
Books and Cooks
Reading Room
Bookfoolery and Babble
A Reader's Journal
B&B Ex Libris
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
Shelf Life
The Boston Bibliophile
Trish's Reading Nook
Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Here are some of Josh’s guest posts that may be of interest:
Books on the Brain
Planet BooksMusings of a Bookish Kitty
The Elegant Variation

To read more about Matrimony and Joshua Henkin visit his website. Joshua is available for book group discussions and you can find a reading group contact form and reading group guide here. You can also watch a video of Joshua...http://www.joshuahenkin.com/video/

Matrimony

LibraryThing book review...

Matrimony by Joshua Henkin

Julian meets Mia while both are freshmen at Graymont College. He also meets good friend,Carter, while in a writing workshop. Carter meets Pilar in the cafeteria and a foursome is formed. All four spend lots of time together becoming couples and good friends. We see them progress through college into real life and all that goes with it.

I found this book interesting and I was very drawn into the lives of the characters. I could really relate to all of them, it all seemed very real and down to earth to me. It was like they were my friends, I could have been right there with them. A very enjoyable read, very quick. I would definitely recommend this book to others, married or not!

Dirt: An American Campaign

LibraryThing book review...

Dirt: An American Campaign

By Mark LaFlamme

Dirt begins with Calvin Cotton taking his wife's body from her tomb and going on a little trip with her. Calvin's father, Governor Frank Cotton, is a contender for the White House and cannot have any type of scandal during his campaign. Governor Cotton calls for a little help with his son, a fella by the name of Thomas Cashman. Cashman, in turn, gets some help from author, Billy Baylor. Baylor has written many stories about obsessive love and Cashman believes he can be a help with the situation. The pair follow Calvin around trying to solve the problem, while Governor Cotton continues on with his campaigning.

Dirt is very different, but I enjoyed it. I would classify it as a political thriller... I liked the thriller part, but could have lived without all the politics. The characters are very memorable, as are some of the things they do. The plot moved along quickly and I definitely wanted to find out what happened in the end. A nice change from what I usually read.

Tuesday Thingers

What's the most popular book in your library? Have you read it? What did you think? How many users have it?

My answer: The most popular book in my library is The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown. I heard SO much about this book that I finally gave in and read it. I enjoyed it, but it is not one of my all-time favorite books. 6,828 other LibraryThingers have the book, and it's been reviewed 595 times with an average rating of 3 and a half stars. The Da Vinci Code is also the 3rd most reviewed book, interesting...